Monday, November 25, 2013

A SensAble Learning Center

I envision opening center called SensAble Learning in or around Erie, Colorado. 





In the morning and early afternoon, SensAble Learning will be a place for parents and children who are not yet in school and parents choosing to homeschool.
The space will be set up in Montessori-inspired fashion with a twist.  Currently, I see a number-sense area, a life-skills corner, a literacy zone, an art explosion, a geography place, a puzzle corner, a science space,  and a garden.  Every zone will be an effort to make abstract concepts tangible through hand-on exploration.   A parent will be encouraged to follow his/her child's interest, curiosity and zest for learning throughout the center instead of leading the child through the activities.  
Plus, I'll teach Souns®and Rhymes classes at least once a week.
Later in the afternoon, SensAble Learning will welcome school-age children for tutoring and enrichment.
After school, the center will transition to an enrichment and tutoring space.  Many children are in schools dependent upon understanding based on rote work rather than hands-on experiences and exploration.  Creative expression and exploration will lead the way. SensAble Learning will bridge the learning divide for many children.  Struggling readers in intermediate grades who never learned the alphabetic principle necessary for reading will be taught explicitly. Students who think they are bad at math because number sense was never established will learn they are capable after learning the connections of basic mathematical operations.  
SensAble Learning will serve special needs students, gifted students, students in need of extra help, students in need of more challenge, etc.  SensAble Learning knows every child is exceptional.
In the evenings, SensAble Learning will become a space for teachers.
At night, once or twice a week, SensAble Learning will be a space for teachers to come and learn various methods to make learning more hands-on, concrete and impactful.  It will be a space honoring a variety of approaches.  For example, Montessori veterans will be welcomed to teach traditionally-trained educators new approaches for credit that counts for teacher certification renewal.
Having a space lingers in my mind.  In November, 2013, we moved to the small town of Erie, Colorado.  It is a town filled with  young families, and I see this idea thriving here.  So, I'm throwing my idea out into the universe and we'll see where it goes...