entry point

As I mentioned earlier, I have baskets of yarn, fabric, and cardboard/plastic/wood looms all over the classroom. Perhaps the most spectacular is this huge "Moses" basket (it was a gift from my team when I had my first son, and both of my primates used it as babies), which is filled with brightly colored cones of yarn--I'll post a pic next week. Our art teacher stopped by my room the other day and commented that she'd like to just dive into that basket it looked so enticing.

I repeated this story to my husband--also an art teacher but a different district--and his response was, "That's an entry point." (meaning the basket display)

I thought about this--and I think he's right. Just having this attractive visual display of things one just can't help but stick their hands in and explore is providing an experiential entry point. One has to be curious first--before any learning can take place.

Teachers do stuff like that all the time--the difference between a traditional teacher and an MI teacher is recognizing that basket as an opportunity for teaching and learning.