To help children explore their creative vision, we keep a collection of what are termed “loose parts”. Loose parts are things that can be played with, manipulated, and combined in open-ended ways. They can be used over and over again
If you’re new to self-directed learning, it can be hard to imagine exactly how it works. Let’s take a look! What is self-directed education? Self-directed education (SDE) is a learning model where young people take the active role in setting
I’m pretty comfortable with risks for my kids. I let them climb tall things and play with power tools. I used to assume that other parents were more safety-cautious than I am. Then one day I went over to a
When people first learn about self-directed learning environments, I hear questions like: Does that mean there are no rules? Do kids get to do whatever they want? If you’re comparing WonderWild to traditional school, the answer is probably most like,
How does electronic media work in a self-directed learning environment? How do we include it at WonderWild? What if a child wants to be on the computer all day long?