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Creative Learning at home using the 4 P’s
Several factors can lead us parents to choose to homeschool our children. Some parents might find the traditional educational system too restrictive or not stimulating enough. Perhaps, they just want to become more involved in their child’s education. Whatever the case may be, your decision is rooted in your desire to offer your child the best education possible.
Motivated by this desire, many parents that choose homeschooling don’t typically stray too far away from classic teaching methods. Is it out of fear of skipping over an important piece of knowledge or skill set that they are reluctant to stray too far from the official curriculum?
However, according to the acclaimed educator Mitchel Resnick, parents have nothing to lose and everything to gain from distancing themselves from traditional curricula.
Learning is a life-long children’s game
Mitchel Resnick is a researcher at MIT’s Media Lab and a professor at the LEGO Foundation, an organization that promotes the benefits of learning by playing. According to Dr. Resnick, humankind’s greatest invention to date is kindergarten.
Resnick believes that there is no better method of learning than the learning that takes place when preschool-aged children are playing with their friends. In his opinion, it is learning in its most creative form.
For this reason, he is convinced that we must be “lifelong kindergarten”. And, that is exactly what his research group does:
"The Lifelong Kindergarten group develops technologies, activities, and communities to engage young people, from all backgrounds, in creative learning experiences, so they can develop their thinking, their voices, and their identities."
Fostering creativity using the 4 P’s
Creative learning is an educational approach that aims to encourage the development of children’s creative thinking, so that they may learn to solve complex problems and grow up confident in their abilities to overcome obstacles.
With this goal in mind, Mitchel Resnick created the core principles of the 4 P’s. In his book entitled Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers, and Play (MIT Press, 2017), Resnick details his approach:
"We believe the best way to cultivate creativity is to support people working on projects based on their passions, in collaboration with peers and in a playful spirit."
1. Passion
People don't count the hours when they do what they love.
What fascinates you child at the moment? What is his or her favourite sort or animal? What is or her favourite TV show? Is your child into dinosaurs, space, princesses or cars... Why not do a project related to that topic of interest?
2. Projects
The best way to learn is to do something meaningful to us.
Provide a clear goal to strive towards to keep your child’s energy focused.
Would he or she likes to:
-Write a book;
-Create a comic book;
-Write a song;
-Make a scrapbook;
-Shoot a movie;
-Create a website;
-Etc.?
3. Peers
Collaboration and sharing between peers stimulate creative thinking.
Invite your child’s friend and family to participate in his or her projects. Your child can seek out and find inspiration, get answer and guidance from his or her brother who plays music; his or her best friend who is a great artist; his or her grandmother who knows a thing or two about gardening; his or her aunt, the programmer; his or her neighbor, who travelled the world; etc.
4. Play
Games are a fun way for children to experiment and learn about how the world works, all while having fun.
Using fun projects, encourage your child to try new things and make discoveries.
For example, by putting on a play, he or she might:
-Do research about the social, historical, or political aspects of the story;
-Read examples;
-Watch a performance;
-Outline the story;
-Write a script;
-Make costumes;
-Build props;
-Work his or her co-stars.
The Quest for the 4 P’s
Are you still having trouble figuring out how to implement Mitchel Resnick’s creative learning method within your child’s homeschool curriculum? Quest —an educational platform conceptualized by Christine Renaud, CEO of e180, graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-founder of La Cabane, a learning center— provides you with all the tools you need to succeed. In fact, she drew her inspiration directly from the 4 P’s:
Projects: Quest gives children the opportunity to embark on “Quests”. The platform gives children the freedom to explore beyond the beaten path, while still providing parents a structured approach, by suggesting important progress markers.
Play: The Quests are fun and stimulating, especially given the missions to complete and the celebrations had after each successfully completed step.
Passion: The children choose the projects that match their passions.
Peers: The child’s close-ones become their “guides” who help and encourage them throughout the Quests.
Discover more about how Quest can assist you in your role as parent-teacher by reading about the project that inspired Quest or trying the platform out for yourself by filling the form below.
