Big Tree is a space where children can experience self-directed education (SDE) and open-ended, freely chosen play. Want to know more about these two powerful ideas? Here is a collection of resources we recommend.
Self-Directed Education (SDE) Resources
Want to watch a video? Here’s a short one from Peter Gray: What is Self-Directed Education? And his longer talk Mother Nature’s Pedagogy – Insights from Evolutionary Psychology. Plus, let’s let 13 year old Logan LaPlante weigh in: Hackschooling makes me happy
Get inspired by these TED Talks: What if we trusted you? from Jerry Michalski, the powerful Do schools kill creativity? from Sir Ken Robinson, and Raising Free People from Akilah S. Richards.
Want to listen? Try these podcast episodes!
• The Decision to Leave School Behind with Jen Lumanlan on the Exploring Unschooling podcast
• An hour-long interview with Peter Gray on Your Parenting Mojo
• The Life Without School podcast from Stark Raving Dad
• The Fare of the Free Child podcast, focused on Black, Native Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) families practicing unschooling and other forms of decolonized living and learning.
Looking for a deeper dive? Head to the library for these books!
• Free to Learn – Peter Gray
• How Children Learn – John Holt
• Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom – Kerry McDonald
• Raising Free People: Unschooling as Liberation and Healing Work – Akilah S. Richards
• Free At Last: The Sudbury Valley School – Daniel Greenberg
Resources on the Value of Play
Here are a few short videos to start learning just how important play is to children’s education. What is Play? from the Ontario Science Center, Play-based Learning from Peter Gray, and The Importance of Play with Scott G. Eberle from the Strong National Museum of Play.
For a longer video, try The Neuroscience of Play with Dr. Stuart Brown.
If you like to explore the research, here are a few studies:
• The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds from the American Academy of Pediatrics
• Prioritizing Play: The Importance of Play-based Learning in Early Education from the Regional Education Laboratory Program
• Learning Through Play from Peter K. Smith, PhD and Anthony Pellegrini, PhD
For longer reads, we recommend these books:
• A Pedagogy of Play: Supporting playful learning in classrooms and schools comes from researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. You can download a PDF version or listen to the companion podcast.
• Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr. Stuart Brown uses research to explain why play is essential to our social skills, adaptability, intelligence, creativity, and ability to problem solve.
• The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally from David Elkind, PhD, explores how unscheduled imaginative play prepares children for academic and social success.
Have questions about the self-directed education or the benefits of play? Or we incorporate these values into our programs at Big Tree? Reach out! We’d love to talk to you!