Futures alternatives can often become obsolete, lost in the landfills, forgotten or replaced by the next ‘new’ thing. However, on that rare occasion you come across an artifact that reveals
Sign far side of picture: Private Property
Window A: God is Love!
Graffiti: No Future
Window B: Yellow Happy Face
This graffiti I found tagged on the back of a daycare center in
My present home city of Baltimore is a very antagonistic, yet at times, very hopeful place to be working. There are a number of institutions and individuals focused on alternatives
The concepts of national relations, global relations, international relations, intergalactic relations etc. are imperative to discuss with children at a young age. These two books are excellent introductions to the
This is a summary of notes written a few years back in the effort to gather the pros and cons of starting an adventure playground and for what purpose. Most
The Journal of Future Studies, an international journal of foresight and futures studies, is putting out a three part symposium of articles on “Teaching the Future.” Early Futures will have
I felt it to be true that children had great advantage in this respect as they are not burdened with the misconceptions and obsolete propositions with which the grown-ups have
The Neuro Education Initiative Summit at Johns Hopkins University brings together Neuroscientists and Educators to present contemporary research in brain science and how it affects educational functions.
The article reviewing the
Futures 2010
(brought to you by the 4-and 5-year-old’s at Bolton Hill Nursery School)
Each year we do a futures unit near the end of their last year of preschool. This year
We all could promote holistic health and integrated education in our classrooms more frequently. To help do so, I turn to the wonderful research and advocacy group, Committee for Stress-Free
One thing you almost always see with a child is their non-human companion: a worn out blanket, a stuffed animal, a funny piece of cloth, a baby doll etc. Stuffies
So, what are the questions that 4-and 5-year-olds come up with when asked, “What is your hardest question or what is something you want to know the answer to?”
Here they
The New York Times had an excellent section on open source education courses in today’s Sunday paper.
Using open source materials found on Youtube, Academic Earth, OpenCourseWare Consortium among others are
We’ve finally put together a full version of the stories told and illustrated by a class of 4-and 5-year-olds at Bolton Hill Nursery School. Early Futures has promoted those stories
On the Day You Were Born
By Debra Frasier
A classic, beautiful story which relates each child their place on Earth when they are born. It tells the story of the uniqueness
Here are some samples of some of my recorded interviews with 4 and 5 year olds regarding their ideas on the universe and universal ideas. All are excerpts from longer
The Earth Needs People
By Riva, age 5
I don’t believe that people can make their dreams come true.
We’re not fairies. The fairies can, but not us.
We have to die and turn
The following TED talks are a few of the incredibly relevant and interesting talks related to young children and our futures.
How We Read the Minds of Others
“This brain region
Today’s question posed to my small friends was, “What do you think humans will be/look like in the future, really really really far away from now?” The first four drawings
It is integral that we purposefully give our child peers tools to keep their imaginations connecting and deconstructing reality and fantasy. When a child can visualize, imagine and challenge the
You Can Talk in the Universe / By Allie, age 4 (her twin brother is Nick who wrote “The Universe is Flat”)
“I talk without using my mouth.
I just say it
The Real Future / By Abigail, age 4
“I know something that is going to happen in the future.
It is the Sun gobbling up the Earth.
The only number I can remember
There’s no disputing that the architecture/design magazine, Dwell, is a vanguard in the war of modernism versus the world. Page after page of spacious, shimmering structures sprinkled lightly by expensive
In the past few weeks I’ve been focusing on obtaining orally told stories/philosophies from the children on their ideas of the world, not just specifically on “futures”, but on everything.
Recently I came across the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia. In this division they study (among other rarely researched experiences) children who’ve experienced a form of
The Love of Hearts When the Dinosaurs Were Made
By Sylvie, age 4
“When there was love here we were happy.
It was the time of the dinosaurs where there was love.
The World’s Story / By Alexandra, age 4
“The universe is made of tiny round cells and the magic is how our cells join together. There is nothing in the space
I. The Earth is Bright / By Edward, age 5
“The smashers of darkness came. The power of darkness tore the people into 7 stone. They were tiny pieces and they
I Forgot the Future / By Adrienne, age 4
“The future was destroyed by all the lies. The lies are straight lines. You have to make a straight line to get
How Did the Future Get People / By Riva, age 4
“Once upon a future the future was wiggling. The future was sad because the future didn’t have any people inside
The following books are excellent resources for practical and theoretical applications of Alternative Early Childhood Education and Futures Studies.
1. Reframing the Early Childhood Curriculum: Educational imperatives for the future, Jane
A colleague of mine, Yutaka Houlette, worked with our Pre K students (3-5 years old) this past summer and created, with them, one of the best video projects with children
Inevitably when I talk about implementing “future studies in early childhood education” most people are curious, but unsure of what it means in reality. Much of future studies is merely
1
The Cat Who Lived One Million Times, by Sano Yoko (Translated from Japanese)
There was a cat who could live for a million years.
He died a million times, and lived a
A big part of future studies at any age is understanding the differences and similarities between actual, preferred and possible futures. In order to introduce the topic of variable futures,
Here is a list of what the future is according to a class of 4/5 year olds.
The future is…
many things
a place where you go
something happening now
a world that is like
What exactly should be included in future studies education for early childhood?
Firstly, let’s be clear, we do not want to study, project or pretend to know the future. Rather, future
FSxK is the name of the Futures by Kids study group with children. I had my first development meeting with one of the potential leaders of the group, Spencer David,
Direction, Decisions and Design all by Johns, age 5 / Computer Mouse Maneuvering by Heidi, age 25
A brief description of this picture /
You are looking at a future world. The
After describing Adventure Playgrounds to a group of 4/5 year olds and showing them examples, they decided they wanted to plan a course of action to have their own. We
If… (Getty Trust Publications : J. Paul Getty Museum) / By Sarah Perry
One of the key arenas of future studies education is creating imaginative relations with the universe. Perry’s book,
Adventure Playgrounds (also known as junk playgrounds and work yards) are one of the most intriguing examples of malleable, participatory spaces that engage children, but they are disappearing every year
The Future of Space / By Fiona, Age 5
“They built a new future because the future broke down. In January it broke down. The future broke because it was on
The Land of Wonderous Future / By Sophia, Age 5
“One time a future exploded. After the future exploded, they built another in the future. In the past time when there
The Future Eats the City World
By Grace, Age 5
“The future begins; there was no people yet and then there were.
They were born before they opened up their eyes. When they
Nuclear War Fun Book / By Victor Langer and Walter Thomas / Illustrated by Brent Richardson
The Nuclear War Fun Book is a spiteful child’s workbook meant to give children in
R. Buckminster Fuller’s ideas have fully integrated themselves into much of the futurist and architectural arena, but his little known works on education are just as relevant. In Operating Manual
The Zoom Kindermuseum in Vienna, Austria blows most children’s museums away. Based more on a contemporary art museum or science laboratory then a children’s museum, it focuses on experimental ways
Advertisement 1 /
This is an advertisement on a waffle. To be precise, this is a Barbie’s head printed onto a child’s instant waffle. Yes, to be eaten. It
(a transient sand pile in Champs Elysees, France)
Inspiration /
“If you ask adults about their happiest or most vivid recollections of city childhood they will seldom talk about the park or
Drawn By Grace, Age 5
This is Grace’s Poster for “Change”. At this time (2005) we were discussing ways you would want to change your country, interesting enough her flag had
Part of the study of the future with young children is having them imagine future worlds and when they might happen. The following are selections of drawings from a series
These are 10 past influential books regarding education alternatives & theory (no order) :
School is Dead (read free .pdf)
By: Everett Reimer / Published 1972
“School has become the universal church of
I found a great resource today while looking at energy playground related materials. Playground of the Future lists pretty much every kind of awesome playground style and resource links on
The idea is an energy playground, where children could play on normal playground equipment, but it would be generating and saving energy. As I began researching I found a lot
earlyfutures.com is a place where I will be categorizing educational alternatives, research, children’s projects and resources for parents, teachers and friends who have similar interests. In the future we
