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Cabinet of Curiosities

Home >> Home School Ideas >> Cabinet of Curiosities

"It is nothing short of a miracle that modern methods of instruction have not entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry." Albert Einstein

Part of my homeschool vision is to have my children experience a sense of wonder - and to enjoy exploring new and interesting things.

So I thought it would be fun to create a Cabinet of Curiosities.

A What???

Beginning in the 16th Century, a Cabinet of Wonders was a cabinet (or more often a room) containing a collection of strange and curious items.

Wikipedia says that :

natural history

geology

archaeology

works of art

Cabinet of Curiosities Doesn't that sound inspiring?

I think it will be wonderful for the chidren to collect strange, and varied wonders for their cabinet. Things that would make us want to examine them further. Things for us to think about and investigate. I am also hoping to use it to introduce them to lots of new art and mathematical ideas.

Homeschool Ideas

You will need a place to create your cabinet. We shall begin with our current Nature Table and expand the collection we already have.

Think about what you already have that will be suitable. We all have souvenirs from strange countries, funny little ornaments that we have been gifted, or mathematical puzzles we bought years ago! Now is your chance to get them out of storage, and allow them to display their uniqueness as curiosities. Kaleidescopes, old postcards, old toys, books of stamps and gyroscopes would all make good candidates. Or how about some unusually shaped buttons or badges?

Keep your eyes open for new things to add. Chiildren are really good at spotting small unusual things when you are out and about. Allow them to decide what is 'curious'. It doesn't always have to be something expensive - a drinks can squashed flat by a truck can be interesting!

Make some curiosities for your cabinet. My plan is for us to make little items for our collection. Small models, works of art and little math shapes would be a good start. If you want more ideas then please sign up for my Homeschool Newsletter because I will be sharing this information with my subscribers.

I hope you enjoy creating your Cabinet of Curiosities. I would love to hear what you have added. Drop me a line and tell me about it.

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