I have been going back through Sylvia Chard's study guides recently as the means of finding the "spark" that would really get us to think about the value of Project Work to learning.  I didn't have to go far: right on page 2 of her Practical Guide 1 (found on her project approach web site - very user friendly and excellent source of information for anyone seeking to implement projects in their classroom).  She begins with "in making decisions about student learning, it is important to make sure the curriculum reflects considerations of the following:  knowledge, skills, dispositions and feelings". If we look at these four considerations, my first question is, how often do we hear words such as dispositions and feelings and yet, they are so key to education.  How we feel about what we do directly correlates to how we go about tasks and learn and yet, we so often seek to remove the emotional and social self from the picture.  Why?  All you have to do is look at these photos taken of a group of children engaged in the process of making adobe bricks to understand the role of feelings in learning.  As Sylvia discusses in her guide, students become absorbed in a task and take ownership of their work.  The children in these photos needed to: understand their different roles; know what their strengths; collaborate with others; problem solve and overcome some frustrations with the materials in order to work towards geting a "successful" brick.  Throughout the experience, I was able to observe the children's increased levels of competence and confidence.  I could return to the skills and knowledge they gained from this experience, but I think I will leave this for another time.  For now, I ask that you merely look closely at these photos and consider the role of feelings in learning.  And consider the role of the senses and the whole  body experience for young children.  When did we as adults last experience this full body, sensory engagement in a learning experience?