Sammy, age three, loves trains. He loves all the parts of trains- the wheels, stacks, engines, types of cars and, of course, their tracks. He loves a familiar tank engine whose popular name I need not mention. One summer morning Sammy found a new way to represent his beloved train tracks and more specifically the […]
What is it about water that makes it so inviting for children? They’re driven to pour it, mix it and dump things into it. They like to carry it about in buckets and bins, use it to fill up bowls to the brim and send it coursing down ramps. We know kids can’t resist a […]
One of the perks of working to support preschool children is that we get invited to visit schools and programs all over the country. We love how creative teachers can be when it comes to creating storage solutions for loose materials and parts. In addition, we’re always scouring Pinterest to find ideas and provocations. At […]
We’ve probably all been in a setting similar to this one. It was a cold spring afternoon and a few children had woken from their naps. To keep the room relatively calm and quiet while the others slept, the teacher set out some table top manipulatives. When she sat down to be near the two […]
While having a snack with my young friends at Wildflower Preschool we had a conversation about helping one another. Some children were excited to tell me that they helped their teacher, Amy, get some things from her car. They were so happy to report that the back door opens down and gestured downward using their […]
Not too long ago we took this photo while on a hike with a class of pre-k children. At first I prodded the children onward, intending that we stick together in our large group. Soon I overheard the rumblings of discontent and the dreaded words, “I don’t want to do this anymore, can we go […]
Time to start thinking about spring and revitalizing our outdoor preschool classroom. No matter your climate, changes in the seasons always seem to stir up the desire to clean, paint and build. I happened to be doing a little research on using unconventional and re-purposed building materials in children’s spaces and came across these images. How […]
Educators and parents often refer to schools as “learning environments”. Indeed they are! But we all know that learning doesn’t stop just because children exit the building. One of our own Kodo kiddos created this structure at home, happily announcing to her family that it was a “road”. At first glance it may appear to […]
This photo was taken about eighteen months ago. It captures several toddlers who were offered something new to use with balls- tubes! We all know that the first time a new material or toy is given to a toddler several things may occur. The child chooses to interact with it or leave it be. Some […]
There is a common misconception among early childhood teachers that Engineering is too complicated for inclusion for the young child; however, the reality is that children are natural engineers. Structural engineering, which is part of the primary school science curriculum, primarily focuses on the solutions humans create to solve problems they encounter in nature. For […]
