Archive Curriculum Journals
“Archive Curriculum Journals provide a window into Eureka Learning Center’s school culture, values and overall curriculum. Teachers engage in a reflective practice, bringing to life their classroom story. We hope the journals are useful for you in learning more about the Transitional Kindergarten experience.”
Building blocks are a constant in our T-K environment, whether it be wooden, cardboard, waffle blocks or magna-tiles. By incorporating blocks into everyday play we not only get to witness math skills developing, but the whole child taking form.
Making a building, a vehicle, or a castle takes patience and perseverance, but building with others takes much more thinking. This might be the first time the children are in an environment filled with the same age peer group and their ideas are not the only ones being shared. They quickly learn in order to build the concrete object, it will take much more then their own input, it takes collaboration.
Building with others requires not only the sharing of ideas, but the listening of others ideas, as well. The children share the materials, take turns, and problem solve. Children not only begin to listen to ideas, but also build self esteem by having the confidence to contribute their own. They soon learn that respecting ones ideas and contributions solidifies relationships and helps foster continued collaborative play throughout the day. Understanding it’s a group effort and the benefits are fun, a common goal is achieved, and there is a sense of accomplishment.
Block building develops math skills as children count, measure, and compare the blocks. What may begin as building a house soon develops into a castle with a drawbridge and stained glass windows and the structure takes on a life of its own, and a new element enters in the form of dramatic play. When children engage in block building it helps promote math skills, cooperation, problem solving, and socialization. Not only are they learning, but they’re having fun and “building” friendships
There is more to the story when you observe a child engaged in sensory play. You might see them “playing” with clay or dough, but more things are occurring.
Often the children have collaborated with a teacher on creating the dough. A recipe is followed tying in math skills as they discuss the measurements needed when putting together the ingredients. Science is incorporated by comparing dry versus wet ingredients and analyzing cause and effect, such as, what do you think will happen if we add this ingredient? Hypotheses are encouraged and it is explained that like scientists, we learn by taking guesses and using that to be more informed.
The children explore the materials; hands go into the bowl, senses are used when describing the texture. Constant conversation occurs, as ideas are passed around about the process. And with the conversation the vocabulary is improving when describing what is taking place, all the while working on patience and building “waiting muscles,” as they take turns to mix or discuss their observations.
A finished product is ready to work. The children converse as they manipulate the dough, while strengthening their finger joints and improving their muscles for writing. Knowing it was they who created the dough often keeps them working with it even longer, as it is often relaxing. Play becomes imaginative as their shaped, molded, and rolled out dough takes on a new persona.
A project is completed from start to finish. A team has worked together to achieve a common goal and every child has a bag of dough of their very own to use to “play!”
“Teacher Laura, how do you spell I love you?” “How do you spell Happy Birthday?” “Does from start with F?” Most days conversations like this are heard in the TK classroom as children begin to practice language and literacy skills. As with all developing skills children are at different levels of mastery – some just beginning to recognize and write their letters, others sounding out words and beginning to read. One thing that is the same for all is the intentional work being done to provide them with opportunities for mastery.
Our intentional efforts begin with our Letter of the Week. Each Monday we introduce a new letter and share items that begin with that letter. We discuss the various sounds the letter makes – from the easy sounds we began with such as B and M – to the much more complicated vowels we are introducing now. We notice the shape of the letters and come up with words that begin with the letter.
As the Spring approached, we brought in more intentional opportunities for the children to practice their developing skills. It began with our request to have the children write their classmates names on their Valentine’s. Watching the children read the names – some effortlessly and others with lots of scaffolding – and to see how proud they were as they did so was amazing! We continued that idea with the addition of mailboxes, both inside and outside, for the children to exchange notes to each other. With these notes they were encouraged to sound out words to write on their own, learn about punctuation, practice letter formation, attempt to read the notes themselves and discover the joy that reading and writing can bring.
We also have started having the children sign in each morning, noticing the upper- and lower-case letters in the models we have provided, practicing those letter formations and taking pride in how they are developing those skills.
Of course, we are always providing LOTS of opportunities for conversations in which they build vocabulary, reading great stories to practice receptive language skills AND bring a love of reading, singing songs, practicing rhymes and playing with language to keep their minds engaged – all things research shows help with reading and language competence.
So the next time you hear “how do you spell?” remember all the skills your child is
learning that will help them for many years to come!
The Sock Drive Story January 2019
The story begins with a desire to build on the children’s interest in being helpers in their community. They had talked a lot about the book drive and food drive and Yvette found a program that St. Anthony’s ran that was about collecting socks for the homeless.
We introduced the idea to the children through stories and discussions and they liked the idea. When we suggested having a Bake Sale to raise money they agreed. After voting from a list of suggestions of what to bake we decided on banana muffins and M&M/chocolate chip cookies.
We made some guesses as to what ingredients we might need to make those and finally consulted the recipes. Then we were off to Whole Foods market to purchase what we needed. The children worked really hard to bake the items needed for the Bake Sale.
We divided into two groups and each group prepared one of the items. They measured, stirred, sorted by wet and dry, cracked eggs and added ingredients. Then they stirred some more! In the meantime we made signs, decided on our prices and told our families all about what we were doing.
Finally we were ready for our Bake Sale! On the mornings of December 6th and 7th our families purchased the items we had baked. Each bag cost $1.00 and contained two cookies or two mini muffins. They told us what they wanted and we counted up how many bags we sold and how much they owed us. We made $146.00 at our Bake Sale and sold all of our goods! The whole point of the bake sale was to raise money to purchase socks so we needed to take one more trip. Down the hill to Walgreens we went to buy socks. St. Anthony’s had requested two types of socks so every child got to pick out one pair of fuzzy socks at Walgreens and the more practical socks were purchased later. The decision making and care that went into the selection process was heartwarming. This morning we added up all the pairs of socks we purchased and the grand total was 125 pairs!
While lots of learning took place, from math to literacy to science the biggest lesson was about the giving and receiving of help. It is a lesson we hope to continue in the coming year.
Knights Need Armor – December 2018
Practicing the idea of emergent curriculum – “being responsive to children’s interests to create meaningful learning experiences” – the teachers had tried to build on the children’s interest in good vs evil by providing some castle themed props in the dramatic play and block area. A wood castle, some playmobile knights, capes and knight helmets were some of the items available.
On one of the first days back Bill, Jason and Kyle began their morning in the dramatic play area. After using some of the knight costumes and helmets they decided that “knights need armor”.
Given that there was no armor as part of the props Leanne problem solved with them about where they might be able to create their own. Off to the Creation Station they went!
The Creation Station is a bookshelf in the art room full of open ended materials the children can use to explore their own creativity. Out came the paper plates, the tape, the scissors and LOTS of ideas! First, Bill created an armor helmet, then Kyle decided he needed armored shoes. He worked for so long – measuring, cutting, trying on, cutting some more, taping until he had created perfectly fitting armored shoes. In a perfect example of the way children scaffold each other’s play Vivian decided that she too needed armored shoes. She looked at Kyle’s and tried to copy them with little success. She then asked Kyle for more information and he was able to give her detailed instructions on how he created his – how nice when we can help others.
Armored wrist bands and leg coverings followed and the children continued to work in such a cooperative way around something that had come from their own ideas.
Problem solving, creativity, perseverance, cooperation – all were evident in this play. The very best kind of learning!
