Process art is important to young learners. It speaks to the idea that children do not need structured, planned out, learning opportunities but instead appreciate the opportunity for rich experiences through exploration and wonder. Finding ways to encourage children’s interests in the early learning environment builds important brain connections. Children feel supported as they understand […]
Children see the world with “big eyes.” It is a child’s profound curiosity and love of wonder that helps them understand others and their own place in the world. When I create spaces for learning, I want to envision the environment as children do. Combining math with artistic experiences is a great way to turn […]
Children have an innate sense of joy; to dream, learn, and seek wonder in everything. They have bright enthusiasm and endless curiosity. Just a brief conversation with a three-year-old will give you a sense of how beautiful they find the world. I strive to capture that magic when designing a math environment to meet […]
Just mentioning math can strike fear into the heart of even the most educated parent! While many of us are quite skilled with math, it has still become a common “fear” for many folks. Yet, still, those of us with older children have been quite perplexed as the methods for mastering math in school has […]
One of my favorite activities in an early childhood environment is block play. Blocks and block areas are a natural place for multiple children to hang out together, work together and bring to life what they see in their mind’s eye. There have been times where the children are so engaged that we must save […]
How many times have you used counting while singing children’s songs? Did you know that children who participate in music or learn instruments are often more proficient in mathematics? Do your children march to their own beat? Whether you realize it or not, mathematics and music are interwoven and benefit one another. When children are […]
As an early childhood educator, I have witnessed the complicated nature of children’s development and learning. Child development does not exist in a silo. Instead, child development exists as an interwoven fabric of interactions, skills, relationships, knowledge, experience and action. I have found it interesting that as teachers, we have developed the pedagogy of teaching […]
Trips to the museum are fun, thrilling and can be educational, but most activities tend to be geared to children over the age of five. To further a study of Lions in our classroom, we took a trip to the Field Museum. It was the winter, it was too cold to go to the zoo, […]
November means many trips to the grocery store, getting food for Thanksgiving, buying extra snacks and dinner for out of town guests. And on top of that, the kids are home for break. A quick or long trip to the grocery store can be a great learning experience for children of all ages, not just […]
Most children know how to navigate Ipads, cell phones and Youtube, but very few children understand how these systems actually work and the processes behind typing in “Johnny, Johnny” and seeing a list of videos pop up on Youtube. Our school system also does very little to prepare children for this type of thinking or […]