Ruby Tuesday

The teaching assistant and I have spent the day setting up the basics of the Kindergarten learning environment. Picture books and read alouds were a recurring theme in our conversations, far beyond only having a "book corner".  "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island." Walt Disney Mem Fox is a strong advocate of reading aloud. More on her perspectives can be found here .  Kath Murdoch has written a wonderful  blog about how to inspire inquiry though picture books.  There are many things that we can use to read aloud from (Eg. stories, poems, song lyrics, non-fiction texts, play scripts etc). Our purpose and manner of reading aloud may vary depending on if it is to entertain, think aloud or model a specific reading behaviour or strategy.  Why should we read aloud? Kathy Short encourages us to view reading as inquiry and urges us to support children to critically read the word and the world.  Children learn language ...

This week, I have chosen to write about how children use drawing to express themselves. Drawing is a powerful means of communication that children use for different purposes. For example, children might draw to recount, brainstorm, explain, relax, imagine...   Children can show individual expression and creativity through their drawings.  Drawings reveal how children view and perceive the world. They can evidence a child's thinking, explanations and theories about different phenomena. When talking about their drawings, children reveal understandings, awareness, vocabulary, misconceptions, partial truths, over-generalisations and confusion.  Drawings can capture and sequence events as a child retells or creates a story. These drawings can then act as prompts for oral and written language.  Drawings show children's interests and passions.  Drawings are a way to record and retrieve memories.  Sharing drawings gives children the opportunity to communicate,...

Original Post 2021 Next week, I will step into the learning space for Kindergarten for the next year. I have been thinking about the most important factors that will guide the setting up and use of learning spaces. Reggio Emilia refers to the learning environment as a 3rd teacher. The PYP offers us this graphic reminding us of the connection between design, resources and pedagogy, rooted in play and relationships.  I have started to curate some examples of inspiring learning spaces and other considerations when making decisions about environments. This link might provide some new insights for you, too? What are your priorities when considering and setting up learning spaces? My Top 10  A learning space is beyond the physical environment. Developing a safe space in which a culture of inquiry, thinking and possibility thrives and respectful relationships are built is key. Maximising opportunities to explore nature and the outdoors  Open-ended resources with infinite possib...

Asking the right question at the right time is key to gaining insights into children's thinking. It helps us to avoid making assumptions about what and how they are learning and their feelings along the way. Asking the right question can help facilitate deeper and more reflective thinking. Asking the wrong question, too many questions or the right question at the wrong time can all stifle thinking and interrupt the flow of learning. It is important to observe and listen to children at play, in their inquiries, to make informed choices about what and when to ask, considering the purpose of the question.  Those of you interested in different types and categories of questions might be interested in this blog .  The Understanding Map developed by Project Zero also considers different lenses to question and teach for understanding.  These types of questions are not the easiest for children to answer. A culture of thinking, as Ron Ritchart advocates, is required where this lang...

Documentation as record keeping and being compliant to school systems has never really motivated me. However, pedagogical documentation as a means to evidence learning and to make informed choices about possible next steps in the learning process is a different story! I hope these gems of theory and practical strategies are useful.  “The Hundred Languages of Children” explores the idea of pedagogical documentation explicitly. Some key ideas include: - A process for making learning visible throughout the learning journey - Subject to dialogue, interpretation, contestation and transformation - It embodies subjectivity and nurtured negotiation - Trust and listening - Instead of reducing complexity, which is the goal of using standardised tools to measure quality, it opens up the complexity so that we can work and learn from it - Observation, documentation and interpretation are strongly connected.  The PYP stress the relevance of four dimensions in assessment, especially the impo...