The natural beauty of autumn leaves and fall harvests continue to impact our early learners as we explore, create, and imagine outdoors in our forest and school garden. As a way to integrate children’s fascinations with all that comes with autumn our team has co-created some intentional learning explorations that also connect to our student’s developing… Read More Autumn Play and Learning Invitations
Before transforming our yard into our outdoor learning playspace, our early years team shared our hopes and dreams for the children in the space. We wanted it to provide opportunities for children to develop curiosity, exploration, creativity, innovation, resilience, problem-solving skills, risk-taking, collaboration, oral language skills, mathematical understanding, and connect with nature. We also kept… Read More Planning Outdoor Learning Playspaces For All Seasons
Many children share their excitement for the holiday season with us and we are equally enthusiastic to provide them with opportunity to encounter learning through invitations to play and learn with a holiday spin. Below are some of the festive playful learning experiences that we’ve offered where children can bump into literacy and math throughout… Read More Playful Christmas and Holiday Invitations to Learn
Hallowe’en is such a fun time of the year for children and such a great opportunity for educators to leverage intentional learning based on child-led interests. Below are some experiences that we’ve provided to support problem-solving and creativity, literacy, math, sensory, and art. Loose Parts Play This qtip skeleton provocation became a loose parts hit… Read More Spooky Hallowe’en Provocations
Hearts are something our early learners beg for all year long and not just on Valentine’s Day. We’re probably not alone either. Hearts are one of those shapes some little people crave to learn how to draw, and when they figure it out, they are unstoppable. We have one little this year that when asked what… Read More The Way to Their Heart Through Sensory and Loose Parts
Christmas and winter holidays awe children with their colours, lights, textures, smells, and sounds. We’ve decided to tap into this natural interest to encourage learning in math, science, engineering, fine-motor, sensory, literacy and art. Sensory Holiday Exploration We love how educators can intentionally add different materials to sensory exploration for different purposes. If we add… Read More 10 Christmas and Holiday Explorations
Children learn best from experiences and when given the opportunity to create their own math games children can become meaning-makers and construct their own knowledge and understanding. They become a partner in learning where their ideas are valued and tested. We value setting out math provocations that have an intentional focus: A place where children can… Read More Inviting Children to Create their own Math Games
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me fluttering from the autumn tree.” -Emily Bronte For many children and adults a natural interest in leaves re-surfaces each and every year when the leaves change colour. Fall is an amazing opportunity to nurture children’s natural curiosity in the environment and outdoor learning. Below are some playful invitations to play and learn… Read More Exploring Leaves Through Play
Since the screen-obsessed child began to dominate much of western culture many parents have been struggling with how to foster the creative play they once experienced as children in the forest playing with sticks. In Kindergarten classrooms across Ontario, Canada, educators have begun connecting children with nature by bringing natural materials into the classroom for… Read More Hey Educator, What’s This Loose Parts Play You Keep Talking About? A Parent’s Guide to the Benefits of Loose Parts Play
Our youngest learners have spent many hours playing with this woodland forest small world play sensory tray. What’s more than natural materials and loose parts for open-ended play lies an opportunity to think more deeply about literacy and numeracy. Naturally, adults would see this provocation as an invitation for children to share stories with lots of oral language… Read More Woodland Forest Small World Play (Math and Literacy embedded in Play)
inspired by play 