from If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? I've been reading the book If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look...

I read this quote regarding our day to day lives and our work. But I think it really applies to teaching preschoolers. Too often we get c...

from Purposeful Play I watched a child carefully select the bricks she needed to complete her house. Then I watched her create landscap...

Making meaningful marks on paper Communicating your own ideas Making plans, organizing thoughts, telling what you know Ch...

I love talking with preschoolers. They make me think. They make me see things in different ways. They make me laugh. They encourage me t...

from Purposeful Play  by Kristine Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler The job of children is play. They do not need to be taught to...

Sorting, matching, grouping, classifying Counting, moving spaces, patterning Exploring symmetry, exploring volume, exploring sh...

For more about the Curse of Knowledge, see Made to Stick  by Chip and Dan Heath Once you know, you cannot unknow. You cannot put yourse...

Creating a plan and executing that plan Experimenting and exploring to solve problems Building, creating, failing, trying again Ch...

The freedom to explore and express their own ideas The freedom to use materials in their own ways Drawing, writing, building, m...

Knowing names and using names are key to developing a strong classroom community. Also, since a child's name is the most important...

I love this quote from Frank Lloyd Wright. And it makes me think about my kindergartners and my space. Each year my classroom changes so...

from Creative Schools Play is the way that preschoolers learn about their world. Don't exile it from your classroom.

from Bridging the Relationship Gap What atmosphere are we creating for children? What are we doing to create an engaging and interestin...

If children made choices, explored, decided what to do and not do, learned something new - then the day was successful. Even if they tota...

from Free to Learn True play is directed by the child (or the player, regardless of age). They choose what to play, how to play, when t...

Read more about this in my post on EdWords While I may think about activities and choose resources...while I may think about what will ...

from Free to Learn Through play kids practice and master life skills and other skills. Through play kids learn to work together with oth...

I have lots of good ideas about what kids can do with materials. I have some fun plans for how things could be used. But I should never l...

from Free to Learn  by Peter Gray Children are ready to learn. We may get in the way by what we do. (I'm reading and reflecting ...