Good afternoon friends, I have received lots of requests for what the classroom looks like in September so I decided to be a risk-taker and make my first video to share with you.  It is titled Reggio Inspired Classroom. Hope you find it useful. ...

It's time to start thinking about the new school year and with that comes important decisions about what to introduce to your new group of learners. Because such a big part of my program is the outdoor portion I have been thinking about what are the key components that I want to share with the new parents and children.  I always offer a brief family session so that parents can review what their children will be doing at school including the outdoor program. I also want to acclimatize the children to the outdoor program and the routines that I use to keep them safe walking to and from the outdoor site, frameworks we will be using while at the site and set the expectations for their behaviours while at the site. During the family session I would like to include some of the indoor learning their child will experience so that they can envision the classroom's daily flow. However I also want them to be confident that their child will be safe and productive in the ...

Imagine.... walking into a Kindergarten classroom to consult with the teacher. Two children are  building a tower with magnet tiles, while four children are building a maze with blocks. Nearby you hear excited chatter from two children at the paint easel while a quiet pair are focused at the story play corner. Some children are busy connecting uni-fix blocks to measure the length of the room encouraged by a visiting grandmother. You finally locate the teacher sitting with two children, one of whom is sad. You hear her ask "do you feel ready to go back? The children look at each other and nodding walk away.  What's happening here? Children are engaged in different activities all while the teacher supports two children in resolving a conflict. She is demonstrating a deep belief about children, that she values and trusts them to be capable, curious and engaged. These children are practicing self regulation, one of the most important components of Kindergarten. Recent r...