# data[].attributes.body
Students engaged in independent reading of a novel about the War of Independence. They select different roles to discuss the novel before presenting a book review to their class. The roles are Discussion Director (asks comprehension questions), Word Wizard (explains difficult words), Connector (links text to personal experiences), and Summarizer (briefly recaps the reading).

While 3 groups of students are independently reading different novels (at their own level), the teacher is running a guided reading group of 4 students to scaffold their reading process.

# data[].attributes.headline
Science period in a 4th grade classroom.

# data[].attributes.subject
Science period in a 4th grade classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
An Elementary Classroom where students are immersed in self-guided inquiry. A collaborative learning space is seldom quiet-it's often abuzz with problem-solving discussions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Spaces that Spark Learning Pre-Workshop Video & Reflection

# data[].attributes.subject
Spaces that Spark Learning Pre-Workshop Video & Reflection

# data[].attributes.body
Reflection Question

As you watch, notice the invitations Sally (the educator) creates for children.
What stands out to you about the materials she has chosen and how they are presented?

Note:
In Reggio contexts, cross-pollination refers to how ideas and materials move between spaces or groups of children—allowing discoveries in one area to inspire new explorations in another.

Please share your reflections on Padlet by November 5.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Following a Child’s Interest in an Early Childhood Setting

# data[].attributes.body
Observe children at play and identify a schema or meaningful learning moment. Notice what the child is exploring and how you respond with supportive language — narrating, wondering, or connecting. Reflect on how your words influenced the child’s thinking or agency during play.

Sample Certificate Task II:

4 year old Ali is busy with spoons and pails of water. He picks up a spoon and begins stirring slowly, watching as the water swirls. He adds a few leaves and small pebbles from the sensory tray, stirring faster now to make them spin. He pauses, watches the water settle, and then starts again — faster, slower, back and forth — experimenting with the movement.

Ali appears to be exploring a rotation schema, fascinated by circular movement and how his actions cause changes in the water. He’s developing an understanding of cause and effect, motion, and control through sensory exploration.

Me:  “You’re discovering how your spoon makes the water move — that’s just like how wind can make waves or storms swirl in the ocean. You’re experimenting like a scientist, testing what happens when you change your speed.”(Connecting language)

Ali grins and begins stirring in patterns, saying, “I’m making a storm!”

My scientific vocabulary validated Ali’s sensory play as an intentional experimentation, showing growing agency as he tested ideas and expressed his discoveries with confidence.

# data[].attributes.headline
After reading “Listening to Play (Part 1): The Language We Use Reveals the Value We Give” by Paula Castanheira, use the Three Levels of Text thinking routine to guide your reflection:

# data[].attributes.subject
After reading “Listening to Play (Part 1): The Language We Use Reveals the Value We Give” by Paula Castanheira, use the Three Levels of Text thinking routine to guide your reflection:

# data[].attributes.body
Level 1: Select a sentence from the article that made you rethink play and language.
Level 2: How did it push or extend your thinking?
Level 3: What do you see as the implications for your own work with children?

Please share your reflections on Padlet by October 22.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Listening to Play (Part 1) The Language We Use Reveals the Learning We Value

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the enchanting realm of early childhood, play serves as a gateway to exploration, creativity, and pure joy. Every child’s journey through play is a tapestry woven with unique experiences and developmental milestones. Today at The Curiosity Approach® we embark on a captivating exploration of the 6 stages of play, an enlightening voyage that sheds light on the magic within each stage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The decline of play | Peter Gray | TEDxNavesink

# data[].attributes.headline
After reading The 100 Languages of Children by Loris Malaguzzi and The Little Boy by Helen E. Buckley, reflect using the Connect–Extend–Challenge thinking routine:

# data[].attributes.subject
After reading The 100 Languages of Children by Loris Malaguzzi and The Little Boy by Helen E. Buckley, reflect using the Connect–Extend–Challenge thinking routine:

# data[].attributes.body
Connect: What ideas or feelings from the poems connect with your own beliefs or experiences as an educator?

Extend: What new thinking or perspective did the poems give you about children and learning?

Challenge: What ideas or assumptions in your own practice do these poems challenge you to rethink?

(Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routine)

# data[].attributes.headline
After watching Peter Gray’s talk “The Decline of Play”, reflect on the following:

# data[].attributes.subject
After watching Peter Gray’s talk “The Decline of Play”, reflect on the following:

# data[].attributes.body
As you think about Gray’s message, what is one idea you agree with, one idea you might argue with, and one idea you aspire to act on or bring into your own practice?

(Three A's Protocol: Harvard Project Zero Thinking Routine).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Recently, I - along with the other members of ORIN (Oklahoma Reggio-Inspired Network) - had the pleasure of touring Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center. This is a Reggio-Inspired preschool in the Union Public School district. This school is beautiful inside and out. For the purpose of the ORIN meeting, the teachers had created nature-inspired provocations for the members to gain inspiration from. While visiting these beautiful invitations to play, I wanted to do just that-play. Unfortunately, I was there for business, not pleasure. If these provocations can provoke wonder and a desire to learn from a 36 year-old (yes, that's my real age), can you imagine what kind of joy and curiosity they would bring to a child?

This provocation featured wood cookies fitted with a pre-drilled small hole for hanging, pine cones, dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, corks, wire, wire cutters, woven balls, and other natural materials.

One of the finished creations.

This teacher created an invitation to mash-up and blend together natural materials.

Imagine the use of motor skills, color mixing, texture exploration...so many possibilities.

In this classroom, the class had gathered an abundance of natural materials for the members to create houses or other structures with.

Building platform supplies were stored on another table.

The table was overflowing with natural materials to create to your imagination's desire. I wanted to play so bad!

This classroom had also gathered an array of natural materials for creation of transient art.

I loved the addition of the berries.

This was an invitation to create nature prints in clay.

One of my favorite parts of the tour were the outdoor provocations. This one is an invitation to paint the landscape views.

Love the use of the muffin tin!

An invitation to paint and create with nature. The teachers explained that the students may use the nature materials as the tools for painting or as inspiration or to paint ON.

What a beautiful display of materials to paint, glue, cut and create!

Painting leaves. Notice the "paint brushes".

I was blown away by the creativity and the use of natural materials in these provocations.
How do you use nature in your classroom?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Nature Inspired Provocations - Rosa Parks ECEC

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Recently, I - along with the other members of ORIN (Oklahoma Reggio-Inspired Network) - had the pleasure of touring Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center. This is a Reggio-Inspired preschool in the Union Public School district. This school is beautiful inside and out.

# data[].attributes.body
Select one existing classroom activity and reimagine it as a child-led play experience. Offer it to your child(ren) and reflect briefly (no more than a paragraph) on how the shift influenced engagement, agency, and learning outcomes. Your reflection can be supported by videos or photographs.

Sample Certificate Task

Last week I showed my students how to trace leaves and paint them. I decided to offer the same materials again—real leaves, paint, and paper—but this time without giving specific instructions. I invited the children to “see what they notice and paint what they imagine.” Some began printing leaf shapes by pressing them onto paper, others mixed unexpected colours—yellow, green, red, even blue—saying things like, “This one looks shiny in the rain!” As they worked, new ideas began to emerge. A few children started collecting twigs and flowers to make their own patterns, while others noticed the veins on the leaves, calling out, “Look, it’s like a road!” or “Mine has tiny lines!”

By stepping back, I saw how the activity naturally shifted from a teacher-directed task to a student-initiated exploration. The children’s curiosity led the process—they became artists, observers, and young scientists, using language to describe, compare, and question, while connecting creativity with their own discoveries in nature.

# data[].attributes.body
Identify one small shift to nurture child-led play opportunities in your current learning environment. Reflect on how this shift in your teaching practice deepened children’s inquiry and ownership of learning.