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TK Teachers Community Circle: Playful Learning 

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TK Teachers Community Circle: Best Practices for Supporting Educators to Address Children's Behaviors That Challenge Adults

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TK Teachers Community Circle: Positive Classroom Culture and Developmentally Appropriate Learning Environment

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Shared TK Resources: TK Teacher Community Circle

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Shared TK Resources: TK Teacher Community Circle

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Shared TK Resources: EDCOE TK Teacher Community of Practice

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UPK Curriculum Guidance for Programs Serving 4-Year Old Children

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UPK Curriculum Guidance for Programs Serving 4-Year Old Children

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UPK Curriculum Guidance for Programs Serving 4-Year-Old Children

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Video: How Play Helps a Kid's Brain Grow

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Video: How Play Helps a Kid's Brain Grow

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How Play Helps a Kid’s Brain Grow | Jesse Ilhardt | TED

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You poked my heart! Adorable boy's reaction during argument - Daily Mail

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The Powerful Role of Play in Early Education

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The Powerful Role of Play in Early Education

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The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play

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The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play

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Ms. Elena's Head Start classroom is filled with eager 3- and 4-year-olds. It's center time, and the children have split into small groups. At one center, Ms. Elena has carefully selected play materials-including a barn, a chicken coop, and animal figurines-that reflect the story lines and specific vocabulary words from books she read aloud related to farm life as part of the class's storybook theme of the week. While Ms. Elena looks on, Sara, Javon, and Ashish arrive at the center and immediately pick up the toys. They each choose a figurine and begin playing. Sara says to Javon, "I'll be the cow!" Javon says, "Okay, then I'll be the chicken. I'm going to go sleep in the coop. The cow should go sleep in the barn." Ashish says, "Then I'll be the horse, and I'll go sleep in the barn too."

Together, the three children move their figurines to the coop and the barn while making mooing, clucking, and neighing sounds. Since coop was one of the week's focus words, Ms. Elena joins in the children's play, making sure that Sara and Ashish understand the word as well as Javon: "Sleeping in the coop sounds like a great idea, Javon! A coop is a house for chickens. Remember when we saw a coop on our field trip to Maple Farm? Javon, Sara, and Ashish, where do you think the chickens would live if we didn't have a coop on the farm?" Ashish says, "I think they live in the barn!" Then Sara says, "Yes, they live in the barn, because it's nice and warm inside there." Ms. Elena says, "That sounds like a really good place for the chickens to live if we didn't have a coop!"

At this point, Ms. Elena steps back and the children take up a new direction for the play. She continues to listen for ways to build on the children's interests and reinforce their weekly focus words during the session without interrupting their play.

Monkeys play. Dogs play. Rats play. Even octopuses play. And without any instruction, children of all races and genders, in all cultures of the world, invent and reinvent play in every generation. Something this ubiquitous must provide evolutionary advantages to both animals and humans. Decades of research suggest just that. In particular, free play and guided play-together known as playful learning-are pedagogical tools through which children can learn in joyful and conceptually rich ways, as is evident in the opening vignette. Brain science research in animals has left clues along a path that may begin to reveal play's human biological underpinnings, but more research is needed to investigate why play promotes learning and development.

From animal brains to children's behavior

Perhaps the most striking finding about play comes from research with animals in which play-specifically, rough and tumble play-has been shown to promote early brain development. When young rats play, their brains become primed to be more adaptable in later life (Pellis, Pellis, & Himmler 2014), especially with social skills and executive functions (e.g., attention, memory, and planning). Indeed, findings suggest that playful rats act more appropriately in social situations than rats that do not play (Burgdorf, Panksepp, & Moskal 2011). These findings offer a potential model of how play may help develop children's social functioning and brain architecture.

A growing body of behavioral research establishes relationships between children's play and development in several areas, including language (Toub et al. 2016), executive functions (Tominey & McClelland 2011), mathematics and spatial skills (Fisher et al. 2013), scientific thinking (Schulz & Bonawitz 2007), and social and emotional development (Dore, Smith, & Lillard 2015). One reason that play might be such a valuable pedagogical tool is that it features the precise contexts that facilitate learning. An amalgamated research field called the science of learning has identified four key ingredients of successful learning: learning occurs best when children are mentally active (not passive), engaged (not distracted), socially interactive (with peers or adults), and building meaningful connections to their lives (Hirsh-Pasek et al. 2015). These features are evident in Ms. Elena's classroom:

Javon is mentally active when he thinks about where he learned the name of the place where chickens sleep and then uses the word coop appropriately. Sara is engaged when she chooses to be the cow and moves in concert with Javon and Ashish instead of being distracted by other groups at play. Ms. Elena made the word coop more meaningful for the children by making a connection to when the children visited Maple Farm. Finally, the children were socially interactive when they built a play scenario that involved all three of them, with Ms. Elena joining in as a scaffolder.

These kinds of playful interactions between children and adults may be essential for creating the kind of supportive social environments necessary for healthy social and emotional development. Guided play in particular features this type of social interaction and has demonstrated promising outcomes for learning and development.

What is guided play?

Today, most researchers agree that play is fun, flexible, voluntary, and intrinsically motivated; it involves active engagement and often incorporates make-believe (Sutton-Smith 2001; Pellegrini 2009; Fisher et al. 2010; Lillard et al. 2013). Guided play maintains the joyful child-directed aspects of free play but adds an additional focus on learning goals through light adult scaffolding (Weisberg et al. 2016). It offers an opportunity for exploration in a context specifically designed to foster a learning goal. As such, it features two crucial elements: child agency (the child directs the learning) and gentle adult guidance to ensure that the child progresses toward the learning goal. Research suggests that guided play is a successful pedagogical tool for educators in a variety of areas (Weisberg et al. 2016). Here, we outline some examples of how guided play can work in the classroom to build specific language, mathematics, and spatial skills.

Guided play features child agency and gentle adult guidance toward the learning goal.

Language Development

Guided play is a model setting for language learning. For example, infusing vocabulary instruction in guided play fosters word learning for preschoolers, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds (Toub et al. 2016; Han et al. 2010). One study tested the effectiveness of word learning through guided play against a more teacher-directed learning activity (Toub et al. 2016). All children participated in shared book reading and then reviewed half of the vocabulary words through guided play and the other half through a picture card word-recall activity. The guided play resembled the learning taking place in the opening vignette. After play-based word learning, children defined the target words more readily than they did after picture card-based word learning.

Mathematics and spatial skills

Guided play is also effective for fostering spatial skills-important in and of themselves and also tied to later mathematics success (Verdine et al., forthcoming). For example, a study with preschoolers (Fisher et al. 2013) compared children's ability to learn about geometry and shapes through guided play, free play, and direct instruction. In the guided play condition, the adult followed the children's lead and scaffolded the interaction. Children learned more about geometry and shapes than those participating in either the direct instruction condition, where the children listened passively while the adult delivered the content in a fun way, or the free play condition, where children interacted with the shapes in whatever way they wished.

To envision how a similar effect might occur in the classroom, imagine a different center in Ms. Elena's room:

Pablo, Keisha, and Nari arrive at a table filled with tiles of different shapes. They all pick up pieces and begin snapping Magna-Tiles together. Nari says, "I'm going to build a tower! I can't get these pieces to fit." Ms. Elena is observing the children and chooses this moment to join in and say, "What shapes do you have, Nari?" Pablo says, "Nari has a square." "That's right, Pablo. Nari has a square. Nari, can you find another square?" Nari holds up a square. Ms. Elena says, "What makes that a square?" She pauses to let the children think about it, then continues, "It has four sides that are all the same length." She then says, "I wonder if it's possible to make a bigger square using the pieces you are holding up." Keisha says, "Hmmm ... I want to try!" The children look at each other and lay the pieces down-eventually discovering that by putting all four of the squares together, they create a larger square. Ms. Elena notices their discovery, and says, "Wow! You made a bigger square! It still has four sides, and all of the sides are the same length."

Ms. Elena wove the definition of a square into the children's play without taking over, but she also encouraged the children to push themselves to make an important discovery about the shape tiles. Guided play allows teachers to piggyback on children's joy and engagement to reinforce important skills.

Why does guided play work? Fledgling evidence from brain science

Guided play represents an enhanced discovery approach to learning that increases children's knowledge through opportunities to receive immediate, meaningful adult feedback (Alfieri et al. 2011). It is also an ideal example of an active, engaged, meaningful, and socially interactive learning context (Hirsh-Pasek et al. 2015). Consider, for instance, children playing with a shape sorter. The children discuss how to insert the shapes so that the sorter lights up. They keep inserting shapes and notice that sometimes the sorter lights up and sometimes it doesn't, but they can't figure out why. Their teacher joins in and makes some gentle guiding suggestions to help them by asking what the children have already tried and what they could try next. As children incorporate this feedback while continuing to experiment, they generate hypotheses and draw causal connections, becoming little scientists. Play helps children discover causal relationships through this type of informal experimentation (Schulz & Bonawitz 2007; Gopnik 2012). And light scaffolding, when needed, prevents frustration and enables the children to engage in longer periods of playful experimentation.

Adult-scaffolded play experiences might be particularly important because they help children develop what scientists call proactive control: neural mechanisms in the brain's prefrontal cortex that use clues from the environment to help the brain figure out what might happen next (Weisberg et al. 2014). Guided play might support the development of proactive control by fostering a mise en place -a term (derived from the culinary world meaning "everything in its place") suggested by the famed psychology professor Jerome Bruner (2013, personal communication with Brenna Hassinger-Das):

Think about preparing to make a pizza. You gather the dough, sauce, cheese, and toppings. You also get out the required tools: rolling pin, pizza stone, and pizza cutter. In this way, you have prepared yourself and your workspace for the task at hand.

Similarly, a psychological mise en place-a readiness to anticipate events and explore an activity (Weisberg et al. 2014)-helps children prepare their minds to embrace learning experiences in a positive way. Ms. Elena cultivated such a mise en place through her inclusion of farm-focused play activities. By preparing the play environment in service of her pedagogical goal-the children learning the focus words-Ms. Elena allowed children to work toward this goal in their own playful way. This type of gently scaffolded, playful learning fosters children's desire to seek out similar meaningful learning opportunities (Weisberg et al. 2014).

Guided play increases children's knowledge through immediate, meaningful adult feedback.

Imagine a different week in Ms. Elena's classroom. She sets up one center with a castle play set that mirrors a book read during that week's storybook theme of knights and dragons. The prepared play set encourages children's organic use of the theme's vocabulary words while playing-words like talons and nostrils. Ms. Elena can then draw attention to these words and help children make meaningful connections to them. This type of adult support during guided play may be the mechanism through which children's fledgling proactive control mechanisms emerge (Weisberg et al. 2014).

Using a prepared play environment to foster a mise en place-a readiness to anticipate events and explore an activity.

Looking Forward

The bottom line is that play is ubiquitous across species, and it likely has a significant role in many aspects of human development. Though behavioral research is still unfolding (Lillard et al. 2013; for a rebuttal, see Weisberg et al. 2013), evidence is mounting that guided play scaffolds young children's development and that it might prime critical neural mechanisms to make healthy adaptations (Weisberg et al. 2014). It also helps children develop an understanding of how the world works (Gopnik 2012). To deepen our understanding, research investigating play's biological foundation in children is urgently needed. This research could prove particularly important for developing interventions to assist children from vulnerable populations, such as those from low socioeconomic-status backgrounds, children with disabilities, or children experiencing stress or trauma.

As we await new discoveries from brain science, one finding is already clear: Play is a wonderful metaphor for active, engaged, meaningful, and socially interactive learning. And, as two of the authors of this piece described in their book, Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children, play also prepares children to become social, caring, thinking, and creative citizens (Golinkoff & Hirsh-Pasek 2016). In fact, many researchers and teachers now concur that the "child-driven educational methods sometimes referred to as 'playful learning' are the most positive means yet known to help young children's development" (Lillard et al. 2013, 28).

References

Alfieri, L., P.J. Brooks, N.J. Aldrich, & H.R. Tenenbaum. 2011. "Does Discovery-Based Instruction Enhance Learning?" Journal of Educational Psychology 103 (1): 1-18.

Burgdorf, J., J. Panksepp, & J.R. Moskal. 2011. "Frequency-Modulated 50 kHz Ultrasonic Vocalizations: A Tool for Uncovering the Molecular Substrates of Positive Affect." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 35 (9): 1831-36.

Dore, R.A., E.D. Smith, & A.S. Lillard. 2015. "How Is Theory of Mind Useful? Perhaps to Enable Social Pretend Play." Frontiers in Psychology 6. http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01559/full.

Fisher, K.R., K. Hirsh-Pasek, N. Newcombe, & R.M. Golinkoff. 2013. "Taking Shape: Supporting Preschoolers' Acquisition of Geometric Knowledge Through Guided Play." Child Development 84 (6): 1872-78.

Fisher, K.R., K. Hirsh-Pasek, R.M. Golinkoff, D.G. Singer, & L. Berk. 2010. "Playing Around in School: Implications for Learning and Educational Policy." In The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play, eds. P. Nathan & A. Pellegrini. New York: Oxford University Press.

Golinkoff, R.M., & K. Hirsh-Pasek. 2016. Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Gopnik, A. 2012. "Scientific Thinking in Young Children: Theoretical Advances, Empirical Research, and Policy Implications." Science 337 (6102): 1623-27.

Han, M., N. Moore, C. Vukelich, & M. Buell. 2010. "Does Play Make a Difference? How Play Intervention Affects the Vocabulary Learning of At-Risk Preschoolers." American Journal of Play 3 (1): 82-105.

Hirsh-Pasek, K., J.M. Zosh, R.M. Golinkoff, J.H. Gray, M.B. Robb, & J. Kaufman. 2015. "Putting Education in 'Educational' Apps: Lessons From the Science of Learning." Psychological Science in the Public Interest 16 (1): 3-34.

Lillard, A.S., M.D. Lerner, E.J. Hopkins, R.A. Dore, E.D. Smith, & C.M. Palmquist. 2013. "The Impact of Pretend Play on Children's Development: A Review of the Evidence." Psychological Bulletin 139 (1): 1-34.

Pellegrini, A.D. 2009. "Research and Policy on Children's Play." Child Development Perspectives 3 (2): 131-36.

Pellis, S.M., V.C. Pellis, & B.T. Himmler. 2014. "How Play Makes for a More Adaptable Brain: A Comparative and Neural Perspective." American Journal of Play 7 (1): 73-98. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1043959.pdf.

Schulz, L.E., & E.B. Bonawitz. 2007. "Serious Fun: Preschoolers Engage in More Exploratory Play When Evidence Is Confounded." Developmental Psychology 43 (4): 1045-50.

Sutton-Smith, B. 2001. The Ambiguity of Play. Rev. ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Tominey, S.L., & M.M. McClelland. 2011. "Red Light, Purple Light: Findings From a Randomized Trial Using Circle Tim e Games to Improve Behavioral Self-Regulation in Preschool." Early Education and Development 22 (3): 489-519.

Toub, T.S., B. Hassinger-Das, H. Ilgaz, D.S. Weisberg, K.T. Nesbitt, M.F. Collins, K. Hirsh-Pasek, R.M. Golinkoff, D.K. Dickinson, & A. Nicolopoulou. "The Language of Play: Developing Preschool Vocabulary Through Play Following Shared Book-Reading." Manuscript submitted for publication, 2016.

Verdine, B.N., R.M. Golinkoff, K. Hirsh-Pasek, & N.S. Newcombe. Forthcoming. "Spatial Thinking: Fundamental to School Readiness." Society for Research in Child Development Monograph series.

Weisberg, D.S., J.M. Zosh, K. Hirsh-Pasek, & R.M. Golinkoff. 2013. "Talking It Up: Play, Language Development, and the Role of Adult Support." American Journal of Play 6 (1): 39-54.

Weisberg, D.S., K. Hirsh-Pasek, R.M. Golinkoff, A.K. Kittredge, & D. Klahr. 2016. "Guided Play: Principles and Practices." Current Directions in Psychological Science 25 (3): 177-82.

Weisberg, D.S., K. Hirsh-Pasek, R.M. Golinkoff, & B.D. McCandliss. 2014. "Mise En Place: Setting the Stage for Thought and Action." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 18 (6): 276-78.

Photographs: 3, courtesy of Brenna Hassinger-Das; 1, 2, 4 © iStock

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The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story

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Free play and guided play-together known as playful learning-are pedagogical tools through which children can learn in joyful and conceptually rich ways.

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The mere presence of the word play in the teaching method known as play-based learning can alarm some parents of early childhood learners. Students, even our youngest students, should be "playing" at home. They come to school to learn, they might say.

That distinction-between "learning" and "play"-is a false one, according to early childhood educator and author Erika Christakis. Although kindergarten and elementary classrooms often devalue it in favor of direct instruction or seat time, play is the "defining feature" of all mammalian development, and its "signature" is apparent in the bodies and lives of little kids who experience it: "Their life expectancies are longer and their social-emotional capabilities are more robust when they have a chance to learn through play and deep relationships, and when their developing brains are given the chance to grow in a nurturing, language-rich, and relatively unhurried environment," Christakis told Edutopia in a 2019 interview.

Children aren't miniature adults. Nonetheless, a bias toward adult perspectives of childhood, with its attendant schedules and routines, has gradually exerted a stranglehold on our educational system, Christakis continues, trapping young kids in educational spaces that too often feel dreary, joyless, and alienating. "The notion that there is something of value in being a little kid-with little kid desires and, above all, needs-seems to have fallen out of favor."

Breaking the Cycle

Despite the clear benefits of play, setting aside the time for even the youngest students can seem out of step with the academic demands of the school day. Early childhood teachers are pressured to meet strict seat-time guidelines in their classrooms, and they often feel that direct instruction is the best method to achieve the many curricular objectives that parents, principals, and other leaders expect.

According to a new study, there's a middle path. A group of researchers from the University of Cambridge analyzed decades of research on "guided play"-more commonly called play-based learning-and concluded that it can have a "greater positive effect" on the acquisition of skills like math, shape knowledge, and task switching than more traditional approaches that prioritize seat time and explicit instruction.

"In redefining play as a spectrum with varying degrees of child autonomy and adult guidance, guided play has been situated as a 'middle-ground' between free play and direct instruction," the researchers concluded. The learning is inherently rich and meaningful because "play naturally cultivates their enjoyment, motivation, and agency; while the inclusion of guidance by a supportive adult extends the scope for learning beyond what the child might achieve on their own."

Incorporating key elements of play-like wonder, exploration, and student agency-into loosely structured lessons that are gently supported by teachers provides an "optimal" approach for students, according to the researchers. For Christakis, this means that play-based learning experiences should provide students with a "steady diet of free, unstructured time and access to open-ended materials" that allow them to engage in "rambling" storytelling and provide plenty of time to just "mess around and make their own rules."

Play, With an Objective in Mind

In a successful play-based learning class, teachers often have a clear "learning goal" behind the play they let students engage in ahead of time, according to the Cambridge study. A teacher should keep this goal in mind during the play and subtly guide the child toward the goal.

Don't pull the strings too tight: According to primary teacher Maggie Sabin, teachers shouldn't necessarily expect students to produce specific outputs. For example, to teach students how colors can be mixed to form new colors, you might avoid giving students instructions to mix specific colors and instead model one example and then allow them to make their own combinations. "Be well prepared and intentional in planning, but allow for flexibility and inspiration," writes Sabin.

One way to make sure that students are playing with purpose is to structure your classroom with deliberate spaces or centers containing materials, games, or objects intentionally chosen for students to engage with and make sense of.

An area in Sabin's classroom, for example, contains a "tinker tray" of items that might seem random but are related to lessons or units she is using direct instruction to guide students through. During a unit on nature and natural materials, for example, the tray is stocked with items like pebbles, leaves, or sticks that students can both practice naming and manipulating. The materials can also be used to practice early math skills through the course of play by simply asking students how many pebbles they have or how many pebbles they have left after giving some to a friend.

Providing Choice and Agency

Effective play-based learning should be child-led when possible and give students "freedom and choice over their actions and play behavior," the researchers assert. However, their findings suggest that the level of autonomy being given to students in play-based learning scenarios is often less than the amount needed to "cultivate children's agency, motivation, and curiosity."

To foster that agency, New Hampshire kindergarten teacher Jessica Arrow often starts the day by allowing students 30 to 45 minutes of "choice time" to explore various spaces in the classroom-a block center, math center, science center, art center, book nook, or dramatic play corner.

The items they encounter are related to previous lessons and the interests her students have expressed. For example, after reading the children's book Miss Maple's Seeds, Arrow said, her students became fascinated by the author's process of creating the book from her imagination. As a result, Arrow's art center included materials for students to create stories of their own and to practice speaking, listening, and writing standards in the process.

Arrow writes that their bookmaking interests eventually carried over into other areas of learning. For example, one student created a number book. After Arrow shared it with the class, number books became popular, and her students were referencing number grids and creating their own number books that helped them count and identify large numbers in the process.

"Once my students had experienced play-based learning, they were more focused, motivated, and purposeful," writes Arrow. "Most important, they were happier. Bringing play-based learning to my classroom created balance, deepened our learning, and defined our classroom community as a place where we could learn and grow together."

When to Step In

As children play, teachers should be observing closely to gather insights about the way students are learning and use open-ended questions, hints, and prompts to gently nudge students and encourage deeper thinking. You might step in "when a child appears to find an activity too difficult or too easy" so that you "can help them learn beyond what might be possible in independent play," the researchers say.

For example, when children are playing with blocks, open-ended questions can be posed to encourage problem-solving, prediction, and hypothesizing, according to veteran teacher and curriculum manager for Edmentum Winnie O'Leary. A teacher can bring awareness to math standards by asking students low-stakes questions such as "I wonder how tall this tower can get?" or "I wonder how many blocks you need to make that tower as tall as your friend's?"

Simple questions can also encourage practice recalling information and identifying shapes, objects, or colors, according to O'Leary. During a game of Go Fish, for example, you can ask, "Hey, who had the number 4 in the last round?" Or during a game of Uno you might ask, "Hmm, what color card do you need to add to the center deck?" Games involving strategy-like checkers or tic-tac-toe-are great to get students thinking critically about their objectives and how to adjust them based on what is happening during the game. Try questions like "I wonder what move you could have made to win?"

Use these strategies wisely, though, the researchers caution. In the end, hints and questions should not feel like directives.

Christakis agrees, telling Edutopia that she often coaches teachers to stay away from "checking questions" such as "What color is the apple?" or "What are you drawing?" Instead, she says, teachers should ask questions like "Tell me about your drawing."

"The open-ended response really opens up a huge space for spontaneous and deep learning," Christakis says.

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For Young Kids, The Power of Play-Based Learning

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New research shows play-based learning can be more effective than direct instruction at improving outcomes for early learners-particularly in the development of mathematical and spatial skills.

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Facilitating Learning Through Imaginative Play

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Facilitating Learning Through Imaginative Play

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How Imaginative Play Relates to Integrated Studies

It's simpler than you might think to incorporate integrated studies into the imaginative play that naturally occurs in your classroom. Truly, any skill or concept you have taught and would like your children to practice can be introduced through imaginative play. Some common subjects that can easily be introduced are literacy, mathematics, and engineering.

Literacy skills are organically fostered in imaginative play as children communicate with each other and build coherent stories to act out. To practice their phonics or handwriting skills, for example, you can turn your imaginative play corner into a restaurant where children need to create a sign for the restaurant and menus to give to their customers.

Keeping with the restaurant theme, children can practice their mathematical skills by figuring out how many plates, cups, forks, and spoons their guests will need. They can add prices to the menu and practice their addition and subtraction skills when settling the bill at the end of the meal. Finally, the children can employ their engineering skills to construct their restaurant using cardboard boxes or other recycled building material.

This is just one example of one period of play that utilizes skills from several subjects. The possibilities to incorporate integrated studies into imaginative play are quite honestly endless.

Enhance Imaginative Play to Support Learning

As a teacher, your role in play is an important one. You also have a part to play in your students' cocreated dramas. Each role you adopt when it comes to play serves an important function. For the purpose of enhancing imaginative play to support integrated studies, let's look at the roles of stage manager and play leader.

As a stage manager, you're not taking part in the play itself; you're setting the stage for meaningful play to happen. In this role, you can add materials and props to the imaginative play area that will help support the skills you want your students to learn.

For example, if you'd like your children to use mathematical, scientific, and engineering skills, you can turn your play area into the story "The Three Little Pigs." You can provide materials like costumes for the children to play the parts of the pigs or wolf and construction materials such as sticks, straw, stones or blocks, twine, and glue or tape. You then prompt the students to build a house out of each material to see if it can withstand the blow of the "big bad wolf" (you can use a hair dryer). This activity will test their engineering and reasoning skills, fine motor skills, scientific hypotheses, and much more.

As the play leader, you're taking more of a hands-on approach to the play happening in your classroom. You can adopt this role if you notice that your students have trouble initiating or maintaining play, or if you want them to practice certain skills. To do this, assert yourself in the play and come up with situations, plot twists, or obstacles for your students to overcome.

For instance, say your students are playing family, which they do frequently, and you want to add a bit of learning to their play. Maybe you want them to use certain vocabulary about parts of the body that you want them to remember, or you want them to practice their writing skills. You can insert yourself and give them the prompt of "Oh no, it looks like the baby is feeling sick and has a fever. What can Mommy and Daddy do?" This will likely lead to a doctor's visit where they can use the vocabulary you've taught them and practice their writing by giving the parents a prescription.

Assessing Imaginative Play

If we create situations where our students can demonstrate or practice what they've learned through our teaching, we can use imaginative play as evidence of their learning. Knowing which skills to assess during play depends on your school's standards or learning objectives. However, gathering evidence of this can easily be done.

The most useful evidence-gathering tool is documentation. Hard evidence such as photos, videos, or direct quotes helps to determine where your students are in terms of learning and will help you to build lessons around the skills that need additional support.

Observation is also a great tool for gathering accurate assessment evidence. When observing students, it's useful to have a pen and notebook handy to jot down any skills you see in practice. Creating a simple observation document is a great way to make certain you're keeping track of which subjects and skills you're assessing and which students you've observed.

Helpful Resources

If you're ready to make a change in how imaginative play is used in your classroom, there are some great books that can ignite your students' imaginations, such as Not a Box, It Looked Like Spilt Milk, What to Do With a Box, and Where the Wild Things Are. You can use these books as mentor texts or provocations for a specific lesson or skill you're teaching. For example, if you want to bring STEM into your classroom and teach the skills that math and engineering require, you can read Not a Box and then send your students off to the imaginative play area that just happens to be filled with boxes of different shapes and sizes.

To help you better understand why play is so important to learning at any age, the book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart M. Brown, is a great starting point. Brown discusses how play is an important skill that all mammals possess that allows us to learn and grow, no matter our age.

Another great resource and a go-to for everything play-related is the Institute of Play, where you can access resources, videos, learning games, and an active blog.

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Facilitating Learning Through Imaginative Play

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It's simpler than you might think to incorporate integrated studies into the imaginative play that naturally occurs in your classroom. Truly, any skill or concept you have taught and would like your children to practice can be introduced through imaginative play. Some common subjects that can easily be introduced are literacy, mathematics, and engineering.

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Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.

A few years ago, I began shifting to a play-based approach in my kindergarten classroom. Research extolled the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional benefits of play and called to mind Friedrich Froebel's vision of kindergarten as a place where play and learning go hand in hand.

As I made small changes in my classroom, I began to understand that play is a primary and integral mode through which children make sense of the world, and that it is essential to their development and well-being. In addition, it supports skills like collaboration, communication, and creativity. Offering play can feel challenging when mandated programs and standardized tests are requirements of many school districts, but play-based learning is an effective practice for deepening understanding and engaging children. The key is finding a balance between academic expectations and the developmental needs of young students.

Offer Time, Space, and Materials

As I studied children's play, I saw that their bodies and minds were most engaged and focused when they were offered time, space, and meaningful materials to make sense of what they were learning. Teacher-directed activities and transitions are no substitutes for opportunities for exploration, creativity, and socialization.

Using a "choice time" structure like the one outlined in Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2 affords children opportunities to learn playfully. Making time for play early in the day optimizes learning and helps to balance a classroom schedule. My students have a 30-minute choice time within our literacy block each morning in addition to a 45-minute choice time at the end of the day.

The classroom environment is designed to engage their minds, meet their sensory needs, and offer practice with academic content. Our classroom includes a block center, math center, science center, book nook, dramatic play corner, sensory table, felt board, and art center. Many of the materials in each center can be integrated into more than one center.

With thoughtfully designed centers, children flow from one activity to the next with a sense of purpose. The art center is a place where children can construct all sorts of creations. Pine cones, tree bark, and other natural treasures are piled into the science center with an old overhead projector for light study. Cuisenaire rods, pattern blocks, and counting grids encourage geometric design at the math center. The block center is where children's imaginative worlds come to life.

Creativity and invention stem from some of the simplest materials, and having access to these materials can make the difference in a child's ability to learn.

Other materials are introduced to expand thinking on a certain topic or theme. For example, later in the spring, the sensory table will be filled with soil and the students will begin a scientific study of worms that will eventually lead the students outdoors to the garden.

Use Play to Inform Teaching

I had an initial hesitation surrounding play-based learning because I worried that it would impact my ability to teach district-mandated programs or address required academic standards and assessments. But observing young students as they played gave me new insight on the ways they think and learn. I was able to use that knowledge and address their individual needs more effectively.

Children were more motivated to explore academic standards within their play because it was meaningful to them. After reading Miss Maple's Seeds last fall, the children became fascinated by the knowledge that Eliza Wheeler had created the pictures and story from her imagination. They grew curious about how the book was made. After discussing the book-making process in our circle, a child exclaimed, "We can make books, too!" A few minutes later, a group of children set off to the art center to create books of their own.

The collaborative work of story writing incorporates speaking, listening, and writing standards. Book making has since become a favorite activity, carrying over into other areas of learning.

This winter, a child made a number book and brought it to our math circle to share with the class. Number books quickly became the rage, with each one a little different from the next. One child began a book about groups of 10. A friend offered support by popping up from the table to reference the number grid on the wall. They soon reached 200.

Given time, space, and materials, these children were able to explore mathematical concepts at their ability level while also contributing to other children's understanding. Educational consultant Mike Anderson describes this kind of "self-differentiation" as the place in which learning is "most effective" and "enjoyable"-in other words, their zone of proximal development.

Understand Child Development

Understanding how play supports learning means understanding how children learn. Just as a tree's roots form a foundation on which the tree can thrive, our teaching must have roots in child development in order for children to thrive.

Once my students had experienced play-based learning, they were more focused, motivated, and purposeful. Most important, they were happier. Bringing play-based learning to my classroom created balance, deepened our learning, and defined our classroom community as a place where we could learn and grow together.

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Play-based learning helps engage elementary students in their education and has cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits.

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Copy of Copy of What I'm Learning-UPK Logo Only.pdf

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Daily access to high-quality outdoor spaces is a human right that has compounding benefits. The long-term physical, social-emotional, and cognitive benefits of daily interactions with nature are clear, especially for young children. Outdoor play is linked to more physical activity, cooperation, and a lifelong connection to nature. As health officials recommend more time outdoors to slow the spread of COVID-19, outdoor learning strategies are needed more urgently than ever. As states decide how to spend new federal funding, now is the time to invest in high-quality outdoor learning environments across early learning settings to ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive outside.

Join New America's Early & Elementary Education Policy program and the National Wildlife Federation's Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) program for a webinar highlighting opportunities to build outdoor learning opportunities that help young children thrive, especially children who may lack access to safe parks, nearby nature, or free time with family. This webinar builds on New America's earlier event, Reimagining Early Care and Education: A New American Vision, by presenting high-quality outdoor play and learning as a critical part of a bold, post-pandemic agenda for a strong early care and education system that prioritizes equity and embraces whole-child approaches.

We will examine why investing in and supporting quality outdoor learning in early care and education should be a priority and explore how to make it a reality for all young children. This webinar will feature research supporting outdoor learning as a health equity strategy, success stories from practitioners in urban and rural settings, and policy levers at the federal and state levels for improving the quality of outdoor learning across early learning settings.

Follow the conversation online using #ThriveOutside and following @NewAmericaEd and @NWF.

Registration is free and open to all.

Agenda
Welcoming

Cara Sklar, Deputy Director Early & Elementary Education Policy, New America

Kathleen Belk Doffermyre, Senior Program Officer, The George B. Storer Foundation

Opening Remarks
Mustafa Santiago Ali, Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization, National Wildlife Federation
Research Presentation
Sarah Konradi, Program Director, Early Childhood Health Outdoors
Practitioner Panel

Anupama Joshi, Executive Director, Blue Sky Funders Forum (moderator)

Debbie Gray, Quality and Technical Assistance Program Manager, Colorado Office of Early Childhood

Katie Krause, Nebraska Extension Educator, The Learning Child

Kim Shaw, Owner, A Safe Place Child Enrichment Center, Raleigh, NC

Policy Panel

Jennifer Zuckerman, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Duke World Food Policy Center (moderator)

Amanda Bryans, Director Research Analysis and Communication, Office of Early Childhood Development, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Kim Kofron, Director of Early Childhood Education, Children at Risk

Aliza Yair, Outdoor Preschool Pilot Program Specialist, Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families

Call to Action

Brian Kurzel, Regional Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Regional Center, National Wildlife Federation

Lynette Fraga, CEO, Child Care Aware of America

Closing Remarks
This event is made possible by the generous support of the George B. Storer Foundation.

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Daily access to high-quality outdoor spaces is a human right that has compounding benefits. The long-term physical, social-emotional, and cognitive benefits of daily interactions with nature are clear, especially for young children. Outdoor play is linked to more physical activity, cooperation, and a lifelong connection to nature.

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The California Preschool Learning Foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments that research has shown to promote early learning and development. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

The foundations were developed using an inclusive and deliberative input process, including statewide stakeholder meetings, public input sessions held throughout the state, public hearings, and public comment. Input from the various review opportunities was considered and incorporated as appropriate.

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

On January 22, 2008, the California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume (PDF; 5MB) . Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell stated that these foundations offer our early childhood educators a clear understanding of what our youngest learners should know before entering kindergarten.

Volume 1 of the California Preschool Learning Foundations focuses on the domains of social-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development, and mathematics. They provide a comprehensive understanding of what children learn in these four domains.

In an effort to partner with parents in the education of their preschool children, key sections of the publication are available and have been translated to support parents' understanding of the preschool learning foundations, their purpose, and what they describe as the knowledge and skills that children typically attain at 48 and 60 months of age. The translations include traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Pilipino (Tagalog), Spanish, and Vietnamese, and are based on the prevalent non-English languages spoken by parents of preschool children in California.

Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
Available Translations of the Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

Appendix to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 (DOC)
Available Translations of the Appendix to the Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001681) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 1 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2 covers the skills and knowledge that children attain at around 36 months and 48 months in the domain areas of visual and performing arts, physical development, and health.

Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
Available Translations of the Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

Appendixes to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001708) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 2 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3 covers the skills and knowledge that children attain at around 36 months and 48 months in the domain areas of history-social science and science.

Foreword by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
Available Translations of the Foreword by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

Appendix A to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3
Available Translations of Appendix A to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001727) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 3 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

Additional Resources

Further information about the Preschool Learning Foundations is provided in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document clarifying key issues for early childhood educators, administrators, and stakeholders. For information about some professional development opportunities, please refer to the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN) .
Return to Publications
Last Reviewed: Thursday, February 23, 2023

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The foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments that research has shown to promote early learning and development.

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The California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), which describe the learning and development of most children ages three to five and a half in high-quality early education programs. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

The California Preschool Curriculum Frameworks present strategies for early childhood educators that enrich learning and development opportunities for all California preschool children. These strategies are still applicable for the PTKLF.

Find information on each of the PTKLF domains from below.

PTKLF Domains

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The California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), which describe the learning and development of most children ages three to five and a half in high-quality early education programs. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), which describe the learning and development of most children ages three to five and a half in high-quality early education programs. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

The California Preschool Curriculum Frameworks present strategies for early childhood educators that enrich learning and development opportunities for all California preschool children. These strategies are still applicable for the PTKLF.

Find information on each of the PTKLF domains from below.

PTKLF Domains

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), which describe the learning and development of most children ages three to five and a half in high-quality early education programs. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

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Social and Emotional Skill Progression in Preschool

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Social and Emotional Skill Progression in Preschool

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Early Childhood Education

Like cognitive development, kids' social and emotional skill development has a typical trajectory that teachers can track and guide.

Providing preschool students with lessons in social and emotional learning (SEL) is just as important as introducing them to the alphabet and basic numeracy skills.

In SEL from the Start, Sara Rimm-Kaufman is clear that "social-emotional skills can have valuable payoffs in academics and life beyond the classroom" and that the time to start building SEL is when kids are very young. This was the mantra of Myrna Shure and George Spivack half a century ago when their I Can Problem Solve (ICPS) program was introduced to preschoolers.

Despite the long history of work in this area, I still hear some uncertainty among teachers about what kinds of SEL skills we might reasonably expect from preschoolers and how to set up classrooms to activate these skills.

Recognizing that children will enter preschool at various levels of SEL skills, we can expect them to move toward mastery by the time they enter kindergarten. For this to happen, they will benefit from frequent reminders to use their skills and some help with breaking them down into a series of steps for learning purposes.

Drawing from ICPS and other SEL efforts directed at preschool students, here is a brief, practical guide to SEL and young children.

4 Key SEL Skills for Preschool Students

1. They should know how to operate in a classroom. That means they are eager to participate and help out in class. They pay attention to the overt nonverbal cues of peers and adults, listen carefully to what classmates and adults say, cooperate in groups (taking turns, asking for and giving help), and follow directions. They should adhere to norms about safety, health, and appearance (including being willing to be cleaned up; avoiding electrical outlets, fan blades, and similar dangers; and avoiding putting inappropriate things in their mouths).

2. They should master basic emotions. Preschoolers should show at least some concern for the distress of others even though they may be reluctant to help out without adult prompting or guidance. They should share in the joy of others. They should recognize and label the following emotions in themselves, in others, and in pictures: sadness, anger, happiness, fear, surprise, upset, worry, and pride.

When children entering kindergarten have a hard time identifying aspects of themselves or their actions about which they are proud, that is a warning sign that should lead to a conversation with caregivers and perhaps school mental health professionals.

3. They should have a conversational vocabulary around key social situations. Young children need to be helped to find the words for common situations they will find themselves in. These include using words when they want something or are frustrated, asking for help, helping others, thanking or in other ways showing gratitude, showing concern, and talking about accomplishments.

4. They should start practicing key concepts for social and emotional literacy. When Grover, on Sesame Street, talks to kids about near and far, he is taking a page out of Myrna Shure's ICPS playbook. She and George Spivack identified key word "pairs" that are the foundations of human relationships and problem-solving. These create brain architecture and executive functioning so that children can understand the world around them. In addition to talking about near and far, help preschoolers understand these concepts by using these words often:

Is/is not

Same/different

Can/cannot, may/may not (indicating permission)

And/or/else

Some/all

Before/after/next

If/then

Setting up preschool Classrooms To Support a Positive Social and Emotional Climate

Preschoolers in particular feel great comfort and support from explicit classroom routines. These routines help with if/then, may/may not, before/after/next, and many other SEL-related competencies. Routines for entering the classroom, getting into circle time, preparing for meals and snacks, cleaning up, and getting ready for outdoor activities and dismissal are essential; having songs as part of these routines facilitates memory (for teachers and parents as well!). Other ways to help students feel comfortable and provide opportunities to exercise their young SEL muscles in their classroom environments include the following:

Having clear, visibly posted classroom and school rules that include expectations for positive behavior, respecting classmates and adults

Providing opportunities for all children to regularly make contributions to the routines and maintenance of the classroom

Providing frequent teacher redirection as an alternative to verbal reprimands

Creating vehicles for positive recognition and acknowledgment of the strengths of all children

Experiencing laughter, joy, fun, and a sense of wonder, and showing curiosity about how and why things happen around them in school, the community, the world

Celebrating holidays and family customs and respecting those of others

Participating in community events so that children learn a sense that they matter and can make a difference in the world (e.g., recycling, sharing, helping others)

In addition, it's valuable to regularly include brief activities that explicitly stimulate the social-emotional-cognitive architecture noted earlier. For example, teachers can use picture naming and rhyming in formats like the Simon Says game to teach students the concepts of same, all, some, and is/is not. Or you can use alliteration to teach careful listening (e.g., differentiating cat from cot or rat; knowing the similarity of book, bag, and ball). The skills these activities emphasize are the building blocks of good problem-solving and decision-making.

Here is one of my favorites, from the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) SELect Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program: "I am going to say some words. I want you to clap when you hear the word cat (or, clap when you hear a word that rhymes with-sounds the same as- cat, or that is not cat): Cat-Bat-Car-Flat-Cat-Cat-Cup-Mat-Car-Cat."

Kids love these games, and it's rewarding to watch them get better over time with your guidance.

As you can see, preschoolers already have SEL skills. It's our job to provide reminders, guidance, and supportive conditions that will allow their skills to grow.

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Social and Emotional Skill Progression in Preschool

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Like cognitive development, kids' social and emotional skill development has a typical trajectory that teachers can track and guide.

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What to Do About Increasing Dysregulation in the Early Grades

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What to Do About Increasing Dysregulation in the Early Grades

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Teaching our youngest students has never been easy, but the last few years have been a particular challenge. Sidelined and homebound during the pandemic, many young children-deprived of the benefits of steady and formative day care and preschool learning-arrived at school dysregulated, off-task and distracted, and often downright defiant.

"Kids' behaviors are bigger, more intense, more disruptive than ever before," says Lety Valero, a former teacher and school administrator who now regularly presents at the ASCD and NAEYC annual conferences and travels the country training teachers as a master instructor of Conscious Discipline, a company that provides classroom management training. "And what I'm seeing is a lot of desperation among teachers. They're exhausted."

The research on student behavior, of course, bears this out: A 2023 survey by EAB, an education consulting firm, found that 84 percent of educators reported that students are "developmentally behind in self-regulation and relationship building." Meanwhile, according to a National Center for Education Statistics survey last year, nearly 80 percent of elementary school educators reported needing more support to handle student and staff mental health, and over 70 percent said that staff need more training to adequately support students' social and emotional development.

We sat down with Valero to get her take on what's unfolding in elementary classrooms across the country and what can be done to right the ship.

Sarah Gonser: When you describe kids' behaviors as "bigger and more intense" right now, what do you mean-can you describe what's happening in classrooms?

Lety Valero: Some of the behaviors that teachers talk about-and I've seen them-are children running around the room, children hitting one another, children having a window of tolerance so small that anything throws them off. I walked into a classroom recently and a child was having a meltdown. He saw me coming in, and he took off his shoes and threw them at me.

It's very intense behavior from children who are completely dysregulated-and the teachers often don't know how to respond, so they sometimes react in ways that model the exact behavior they're trying to eliminate.

Valero: When a child is out of control, teachers are becoming dysregulated themselves, and then they're asking the child with words to calm down, as opposed to calming themselves down first so the child is able to achieve calm.

No child is ever going to calm down because we say, "Calm down, calm down, calm down!" A child may achieve that composure in the presence of a regulated adult. Without this modeling, a dysregulated child eventually becomes a dysregulated adult; it just escalates the behavior and everybody loses.

Valero: Well, the first year of their lives, they were surrounded by stress-adults trapped at home living in a survival state with no predictability, worried about being able to put food on the table.

These children were born into that situation, which is the opposite of what they need for optimal learning. For optimal learning, children need an environment where there's plenty of challenge, but stress is low. But what were they surrounded by? High stress and high challenge.

Then the kids went back to school and the standards were the same, the expectations were the same-but their skills were not the same.

Valero: I'm really showing and offering empathy to teachers; they need to be validated for what they are experiencing. And I try to focus on what they're doing-they're showing up, they haven't given up-and not what they're not doing.

And then I present the idea that if we want children to behave differently, we have to go back to the basics, back to what we know about the brain and how the brain works, focusing on creating classrooms based on safety, connection, and problem-solving. Children have got to be in an environment that's safe enough so that they're regulated and connected to their teachers and to their peers. They have to know that here I belong, I matter, I am supported when I make a mistake, and people want to see me be successful. If we have that environment, then we can teach children new behaviors.

So, children do need to know math and how to read and write, but we can't forget that we're raising human beings and we are all responsible for it.

A child, for instance, who pushes a classmate-that's the best moment for me to teach both children. The one who pushed needs to think about how they want to be treated; and the child who got pushed needs to learn to speak up and say, "Hey, be more careful. I don't like it when you push me. Next time walk around." And then you teach the child who pushed: Next time you're going to say, "Excuse me."

Through this conflict, I've now planted the seed that when you're not treated well, you set a boundary and tell people how you expect to be treated, and I can teach the other child a better way to treat people. We need to teach students these social-emotional skills that are essential for the rest of their lives. I think we sometimes fail because what traditional discipline typically does is just tell the child what they're doing wrong.

What rituals like this really promote is a sense of family, a sense of togetherness. And without that, we're not going to see the changes that we're hoping to see.

And that's something that I model when I'm teaching a workshop-like today, at the end of the day, I asked them, "How many breaths did we take today? Today we took six sets of three breaths." So doing that consciously-teaching and modeling for children how to breathe.

Children go to the safe place, take a breath, then use a "feeling buddies" doll to name and manage their feelings. They take a breath with the feeling and then calm the feeling down by saying, "You got this. You can do this. You wanted a turn at the computer and you didn't get it, and that was hard."

The feeling buddy is a doll in the shape of a gingerbread person, and they have different expressions. Sometimes teachers have the resources to incorporate the dolls into their practice and sometimes they don't. So instead, it can be a Popsicle stick with a cardboard face that shows different feeling faces.

Why do they do this work with a feelings doll? Because they can't do it by themselves. Their brain isn't mature enough to say, "I wanted a turn and I'm just feeling angry." But when they pick, for instance, the angry doll, they say, "Your eyes look like this, your mouth looks like this, you seem angry. Breathe." They're regulating themselves: The moment I feel this way, I can choose steps to manage these feelings and calm myself.

Gonser: Giving kids space to calm down in a classroom safe place, as you call it, or a peace corner -that's something we're hearing about more and more in recent years.

Valero: Right, and what did we used to do? You got a time-out-go think about what you did. Well, the child has no metacognition, so they have no ability to think about what they did, especially the younger ones. So what do they do? They sit there and do nothing. They go, "La la la la la." I mean, that's all they can do.

When you have resources like a safe place, it's creating those pathways for self-regulation for the rest of their lives.

So I suggest that teachers create visuals-by taking pictures of the kids, of their real classroom, or by making drawings with stick figures-that show kids precisely what their day is going to look like. You can use a clothespin to mark where you are in the school day.

Many children come from stressful environments, and they have a very hard time picking up patterns. These are the children who will ask in February, "Are we going to eat lunch today?" And you're thinking, "We've had lunch every single day." Well, they haven't picked up the pattern. They may be coming from homes where they had very little control and didn't know what would happen next-these kids don't like surprises, and they won't be very tolerant of a change in the schedule.

Having visuals in place and setting up that predictable structure right from the beginning is essential.

And then when the going gets tough, when things are not working and feel disorganized, go back to: Am I solving the needs of their survival state? Am I soothing the needs of their emotional and executive state? Am I a safe and composed adult? Do I communicate to my children that they're safe in my presence? Do I have visuals that tell children what to do? If any of that is missing, go back to that.

Then: Do children feel loved? If they're acting out, do they feel like they matter? If they're having behaviors that say, "See me, see me, see me," then it might mean that they don't feel connected. Do they feel seen today? Is there a true sense of belonging? Am I encouraging children? Do I offer them empathy?

And if any of those components are missing, then we go back and teach the missing skills. And with that, we're good to go.

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What to Do About Increasing Dysregulation in the Early Grades

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Conflict at school is a normal part of learning how to interact with others-and early-grade teachers have always had to manage misbehavior in class. But not at the levels they're seeing now.

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A Daily Practice That Students Can Use for Sel-Regulation

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A Daily Practice That Students Can Use for Sel-Regulation

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Social & Emotional Learning (SEL)

Knowing what makes them feel grounded can help students-and teachers-regain their calm during times of extreme stress.

The first few weeks and months of a new school year provide a great time for us to delve into the sensations, feelings, and thoughts that lie underneath the challenging and often dysregulated behaviors we observe in our students. When we search underneath behaviors, we discover the root of the pain and discomfort, along with the defensive and protective nervous system states that can show up as defiant, oppositional, disrespectful, or apathetic.

Our brains and bodies are always reacting to our environments, relationships, and experiences. It's normal for our nervous system states to change throughout the hours, days, or weeks, but when we get stuck in nervous system states of anger, anxiety, or heavy sadness, our behaviors are often misunderstood. Underneath those behaviors, our students are moving into survival and protective states because they often do not feel emotionally safe and connected.

Unless our students can find ways to ground themselves with feelings of safety and belonging, they cannot learn, focus, problem-solve, reason, or regulate their emotions. One way to help students tap into these positive feelings is to teach them about anchors, or practices that they can access during challenging times to feel more grounded. It's most helpful if these practices can be integrated into daily procedures, routines, and transitions. The following activities will help students and teachers find their personal anchors.

How Anchors Work

Anchors hold a boat in place, so it doesn't float or drift away. With an anchor, the boat can still move around in the water, floating with the waves, but it's held with a gentle force that grounds the boat and keeps it safe. The boat is connected to the anchor for stability and the flexibility to move and float. In this activity, we will select the people, places, experiences, and things that feel steady to us. These are our anchors. Identifying our anchors will help us to prepare for moments in school or at home, when we feel so overwhelmed or so stressed that we cannot think clearly.

Our anchors sometimes change as we meet new friends, encounter a variety of experiences, and learn how to adjust to challenging situations, so this list will grow and change, as some of the anchors we identify today may not be our anchors next month or next year.

Some of our anchors help us in school and can be quick practices that we do in less than a minute to feel a sense of steadiness. Other anchors are practices we can integrate at home when we have more time and freedom. These anchors help our nervous systems find safety and connection throughout our days and evenings. They can help us find a deeper breath and create some time and space for us to discover a bit of relief when we are scared, tight, tense, worried, or upset.

Identifying Our Anchors

On large sheets of paper or in our journals, students-and teachers-can draw or write out their anchors. Some students may want to verbally record their anchors in a recording that we can save on our learning management system. Other students may need another student or adult to write out their anchors as they orally share their anchors.

Ask them: What people anchor you? Who do you trust and connect with easily? These could be family, friends, teachers, coaches, or anyone in their environment. Below are some examples.

Nurturing and protective figures: If we feel unsafe, these things or people help us feel protected. Examples might be caregivers, stuffed animals, teachers, parents, siblings, friends, counselors, or nature. Maybe it feels comforting to look at the stars at night, or be near water, or watch the clouds move across the sky.

Wisdom figures: Wisdom figures guide us with their passion and motivation to be our very best. Your wisdom figures could be your parents, grandparents, pastors, teachers, coaches, favorite actors, musicians, authors, performers, or athletes. Who else can you think of as someone you admire and look up to for their courage, being themselves, and their care for others?

Reflection and Discussion Questions

Both teachers and students can benefit for considering the following questions.

What places anchor you? (Do you have a special room, piece of furniture, walking path, vacation spot, or any space that feels soothing or comforting?)

What times during the day are your favorite? What days of the week or months and seasons anchor you? (Are you a morning person? Do you prefer midday? Is evening or late night a rejuvenating time for you?) Do you prefer Sundays or Wednesdays? Is there a preference or pattern to the days of the week where you find yourself more settled or peaceful? What seasons feel comforting to your nervous system?

What things, practices, experiences, conditions, objects, images, music, or even textures anchor you?

Lemon cough drops

Cups of crushed ice

Wintergreen Life Savers

An image of our rescue dog, Nellie

Three long deep breaths with an extended out breath for each inhale

My Personal Anchors

20 minutes of yoga, three or four times a week

Listening to music as I clean the house

Walks with Nellie

Listening to my favorite inspirational podcasts

Cherry-flavored Coke with extra cherries

Listening to sleep stories on my Calm app

I'd like to close by sharing my own anchors as examples. These are my anchors for in-the-moment dysregulation when I'm at school:

And these are my anchors for home:

When we are intentional about getting out in front of our challenging experiences and emotions, we can resource ourselves and our students with practices that buffer or mitigate the felt frustration or anxiety that can often overwhelm our brains and bodies. As psychologist and neuroscientist Stephen Porges shares so often, "Safety is the presence of connection and not just the removal of threat."

When our children and youth learn what feels soothing, steadying, and comforting to their nervous systems in times of heightened stress, they will be in the habit of accessing these small practices in all moments.

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A Daily Practice That Students Can Use for Self-Regulation

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Teaching students to use anchors, or practices that ground them, can help them deal with stress-and anchors can help teachers too.

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Seeing a Birth of Hope: Training in Trauma-Informed Classroom Practice

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Seeing a Birth of Hope: Training in Trauma-Informed Classroom Practice

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Seeing a Birth of Hope: Training Teachers in Trauma-Informed Classroom Practice

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In Oakland, a new approach to training teachers is having success.

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California Early Childhood Online (CECO) Learning Modules

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California Early Childhood Online (CECO) Learning Modules

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The CPIN modules include information for all of California's children. There are some specific modules that are uniquely designed to focus on supporting inclusion and inclusive practices. For more information, contact your local CPIN Regional Lead to request: Talking with Parents about Concerns, I nclusion Works!, Literacy for All, or PEL Guide Chapter 7 extended version. Explore the resources below to support your own inclusive practices and request deeper training for your CPIN Leads.

Inclusion Works!

In this 3-hour professional learning experience, participants:

Define inclusive practice, describes collaboration, and share practical strategies.

Discuss the intended use in child care settings for children birth through age 12 years.

Review resources included in appendices as well as web links on the MAP to Inclusion and Belonging website.
Talking with Parents About Concerns

This 3-hour module provides a framework for caregivers when they have concerns that a child in their care might have a developmental delay, disability, or significant behavior problem. Participants will discuss how to share concerns with a child's parents or family members (anyone raising the child) and understand different ways family members will receive and act on the expressed concern.

Literacy for All

In this 3-hour professional learning experience, participants:

Discuss the idea of literacy for all and the law that supports literacy for all.

Identify how California's preschool resources embody literacy for all children.

Practice strategies to support literacy for all students.

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The CPIN modules include information for all of California's children. There are some specific modules that are uniquely designed to focus on supporting inclusion and inclusive practices. For more information, contact your local CPIN Regional Lead to request: Talking with Parents about Concerns, Inclusion Works!, Literacy for All, or PEL Guide Chapter 7 extended version.

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The California Preschool Learning Foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments that research has shown to promote early learning and development. The foundations can provide early childhood educators, parents, and the public with a clear understanding of the wide range of knowledge and skills that preschool children typically attain when given the benefits of a high-quality preschool program.

The foundations were developed using an inclusive and deliberative input process, including statewide stakeholder meetings, public input sessions held throughout the state, public hearings, and public comment. Input from the various review opportunities was considered and incorporated as appropriate.

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

On January 22, 2008, the California Department of Education (CDE) released the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume (PDF; 5MB) . Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell stated that these foundations offer our early childhood educators a clear understanding of what our youngest learners should know before entering kindergarten.

Volume 1 of the California Preschool Learning Foundations focuses on the domains of social-emotional development, language and literacy, English-language development, and mathematics. They provide a comprehensive understanding of what children learn in these four domains.

In an effort to partner with parents in the education of their preschool children, key sections of the publication are available and have been translated to support parents' understanding of the preschool learning foundations, their purpose, and what they describe as the knowledge and skills that children typically attain at 48 and 60 months of age. The translations include traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Pilipino (Tagalog), Spanish, and Vietnamese, and are based on the prevalent non-English languages spoken by parents of preschool children in California.

Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
Available Translations of the Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

Appendix to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 (DOC)
Available Translations of the Appendix to the Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001681) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 1 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2 covers the skills and knowledge that children attain at around 36 months and 48 months in the domain areas of visual and performing arts, physical development, and health.

Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell
Available Translations of the Foreword by former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

Appendixes to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001708) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 2 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2

California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3 covers the skills and knowledge that children attain at around 36 months and 48 months in the domain areas of history-social science and science.

Foreword by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
Available Translations of the Foreword by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson

Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3
Available Translations of the Introduction to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

Appendix A to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3
Available Translations of Appendix A to the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

The California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3, can be purchased from CDE Press by calling the toll-free number at 1-800-995-4099, or by ordering through the CDE Press Catalog Listings of Publications (Item Number 001727) . The price of the publication is $21.95.

Fundamentos del Aprendizaje Preescolar de California, Volumen 3 (PDF)
Spanish translation of the California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 3

Additional Resources

Further information about the Preschool Learning Foundations is provided in a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document clarifying key issues for early childhood educators, administrators, and stakeholders. For information about some professional development opportunities, please refer to the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN) .
Return to Publications
Last Reviewed: Thursday, February 23, 2023

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The foundations outline key knowledge and skills that most children can achieve when provided with the kinds of interactions, instruction, and environments that research has shown to promote early learning and development.

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TK Report Card with DRDP Measures (1) (1)

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Invitation to Attend DRDP (2025) Trainings

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The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is pleased to invite you to a FREE in-person and virtual training on the Desired Results Developmental Profile [(DRDP (2025)]. This training is funded by CDSS and presented by WestEd. Dates will be added monthly so please keep checking for updates