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Fostering Creativity and Innovation through Emergent Curriculum

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What children learn does not follow as an automatic result from what is taught, rather, it is in large part due to the children's own doing, as a consequence of their activities and our resources.
-Loris Malaguzzi, The Hundred Languages of Children

The author of these words, Loris Malaguzzi, was the founder and director of the renowned municipal preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Malaguzzi passed away two decades ago, but we hope he would be pleased with the progress early childhood educators in North America have made toward understanding his pedagogical lessons. His philosophy-a blend of theory and practice that challenges educators to see children as competent and capable learners in the context of group work (Fraser & Gestwicki 2002)-differs from the widely accepted Piagetian perspective that views child development as largely internal and occurring in stages (Mooney 2013). Malaguzzi emphasized that "it was not so much that we need to think of the child who develops himself by himself but rather of a child who develops himself interacting and developing with others" (Rankin 2004, 82). As such, at the core of the Reggio Emilia philosophy is its emphasis on building and sustaining relationships.

Much like Vygotzky, Malaguzzi believed that social learning preceded cognitive development (Gandini 2012). He emphasized that the environment plays a central role in the process of making learning meaningful. So important was this notion, that Malaguzzi defined the environment as the third teacher (Gandini 2011). Malaguzzi's third teacher is a flexible environment, responsive to the need for teachers and children to create learning together. Fostering creativity through the work of young hands manipulating objects or making art, it is an environment that reflects the values we want to communicate to children. Moreover, the classroom environment can help shape a child's identity as a powerful player in his or her own life and the lives of others. To foster such an environment, teachers must go deeper than what is merely seen at eye level and develop a deep understanding of the underlying principles and of children's thinking, questions, and curiosities.

A little more than a decade ago, Pinnacle Presbyterian Preschool, in Scottsdale, Arizona, began implementing a program directly influenced by the schools of Reggio Emilia. Inspired by the writings of Lella Gandini, we began a fond relationship with the author and educator, inviting Gandini to visit our school with regularity.

Lella Gandini is best known in North America as the leading advocate for the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Her numerous publications include writings on early childhood education and folklore, and she is coauthor or coeditor of such works as Insights and Inspirations From Reggio Emilia: Stories of Teachers and Children From North America and The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education. It is through our friendship with Lella Gandini that we have implemented strategies that empower teachers to use space and materials to ignite learning. For example, teachers notice in early autumn that the children are taking an interest in spider webs on the playground. Several 4-year-olds discover the strands reflecting the sunlight on a fence post. The teachers know the finding has sparked the children's curiosity when the children ask to photograph the web. Classroom teacher Keri Woolsey describes her response:

We try to integrate the writing and prewriting skills with the children, so I told the children, "Oh my gosh, I don't have my camera; could you draw it for me?" They ran inside the classroom and got clipboards, paper, and markers and hurried back to the playground. And then they began to draw. Some of these kids typically don't really want to try to write or draw, just because they are not confident with those skills. Yet here they are jumping at the task because it was meaningful to them. No matter what the drawing looked like, it was a total celebration of what they were learning.

Creating a flexible, relationship-driven learning environment

Relationships are at the very heart of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. That philosophy is reflected in an environment that encircles the child with three "teachers," or protagonists. The first teacher-the parent-takes on the role of active partner and guide in the education of the child. The second is the classroom teacher. Often working in pairs, the classroom teacher assumes the role of researcher and intentionally engages children in meaningful work and conversation. The third teacher is the environment-a setting designed to be not only functional but also beautiful and reflective of the child's learning. It is the child's relationship with parent, teacher, and environment that ignites learning.

Children construct their own knowledge through a carefully planned curriculum that engages and builds upon the child's current knowledge, recognizing that knowledge cannot simply be provided for the child. The curriculum, often emergent in nature, is based on the interests of the children. When learning is the product of the child's guided construction rather than simply the teacher's transmission and the child's absorption, learning becomes individualized. Most important, teaching becomes a two-way relationship in which the teacher's understanding of the child is just as important as the child's understanding of the teacher.

Emergent curriculum is not a free-for-all. It requires that teachers actively seek out and chase the interests of the children. This kind of teaching environment demands a high degree of trust in the teacher's creative abilities, and envisions an image of the child as someone actively seeking knowledge. It is a perspective that turns structured curriculum, with predetermined outcomes, on its head. A standardized curriculum that is designed to replicate outcomes often eliminates all possibility of spontaneous inquiry, stealing potential moments of learning from students and teachers in a cookie-cutter approach to education in the classroom. Given the diversity of the children we teach, accepting a canned recipe for teaching, evaluation, and assessment is problematic at best. Each child we teach is unique, requiring us to use our own judgment, instead of rules, to guide our teaching practice. To teach well, educators must ensure that creativity and innovation are always present. Although good teaching requires organization and routines, it is never inflexible and rarely routine. It dances with surprise. It pursues wonder. It finds joy at every turn.

Flexible environments allow teachers to be responsive to the interests of the children, freeing them to construct knowledge together. This is apparent in our example of the spider investigation. The teachers could simply leave behind the children's interest in spiders, limiting the activity to the playground. Instead, they encourage the children to draw what they observe and to share those observations and drawings during class circle time. To be sure, the teachers already have an activity planned for the daily circle time; they set it aside to pursue knowledge on a subject that has sparked the children's imaginations. One of the classroom teachers, Kristine Lundquist, describes what happened next.

We asked the children what they knew about spiders and spider webs. Living in the desert, spiders of all shapes and sizes are common. So we were not surprised when the children bubbled forth with ideas about how webs are created or stories of brave dads removing spiders from rooms in their homes. We wrote down the children's comments and included them in the daily journal email to parents. The very next day on the playground the children were at it once again, finding and exclaiming, rather loudly, that another spider had been discovered.

The teachers take action, at first by seeking out spider storybooks in the school library and checking out non-fiction books from the local library. A chance conversation between one of the teachers and her neighbor results in the donation of a live tarantula-elevating the investigation to the next level. Parents, alerted to the spider investigation through daily email communication, begin talking and reading about spiders with their children at home. The construction of knowledge becomes apparent as children include egg sacs, spinnerets, and multiple eyes in their drawings; count off the legs of the spiders; and compare spiders to other insects found on the playground.

Creating environments that reflect our values

Surprisingly, in our efforts to define best practices, we seldom address the vision of how our values are communicated through our practice. Once we get beyond standards in literacy and numeracy, what do we hope to achieve? What kind of culture do we want the children to experience in our schools? A few years ago, our staff attended a conference at one of the local community colleges presented by Deb Curtis and Margie Carter. Titled "Reflecting With the Thinking Lens," the conference was designed to help teachers and schools cultivate creative and reflective thinking about their teaching environments (Curtis et al. 2013). Margie Carter suggested that as a teaching team we create a simple worksheet to help us consider how our values are reflected in our classroom environments.

When we evaluate the spider investigation, the worksheet reflects the learning occurring in our classroom, modifications needed to the environments, and introductions of new materials. Using evaluation tools like this, the teaching team at Pinnacle meets each week as a group and also several times during the week with classroom teaching partners. This time for teachers to learn from each other is scheduled into the week and never compromised. It is time devoted to discuss their work, their hopes and concerns, and their ideas with other colleagues. It is a recognition that learning to teach well rarely occurs during college instruction, but rather within the context of classroom experiences and discussions with colleagues. We believe that learning to teach well is a lifelong endeavor. As such, we define ourselves as colearners with our students. Behaving more as researchers, teachers provide meaning and demonstrate values as teachers and students construct learning together.

One thing we know for certain is that students will thrive in a school environment where the teachers themselves are thriving. The best schools nurture the teachers who work there as well as the students who learn within the walls. Learning from our colleagues deserves time and attention, as it opens up new ideas about what professional development should be. Changing outcomes in classrooms requires teachers to challenge what they know and what they think is developmentally appropriate, and to reach beyond pedagogical techniques. In our experience, this can happen only in an environment that is respectful of differences in viewpoint, supportive in trying something new, and mindful of the willingness of teachers to shed their sensitivity and isolation. Teachers who have grown accustomed to working alone transform their thinking into creating solutions as they share with their colleagues. This transformation in teaching practices can happen only in an environment where collaboration and discussion are highly valued.

Creating environments that foster creativity

Teaching for creativity involves asking open-ended questions where there may be multiple solutions; working in groups on collaborative projects, using imagination to explore possibilities; making connections between different ways of seeing; and exploring the ambiguities and tensions that may lie between them.
-Ken Robinson, Out Of Our Minds: Learning to Be Creative

There is much about the Reggio Emilia approach that distinguishes it from other efforts to define best practices in early childhood education. Much of the worldwide attention has been on the program's emphasis on children's symbolic languages, lovingly referred to as the hundred languages of children. George Forman and Brenda Fyfe (2012) describe the hundred languages of children as symbolic languages children use to express their own knowledge and desires through artwork, conversation, early writing, dramatic play, music, dance, and other outlets. Recognizing that at the very core of creativity is our desire to express ourselves, Reggio Emilia schools create environments that inspire and support creative thinking and invention. If building and sustaining relationships are to be the foundation of a learning community, then creativity must always be present. Creativity is the conduit-the instrument that allows us to communicate with and understand others.

At Pinnacle, every learning space has paper and writing instruments. In the imaginary play spaces within the classrooms and the playground outside, children are actively writing and drawing. It becomes a part of the culture of learning, a process that is internalized within the group. We have made a conscious effort to steer away from purchasing ready-made materials, such as pre-cut foam pieces or rubber stamps, and instead spend resources on paper, clipboards, and multiple forms of writing and drawing tools. Asking children to draw what they see and then revisit the subject later to add yet more detail is the very essence of scientific observation. When the tarantula joins the classroom, teachers place magnifying glasses, small clipboards with paper, and markers next to the terrarium. They place nonfiction books about spiders on the shelf near the terrarium and display close-up pictures of different kinds of spiders. Rather than instructing the children, the teachers set up the provocation and then take a step back.

In Reggio Emilia-inspired schools, teachers place great emphasis on using materials and activities that provoke investigation and group learning. As expected, being curious and inventive little people, the children are very excited about the new spider addition to their classroom. They closely watch the tarantula, using the magnifying glasses to see the details and then drawing what they observe. The conversation is lively and loud as they speculate about where the spider came from, what the spider eats, whether it is a boy or a girl spider, and how the spider compares to the other spiders in the photographs. When the children ask their teachers what kind of spider it is, the teachers seem uncertain and wonder aloud how the class might figure it out. "We don't jump at giving them the answers," explains Jane Barber, classroom teacher. "Our intent is to focus on the processes of discovery, to teach them how to learn by not only observing but also using resources such as books and the Internet. We act as guides in the hunt for information." In the weeks that follow numerous drawings of spiders are on display in the classroom, and the children count the legs and eyes, write their names on their drawings, and ask how to spell tarantula, spinnaret, and egg sac. The children want to write, because the writing is meaningful to them. The scientific inquiry, early literacy, and math opportunities naturally fall into place around the spider investigation.

Fostering creativity through investigations

Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known.
-Loris Malaguzzi, The Hundred Languages of Children

Just off the center courtyard of our school there is a lovely building called the atelier, a French word, meaning workroom or artist's studio. Historically, an atelier serves not only as a place where seamstresses, carpenters, painters, sculptors, and other artists could create their products, but also as a place that could offer inspiration and answers to their questions. Inspired by the schools of Reggio Emilia, we have created a special place, separate from the classrooms, where children use creative art as a tool to represent their ideas and feelings.

Though classrooms have a scheduled time each week to visit the atelier, teachers are welcome to bring small groups to the atelier to create at any time. The two teachers in our atelier have a close relationship with the classroom teachers. As colleagues, they communicate about the interests of the children and work going on in the classroom. Today, the children arrive in the atelier to find a shadow of a spider cast across the white tiled floor. They delight in this discovery and wonder how this can possibly be. Some reach down with hesitant hands to touch the dark shadow on the floor. Encouraged, they soon search out the source of the bright light. In the corner is an overhead projector with a spider photograph laying on the light tray. The teachers allow them to touch the equipment and investigate. They giggle at the discovery that the spider on the floor moves when the photograph moves. Some children ask if they can draw the spider. Anticipating this request, the teachers tear off a long sheet of butcher paper and the children sprawl out on the floor and begin to trace the shadow.

Although investigations often begin with children representing what they know through drawing, creating three-dimensional artwork is highly valued by teachers as a way to extend the learning. Clay, wire, wood, and recycled materials are used daily in the classrooms and the atelier to help children express what they know. As such, we ensure that the classrooms have many different kinds of materials that help the children piece it all together. Materials such as masking tape, packaging tape, wire, clay, and various kinds of glues and adhesives are available at easy access to the children. Again, we steer away from prepackaged materials. Instead we use open-ended, recycled materials, which are often donated by the parents. Children learn how to glue, cut, fold, tear, balance, and solve problems in the context of project work. Although the end product is deemed lovely, it is not the driver of the activity. Rather, it is the process of creating-the enjoyment of creating together-that is at the forefront of the endeavor.

An opportunity to move the children toward creating three-dimensional art becomes apparent during one of the class conversations. Ms. Woosley, the classroom teacher, explains, "It's really surprising to us that it is the spider webbing the children are most interested in. One of the boys expressed concern that they were having trouble remembering where all of the webs were on the playground. We suggested creating a map of the playground, mapping where the spider webs were located. The children liked that idea." A committee of students is formed to investigate how to make a map. Because the teachers are aware of another map project occurring on campus, they collaborate with colleagues in another classroom. The Spider Web Committee is invited to meet with the other classroom students to discuss strategies for mapping the playground.

In the weeks that follow, the two classrooms-using their individual drawings as guides-will create together one three-dimensional map of the playground. They label the spider web locations and create a map legend. Their knowledge of spider webs was extended to understanding maps, use of legends, and a compass, all within the context of group work.

Celebrating the child's identity

Those of us who have been fortunate to teach for years in early childhood know well the elation we experience when our teaching goes well-when everything clicks into place. Our students share this same feeling when they experience success. This sense and level of satisfaction children experience creates an appetite for learning, a hunger to do it again-and again and again.

This is never more evident than the moment a child understands that he or she belongs, that he or she is a member of the group. In the first week of classes, teachers quickly cluster 8-inch by 10-inch photographs of the children on the walls surrounding the classroom circle space. Their names are printed boldly next to their images. As soon as possible, drawings and other forms of artwork appear next to each child's photograph, with the child's name written in his or her own hand, and a quotation about something the child likes.

But this is just the start of building the child's identity. As you walk around the classroom space, you find family photographs donated by the parents and a basket of "All About Me" books that the parents have created using family photographs. These personal books are read over and over again as children seek comfort in sharing the names and faces of those most dear to them. There are individual mailboxes with their names and individual cubby spaces that belong only to them. It is an environment that opens its arms wide, surrounding children with a sense of who they are.

Project work and investigations easily lend themselves to fostering a child's sense of identity. With the spider investigation, the teachers suggest that the children create a Bug Club. The Bug Club meets on the playground each day and sets out to find bugs and spider webs. "There were some children who were not engaged in the spider hunts occurring on the playground. However, when we created the Bug Club, everyone wanted to join in," says Jane Barber, a classroom teacher. "We suggested that each child have a name badge to identify them as part of the club." Using simple card stock, with yarn as a lanyard, the children draw a picture of their favorite bug and write their own first name. In addition, the children create their own Bug Club Journal. They use these journals to draw the creatures they find and to write down new words. The Bug Club Journals have the child's name and photograph on the cover. To be a member of the Bug Club, you need your name badge, your journal, and a writing tool such as a marker, crayon, or pencil. As hoped, the children jumped at the chance to be a member of the club. "It just took off. We moved outside the playground, just beyond the gate, and the children were so excited. All they wanted to do was draw and draw. We were surprised and pleased at how they stayed on task, how careful they were with their drawings. Venturing out with the Bug Club became a part of our daily routine," says Kristine Lundquist, classroom teacher.

As all teachers and parents know, there is a big difference between what a child is capable of doing and what a child is willing to do. You cannot teach someone who does not want to learn or someone who does not believe he or she can learn. If we want to promote the hunger for learning, then we should create environments in which students and teachers feel safe to venture beyond what is already known-environments that reflect our values and celebrate students and teachers as uniquely creative individuals.

Author's Note: Transforming education happens only when we transform our teaching. My deep appreciation to Sabrina Ball, Jane Barber, Keri Woolsey, Kristine Lundquist, and the staff at Pinnacle for their leadership in creating playful and inquiry-based learning environments.

Photos courtesy of the author

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Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments

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To promote the hunger for learning, create environments that reflect our values and celebrate students and teachers as uniquely creative individuals.

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Developing Emergent Curriculum with Families

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Developing Emergent Curriculum with Families

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Editors' Note

Hannah Kye takes readers into two preschool classrooms that are deep in family-centered projects focused on babies. In "The Preschool Birth Stories Project," the children are absorbed in family narratives about their own and their classmates' births. Through their interest in other families' stories, they gain knowledge about birth and respect for others' experiences. Family members become actively engaged in the children's learning, sharing their stories in the classroom and consulting with teachers about the direction of the project.

In the companion article, "We Are Makers," interactions between the children and a visiting family member inspire a new project focused on babies. The preschoolers are making babies' beds, and they proudly share photos of themselves as infants sleeping in a Filipino hanging bed, in a Korean wrap on a mother's back, and on the floor amidst dancing children. Kye focuses on the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy, encouraging and guiding educators to use their teaching expertise to foster culturally responsive making, to affirm children's racial and cultural identities, and to help all children see themselves and others as capable inventors, scientists, and engineers.

Reviewing the events and learning during these projects, Kye makes strong cases for the benefits of engaging families in an early childhood curriculum and for using culturally responsive pedagogy toward equitable and playful content learning. These approaches to learning help create and maintain strong home-school connections and advance equity in early childhood education.

"This is me in my mommy's uterus. My mommy and Appa called me Bluebins because I was small like a blueberry."

Chonghui sits in the dramatic play area, holding up artifacts her mother had shown in her preschool classroom the day before: an ultrasound image and photos of her mother when she was pregnant and of Chonghui as a newborn in the hospital and at home. Just as her mother did in front of her class, Chonghui tells a classmate the story of her birth, her voice and expressions conveying emotions from anticipation to exhilaration, exhaustion, and love. The swell of emotions around birth is a universal experience, and narratives of these moments can bridge cultural worlds.

Today's early childhood educators must steer a course among the varied expectations and goals of their school leaders, state standards, prescriptive curricula, and the diverse children and families with whom they work. As Reid and Kagan (2015) note, "The field of early childhood education is experiencing unprecedented public investment accompanied by increasing expectations for enhanced child outcomes" (1). By sharing a story from the field, I aim to shed light on effective processes and principles for navigating this work while keeping children and families at the center of practice.

This article explores a flexible and accessible project that involved families in the development of an emergent curriculum. Recent studies of emergent curriculum have tended to focus on the teacher-child dyad, with the teacher leading children in explorations relevant to children's expressed interests or curiosity (Stacey 2018; Sweeney & Fillmore 2018). Building on this, the birth stories project engaged family members, teachers, and children as coleaders and coexplorers.

The article touches on culturally responsive pedagogy, or teaching that is responsive to the diversity in a classroom. By incorporating children's backgrounds and funds of knowledge, this approach makes learning "culturally recognizable and socially meaningful" to all learners (Howard & Terry 2011, 347). Culturally responsive teachers are committed to teaching a variety of perspectives and fostering cross-cultural respect, empathy, and community. For a more detailed discussion of culturally responsive pedagogy, see "We Are Makers: Culturally Responsive Approaches to Tinkering and Engineering," below.

Purpose: Why Birth Stories?

In a university-based early childhood center in New Jersey, two preschool children's mothers were pregnant and several others had recently welcomed siblings. Children raised questions about birth and families during lunchtime conversations and in dramatic play scenarios. As a professor in the university program affiliated with the center, I noticed this theme emerging during my weekly visits. I had told my daughter's birth story to her classmates when she was in preschool, and I talked with the preschool teachers about initiating a similar project. They noted that it could engage more families in the classroom, which tends to be a challenge for many early learning programs.

Chapters from two books have documented the powerful connections made through sharing birth stories in classrooms. In "Oral Histories in the Classroom: Home and Community Pedagogies," Carmona and Bernal write about an oral history project for students in grades 2 to 6 to connect teachers and families "across time, space, generations, and across educational and institutional boundaries" (2012, 115). The mothers who shared stories from their family histories and from the children's births acknowledged the value of their children learning about and preserving their cultural and familial stories.

In "Our Stories to Transform Them: A Source of Authentic Literacy," Arrastia (1995) writes of a similar project in a mother's reading program in which mothers generated and wrote childbirth stories. The women were enrolled in adult basic education and English as a second language classes. Arrastia writes,

Even those stories of the earliest moments of life were shaped by our families' own stories and myths. . . . In telling our stories, learning each other's stories, and finding the strength and value in our stories, we began to change the stories and our roles as protagonists. (107-108)

These two examples illustrate the potency of sharing family histories to both empower and connect the participants-central components of culturally responsive pedagogy.

Perspective: Connections Between Family Engagement and Emergent Curriculum

Emergent curriculum has roots in the Reggio Emilia approach, an influential model of early childhood education that was initiated by parent cooperatives in the city of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and directed by Loris Malaguzzi (1924-1994) (Rinaldi 2006). Malaguzzi viewed children as having three teachers: the early childhood educator, the environment, and the parent. Rather than passively receiving knowledge, children are seen as capable of actively constructing their own knowledge as they encounter and dialogue with these three teachers. Children's learning begins with their motivations and interests, and it is the work of families and educators to recognize and build on children's learning based upon their strengths, inclinations, and wonderings. This is the heart of emergent curriculum.

Research and guidance on emergent curriculum focus on developing rich, inspiring environments for learning (Biermeier 2015; Sunday 2020) and on the reflective, responsive teacher-child dyad (Vanegas-Grimaud 2017). Current interpretations may only briefly involve one parent who has expertise relevant to a particular project. For example, in a classroom where children became interested in designing buildings, the teacher invited one mother, an architect, to talk about blueprints (Stacey 2018). Such encounters are important for engaging families in children's learning, yet more can be done to uphold the intimate engagement of home caregivers essential to the philosophy of parent-as-teacher.

Research has shown that family engagement in school has multiple benefits for students: when family members are involved, children are more likely to adapt well to school, develop social skills and positive behaviors, do better in school, and stay longer in school (Smith et al. 2020). Beyond these benefits, family engagement can help teachers understand children by seeing them in the context of family and community, which informs teachers' pedagogy and development of meaningful, culturally responsive curriculum.

Family engagement in school has multiple benefits: when family members are involved, children are more likely to adapt well to school, develop social skills and positive behaviors, do better in school, and stay longer in school.

Despite the benefits and expectations about effective family partnerships (NAEYC 2020), family involvement in educational settings is often limited to passive participation, such as attending family-educator conferences and reading school newsletters, emails, or other items sent home (Ishimaru 2019). The preschool birth stories project helped close the gap between home and school in this preschool setting.

Project Goals and Strategies

In the fall of the program year, before beginning the project, I met with the lead preschool teacher, Leah, who was also the center director. We discussed nurturing the children's interest in birth stories, and we defined goals for teachers and families as well as for children. We reviewed guidelines for child outcomes based on the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards (New Jersey State Department of Education 2014). The standards are intended to reflect research on developmentally appropriate content and outcomes. In contrast to the more common focus on academic content knowledge in K-12 standards, preschool standards often include expectations for social and emotional development (along with cognitive, physical, arts, and language standards). This is because young children's competence in this domain powerfully impacts school readiness and later academic success (Harrington et al. 2020).

While a standardized curriculum aims to replicate predetermined outcomes among students, emergent curriculum requires teachers to be attuned and responsive to individual children in the classroom. We used several of the New Jersey preschool standards as a fluid guide for our community exploration rather than as a tool to achieve prescriptive outcomes for all children. (See "Domains and Indicators from the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards," below, for more.)

We used the following four principles, drawn from my previous classroom experiences, to guide work with families and to ensure respectful, effective collaboration.

Plan in Broad Strokes

Leah and I began the project with the question "What knowledge are the children actively seeking?" We introduced a provocation to spark children's interest: one child's mother came to the classroom to read aloud On the Night You Were Born, by Nancy Tillman, and to tell the birth story of her daughter, Chonghui. Afterward, I typed and posted a summary of the story in the dramatic play area, along with accompanying photos. This provocation motivated children to ask their families when they could come and share their birth stories and add their photos to the area.

Upon observing the children's interest in continuing the exploration, Leah and I planned in broad strokes. We added baby dolls to the dramatic play area, curated the bookshelf to include family stories, posted a notice on the bulletin board that asked family members to add ideas and resources, and invited all families by email to share their experiences. Through encounters with families and with the enriched environment, children had the encouragement, resources, and freedom to pursue their interests and deepen their understandings of families.

The email was sent to all 12 preschool families in the spring of that program year, and each family scheduled a time to share their story during the next few months. Along with Leah's mother, who told the story of Leah's birth via video call, a total of 13 families participated. Leah noted that this was the first project in her decade of working at the center that gained full family participation.

Planning in broad strokes meant that family members could take part in curriculum making in their own distinctive ways. Some sat on the carpet and told their stories from memory. Two families prepared posters with photos and artifacts, one family showed videos from the day of birth, and two created presentation slides. Eager to share more details from their family stories and to discuss next steps for our project, most continued conversations with us about the curriculum outside of the classroom.

Shape the Curriculum from Family Perspectives and Knowledge

Emergent curriculum validates the active creation of knowledge through personal connection rather than only the absorption of facts from books and lesson plans. In this project, families shared stories as a means of connecting with the children and of "provoking occasions of discovery" (Edwards 1998, 182). Leah invited the children to interview family members after each story. Because the topic was important to them, the preschoolers actively pursued discovery and meaning making in these dialogues.

For example, during her story, Dylan's mother, Tanya, told the children that Dylan was born early and showed pictures from his neonatal intensive care unit. The children asked questions to learn more; Tanya's responses illustrated how a family member's presence, perspective, and experiences shaped community knowledge about birth and families.

Aaron: How can you give him a bath?

Tanya: I would take him out of his little incubator, and they would bring his bathtub into the room. It was a little tiny bathtub. We would wash him with a sponge and rinse him off. Then they would take the bathtub away and dress him in tiny little clothes, about the size of doll clothes. It was challenging because he had all those wires and tubes. I had to be careful when I was holding him with those tubes.

Dylan: Why was the feeding tube in my nose in this picture?

Tanya: They switched it sometimes from your mouth to your nose. You could not eat on your own, so the tube went right from your nose to your tummy.

Chonghui: Why is Dylan named Dylan?

Tanya: I liked that name for a long time, and my great-grandpa was named Dylan.

The interviews not only advanced the class's collective knowledge about birth and families but also became opportunities for families and teachers to learn more about children's understandings and wonderings. The children's questions and comments demonstrated an understanding of family roles and traditions (social studies standard 6.1.2), such as bathing and naming, as well as an ability to ask effective questions about an oral presentation to gain information (English language arts standards SL.PK.2 and SL.PK.3) (New Jersey State Department of Education 2014).

Through these encounters, children learned to treat others' thoughts, questions, and memories seriously and with respect. They actively worked to make meaning from moments of surprise, such as seeing a photo of a classmate as a tiny newborn affixed to wires. Families' knowledge and voices became interwoven in classroom life as children carried themes into their dramatic play and had conversations about birth and families.

Document Learning in Ways that Support Family-Teacher Collaboration

In emergent curriculum, documentation serves three major functions: to provide children with a memory of their work to expand and inspire further inquiry; to provide teachers with tools for research and reflection; and to provide families with detailed information about the curriculum to facilitate their engagement (Hewett 2001). The birth stories documentation panels (bulletin boards showing children's learning through photos and quotes) received much attention from families. Before and after school, family members and children visited the panels to read and talk about reflections on the learning taking place.

It was essential for us to represent community knowledge to ensure families would be alert to opportunities to guide and co-construct knowledge with their children. Throughout the project, and with participants' permission, I posted excerpts from classroom conversations on the hallway bulletin board to record children's meaning making. Each visiting family member asked Leah about how much detail to provide in their stories and which details would be appropriate to share with children. One of the transcripts I posted made a noticeable difference in their comfort with sharing their stories.

Teachers offered additional stories and diverse perspectives through books (see "Books that Supported a Birth Stories Project" below), and they posted excerpts of conversations for families' reference. Throughout the project, documentation was developed in response to questions from families and with the intent of validating and supporting them as coeducators.

Nurture Family Bonds Through Curriculum

Prosocial behaviors and having positive interactions with others are key early social and emotional skills. Children do not acquire these skills and knowledge in a linear way through set stages; instead, some educators use the metaphor of a tree with learning growing in many directions, while others use the imagery of waves of development (NAEYC 2020). Malaguzzi spoke of knowledge as a "tangle of spaghetti," and Rinaldi wrote of project work as a series of small narratives, each taking flight in ways that advance children's "process of becoming" (Rinaldi 2006, 6). One can see how the skill of having positive interactions with others is entangled with cultural norms, physical and affective environments, and knowledge of self, family, and others.

Foregrounding their own family bonds encouraged children to learn in an environment of respect and empathy for other families.

Given this tangle of knowledge, as the birth stories project was woven into classroom life, Leah and I chose to focus on supporting children's inquiry in ways that nurtured family bonds. Family relationships are the foundation for children's engagement "in ever widening circles: from the family to the classroom community, the neighborhood, and the world" (New Jersey State Department of Education 2014, 85; NAEYC 2020). Children taught each other their favorite family activities, such as playing basketball or eating ice cream together.

Foregrounding their own family bonds encouraged children to learn in an environment of respect and empathy for other families. This became clear when Leah's mother, Julie, visited via video call from another state. She was a stranger to the children-she had not been to the classroom or center. She shared about her belly birth (cesarean section) after they had heard three other stories involving belly births.

Lars: Why did they have to cut your belly?

Julie: When they are born, babies are usually head first or feet first.

Lars: Feet first is really dangerous.

Graham: Was she the feet way?

Julie: She was trying to touch her toes inside my belly, so when they took her out, she was heinie first!

Ben: Were you okay?

Julie: I was okay!

The children's questions demonstrated their growing knowledge about birth as well as the power of the curriculum to connect participants across distance and generations.

Regarding the New Jersey preschool standards, children demonstrated key competencies in the emergent curriculum, such as prosocial behaviors and positive interactions (social emotional development standards 0.1.3 and 0.3.1), participating in and listening to stories (visual and performing arts standard 1.3.6), and describing characteristics of themselves, their families, and others (social studies standard 6.1.1). Leah noted that the children's skills and knowledge exceeded her expectations because of their zeal for the project.

Conclusion

The birth stories project provides one example of how early childhood educators can keep children and families at the center of their practice. Key strategies for organizing and teaching the project included planning in broad strokes, shaping the curriculum based on family knowledge, documenting to support family collaboration, and nurturing family bonds through curriculum. The project was effective in creating partnerships with families at the preschool level and had value for children, families, and teachers.

Three decades of research on family engagement have shown that children are more successful in school when their teachers and parents work together as partners in their learning (e.g., Kagan 1984 through Epstein et al. 2018). Using guiding principles for our work with preschool families and children invigorated children's co-construction of knowledge and meaning making about their world.

Books that Supported a Birth Stories Project

In the birth stories project, we used the following books to introduce family structures and roles that were not highlighted in the children's birth stories. Quotes from the children shed light on children's thinking about the books.

Jonathan and His Mommy, by Irene Smalls and illus. by Michael Hays (1992)

"Families can be two people or 100!"

Daddy Makes the Best Spaghetti, by Anna Grossnickle Hines (1986)

"My dad cooks a lot, like the book."

"Grandpa and Grandma cook sometimes."

My Family Is Forever, by Nancy Carlson (2004)

"People with different hair colors and different skin can become one big family."

"When someone adopts someone else's baby, that becomes their baby."

The following picture books can also support children's understanding of their own and others' families.

Who Will You Be?, by Andrea Pippins (2020)

Families Belong, by Dan Saks (2020)

I Sang You Down from the Stars, by Tasha Spillett-Sumner (2021)

Author's Note: My deepest thanks to the teachers, families, and children for their enthusiastic engagement and collaboration. This project would not have been possible without Leah's partnership and dedication to honoring children and families.

Photographs: © Getty Images
Copyright © 2022 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See Permissions and Reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

References

Arrastia, M. 1995. "Our Stories to Transform Them: A Source of Authentic Literacy." In Immigrant Learners and Their Families: Literacy to Connect Generations, eds. G. Weinstein-Shr & E. Quintero, 101-9. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics & Delta System.

Biermeier, M.A. 2015. "Inspired by Reggio Emilia: Emergent Curriculum in Relationship-Driven Learning Environments." Young Children 70 (5): 72-79.

Carmona, J.F., & D.D. Bernal. 2012. "Oral Histories in the Classroom." In Creating Solidarity Across Diverse Communities: International Perspectives in Education, eds. C.E. Sleeter & E. Soriano, 114-130. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Edwards, C. 1998. "Partner, Nurturer, and Guide: The Roles of the Reggio Teacher in Action." In The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach-Advanced Reflections, 2nd ed., eds. C. Edwards, L. Gandini & G. Forman, 180-197. Greenwich, Connecticut: Ablex Publishing.

Epstein, J.L., M.G. Sanders, S.B. Sheldon, B.S. Simon, K.C. Salinas, N.R. Jansorn, F.L. Van Voorhis, C.S. Martin, B.G. Thomas, M.D. Greenfeld, & D.J. Hutchins. 2018. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Harrington, E.M., S.D. Trevino, S. Lopez, & N.R. Giuliani. 2020. "Emotion Regulation in Early Childhood: Implications for Socioemotional and Academic Components of School Readiness." Emotion 20 (1): 48.

Hewett, V.M. 2001. "Examining the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education." Early Childhood Education Journal 29 (2): 95-100.

Howard, T., & C.L. Terry Sr. 2011. "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for African American Students: Promising Programs and Practices for Enhanced Academic Performance." Teaching Education 22 (4): 345-362.

Ishimaru, A.M. 2019. "From Family Engagement to Equitable Collaboration." Educational Policy 33 (2): 350-385.

Kagan, J. 1984. The Nature of the Child. New York, NY: Basic Books.

NAEYC. 2020. "Developmentally Appropriate Practice." Position statement. Washington, DC: NAEYC. naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/dap/contents.

New Jersey State Department of Education. 2014. New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards. Trenton: New Jersey State Department of Education.

Reid, J.L. & S.L. Kagan. 2015. A Better Start: Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Education. Washington, DC: Poverty & Race Research Action Council.

Rinaldi, C. 2006. In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning. Oxfordshire, England: Routledge.

Smith, T.E., S.M. Sheridan, E.M. Kim, S. Park, & S.N. Beretvas. 2020. "The Effects of Family-School Partnership Interventions on Academic and Social-Emotional Functioning: A Meta-Analysis Exploring What Works for Whom." Educational Psychology Review 32 (2): 511-544.

Stacey, S. 2018. Emergent Curriculum in Early Childhood Settings: From Theory to Practice. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf.

Sunday, K. 2020. "Dinner Theater in a Toddler Classroom: The Environment as Teacher." Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood 21 (3): 197-207.

Sweeney, S J., & R.M. Fillmore. 2018. "The Birds, the Children, and the Big Black Dog: Reflecting on Emergent Curriculum." Young Children 73 (1): 69-72.

Vanegas-Grimaud, L. 2017. "The Command Center Project: Resolving My Tensions with Emergent Curriculum." Young Children 72 (3): 60-68.

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The Preschool Birth Stories Project: Developing Emergent Curriculum with Families

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Editors' Note Hannah Kye takes readers into two preschool classrooms that are deep in family-centered projects focused on babies. In "The Preschool Birth Stories Project," the children are absorbed in family narratives about their own and their classmates' births. Through their interest in other families' stories, they gain knowledge about birth and respect for others' experiences.

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Gimnasio para caracoles: aprendiendo con gusto recreativo en el salón de kínder

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Joyful learning is present in kindergarten classrooms that honor the identities and interests of children. Consider encouraging free exploration in an early childhood classroom.

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Inspiring Curiosity and Critical Thinking in Pre-K

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Project-based learning can inspire young students to ask questions about their surroundings and see where their curiosity takes them.

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"All aboard the dinosaur train!" calls 5-year-old Patrick.

Ms. Lydia watches as Patrick and his friends begin working on an elaborate construction project. Together, they pull materials from various areas and pile them into the middle of the carpet: books from the reading center, plates and cups from dramatic play, paper from the art table, dinosaurs from the science center, and magnet tiles from the block area. The children explain to Ms. Lydia that the books are iPads and TVs for the dinosaurs. They are using paper to make signs and tickets for all the train passengers. The plates are the roof of the train, and the cups become tables around which the dinosaurs are neatly placed.

Each child has an equal part in their construction play. They work together to create, explore, debate, write, ask questions, and problem solve. As more materials from different centers come together in the middle of the classroom to serve the children's grand ideas, Ms. Lydia watches with pride. Yet she also keeps an eye on the door. Any minute, the principal could walk in. While Ms. Lydia sees the learning benefits of "cross-area play," her principal sees it as messy and loud.

The concept of cross-area play was born during our graduate course on play, led by coauthor Ekaterina Strekalova-Hughes. We were sharing what turned out to be a common frustration across our own classrooms: the type of play that seemed to spark the most creativity involved materials coming together, and it transcended our traditionally designated learning areas. Yet this type of play was widely challenged by our program directors, coteachers, and other colleagues. We set out to learn why cross-area play encourages our children's imaginations and why it faces so many barriers.

Cross-area play is rooted in the idea that when children are given the freedom to experiment with materials in open-ended ways, their play can transform into elaborate, complex plots and offer rich developmental opportunities. Specifically, cross-area play

helps children make unusual and unexpected connections, which can promote creativity

encourages development across multiple domains as children think, create, communicate, persist, problem solve, and collaborate

fosters confidence and helps children set and follow rules in their play with others

creates more fluid, engaging classroom spaces

The idea of cross-area play calls into question the reliance on familiar, designated areas or centers that typically host predictable play materials and encourage predictable play scenarios. For example, a kitchen corner with play food and cooking utensils usually spurs children to enact cooking and having meals together. The block area typically invites children to erect buildings, bridges, and roads. Because these centers direct children toward a specific type of play, they can limit the range of play scenarios and surprise discoveries.

But when children engage in cross-area play, their play is not scripted. They may move blocks to the dramatic play area, which invites them to build props that support their dress-up scenarios. They may move copies of The Three Little Pigs from the literacy area into the block area to inspire home construction.

Background of Cross-Area Play

While the term cross-area play was conceived by the authors, mixing classroom materials to deepen children's pretend play scenarios is not new. In 1971, Simon Nicholson wrote in "How Not to Cheat Children: The Theory of Loose Parts" that teachers could promote imaginative play by using materials with no predetermined use or purpose. This, he wrote, could help children persist, problem solve, and work together during play.

Based on this foundational idea, cross-area play is characterized by being free from the constraints of defined toys or interest areas. A classroom that supports cross-area play may have interest areas or centers, but the materials do not have to stay in those defined places. For example, in Ms. Lydia's classroom, children use "tickets" or name tags to check out items from centers or shelves when they want to play with those items outside of the defined center.

Perceived Barriers

While no explicit rules or regulations forbid cross-area play, early childhood educators may face barriers planning for and fostering it-even if they teach in a play-based program. Here are some of the hurdles we encountered:

Classroom evaluation standards. Some environmental rating scales require clearly defined centers or interest areas. Program directors and evaluators may interpret this to mean that the materials in those areas cannot be moved. This was the case with Ms. Sandra, who lost points on a rating scale completed by an evaluator because she had placed books in the block area to inspire story-related connections. "There must be at least three interest centers that meet the required definition," Ms. Sandra's feedback read. "An 'interest center' is a clearly defined play area for a particular kind of play."

Marketing influences. Classroom furniture and learning materials in online and print catalogs are often marketed as belonging to specific learning centers. For example, prekindergarten supplies may be organized into "dramatic play," "blocks and manipulatives," and "math" categories. This type of marketing conveys that materials have a predetermined place in the classroom.

Traditional classroom layouts. Traditional beliefs about how a setting should be designed and organized can present a barrier to cross-area play. Ms. Lydia encountered this when a program director observed how she had placed dinosaurs from the science center throughout the classroom. She aimed to promote large-scale play across all areas. But the director asked her to put the dinosaurs back "where they belong." Without a reason to challenge such practices, the traditional way of designing learning centers with materials that have always "lived" there continues. (See "How to Create a Classroom that Celebrates Cross-Area Play," below, for ways to foster cross-area play.)

Beliefs about "messy" play. Cross-area play often involves mixing many different materials from all over the classroom. This means cleanup takes longer than typical in-center play. Some teachers may discourage children from engaging in cross-area play because of this, particularly when they must adhere to a strict schedule.

We acknowledge that in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-area play may be more difficult to implement. We suggest regularly cleaning or disinfecting materials and interest areas, and not sharing with other teachers or classrooms.

Cross-Area Play in Action

Classroom organization and structure are needed in early childhood settings. However, limiting materials to defined areas can hinder open-ended play, creativity, and active engagement. In the following vignette, Ms. Layney's thoughtful planning spurred action and expanded children's play scenario.

Four-year-old Anika and 5-year-old Regina are preparing to give a concert in the dramatic play area. They have already put on their costumes-flashy capes and sunglasses-and have found microphones for themselves from the utensil jar in the play kitchen. While Anika gathers a pen and paper from the writing area to make tickets, Regina exclaims, "We need a stage!" Luckily, Ms. Layney has arranged the room so the dramatic play and block areas open into each other. Regina has access to large hollow blocks and long wooden planks to build with. She takes on the role of engineer and begins to build a stage. She experiments with different sizes of blocks, tests the stability of her structure, and makes modifications until she decides the stage is ready and the concert can begin. From their elevated platform, both singers command the attention of several children in neighboring areas who are drawn into their play. Before too long, the chairs from the math table are being moved for the audience to be seated.

Cross-area play invites children and teachers to actively reimagine the purposes of the materials and spaces in their classrooms, mixing and reinventing where they "belong" for the sake of creative connections and extended play. At the end of the day, a "messy" or "chaotic" classroom where imaginations go beyond the confines of predetermined centers might be the most compelling evidence of rich play. While some teachers may encounter challenges when attempting to integrate cross-area play into their classrooms, this resistance can present a powerful opportunity to educate program directors and peers. (See "Sharing Cross-Area Play Benefits," below, for ideas on how to promote this type of play.)

Sharing Cross-Area Play Benefits

Share information about cross-area play with administrators, accreditation evaluators, families, and fellow teachers by inviting them to observe the conversations, play, and learning that happens during cross-area play.

Encourage visitors or observers to get down on the children's level. For example, Ms. Kelly has a sign on her classroom door inviting visitors to get on the floor to experience play the way her students do.

Use photos and quotations from the children to document the merits of "messy" cross-area play. Share these with families and display them outside the classroom. It can help directors or fellow teachers get on board with this approach.

How to Create a Classroom that Celebrates Cross-Area Play

As an early childhood educator, you can promote cross-area play in a variety of ways. Here are some strategies that have worked well for us:

Map out your current learning centers and the materials typical for each area. Write down the purposes of the materials and how you see children using them.

Introduce materials to unexpected places. Consider how each material can open up new possibilities when moved from its "home" to a different center.

Connect multiple centers or interest areas with a single material. For example, if children are learning about animals and their habitats, place images or books about habitats with small animal toys in each center. This encourages children to construct habitats with blocks, draw or paint animals, or role-play as animals in the dramatic play area.

Create elements of surprise. Imagine children who love to play "kitchen" finding toy dinosaurs feasting around the table. You could also move books about what dinosaurs eat from the literacy center to the kitchen area.

Create "mobile centers" that can easily be moved around your room. For example, place art supplies onto a cart to create a mobile art center. It can easily be wheeled into different centers for expanding visual representations.

Rearrange your room so your centers are open to each other. This will create shared space, where children are free to mix materials without removing them from their designated spaces.

Involve children in the design of new centers. Create interest areas with children in mind. For example, transform a science center into an archaeological dig site for those who are interested in dinosaurs. Integrate sand from a sensory area, dinosaur books from a literacy center, and toy dinosaurs or faux bones from the (traditional) science center.

Inspire new connections. Periodically change the names or labels of centers to inspire new connections. For example, a center traditionally called "Literacy" can be renamed "Blocks Go Reading" for a period of time when the blocks migrate here from the block area.

Encourage creativity, not chaos. Flexibility encourages creativity, but a chaotic environment is not the goal. Enlist children's help if an area becomes too cluttered or unsafe, such as markers on the floor causing children to trip.

Photographs: courtesy of the authors.
Copyright © 2021 National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC.org/resources/permissions.

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Sparking Creativity with Cross-Area Play

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"All aboard the dinosaur train!" calls 5-year-old Patrick. Ms. Lydia watches as Patrick and his friends begin working on an elaborate construction project. Together, they pull materials from various areas and pile them into the middle of the carpet: books from the reading center, plates and cups from dramatic play, paper from the art table, dinosaurs from the science center, and magnet tiles from the block area.

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Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

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Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

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Teachers using an emergent inquiry curriculum are responsive to children, planning provocations around questions they have developed that challenge the children toward the edges of their own understandings.

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These picture books for young learners encourage them to grow their social-emotional and collaboration skills as they build with blocks.

In graduate school I was fortunate enough to take a block building course. That's right, block building. There was even a textbook. It was one of the most valuable early childhood classes that I've ever had. The lessons from that class and subsequent years of block building in my kindergarten classroom allowed me to formulate a block area methodology and philosophy.

The block area is a community center, and it must be intentionally designed so that students can access, navigate, and assist in maintaining its organization. The block area isn't simply a play destination, but a collaborative and cooperative learning environment; problems that occur (e.g., law of gravity or social and emotional) are critical teachable moments that help children learn more about themselves, the materials, and their peers. Finally, I learned that the structures themselves must be respected; documenting them via photographs, drawings, or words not only assist in evaluating students' civil engineering skills but also help children say goodbye to their structures at cleanup time.

There are numerous picture books about building as it pertains to construction, but there are far fewer about block building itself. The books that follow are love letters to the block area meant to inspire young engineers and architects. They're also meant to prompt practical classroom discussions about the blocks and the block area-for example, "What do you do when someone knocks your building down?" "How tall is too tall?" "If you don't have the kind of block that you need, what do you do?" And last but not least, "What is the best way to clean up the block area?"

Picture Books About Block Building
Courtesy of Astra Publishing House
Moving Blocks, by Yusuke Yonezu. With the refrain "What are you building? What can it be?" a collection of colored blocks form and re-form to create assorted modes of transportation. (Preschool)

Bigger! Bigger! by Leslie Patricelli. A young construction worker with BIG dreams, and assorted blocks, constructs buildings, a road, and a bridge. With the assistance of her faithful coworkers, Dog and Cat, the city grows bigger and bigger until a giant baby comes to town! (Preschool-kindergarten)

Changes, Changes, by Pat Hutchins. A resourceful wooden toy couple build a block house that inexplicably catches fire. They quickly construct a fire engine with a hose to extinguish the fire, but now knee-deep in water, the blocks are reconstructed into a boat. On land the blocks turn into a truck, then a train, to arrive at a new place to build their new block home. (Preschool-first grade)
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
, by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote this poem in 1913, and Daniel Kirk illustrated it for contemporary times. A boy happily builds a block town on a rainy day. Kirk's illustrations blend the boy's fantasy town and his actual block buildings. (Preschool-first grade)

Crash! Boom!: A Math Tale, by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Chris Chatterton. An industrious young elephant stacks blocks to measure up against. Alas, the blocks topple to the ground. Elephant rebuilds twice with determination in an attempt to make the block tower stronger each time. (Preschool-first grade)

Dreaming Up: A Celebration of Building, by Christy Hale. Children construct buildings juxtaposed with images of famous architectural structures. While this book includes block building, it also features other assorted construction materials. (Preschool-first grade)

Jack the Builder, by Stuart J. Murphy, illustrated by Michael Rex. With an assortment of colored blocks and a boundless imagination, Jack builds a robot toy, a hot dog stand, a ferry boat, an airport control tower, and the tallest building in the world! Ultimately, he uses all of his blocks to build a rocket ship. (Preschool-first grade)
Courtesy of Simon & Schuster
Now What?: A Math Tale by Robie H. Harris, illustrated by Chris Chatterton. A puppy scrutinizes individual blocks to problem-solve how to create a bed of blocks for a nice snooze. (Preschool-first grade)

When I Build With Blocks, by Niki Alling. With this book, set in the classroom, students share all of the potential structures they can create in the block area that will enhance their dramatic play, such as a haunted house for a ghost, a castle for a king, and a plane for a pilot. (Preschool-first grade)

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Inspiring Creativity With Blocks in the Early Childhood Classroom

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These picture books for young learners encourage them to grow their social-emotional and collaboration skills as they build with blocks. In graduate school I was fortunate enough to take a block building course. That's right, block building. There was even a textbook. It was one of the most valuable early childhood classes that I've ever had.

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early childhood education

Young children's natural curiosity lends itself well to PBL-and with the right supports, these projects can be extremely effective.

Project-based learning (PBL) provides an interesting challenge for preschool teachers because it extends beyond early-childhood education mainstays such as teacher-directed themed crafts and short daily lessons.

PBL, which focuses on children learning through investigating a topic or answering a question, is an involved process that could last for as long as the children show interest. Facilitating PBL is easier when teachers pick something to explore based on the children's interests and implement their ideas in the project. When children are engaged in the process, they naturally develop skills they can apply later in life.

Young Filmmakers

While teaching preschool in Seattle, my co-teacher and I observed some children playing cats and dogs in the drama area. We sat with that small group of children and talked about their play. The children expressed that they wanted to make cat and dog masks.

To honor their request, we propped up real pictures of cats and dogs and gave the children a variety of materials. While we filmed the children with their masks, they asked to make a movie! At first, I didn't know how to make that happen, which led to the question, "How do we make a movie?"

During free choice, we pulled the small group of children for 15 minutes a day and asked them for ideas. They made the script and chose the film location outside. They even picked the title, A Dog's Story: A Dog's Life. The sessions grew longer as the children worked on their costumes and did rehearsals.

After two weeks of prepping, filming day finally came. We put a camera on a tripod, and the children took turns filming. They acted out their scenes and said their lines, which we read aloud and they repeated. I put together the final scenes with their choice of music. The children made movie premier posters and wrote invitations for families. They picked the snacks and set up the viewing area.

From an adult's viewpoint, it was quite a bizarre movie with an odd plot of masked children jumping out of bushes and saying funny things. The ending was everyone on all fours meowing and barking. However, the children were so proud when their families came and watched the movie. Our final step was to create a learning story showing how we touched on all learning domains (math, literacy, language, social and emotional, drama, etc.).

4 Keys to Effective PBL in Preschool

1. Teachers create the opportunities. One way to start setting up PBL is to create a classroom culture of innovation. A teacher's viewpoint on children's capabilities is important. The children are inventors, architects, actors, artists, scientists, or engineers. They are capable of doing amazing things with the right space, materials, tools, and time, which is why creating indoor and outdoor spaces with a variety of open materials is so crucial.

2. Observe the children to find your topic or question. Once the environment is established, a teacher needs to intentionally watch and listen. This can be during large group, free choice, and outside time. It's capturing an experience, seeing recurring play, or noticing a comment. How can we make our hot wheels go faster? How do birds make nests? How do you make a rocket ship?

3. Teachers are the project managers. Once a teacher picks a question or topic, they need to see themselves as a facilitator and organizer of the children's plans. Young children have minimal experience and limited access to resources, materials, and information. They're still learning how to get along with others. Teachers will need to model the process and maybe even take on some of the work that's outside of preschool students' abilities, such as conducting online research and using tools like glue guns.

4. Children generate the ideas. To start the project, the teachers can have an open discussion on the topic and write down all the children's responses. What do we know? What do we want to know? How will we learn it? What steps do we need to take? What materials do we need? If the children are stumped, it's OK to make suggestions for them to consider. Posting the children's ideas shows them that their thoughts and concepts have value. The teacher's next job is to make the children's plans come to life-no matter how it may look at the end!

We tend to think PBL is better suited for older children, but preschool-age children are very capable. They just need opportunity. Children are eager to be a part of something big by creating things and solving problems. As a teacher models project planning, they show children how to work as a team, create a plan, and execute collaborative ideas. The focus should be on the process rather than the final product. Our dog movie may not be Academy Award worthy, but the skills and confidence gained by the children were the true gift. It will always be one of my favorite (and most hilarious) moments in teaching.

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Bringing Project-Based Learning to Preschool

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early childhood education Young children's natural curiosity lends itself well to PBL-and with the right supports, these projects can be extremely effective. Project-based learning (PBL) provides an interesting challenge for preschool teachers because it extends beyond early-childhood education mainstays such as teacher-directed themed crafts and short daily lessons.

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A Child-Centered Approach is not just for ECE, early elementary can benefit as well.

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An approach called emergent curriculum can help preschool and early elementary students have a say in their learning.

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John Dewey: Pioneering Theories on Early Years Education

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Discover John Dewey’s enduring impact on early education. Explore practical applications of his theories for nurturing young minds in modern classrooms.

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Developing Creativity and Innovation throught Education

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Developing Creativity and Innovation throught Education

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Developing Creativity and Innovation through Education: Doireann O'Connor at TEDxCIT

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We want to help you transform outdoor learning at your childhood education program. Whether through teacher professional development, custom consultation and design services, or continuing education opportunities, we have a solution for you.

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We want to help you transform outdoor learning at your childhood education program. Whether through teacher professional development, custom consultation and design services, or continuing education opportunities, we have a solution for you.

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Link to Early Childhood Quality Rating Scale-Emergent Curriculum

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Early Childhood Quality Rating Scale—Emergent Curriculum (ECQRS-EC) 9780807786550 | Teachers College Press