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This Padlet has been created as a way for the new KG teachers at TKS to immerse in collaborative dialogue around concepts that are currently being explored with the KG team.

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This Padlet has been created as a way for the new KG teachers at TKS to immerse in collaborative dialogue around concepts that are currently being explored with the KG team.

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I'm Fay Martin, the EKC Literacy Strategist that is collaborating with the wonderful TKS KG team. 

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I'm Fay Martin, the EKC Literacy Strategist that is collaborating with the wonderful TKS KG team. 

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Contact me!
fay@erinkentconsulting.com

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Share some play experiences in your current or past setting. What have been your experiences with play in the early years?

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Share some play experiences in your current or past setting. What have been your experiences with play in the early years?

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What do you notice about the environments you explored through the course so far? What do you wonder?

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What do you notice about the environments you explored through the course so far? What do you wonder?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Which teacher roles do you lean on most? How?     Which teacher roles might you strive for? How?

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Which teacher roles do you lean on most? How?     Which teacher roles might you strive for? How?

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What ideas have you tried out? In what contexts? How did it go? Which ideas are you excited to try out? Why?

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What ideas have you tried out? In what contexts? How did it go? Which ideas are you excited to try out? Why?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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What ideas are bubbling up for you? Share a few to generate dialogue here.

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What ideas are bubbling up for you? Share a few to generate dialogue here.

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Try out a story idea using loose parts or any other symbolic items and post a picture here! Reflect on what you learned about yourself as a writer.

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Try out a story idea using loose parts or any other symbolic items and post a picture here! Reflect on what you learned about yourself as a writer.

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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What are some ways you document in your Early Years classroom? What has worked for you? What feels tricky?

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What are some ways you document in your Early Years classroom? What has worked for you? What feels tricky?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Gots: What will you carry with you? What resonated with you?                     Wants: What are you still wondering?

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Kia Ora! I'm Glenda Forgie and I'm from New Zealand. I'm an Elementary School trained teacher. I've been relief teaching in New Zealand since February, mostly in Montessori Early Childhood Centers - a new experience!

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In my last school, 'uninterrupted play' had been introduced from KG1-Grade 1. It was scheduled for a set period of time each day for each grade level. Teachers valued the concept of play but grappled with how to ensure that they met other curriculum expectations and how to assess and document student learning and growth. In my recent experience in Montessori EC centers, I have noticed the children are learning through play most of the day. The learning is guided through the NZ EC framework and Montessori framework, including a lot of the developmental tools/materials. I'm relatively new to the early years, so I haven't had much experience with play. (Glenda)

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Something that resonated with me is the importance of play - which is fundamental for children's health and well-being. Going back over the six stages of play was a good review for me. What I found interesting is the idea of intentional play and how we can use the workshop model as a framework for making play purposeful. Seeing the connection between the different components of play and literacy also resonated with me. I'm curious to learn more about intentional play - the text you recommended looks great! (Glenda)

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Hi everyone, my name's Annemiek. I currently live in Bangkok and I am about to finish up the school year with my 5/6 years olds.

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I really resonated with the second part of session 1, as I am familiar with both the Montessori and Waldorf (somewhat). The last two years I have been lucky to work with 1 one of the founders of the Reggio Emilia approach, too. When I started teaching in the Netherlands roughly 10 years ago, early years was mainly about play, and learning through play and getting 'ready' for academic learning after the child turns six. When I moved abroad to teach internationally, I had to get used to the more academic intentions of the early years settings I worked in and at times I have felt that the balance wasn't quite right. I think how play is defined really depends on the setting you work in and what is accepted within the context. (Annemiek)

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I love how the importance of play is acknowledged in this course, as I truly believe it is the essence of childhood. As an educator I think it is so important to go back to your 'why' - why is play so important for you? And then follow up with how you make this happen in the classroom. I really appreciated the 6 stages of play, having it as a continuum really helps when observing the children in their play. I also liked how the workshop framework was explained to be used for many different subject areas, I wonder how (further along in this course) literacy and play will be intertwined. (Annemiek)

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I think in all these examples you can clearly see the children being active, leading/initiating the activity. The materials are easy to reach at eye-level, provoking curiosity and there have been open-ended materials used (from what I could notice in the picture). - Annemiek

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I think I am mostly an observer and advocate initially. Because by looking closely at the children are doing and already capable of, you can identify next steps to embark on with the children. You get to know their interests and create ideas that spark new inquiries. Also, by spending all this time with the children, you get to be an advocate for their learning and overall wellbeing. (Annemiek)

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I was really interested in looking at the pictures of other classrooms and setups in this second session. Since I have been working in a Reggio-inspired school, I am used to this focus on the environment being the third teacher and setting up provocations for children’s learning. I also liked the third part of this session, where again the link between the brain and emotion was highlighted.

I wonder as part of section 6 if the different kinds of play/learning can be combined? I think it could be possible to still include specific skill stations as part of the choices in free play, or set up provocations in the choices the children can do during ‘free play’. (Annemiek)

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I appreciate how the story workshop is more fluid in terms of going back to making/rehearsing after a bit of writing - rather than the phased/structured 3 parts of the writer's workshop. I think that also aligns better with children, as they develop their stories more often in a cyclical way, adding bits and taking things out, rather than in a linear way of planning it all and then writing it all. I haven't been able to try out a story as my life is pretty much packed up in boxes at the moment, but I will definitely attempt this when the situation lends itself to it. (Annemiek)

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I like how the predictability was stressed in the fifth section of this part. I think in early years you spend a lot of time setting up and following up with routines to get the children ready to work/play independently to also allow time for small groups and 1:1 conferring.

I really want to try using more different materials to write stories (clay, more and different loose parts, etc.), I think it gives so much more agency to the children once they choose what materials, what paper etc to create a story with, also as I believe that the children need to speak/talk a lot about their writing before even attempting to write it. (Annemiek)

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It was great to be reminded about the importance of reading for young learners. I was especially ‘glad’ that it was mentioned that the experiences (such as syllable work, rhyme etc.) in early years and the joy/passion for reading lay the building blocks for reading success when they grow older.

I remember doing shared reading for the first time in my last class. We were focusing on poetry and it was so powerful to read/chant along together. (Annemiek)

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I liked how the rough year outline was given in the seventh section of this part and how links can be made with units of inquiry. It’s really helpful to be given some guidelines to build upon for the new academic year.
I again loved all the loose materials examples given in the last part, I want to have it all in the classroom now :) -(Annemiek)

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The layout of the learning community shows designated areas for play, guided explorations, and stations. The children can move easily between the different areas, and there is space for ongoing projects. The furniture in the different spaces can be used for multiple purposes and is accessible for children. There are a variety of materials that are easily accessible and well organized, provoking curiosity. There are a lot of natural materials that children can interact with. The displays show student learning and process, co-constructed anchor charts, and forms of documentation. (Glenda)

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I observe and research closely to notice what children are doing. I use the data to help inform me of where the children are at and what their next steps might be. I reflect and think about how I might get children there and plan accordingly. I use different tools to help guide the learning. (Glenda)

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An area of growth for me is to set up beautifully aesthetic learning spaces that foster inquiry and agency. The slides on Space - Furniture, and layout, Materials, Displays, and Time with questions to consider, provide a checklist of important things to consider when setting up a classroom. I will refer back to these at the beginning of the year. Having the tool - What will you implement? When? And What support or materials might you need? resonated with me in helping to begin creating a goal going forward. (Glenda)

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I'm familiar with Reader's and Writer's Workshop, having taught it in First Grade, but not story workshop. I enjoyed seeing the connection between the different components of the two models. I like the idea that children can use play to make and tell stories, then transfer their stories onto paper - I'm definitely excited about trying this model out, especially at the beginning of the year as students transition into KG. (Glenda)

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The story workshop model resonated with me - learning how to incorporate play, story-making, and storytelling in the workshop. The transfer from the making/telling to the drawing/writing in booklets or on paper is quite a significant shift for children. I wonder how to support children with this transition when they do not want to capture their stories on paper, especially when there are expectations to meet. (Glenda)

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Hey y'all! I'm currently in Abu Dhabi finishing up the year as a KG Inclusion Specialist.  I participated in this amazing PD last summer with Fay on my own and now I'm excited to collaborate with new colleagues from TKS and Fay!

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I didn't try out a story idea, but I used parts of the story workshop approach with a couple of girls in the Montessori center I was working in last week. I came in from monitoring children outside when I noticed this amazing structure two girls (3 years old) had been working on. They were excited to tell me that it was a castle. I asked them to tell me a story about their castle. They told me that a princess lived there, and a dragon had come, and they were able to scare the dragon away with their magic powers. I recorded their story on paper as the teacher wanted to include it in a learning story. I asked them if they could capture their story in pictures. They walked over to where the paper and drawing tools were and drew the characters in the story, describing them to me. I recorded their descriptions on separate paper. They wrote their own names on their pictures. I complemented them on being story makers, tellers, and writers.  The children are not in the routine of story workshop, but the process worked naturally and in the moment with these two girls. It worked out beautifully. (Glenda)

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There are a lot of great ideas that are helping me to think about how to set up the learning environment and the use of space and materials at the beginning of the academic year to support literacy play, such as:
*Strategically placing books within the learning environment.
*Incorporating rhymes, chants, and songs regularly
*Data supporting the importance of shared reading, compared to guided reading - this was a wow moment - increasing shared reading and writing opportunities
*Getting set up for story workshop - the idea of not capturing stories digitally at the beginning and then having one space available  - to support management.
*Including materials in the story workshop that support the unit of inquiry was a good reminder of how we can connect key concepts. (Glenda)

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I'm very familiar with the IB PYP Curriculum, LC Units of Study, Aero and Common Core Standards, collaboratively designing units of inquiry in all core subject areas - integrated and stand-alone units with Elementary School-aged students. The biggest shift for me will be to approach all this work with a playful mindset - Looking at ways to incorporate play in the designing, planning, implementing, assessing and reflecting stages of the learning process. (Glenda)

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My experience has been in ES. Here are some of the ways I have documented learning:
*Seesaw - digital portfolio - Seesaw is a great digital tool that young learners can learn to use independently - I'd like to explore the tool in depth, such as using the tracking system to monitor skills or ATLs.
*Checklists using I can statements
*Goal setting
*Observations and anecdotal notes
*Displays - wonder walls to capture the learning process
*Student work samples
*Assessment data - summative and formative
*Tracking systems to monitor progress and growth and also student engagement and choice

In my previous school, the teachers were grappling with what/how to document during uninterrupted or choice play - I'm wondering how teams go about this? (Glenda)

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My overarching goal is to design and create a beautifully aesthetic learning environment that promotes inquiry and agency through the lens of play. Documentation panels are definitely a form of documentation that I'd be interested in trying out to support my goal. In New Zealand, Learning Stories, are used as one of the main forms of documentation. I would like to learn how to create a learning story, too.

I have so much to explore and learn as an Early Years teacher, and I can't wait to get started!
(Glenda)

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In terms of what I've used in the past to collect data is very similar to the comment above; anecdotal notes, goal setting, Seesaw, documentation panels but also various data from assessments and tracking systems. What I liked about my previous workplace is the checklists for children were called 'toolkits' and there was choice given to the 'tools' the children felt comfortable to use in either reading or writing, hence these were used for differentiation, as well.

We also used to start the year with a community panel in which portraits and personal quotes were presented next to every classroom door. And finally, we took a lot of photo's every day, which helped writing up anecdotal notes etc.

I think the main challenge is time to keep it all up. But I think as Fay said it's important for a school or team to decide what's the purpose of collecting the data and make choices in how to go about that. (Annemiek

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I have gotten a lot from this course, I really appreciated the videos and the topics that were covered. I specifically liked that it has a main focus on early years and how it intertwined the importance of play and movement with the readers' & writer's workshops. I really appreciate that parent partnerships were mentioned in the last video, I am really passionate about this topic since I am currently writing my thesis about this.

I am curious to see how this all takes shape in TKS and looking forward to join soon! (Annemiek)

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As I've watched my kindergarten students grow from afar, I've been working to create more rehearsal opportunities in their writing. I know how important rehearsal is for a young writer, but teaching remotely creates some obstacles. It also, more recently, has presented some opportunities.

When we returned to learning after the winter break, I decided to deconstruct the places I was using rehearsal and think about what types of rehearsal were suiting my students best. I wanted to consider how I could more efficiently use rehearsal while also urging writers to take this on with more independence. Often rehearsal is overlooked by a young writer and requires prompting when it is not part of a regular writing routine. Since we would be revisiting our routines, this was a great time for me to put a focus back on the rehearsal work writers needed to do.

While I deconstructed what rehearsal entails, I started to imagine how parts fit together and how these parts build upon one another.

In the early weeks of January, I emphasized some unstructured talk and re-launched writing workshop with a mini show and tell style unit. We practiced touching pages, telling stories across our hands, and repeating sequences.

In a face-to-face setting, I can support students by adding structure to their writing with lines representing the words they are rehearsing. Since this is challenging in a remote setting, I decided the alternative was for students to listen and pause videos of their own rehearsals to capture a few words at a time.

You'll notice the position of a portion of this video. In my lesson on Seesaw, I was able to rotate the video for easier viewing and flow.

All of this was in an effort to free up the minds of little writers to do the hard work of recording the letters and sounds they were hearing and words they already know.

The goal of rehearsal is to support students in structuring their thinking so they can more automatically think and then write!

Take a look at these kindergarten writers and how their video rehearsals helped them to write and say more!

My favorite book is Elbow Grease.

I got Elbow Grease on Christmas.

I love puppy.

I got my puppy for my birthday.

Lar's Kitchen

Progressing in this way is dependent on many factors. Certainly, the students' confidence and skill level with letter formation and sounds, their knowledge of their topic, and their understanding of words and letters play a role.

With a recent resurgence of focus on rehearsal, I am finding students are working on saying more and writing longer. This is the goal I continue to keep at my center. Teaching kindergarten students to believe in themselves as writers, take chances, and say more is the ultimate goal. Any step closer to this is worth the time. What work would you include within the practices of writing workshop with your young writers?

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As I've watched my kindergarten students grow from afar, I've been working to create more rehearsal opportunities in their writing. I know how important rehearsal is for a young writer, but teaching remotely creates some obstacles. It also, more recently, has presented some opportunities.

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When thinking of this work:

What are you most Excited about?
What feels Worrisome?
What do you Need to know more about?
What are your personal next Steps?

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- Going through this learning journey with you and the children from the beginning of the year!
- So far so good.
- Setting up the classroom environment in preparation for the writers/readers workshop.

- Raghad

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What are you most Excited about?- Finding fun ways to engage my K2 students in story workshop.
What feels Worrisome?- That no one will want to participate.
What do you Need to know more about?
What are your personal next Steps?- Will revisit this soon...

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I'm Excited about meeting the children, and get to know them.

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My name is Chelle Jones. I will be joining TKS form Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. I have worked and lived int he UAE for the last 5 years. I will be Joining TKS as a K2 teacher!

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I am excited to (hopefully) integrate new learning with what I have experienced in previous workplaces (loose parts play, story workshop, Reggio approach).
I am curious to find out how play is set up in the K2 schedule and what the expectations are in terms of free play and choice play.
Since I am new to the PYP, it will be my next step to dive into how that takes shape in TKS and in early years specifically. -Annemiek

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I'm excited to transition from ES to Early Childhood learning and teaching. I'm interested in setting up an environment where children are inquiring through the lens of play. Setting up engaging learning spaces, with a focus on space, materials, and time - the environment as the third teacher - is an area I'd like to work on. (Glenda)

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TKS K1-3 Combined Session Building Bridges

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TKS K1-3 Combined Session Building Bridges (1)

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TKS K1-3 Combined Session Building Bridges (2)

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TKS KG Provocation on Development - Google Jamboard

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TKS K1-3 Combined Session Building Bridges (3)

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IB PYP Symbolic Expression & Exploration

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IB PYP Symbolic Expression & Exploration

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The early years in the PYP - symbolic expression