Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
Physics in Kindergarten? Absolutely! This is why play is so important in Early Childhood Education! How else could children begin to have a basic concept of how physics works unless they have a chance to explore and experiment with it freely. Future knowledge of these concepts will be built upon the foundational knowledge developed from these playful experiences. I had come up with the idea when I had noticed that while exploring through super heroes the kids were very engaged in the catapults and exploring motion. They also were starting to create ramps in our Maker's Space and asking for marbles and balls to roll down them. I thought this would evolve into an inquiry on simple machines, so I set up some experiences for them to explore screws, inclined planes and levers. It was not easy getting those screws into the wood! They were really building up some much needed fine motor muscles! Here they could explore with inclined planes and see how the angle affects the motion of the object rolling down the plane. At the Lego table they were challenged to create a maze and then figure out how they could move the marble through the maze. They needed to create an inclined plane to make it move. They explored motion and gravity through creating art by dripping paint and seeing how the angle made the paint go down quickly. They explored motion through inclined planes by creating marble paintings by dropping paint on their paper and rolling a marble through it. They explored levers by using catapults and different objects to predict and then find out which object the catapult would throw the furthest. Here they are measuring and comparing lengths to show how far each object was catapulted. I set out a marble run to explore. They loved this! Many became frustrated and had to figure out how to get their marble run to stand by itself. They enjoyed seeing how high they could make them and watching the motion of the marbles as they went through each part. This area was such a big hit, I decided to show them a video of a Rube Goldberg Machine. This is when our inquiry started to go in a different direction. Rube Goldburg Machines are so fun to watch and create! Here is the link to the video that I showed the class that inspired them for the rest of this inquiry! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8cuuP4Jmio You have to watch it! You will love it! Once they saw this, all they wanted to do was create Rube Goldberg Machines! They started out simple, but then when I added the ramps to the building area, they got very creative when using both old and new materials to create more complex machines. We continued to watch other videos of Rube Goldberg Machines for inspiration. The friend below had to figure out how to keep the marble on his track. He figured out he needed a boundary on each side. They learned very quickly that Rube Goldberg Machines never worked the first time, and usually not the second or third time either. When I was watching them, I was so proud because even though it was frustrating for them, they showed true grit and continued to problem solve until they could get it to work. Below, this friend had to figure out why the corks did not fall as the dominos did. He ended up using a math manipulative we have with the properties of a domino that was thinner and would knock over easier. The teamwork and collaboration amazed me. They worked together and listened to each others idea. When the machine did not work, they worked together to figure it out! Noticing the attributes of the dominos, the group below created the domino effect using blocks and tunnels. Can you see the collaboration and teamwork in the pictures below? In the next pictures, this group of girls were trying to create a machine using dominos and cubes. I love how they created decorations around and within their machine. When they were done, they wanted to take a video to show the class. We took the video but ran into a problem. The dominoes did not fall. They had to stop and figure out what went wrong. They were so disappointed because they had worked on it for a good 30 minutes, but after the initial feeling of disappointment, I saw that that they have learned how to handle disappointment. They decided right away they would try again the next day. We showed the video to the class and they helped them figure out why it didn't work. We also watched a video that showed a giant domino run so they could observe how it worked. The next day, they spaced the dominos based on what they learned so they would have room to fall and hit the next one. It took them almost 45 minutes because they kept falling down before they were finished. Again, they handled their frustration and persisted. This time they were successful! Both videos of the failed one and successful one can be found on my Instagram account darlamyersclass. You have to check out their reactions when they succeeded! All that work was worth it for them! This friend below was exploring how both speed and angles affect motion. He had to figure out the incline of the tube to get the marble to be fast enough to hit an angled block hard enough to change direction and then hit the rock. He kept trying and trying, adjusting both the incline, the angle of the block and the rock each time until he was successful! The look of accomplishment in their eyes was so wonderful to see! They were all so proud of their creations. So do you think play is just play anymore? Can you see the complex skills they are developing that they will need in order to succeed in school and in their future careers? Can you see some of foundational skills being laid for physics, and geometry here? Some of their most important learning comes through play! That being said, we also have been working hard in math and literacy! We have been studying fairy tails to help us with our story comprehension and retelling skills. The experience below offered them an invitation to retell the Three Little Pigs. They also loved writing their own versions of the fairy tales we read which showed such great thought and imagination! Some of their books spanned across six pages! We also had a STEM challenge where they had to develop and write a plan to build a house using nothing by index cards and masking tape that would be strong enough to withstand the "Big Bad Blow Dryer!" Then they had to follow their plan. They had a lot of fun with this! We gathered and tried them all out and discussed what attributes the houses that blew away or stayed put had in common. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the houses! Stay tuned for next time when we find out what the kids will be interested in exploring next.
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View our new spatial reasoning blog post: 10 Playful Spatial Reasoning Provocations Part 2 here. As our kindergarten team continues to learn more about children and their development in spatial thi…
Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
Discover what Reggio math provocations are and how to plan and set up inviting Reggio inspired math provocations in your kindergarten or preschool classroom. You will have your children engaged with hands-on learning in no time.
In my play based classroom there are 10 essential learning areas. I cannot do without them. The provocations and resources offered in these areas change throughout the year dependent on children's interests and the curriculum intent. The placement of these 10 areas within the classroom is thoughtf
A Kindergarten blog about effective teaching and making learning fun.
Planning a water inquiry for kindergarten students is some of the most fun I have had. They had so much fun engaging in hands-on learning.
We are exploring magnets here in kindergarten! We sorted objects between magnetic and not magnetic. I wanted the kids to be able to glue down their sort to display in the hallway. You could use tape or regular glue, but in the interest of time I opted for a glue gun. This SUPER cool temp glue gun (you have to buy special glue sticks but they are not expensive) eliminates the worry over burns! But like I said, tape works too. We have some magnet sorting in our science station
Engage your students in kindergarten science learning in 3 different ways. Guide and teach them as they wonder and inquire about the world.
View our new spatial reasoning blog post: 10 Playful Spatial Reasoning Provocations Part 2 here. As our kindergarten team continues to learn more about children and their development in spatial thi…
How do you teach measurement in kindergarten? It isn’t the easiest math skill to teach that’s for sure but these fun and engaging measurement activities for kindergarten and preschool children will help you.
Are you teaching the early years biology strand and looking for some engaging and educational science provocations to help your students learn about Living Things? In this blog post there are 5 engaging living things provocations to inspire you. There are also tips and ideas to help you set u
How high can you build? Your kids will love this STEM challenge and it requires little to no prep from parents/teachers. Start building today!
Do you want to get started with project based learning, but you’re not sure how? Maybe project based learning sounds too complicated, in-depth, and overwhelming to you? That’s how I felt when I first delved into PBL. But now I know there is nothing to be afraid of! In this post, I will give a quick explanation of project-based learning and then give you some tips and ideas to begin to implement it in your own classroom. What is Project Based Learning? Project based learning, simply stated, is an authentic learning experience
The best kind of kindergarten STEM challenge is one that has children working together to find a solution to a fun, engaging problem using simple supplies that don't take lots of prep time. Enter The Floor is Lava STEM activity for kindergarteners. It's so simple, you can do it with preschoolers too! Don't forget to
Spark questions and wonders with these kindergarten inquiry ideas by setting up provocations for your students to explore.
In this blog you will see a journey being taken by students and teacher to build up our minds, muscles and imaginations together through inquiry, exploration, investigation, problem solving and teamwork!
Let’s get ready for kindergarten! I get emails every single day from parents asking me what their child needs to learn so they can be ready for kindergarten. I also get notes from teachers asking me for a prep program to help incoming kindergarten students get ready for the first day of school. I
Get your free copy of our latest resource: Provocations: A Start Up Guide
Inquiry centers and activities to explore flowers and seeds. Use inquiry based learning about plants with technology, hands-on learning and exploration.
Since the middle of February while were creating our dragon project, I started to notice something. The kids were taking the logs out of our building area and creating "bands" with them as drum sets. Kids were making shaker's at the maker's space, two friends brought three sizes of clay to me and wanted to show the class how when they thumped them each size made a different sound. Another friend took a plastic bottle wrapper off the bottle and pulled on both ends sharply and showing us the snapping sound it made. I was hoping to avoid it this year, but somehow, every year, kids start exploring sound! So....guess what our next large scale inquiry is: Sound! I set out some areas for them to explore first. Then we will let them wonder. I set out glasses for them to compose their own music and perform for the class. I had planned on it being an exploration of pitch, but they noticed something else instead. At first the compositions were very random, then one friend colored an AB pattern and played it. It sparked a discussion on how there could be patterns in sound and also defined "rhythm" as their patterns became more complex. After they were done with this area, I set out these materials to see what they noticed about sound. We discovered that the more water that was in the bowls, the lower the pitch and the less water the higher the pitch! For our Engineers, I put out materials for them to create instruments and show what you have to do to get it it to produce sound. They created instruments that produced sound through shaking, striking, rubbing and strumming. For our artists, I set out pictures of instruments for them to look closer and then draw its outline with a sharpie and creatively paint it with watercolors. We also looked at Picasso's Blue Guitar painting, then hung it at our easel to inspire artists to create their own. As they explored, two main things came up in our wonders which became our driving questions. How is sound made? When does sound become music? We learned that sound is caused by vibrations and that the sound waves travel through the air to our ears. But something had to happen to make the vibrations start? The kids through exploring came to the conclusion that sound is made by striking, shaking, blowing, rubbing, strumming and plucking. We made instruments to model the different ways to make sound. To show that sound can be made by shaking, we made maracas. To explore the concept of pitch, we provided different fillings for maracas: Sand (not pictured), rice and two different sizes of beans, then we compared them. We also used these as guiros to show show that sound can be made by rubbing. They just ran a craft stick over the ridges of the bottle. To show that sound can be made by blowing, we made harmonicas! The first time we tried them they didn't work. I realized that we needed thicker rubber bands to create the sound. They could tell the rubber bands were vibrating as they produced sound. They were very loud! The kids loved them! To show that sound can be made by strumming or plucking, we made cup guitars! They have a great rich sound when you put them by your ear and pluck them as the sound is amplified by the cup! We used three different sized rubber bands to create different pitches. The kids could really see the vibrations with these. They could also feel the vibrations on their hands. To show that sound can be made by banging, we made drums! To organize our data, we created a web map showing the different ways to make sound and the instruments that are used for each one. To explore when sound becomes music, I showed them videos of a group called STOMP. They use random objects to create different rhythms with different pitches. Look them up on YouTube! They are amazing and the kids loved watching them. They were inspired and created their own STOMP inspired groups using random objects we could find in our room and our closet! You can see some videos of these on my Instagram account at darlamyersclass. Through STOMP we realized that when sound has a pattern it gives it rhythm, and when sound has different pitches added to the rhythm it creates music! After all of our exploring and investigating, we wrote informational books about sound to show what they learned. The kids really loved exploring the science of sound! Another thing going on in our room is a Mo Willems author study. These little friends have been in our reading area all year long. The kids didn't think they were really anything special until... we read one of his Elephant and Piggy books. The kids have really enjoyed listening to and reading his Elephant and Piggy books. They have been very inspired by him in Writer's Workshop and many Elephant and Piggy stories have been written by them. They decided that they wanted to turn our dramatic play area into an Elephant and Piggy Workshop where they could read and write stories about them! Now these stuffed animals are extra special to them! Here is our finished area! They made a sign: This area has been very popular! A lot of reading and writing skills are being practiced here! I am sure as we read his pigeon and Knuffle Bunny books, they will be inspired to write stories about them in this area also! We brought out our collaborative canvas again! It just didn't seem finished yet! I poured some paint on it and the kids used large craft sticks to scrape the paint across the canvas. They loved this process! I think next we will start adding some texture and three dimensional aspects to it! Here is a clue as to what we are going to discover next! It fits in this box!
Project/Inquiry Based Learning has been a passion of mine ever since I discovered it about 5 years ago. Since then, I have stepped out of m...
Mix some architecture and engineering skills with this kindergarten and preschool STEM activity for kids. Use simple materials.
Term 4. This term I am excited to start exploring buildings, structures and materials with my class. We are hoping to inquire into the properties of materials, the impact of the environment on mate…
Little Learners are captivated by science! In this post, we're talking all about the Little Learner Science Curriculum and hopefully answer the questions you may have about it. First things first, the science curriculum has been designed specifically for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten using the NGSS standards, various state standards, as well as current research. Research tells us students learn by doing, feeling, touching, and examining, so that's just what this science curriculum is packed full of! I have included hands-on science activities that are appropriate for little learners.
The Best Animal Habitat Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergarten, STEM for Preschoolers, Building animal habitats with preschoolers through Reggio Provocations, Animal Sensory bins and animal research for kids. STEM Activities for Kids with Hands on Activities
Don't miss out on this free kindergarten prep worksheet! It's free and has over 20 pages for your child to use and learn from!
This past week we have been discussing what belonging to a community means, what communities we belong to (families, class/school, neighbourhoods, sports teams), and the people and places within these communities. We began by discussing the different places we would find in our community and why they are important. Then students had a chance to …
Learning provocations are used in the classroom to "provoke" thought and motivate thinking or investigation. There is some debate regarding the difference between a learning invitation and a learning provocation. Many people use these terms interchangeably. A little research found that a
The best kind of kindergarten STEM challenge is one that has children working together to find a solution to a fun, engaging problem using simple supplies that don't take lots of prep time. Enter The Floor is Lava STEM activity for kindergarteners. It's so simple, you can do it with preschoolers too! Don't forget to
At Cedarsong Forest Kindergarten on Vashon Island, Washington, the forest is the classroom.
Le jeune enfant n’a pas la notion de partage. Les disputes entre enfants dans les lieux d’accueil sont régulièrement causées par la difficulté à partager leurs jouets. Il est encore dans un monde très égocentrique et ne comprend pas que les adultes puissent le réprimander parce qu’il ne veut pas prêter ses jouets. La solution ne serait-elle pas d’avoir suffisamment de jouets identiques pour chaque enfant ?
Science, technology, engineering, and math activities for kindergarteners. A list of over 30 great STEM activities for kindergarten for at home or in the classroom!
Reinforce measurement skills with these hands-on and fun measurement centers. Students can use these easy prep math activities to practice measuring.
