“Evie, come look! I’m a superhero! I have superpowers!” calls Jamie from the foyer. Curiosity piqued, Evie leaves her blocks behind to see what her best friend is up to now. “Rainbows!!!” Evie shrieks as she spies the colorful light pattern on Jamie’s wrist. Everyone within earshot dashes over to see the rainbows. And, […]
Today’s dark skies and heavy rain have driven us indoors for what started out as a low-energy day. But now it’s even quieter—as in “too quiet.” I can feel my anxiety rising. But as I look around and see the children engaged in deep, calm block play—with wooden blocks strewn all over our classroom—I […]
“Look what I made!” shouts Parker. Our moment of silent concentration and focus is interrupted by Parker ecstatically showing off her geoboard. “You made a house?” asks Linnea, looking a little wide-eyed and confused. “How did you do that?” “I just added shapes and it worked!” Parker answers, equally amazed by her own creation. “I […]
“Hey, Evelyn! Go get your cell phone and meet me at the stumps!” calls Noa. My head whirls around as I check the classroom to see if a cell phone has actually made its way into school today. Then I see Evelyn running to the basket of dominoes to get her “cell phone.” Whew! […]
‘Why are they moving so fast?” This windy summer morning has Harper and his fellow STEM explorers racing toward the pinwheels in our outdoor play area. “They are really, really fast today,” Jimmy agrees. “They move faster on windy days!” adds five-year-old Noah. “You can stop them and then watch how fast they start up […]
As I look around me, I see busy, contented children. Jimmy and Tali are seeing how high they can stack their rocks. Eve and Noa are creating a tea party for fairies near the sandbox. Eleanor and Salli are creating homes and meals for the squirrels who frequent the rain garden. Everyone is happy and […]
Science. Technology. Engineering. Mathematics. We teach STEM by fostering a love of exploration and discovery as we awaken children’s curiosity about the world they live in. Through this play-based process, children develop STEM skills that lay the foundation for lifelong learning and problem-solving. It was easy for me to introduce my early learners to science, […]
“Hey, Hudson! How did you do that?” Eleanor is amazed at Hudson’s success as he races a car down the ramp. This is the same car that she couldn’t get to stay on the ramp just minutes earlier. I listen as Hudson turns the car over and explains, “See those wheels? The front ones […]
I recently grabbed our dusty box of beanbags off of the top shelf of the closet and took the beanbags outside. We rarely played with them indoors, so what was I saving them for? If a beanbag gets lost or forgotten under the plants and soaked in the rain, who cares? At least it […]
“Will the children be kindergarten ready if they spend their days playing outside?” As educators, we are often asked about kindergarten readiness by nervous parents who want to give their children the best possible start in life. It’s important for parents—and educators—to understand that there are endless opportunities for deep learning when children are connected […]