Beginning of the year provocations

As a way to engage the students at the beginning of the year, I set up a provocation (invitation to learning) on exploring lines. I felt this was a safe and motivating topic that would support students at varying abilities to feel confident in expressing themselves creatively. Keeping in mind the many ways that children learn (Hundred Languages of Children), I placed plasticine, crayons and paper, as well as wire (large twist ties), to allow for exploration using various channels…

At the beginning of every year my teaching partner and I incorporate lots of name recognition, construction, and writing provocations to engage children. Here are some of our favourites so far this…

Looking for all about me or get to know you activities for first day or first week of kindergarten. Making self portraits with loose parts is just one of the fun activities and ideas you'll find that will help you get to know your students in the beginning of the school year. Great for kindergarten and first grade students.

At the beginning of every year my teaching partner and I incorporate lots of name recognition, construction, and writing provocations to engage children. Here are some of our favourites so far this…

Hi friends! I love when other people post about their classroom set-up so today I thought I would show you ours! This is the first year that I am in the same room as the year before. We had a set-up that worked well so we kept it very similar for now. Here is a look from my teacher desk: This picture was taken before the first day of school. You can see that my walls are pretty bare! We will be filling them up with the student's work, co-created board titles and anchor charts very soon. Here…

Family photo wall - Anti bias education starts with making sure all your students feel represented and comfortable in the classroom. #antibias #earlychildhood #preschoolclassroom

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

Welcome to The Curious Kindergarten, a blog about the discoveries my students and I make in our full-day kindergarten! A bit about me: I have been teaching Kindergarten for several years and have recently started implementing some philosophies from Reggio Emilia into my classroom. Our learning journey is a work in progress, and I hope visitors view it as just that: an opportunity to reflect and grow each day. Thanks for stopping by!

Everyone loves rainbows...especially young children! While most kids come to me knowing 'their colors', (usually with very strong opinions about one or two) a review and assessment is always an important part to the beginning of the year activities. I love teaching a unit about colors. We sort objects by color, talk about our favorite color, paint with colors, and thanks to my co-teacher's wonderful idea-we make an amazing rainbow with a variety of materials and LOTS of glue!