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Centers and Rotations

How to Teach Phonics in 15, 30, or 45 Minutes a Day

Do you have a phonics block built into your kindergarten day, or is it combined with your reading time? Do you have 45 minutes to an hour to teach those foundational skills, or are they taught during a warm up …

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Beginning of Year

Planning with Google Calendar: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you’re here, you may be seeking out a better way to lesson plan. Well I’ve got something for you that I have been using for a few years now that I love! Google Calendar is such an easy-to-use platform …

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Beginning of Year

Live, Learn, and Share: My Best Advice to New Teachers

This post is a long-time coming. Having just finished another school year, I am reflecting on my time in the classroom like I do each summer. This year, though, it feels different. There are things I *finally* think I have …

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Flexible Seating Setup and Organization

How I Made Flexible Seating Work in Kindergarten

I’ve wanted flexible seating since it started “trending” a few years ago. Teaching kindergarten, I was so intrigued by the notion of replacing the typical tables, chairs, and rug layout of my classroom into something more developmentally appropriate. I held …

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Centers and Rotations

From Worksheets to Games: How to Make Center Time More Meaningful

I can still remember my first year of teaching, getting so excited to do “centers” in my classroom. I was really into reading blogs and it seemed like centers were all the rage. So I turned my cubby cabinet into …

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Recent Posts

  • What is a “co-created” classroom?
  • A TK Daily Schedule for Full and Half Day Programs
  • 3 Play-Based Activities for Fall in TK and Kindergarten
  • All About Me: An Identity Study in Kindergarten and TK
  • The Power of Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten

researchandplay

Holly | Early Childhood Educator
Have an upcoming meet and greet for incoming stude Have an upcoming meet and greet for incoming students?

We’re handing out brochures so that families can learn about our TK program and get ready for the next school year!

The other parts of the brochure are specific to our school and list contact info, so I can’t share that. But this was super easy to make in @canva if you want to try!

#transitionalkindergarten #iteachtk #earlychildhoodeducator #teachergram
Things that took me the majority of the school yea Things that took me the majority of the school year to try: Shopping baskets for art supplies 🎨

Our art table would be the messiest and hardest area to clean at the end of play workshop. After months of losing tops to markers, forgetting to put things back, and saying, “That’s not mine!” we began using shopping baskets.

This area gets cleaned up SO much quicker now. It’s so easy for kids to see exactly which supplies they took out, and it helps them plan their art.

Why didn’t I think of this back in September? Probably because my brain runs on 25% capacity during that time of the year 😅

#earlychildhoodclassroom #earlychildhoodeducation #reggioinspired #playbasedlearning #iteachtk #tkteacher
An example of how to teach into play: These kiddo An example of how to teach into play:

These kiddos got out our magnet tiles during soft start time and began to build a long “rainbow road” for Brownie (our stuffed animal class mascot). I noticed, joined in, and started asking some questions…

“Can Brownie pick the next color? I think he wants to try a pattern! Red, orange, red…what’s next?”

“How many squares can Brownie walk down? Let’s count!”

“Do you think you can make this road longer than our rug? Oh it’s as long as….”

In that short interaction, we practiced patterns, counting, and measurement. Not every play scenario leads to such explicit content questions nor should it. Sometimes kids just need to play without interference from grown ups. But this is one way you can teach “into” play in TK!
Why I don’t have a “long” play workshop anym Why I don’t have a “long” play workshop anymore…and what works instead!

Early in the year, we began with a 30 minute, completely child-led play workshop. It was working well! Children were able to sustain their attention, had the chance to form relationships, and were able to practice our social skills for any conflicts.

So, I started extending the amount of time we played! I thought more time would equal deeper exploration. And while that was true for some of my TK students, many others started showing signs of being overwhelmed with the hour I was now giving them to play.

What do we do now?

40 minutes of child-led play during which I push into areas to play alongside or to coach with social skills

It works for us because any longer started leading to hopping around play areas without sustained attention or effort. It was also leading to more peer conflict that I had to support beyond just coaching them to solve it on their own. It also led to big messes that became overwhelming for kids to clean up on their own.

More isn’t always better. Be intentional and observant and follow your students’ needs. They’re show you if something is working or not!
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