Branching Out: Guiding from ECE to the Early Years of School

Today I attended the above Professional Development session at The Orchard Child Care Centre and Kaharoa School.  The great session gave me a number of ideas and things I'd like to take back immediately to my own Play Based Learning classroom.   These include:

• instead of 'tidy up time' using the terminology of 'refreshing the space' - a much more positive way to approaching it.  Both facilitators today mentioned this use of music during this time.
• encouraging students to join into mat time by asking "Are you Ready?" and giving them the opportunity to not quite be ready - this will work nicely with our new 1:1 reading program - rather than me asking a student "Would you like to read with me?" which gives the expectation that they don't have to, an "Are you Ready to read with me?" approach, gives the expectation, that if not now, it will be later.
• instead of using the name "Learning Stories", change it to "Play Memoirs", a much more authentic name for what is being created.
• increase my printing budget so all Play Memoirs can be printed and kept in a clear file in the classroom for students to browse at any time and revisit the exciting things they are doing
• a basket for the Numicon so students can use this in their play
• stones to indicate if students would like milk that day - similar to this sign in arrangement

Sign in stones - add one to the basket if you are at school

Hanging hooks for the mud kitchen

Dishracks under the mud kitchen to collect equipment

Microwave oven in the mud kitchen

Permanent space for writing nailed to the fence

Some great story ideas with loose parts - we need to challenge ourselves to create these in 2020

A great way of bringing fire into the playground - this is for making popcorn

A great use of the wooden reels - tables!

Native bird puppets - a great way to incorporate bi-culturalism

A free standing sign - explore Gary making these

The option of having tea each day - all sourced from an opshop and herbal tea made each day - great for wellbeing

An awesome way to store shoes and socks and hats

What a welcome on the fence when you come in

Watering cans hung in their place - we need more of these!

A great way of capturing parent voice - could be done each year from PEPs

• Explore the book Mauri Ora - Alsop & Kupenga - include these short whakataukis on Learning Memoirs alongside some Te Reo