Over the summer, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the newly revised Ontario Kindergarten Curriculum and digging deeper into my own understandings around the big ideas, conceptual understandings and how they fit into the newly designed Four Frames model: 

Self Regulation and Well-Being

Belonging and Contributing

Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours

Problem Solving and Innovating. 

After working closely with a few inspiring friends and colleagues since last year and over the summer who always seem to push my thinking, I didn't waste any time diving into the new document and begin reflecting around how I could develop a system that would help capture student thinking and learning in an authentic, purposeful and meaningful way for myself, my students and their families. 

Google Drive: A Innovative and Collaborative Tool in our Classroom

"Modern learning is about doing authentic work in the world that can be amplified by technology." (Will Richardson)

Technology is just one way we enhance our pedagogy and provide flexible structures for ourselves as a teaching team to capture what our students are saying, doing and representing as part of our assessment practices and daily programming. As an active explorer of different types of technology and through a lot of trial and error and much reflection over the years, I feel that this year has been pivotal for me in developing a collaborative system between myself and my teaching partner that capitalizes on the use of Google Apps for Education as an assessment tool. 

This post will highlight a few examples of how I have organized my Google platform and used it as a catalyst for collaboration when capturing our ongoing observations, conversations and products of student learning. 

In previous years, a clipboard, a digital camera and my favourite pen would be attached to my hip throughout the school day because I didn't want to miss an opportunity to capture learning in action. While this way of assessing was great at the time for us as a teaching team, it also involved a lot of paper, extra steps for digital downloading (e.g. of images, organizing them, etc), and then doubling up with the notes and photos captured by my partner. We didn't really have an effective and efficient organizational system that allowed us to correlate, collaborate and/or coordinate our paper assessments. This is where Google Apps has been incredible for my practice because it has taken all the "pros" and "cons" of my past assessment tools and combined them into one online, collaborative, and innovative space!  

"Forest Friday's": A Natural Recipe for Fun!

This past Friday marked the start of a new and exciting chapter in our program: "Forest Friday's!" After the incredible learning experience last Spring as part of the Ministry of Education's Pilot Project entitled "A Week in the Forest," (click here if you have yet to read that post), I couldn't help but get excited to launch this part of our program every Friday! 

Our students' love for the outdoors is contagious and we are so fortunate to have our magical forest within walking distance from our school. It truly has become a "magical" place for learning and one that our students have a genuine love and care for! 

As a teaching team, we want our "Forest Friday's" to be an opportunity that extends on the learning happening within the walls of our classroom while at the same time, help our students foster a loving connection with nature. From "Sit Spots" and experiments to exploration and more, our "Forest Friday's" continues to be a natural recipe for fun! 

Chapter Three of "We Can See" has begun!

 Our "We Can See" Project continues with this exciting new chapter of learning! 

The slant this year is to harness the outdoors and to take our learning beyond the four walls of our classrooms! We encourage classes to go outside and look closely at their natural environment and take photos of their outdoor areas since they too are a canvas for learning. 

Do you have an outdoor classroom? 

Is there a forest nearby? 

Do you walk to a local pond? 

Can you see a lake from your yard? What can you see?

We invite you to meet with your class and share the ways you use the outdoors as a learning space! The opportunities are truly endless. We have a Google Drive Folder available for sharing and we will post some of our new books on this blog.

"Curiouser and Curiouser": Favourites for Classroom Beginnings

September is always a month filled with new possibilities, new challenges, growing "to-do" lists, and excitement for what lies ahead with the onset of a new school year! That being said, the ladies of #4EverInspired decided to host another giveaway! This one in particular highlights the perspectives of each one of us when it comes to classroom set-up, inventory and our personal passions with hopes to inspire you as we make our way into October!

The nature of our lists are by no means exhaustive and are not meant to be perceived as a "must-have" guide to every classroom. Just as Alice fostered a intrinsic sense of wonderment and curiosity when stating "curiouser and curiouser" in Alice in Wonderland, we thought these classroom favourites would shed light on what each of us finds personally essential to our individual practices when designing and setting up a classroom.

#4EverInspired Reunites at Louise Kool & Galt

With the onset of another school year quickly approaching and another summer almost behind us, I always find myself getting excited to plan my program and design my classroom environment after much dialogue and reflection! I like to look at each new school year as a blank canvas and thus, I often find myself making a handful of "wish lists" for a variety of new materials, opportunities, and ideas that I'd like to bring forth into my program in the Fall. 

When Joanne Babalis invited #4EverInspired to reunite and visit the amazing showroom at Louise Kool & Galt, I didn't waste anytime ensuring my busy summer schedule was free so I could attend!  Having browsed through their catalogue many times before, I knew this was going to be an exciting opportunity for all of us and we couldn't be more excited to share our discoveries with all of you!

Once we arrived, we were greeted by Cathy Elliot and Sonia Polak, two wonderful sales representatives that share a passion for creating classroom environments that ignite every learner's imagination, creativity, thinking and learning. 

They kindly lead us through their Showroom and highlighted a variety of different catalogue items from new furniture pieces and open-ended manipulatives to magnetic blocks and outdoor play materials. As we were tinkering and messing about, it was evident how versatile and engaging their materials were!

Here is a list of my top ten "Wish List" items for back to school (even though I could've easily shared over 100)! Each item title is linked directly to Louise Kool & Galt's website to provide you with more information: 

Item images are from www.louisekool.com

1. Nature Wooden Disc Set

These wooden discs are the perfect natural material to bring learning outdoors! Not only are they incredibly versatile and cross-curricular (bug hunts, sorting, matching, counting, etc), but they would add much excitement to any outdoor learning environment!  

2. Tree Blocks (set of 36)

These natural building materials make a great addition to any building and construction area! They would also be great to take outdoors since they are light weight and come in an easy-to-carry cloth bag. 

3. Wooden Dominoes

Math is everywhere and I can only imagine the possibilities of bringing a simple material like these large wooden dominoes outdoors! 

4. Sheet Magnifier

This simple tool could excite many when exploring the natural learning environment around your school! While magnifying glasses are fun, this easy to use magnifying sheet makes it fun to look closely at a variety of different objects! 

5. Wooden Uppercase Letters (set of 29)

I love the versatility and tactile experience of these wooden letters! From play-dough and pipe cleaners to using beads and even your finger, this would make learning the letters of the alphabet fun for all the senses!

6. Round Sand Tray

This sand tray provides students with the wonderful opportunity to practice pre-handwriting skills, promote concentration and creativity! I love how it also has a built-in slot underneath the glass base where coloured paper and other materials can be inserted for added effect! 

7. Luxy Luminescent Building Blocks

These small but versatile building blocks could be added to any area of your classroom! From the light table to open exploration, they would be a wonderful add-on to any structure or design!

8. Rattan Sorting Trays

These incredibly sturdy trays can be used in a multitude of ways! From storing materials on a shelf to bringing them outside! They come in a round or square framework however, both have four sections allowing for a variety of materials to be on display. 

9. "The Great Outdoors" by Mary S. Rivkin 

I actually won this professional resource during an outdoor education workshop this summer and couldn't put it down! I was so happy to see that it was available for others to purchase through Louise Kool & Galt since it truly explains how children benefit from learning and playing in outdoor environments. 

10. Outlast Ramps, Blocks and Flow Pan

These outdoor learning materials would be an amazing addition to any outdoor learning environment when exploring water and different liquid materials! Problem-solving, experimentation and open-ended play are only some of the many opportunities that I can foresee when using these materials!

Not only did we get to see firsthand all of their incredible products, but it was also a wonderful opportunity to dialogue with the ladies of #4EverInspired once we left around how the materials at Louise Kool & Galt reflect the importance of creating strong foundations for student learning. 

Every corner of their showroom made visible their strong value and beliefs around creating spaces for child-centred, innovative learning experiences and we couldn't help but feel inspired! Don't forget to check out the other ladies of #4EverInspired to read about their top ten "Wish List" items by visiting their blogs:

For Vanessa's Top Ten list: "Too (Louise) Kool for School"

For Joanne's Top Ten list: "Royal Treatment at Louise Kool & Galt"

For Trista's Top Ten list: "Louise Kool for Back to School"

As a way of sharing our experience with all of you, Louise Kool & Galt generously donated four $50 gift certificates to give away with hopes of inspiring your classroom design and program planning for September! Be sure to check out our Instagram pages to read more about contest details and enter for your chance to win! 

Vanessa's Instagram: follow @evolvingeducator

Joanne's Instagram page: follow @joannebabalis

Trista's Instagram page: follow @kindiekorner

Jocelyn's Instagram page: follow @ourkindergartenjourney

A sincere thank you to Cathy, Sonia and Louise Kool & Galt for opening up your doors to #4EverInspired and giving us the wonderful opportunity to share your products with our readers! We truly can't wait to reveal the many exciting things in store for #4EverInspired this coming year!

Reflectively yours,

#4EverInspired xoxo

Planning in FDK: An Ongoing Reflection

With this year coming to a close, it's hard to believe that it'll mark my fourth year teaching Full Day Kindergarten! As much as the ending of a school year is busy, I often find myself setting time aside to reflect on the year under the lens of what worked really well in our program, what are some things I want to rethink for next year and what are elements of our program that I'd like to completely remove. This 3R's framework is one that is often used in the York Region District School Board and I find it to be a perfect anchor for reflective dialogue and conversation as an educator team. 

As part of my final assignment for my York University Kindergarten AQ course, I chose to reflect on my own kindergarten journey from the perspective of how I plan and program. Each new year brings a wave of excitement, possibilities and new challenges and I have to say how wonderful it was to see for myself just how far my practice has evolved and changed as I've grown as a teacher and life-long learner. 

"A Week in the Forest" ~ Inspiring Learning Outside

"It's a good thing to learn about nature in order to share this knowledge with children; it's even better if the adult and child learn about nature together. And it's a lot more fun." 

~ Richard Louv

This quote sums up beautifully the amazing experience and positive impact of the Ministry Pilot Project our class was fortunate enough to be a part of last week entitled "A Week in the Forest." This project was founded by Tanya Murray, an Outdoor Education Teacher and Specialist with Sibbald Point and Forest School Practitioner, with hopes that every child and educator alike could feel inspired to learn outside! Part 1 of the Pilot took place at Milliken Mills Public School in Markham and focused more on the urban school setting. Our school was Part 2 of the Pilot since our landscape was one that promoted a more rural environment and something we will now always call the "magical forest." 

Curious about Caterpillars

Here is a snapshot of some of our documentation about our most recent and exciting inquiry! This is a very exciting time because next week we will begin a Ministry Pilot Project called "A Week in the Forest" which will allow us to embrace the outdoors in our learning and we are excited to bring this inquiry into this wonderful opportunity! Stay tuned for more posts to come!

Lights, Camera, Action: Extending our Movie Theatre Inquiry beyond the walls of our classroom!

This blog post is long overdue but one that I'm excited to be sharing nonetheless! Our Movie Theatre Inquiry continues to be an engaging and exciting learning space in our classroom! Prior to our March Break, we had the incredible opportunity of visiting The Roxy Theatre; a historically restored movie theatre located in Uxbridge, Ontario.

Image from Google Images

The planning and purpose of this field trip was to support our students' understanding of what movie theatre's look like and what roles are needed, but also extend their learning beyond the surface to develop a deeper understanding around how they operate! Little did we know as an educator team, that the morning itself would be full of surprises!

Enjoy the show! - Part 2

Keeping the momentum of a socio-dramatic play area has been at the forefront of my thinking since the co-creation of our classroom airport two years ago (click "Airplane and Airport Inquiry" under "Categories" to read posts pertaining to this incredible inquiry). I often find that these learning spaces within the classroom change the most frequently as students' interests and experiences change quite rapidly from week to week, month to month.  

When looking at the high interest and level of engagement within our current dramatic play inquiry of our classroom's movie theatre, I couldn't help but wonder if it was an appropriate time to seek out a real-world excursion to support our students' interest in movie theatres. For me, field trips are an opportunity to take the learning outside the walls of our classroom, provide a real-world context and experience that students may not be exposed too previously. Furthermore, field trips provide students with the opportunities to verify their understandings and wonderings, and most importantly, drive their thinking and learning forward when back in the classroom. In my experiences and speaking from previous years, my old partner Heidi Theis and I used field trips at various points in our inquiries; 1) to meet the "experts" as a way of supporting our inquiry question and give us a new "spark" when back in the classroom to further explore or, 2) to act as a celebration of our learning and seeing firsthand what is was we've been learning about in action (e.g. visiting an airport and sitting in the cockpit). I feel both opportunities give students an authentic experience that is meaningful when purposefully planned and well thought-out.

Image from Google Images

To support "Room 109 Movies," we began discussing with students who has in fact been to a real-life movie theatre and who might not yet have had that experience. To me, this was a perfect entry point to see if an excursion would be meaningful for my students at this time and for the purpose of driving our students' interests further. I'm happy to announce that we have an exciting field trip booked with the Roxy Theatre in Uxbridge, Ontario whereby students will get a firsthand look into how a movie theatre operates, how popcorn is made, where they play the movies from (projection room) and the different roles movie theatres need in order to work. We will not be seeing a movie, but rather focusing on the inner workings of this type of entertainment our students and families enjoy with hopes that it will allow us to dive deeper into our role-playing, understanding and knowledge within the walls of our classroom.

Image from: http://roxytheatres.com/gallery/listpics.asp

To share this exciting news with our class, I wanted to showcase images of the Roxy Theatre and that of a movie theatre our students might have more familiar with (e.g. a more commercialized and modern SilverCity) and see what they notice and perhaps draw some comparisons. The special thing about the Roxy Theatre, is that it has that "old-time flare" of what movies theatres used to look like and I anticipated students being quite shocked with its outside appearance. 

Here is what they had to say:

What do you see? What do you think this is?

A.O.: "A movie theatre!"
E.R.: "I agree with A.O. - it is a movie theatre because I know movie theatres look big like that."
C.M.: "I think it's a movie theatre too because I see pictures of movies."

What makes you think that? 

A.O.: "Because it looks like one!"
E.R.: "Movie theatres are big places."
C.M.: "Movie theatres always have pictures of movies outside."

What clues from the picture are you using to help you?

A.O.: "Because it has two movie posters there that you can watch on the outside."
C.L.: "There's a sign called "The Roxy" and I think  that's the name of the place." 
O.S.: "I see people lining up and coming in."
M.K.: "I see words on top and numbers."
E.E.: "I see lots of lights."
I.C.: "I see traffic lights and roads - maybe it's on a street?"

I wonder what the people are doing that are lining up?

A.O.: "I think they're going to buy tickets because you need tickets in order to go to the movies."

Lets check the next picture and hear what you're thinking. 
(Students were shown a more close-up image of the "ticket booth" from the Roxy Theatre)

Image from: http://roxytheatres.com/gallery/listpics.asp

D.C.: "I see a radio inside there. I think it's for talking."
I.M.: "They had to go there to get inside to watch the movies."
E.E.: "I think that's where they get the tickets from because it has that radio thing."
C.L.: "It says 'TICKETS' so it has to be where they get the tickets from."
E.R.: "This reminds me of our ticket agents and our tickets in our movie theatre. Maybe this is where they go if someone forgets their ticket."

If we're thinking this is a movie theatre...what do we think this is? (Students were then shown a side-by-side image of the two movie theatres)

E.E.: "They're really different. They have different colours."
E.B.: "That blue one is small and the other one is really big. I've been there before and it's big inside."
A.O.: "That's the SilverCity in Newmarket - I've been there before too. I saw Big Hero Six there!"

After our discussion, I revealed that we will be visiting the Roxy Theatre and that it is a really old theatre but I've yet to disclose what we will see inside the theatre. It was obvious from their reactions that our students are VERY excited to be seeing firsthand how movie theatre's operate! 

Stay tuned!

Enjoy the show!

Over the last few weeks, our socio-dramatic play area in our classroom has undergone a transformation from a very successful bakery to a movie theatre! The reason I wanted to highlight this on the blog was because it has truly allowed for our students to build on their imagination through play, incorporate rich and meaningful learning opportunities for both literacy and mathematics, and lastly, "spark" our students' ownership over their learning space! It is truly inspiring to witness our youngest learners so eager and excited to take charge in their learning and, as an educator, it couldn't feel more rewarding to support them throughout the process!

Here are some highlights from our transformation; all of which have been led by students' interests and ideas and supported by us as a teaching team:

After brainstorming ideas for our dramatic play area, students then voted on the one they wanted! 

Movie Theatre was a clear win! Students enjoyed analyzing our collected data and even made a list of students who had yet to vote due to their absence! It was wonderful to watch them take such pride on ensuring the decision-making process was inclusive of all students!

Students began brainstorming as a team what our movie theatre needs and what sorts of materials we will need to create! A list of movies that they wanted to have playing in our theatre was also co-created!

After posing this question to students: 

"What special jobs does our movie theatre need?" 

students came up with the following:

1. Ticket Agent

2. Ticket Taker

3. Popcorn and Drink Maker

4. Customer

5. Poster Maker

Afterwards, we brainstormed what materials we could use that were already in our classroom that could help our movie theatre feel more "real"! Our students' imagination continues to amaze us as they thought of 

some of the following materials:

- small cups and large cups

- variety of cubes (linking cubes and wooden cubes)

- baking trays

- tissue for the napkins

- clipboards

A special thank you to Jennifer Tompkins, an FDK Teacher at Bond Lake Public School, for inspiring us to use linking cubes for our popcorn! Our students have easily named the "yellow" ones as buttery popcorn and the "white" ones as plain popcorn!

Students have truly taken on the various roles throughout our movie theatre! Their dialogue, exchanging of ideas, teamwork and oral language skills have really helped make our theatre come to life!

So much so, that it has officially been named "Room 109 Movies!" and has a list of "rules" that we follow based on our prior knowledge!

 As part of showcasing each movie at our theatre, we really make it official by watching a short clip of the "featured" movie using our classroom's tech cart! This has really made our theatre feel real since once the clip is over, students practice leaving the theatre and tidy up as a team before 

the start of the next movie! 

Since our movie theatre was becoming so busy and popular in our classroom, we problem-solved as a team and came up with the solution that the movie space has room for only 6 chairs! In doing so, one SK decided that by keeping track of who has bought tickets (using tally marks), we can tell people when the show is "SOLD OUT!" - how awesome is that! Whoever is the "Ticket Agent" now has this responsibility added to their job! Moreover, our "Popcorn and Drink Maker" is in charge of reading each ticket order and choosing the correct size container (small or large) which has given us the opportunity to begin to explore mass and capacity!

We hope that this transformation leaves you feeling inspired to think about the ways you integrate literacy and mathematics into your dramatic play areas of your classroom! 

We hope you enjoyed the show!