Just before school started on Wednesday morning, I received this tweet from Doug Peterson.
Join @Stephen_Hurley & me at 9:15 on @voicEdcanada for a look at TWIOE from @avivaloca @MatthewOldridge @Bigideasinedu @cashjim @cherandpete
— Doug Peterson (@dougpete) June 21, 2017
While I couldn’t listen at the time, I decided to listen to the recording of the show later on that evening. I was interested in knowing what blog post of mine they were discussing and what they had to say about it. At the 13:44 mark, they started talking about this post of mine about play-based learning, supply plans, and the visit from Dr. Jean Clinton. Ultimately though, it was a comment that Doug made at the 17:10 mark that inspired this new post.
Doug started to discuss what play-based learning means. He mentioned that in this case, play includes,
- “guided and directed activities.”
- It’s “not random.”
- It’s “done to address the curriculum expectations.”
I can’t stop thinking about these three points because I wonder if play in our classroom actually looks and sounds like this. And this is where my blog post becomes a lot more uncomfortable, for you see, when I say that we “play,” we really play.
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- We do not restrict children to certain areas of the room.
- Our shelves are full of open-ended materials, but students can choose and use any of them.
- While we do have areas in our classroom, students can bring materials fluidly between these areas.
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- We do not require students to complete any activity, assignment, project, etc. Students decide where they want to go and what they want to do.
- We may make suggestions for calmer options, but now students choose many of these options independently.
- We do not put out activity signs explaining how to use the materials that we have around the room: children use them in the way that they want.
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- Students redesign the classroom, on a daily basis, to meet their individual needs.
- We do not require anything to remain out throughout the day. Students will ask for certain activities (e.g., the Perler Beads), and we then ask them, “Where could they go?” This leads to children cleaning up and setting up new areas in the room.
- We let play happen for a very long time. We are usually outside in the morning for 1-1 1/2 hours. Then we come inside for a group meeting time, followed by a transition to play. This play continues for almost 4 hours. Elements of it change. Students tidy-up certain areas and set them up with new materials. Small groups may leave to go to library, music, or phys-ed, based on their needs and interests. Sometimes, if needed, we will break for a short Brain Break, and then resume playing. Students also choose to sit down at least twice during this time to eat. We do not observe nutrition breaks. In these four hours, we only do one full class clean-up, and it works GREAT!
I realize that reading these bullet points may make people question, “How do your students learn? How do you get to all of them? How is your classroom not chaotic?” I’ve been thinking a lot about these questions, for in fact, our classroom is incredibly calm and the students have made greater gains and met with more academic success than I have ever seen in 16 years of teaching. Here are some of my thoughts as to “why.”
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- Relationships matter. This is ultimately what inspired the original post that Doug and Stephen discussed on VoicEd. I think that the classroom environment is a calmer space for everyone when you have these strong connections with each other. As educators, knowing the kids also means knowing the ways to help soothe, comfort, or support students that may need it and/or ultimately intervene before this support is needed.
- Routines matter. I know that many would question if we even have a routine considering our long blocks of play, but in fact, we have a schedule that remains consistent every day of the week. We even go outside in the snow, cold, and rain. This regular routine actually helps all of us — educators and students — know what to expect during the day. Even free play can have a predictable pattern that increases comfort for everyone.
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- We have very few transitions. Even when we do transition, it’s slow and based on student needs. Our daybook schedule includes “ish” times, so that we can always be responsive to kids. As someone that’s lived by the bell for over 15 years, this was a BIG change for me, but it is so good for kids.
- Forest play matters. First of all, the outdoor time in the morning is calming for so many students. It allows children to slowly transition away from parents. It’s a time that they love, so it’s something that they want to do, and this helps with the transition. The forest also gives every child what he/she needs. This may be a spot to read under a tree, a chance to put on a play or a musical performance, an area for a big run, an opportunity for some heavy lifting, a space for some quiet conversation, an opportunity to climb, a place to build, or a chance for some sensory play. Second of all, the forest inspires risk-taking: safe risks, but still risks. Learning to read requires children to take risks, and this can be hard for many that are accustomed to always looking to an adult for support. It’s out in the forest, that students learned to climb trees, swing from vines, climb up icy hills, get safely down slippery hills, and build things that continue to fall down. They often start with requests for help, but instead of saying, “yes,” we instead ask, “How could you start? What might you do?” Soon students are learning what they can do on their own with hard work and perseverance. I don’t love the word, “grit,” but the forest helps all of us become a little grittier. Finally, the forest inspires inquiry. It’s where students start to wonder. They begin to share theories. They connect with the natural world, and bring this learning back into the classroom. We have introduced so much new vocabulary out in the forest, and it’s wonderful to hear students using this vocabulary again and again. The forest makes this possible. It helps us see the learning in the every day.
Their version of The 3 Pigs with some tag elements as well. pic.twitter.com/725H3TW9rm
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) March 27, 2017
Telling the story for their 3 Pigs story. pic.twitter.com/6WA5C6mqgy
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) March 27, 2017
Looking at how to go up & down the hill. pic.twitter.com/IWV5XkvICg
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) March 21, 2017
A great discussion on animal homes. https://t.co/e7tFD992ew Love their inquiry stance. So much thinking here!
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) June 22, 2017
I cannot tell you how much I LOVE the theories being discussed here re. brambles or no brambles. https://t.co/mnotAbhki6
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) June 21, 2017
So much reflecting, connecting, & learning as they share about brambles. Love this!!! https://t.co/GIvuNCaNmJ
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) June 21, 2017
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- Knowing the expectations matters. Both my teaching partner, Paula, and I have read the revised Kindergarten Program Document and know the expectations well. We spend our day watching, listening, and talking with kids, and then we find opportunities to notice and name the learning that’s happening. We look at how to insert the reading, make links to writing, and identify and extend the math. We ask questions, we pose problems, and we give students lots of opportunities to explore. We do a lot of mini-lessons, but instead of doing them with a whole class, we try to tailor these lessons to individuals or small groups. Then every child gets what he/she needs, and all within the context of play. It’s all about the “next best step,” and while this can be a challenging approach at first, the impact on student growth is huge.
- A team approach matters. Paula and I know that we both come to the team with different skill-sets. We try to maximize this by engaging in a lot of kid talk, discussing strategies together, and documenting our conversations with students so that we can explore next steps as a team. We are not always in the same space at the same time, and when we are, we do not always see the same thing. Our constant dialogue and team reflection really helps address these needs, and I think, to the benefit of kids.
- We have high expectations for students, and they know this. We talk to them about we know they can do, and we celebrate with them when they meet new goals and overcome challenges. Our students understand that play is learning — play is their work — and it’s great to hear them reflecting on their learning during play.
- Home connections make a huge difference. We talk a lot with parents. We suggest next steps and learning opportunities for home. We know that parents are talking, reading, writing, and discussing math concepts at home, and even sharing with us what they do, so that we can further extend this learning at school. It’s truly a two-way street.
I think about all of this now while also thinking back to Doug’s comment in the radio show.
- While we don’t lay out a lot of guided and directed activities, we do find opportunities for this guided and directed learning during the play. This learning may just look very different for each child, and it may happen inside, outside, at home, and/or in all three places.
- Free play sounds as though it may be “random,” but it’s really not. The items that we have out on the shelves and the materials that we put out on the tables are all carefully chosen ones. We may not include an activity prompt, but certain items, used together, will inspire certain types of discussion and learning. And if students don’t use these items in this way, but choose other ones instead, we just have to listen to those conversations and find the learning links.
- The program expectations are definitely key, but as the Kindergarten Document suggests, instead of starting with these expectations, we link the expectations to the interests of the child. This is a different approach than I’m used to, but it’s another reason I’m thankful for a teaching partner that really knows these expectations. We can then work together to make these links and extend student learning.
Look at the math skills as she helps set-up the library. pic.twitter.com/12F3pECA1m
— Aviva Dunsiger (@avivaloca) June 22, 2017
Just this past week, we were outside one morning, and some of our JK and SK students joined a group of junior students that were sitting around a picnic table with their teacher. Pretty soon their conversation was around math and big numbers. The junior students could not believe what our Kindergartners knew. One of them commented, “How do they know so much when all they do is play all day?” Their teacher replied, “They learn through play.” Why couldn’t this be true for every grade? Free play with a teacher observer, documenter, questioner, and facilitator sounds like it has tremendous potential for ALL students. What do you think?
Aviva