Reclaiming Kindergarten by Going Back to the Basics: Play, Collaboration, Problem-solving, and Child Development
Make a picture of a kindergarten classroom in your mind. Does it have a block corner? Clay and paint? A sand table? Children at play?
With the support of their principal and the guidance of Seedlings Educators Collaborative Director Judy Cuthbertson, the kindergarten team at Conte West Hills worked tirelessly to reverse this impact. Over the course of one year, teachers revamped their kindergarten program, putting children’s development and interests in their rightful place as the centerpiece of curriculum by bringing play back into the classroom. Three of the teachers are alumnae of the Seedlings Summer Workshop (Jennifer Mandel, Tressa Vantassell-Testroet, and Kayla Smith), so they had tools, community connections and mentorship to help support them in this journey. We give you glimpse of their process and their classrooms to offer mentorship and spark some inspiration for your own classroom, your colleagues, and your school.
Transform the classroom’s physical space.
Use classroom walls to convey the idea that children’s thinking and expression of ideas that are valued and given the opportunity to be heard.
Teachers stripped most of manufactured materials from classroom walls to make space for the children’s work. The few teacher-made or manufactured materials on display are generally limited to tools that support students’ ability to communicate with some independence (i.e. the alphabet, a word wall, numerals) or that document shared thinking. In place of the typical bright, primary colored bulletin board coverings, the classrooms use neutral colors or quieter tones that lead the eye to the work on display.
One class bulletin board displays work related to a unit on flowers. Children observed flowers over the course of many days in numerous different ways using a range of materials. Each unique piece of work displayed shows the learning that each child took away from the activities. Some students created observational drawings using a Sharpie and cray-pas, with personal dictionaries to record vocabulary, their observations and ask questions; others created collages with student-made paper in the style of Eric Carle, or used mixed media including yarn and natural materials. The range of writing that accompanies the artwork varies from scientific labeling and descriptive phrases, to recorded thoughts and realistic fiction. Some children have used sound spelling, some conventional spelling, and some have dictated to a teacher. All forms of expression adds a unique perspective that enriches the conversation happening around plant life—and each provides a little window for the teacher into the child’s thinking, skills, creating the potential to shape the direction of future skill development and cognitive work.
Follow student interests when possible.
The range of work on varied from classroom to classroom, showing how the study of plants—and the activities to learn about them—were adapted according to the interests and pace of the children. Where one classroom documented the flower study, another displayed visual literacy and art inspired by Impressionist artwork, and the third classroom documented the unfolding of springtime study, including a field trip to Common Ground Environmental Education Center.
Consider “re-framing” curriculum by using different tools to learn required elements.
Use essential questions to guide the learning process.
The team made the decision that working with essential questions would be an indispensable tool in their efforts. When children and adults alike become researchers and investigators, and are invited to playfully interact with materials and people, they develop the desire to acquire and practice skills in math, literacy, science, social studies, art, music, etc., as means for expression and understanding. In a project- and play-based curriculum, these skills are naturally integrated in the service of an authentic purpose. Their essential question – “What is a community?” and its sub-questions such as “How does community affect us and vice-versa?” – grounded the various curricular areas in meaning and created more natural flow to the day and the course of study.
Use play- and place-based learning to introduce and solidify understanding of curriculum concepts.
The Conte team described their school day as previously being very teacher-driven and divided into blocks without much flow. There was no more space in the curriculum to add in units of study. With the use of an essential question and the introduction of an “Open Work” period, Jen, Kayla, and Tressa were able to establish integrated, play and place-based learning methods at the heart of the school day.
Reimagine your classroom schedule through Open Work periods.
What does Open Work look like?
The hour-long Open Work period begins with a meeting that grounds the upcoming activities in purpose. That could involve highlighting an area of study that has been emerging in the classroom, leading a discussion around a science or social study topic related to the class’s essential question, or connecting students with past or upcoming experiences. Teacher identify about 5 to 8 activities and children can choose among them. At the end of the period, children share their work and thinking with the group by doing a “museum walk.”
For example, in one classroom, students had recently become interested in building ramps in the block area. Noticing this, the teacher introduced the class to a book about ramps and inclines (Roll, Slope, and Slide, by Michael Dahl ) and asked children to make note of where they saw them in their neighborhood. Starting the Open Work period’s meeting, Tressa reminded the group of the book they had read and showed them materials and parts that she had brought in for them. “How could you use loose parts to make a ramp?” and “What will the ramp be for?” She asked. The children shared that they had seen ramps in skateboarding parks and on moving vans.
A small group of students excitedly anticipated that they could make a marble shoot. Tressa facilitated the conversation around how flat pieces could be turned into a ramp, referring back to the book and highlighting some important vocabulary, including “flat,” “incline,” “higher,” “heavy,” and “work.” “Oh yeah, but you can just go down the ramp – you can’t go up,” asserted one child. There was plenty to investigate and the children who selected this activity for their Open Work period were deeply, gleefully engaged in play – making discoveries, testing hypotheses, and sharing observations – for the duration of the 45 minutes.
Open Work helps isolated learners engage with peers and curriculum.
“While she struggles with following classroom rules and the more structured parts of our day, she excels in Choice Time,” one teacher said as she described one student for whom Open Work made a world of difference. “She does best in dramatic play where she is able to be in a role and work together with her peers. She enjoys having a job to do and knowing what the jobs of other members in that center are. In our current set up, a flower shop, she has taken it open herself to create open and closed signs, and making and selling bouquets to friends. Without knowing it, she has incorporated math and literacy skills into her play. This approach helps her to be an engaged and active learner, where otherwise she isolates herself.”
The prep and planning for Open Work enriches teaching and learning—and reduces behavior issues.
Open Work can certainly require more preparation and planning at first—and more materials to manage—but as Jen, Kayla, and Tressa can attest, teaching and learning become so much richer. And, as children become more engaged in learning and versed in collaborating, the Conte team saw behavior problems all but disappear.
Place-based learning allows children to learn new concepts by connecting them what they already know.
At the time of our visit, the cherry trees in Wooster Square, where the school is located, were in full bloom. Their beauty generated great interest and were a perfect fit in the kindergarteners’ investigation of the environment around them. Each kindergarten class had cherry tree branches out for investigation. In one classroom, the branches were displayed along with construction paper, glue, and tissue paper. In another, children were offered a 9×12 piece of black felt and felt shapes.
While children had some structure with materials available to them to represent the branches, the activity was open-ended enough that students were empowered to follow their inspirations. One little boy, as he worked to represent the long branches of the cherry tree, was reminded of a book his teacher had read, Stick and Stone by Beth Ferry and Tom Lichtenheld; a story about friendship and being an ally. He started to retell the story, using his felt pieces to create the characters. Ultimately, he essentially created a sequel to the story. As his teacher listened to the child’s ideas emerge, she offered to get some magnetic letters for him to use in recording the story in written word. He excitedly labeled the images he had created and shared the story with his class during the museum walk.
Remember that play is a powerful learning tool—for both student and teacher.
Through play – thoughtfully presented by a perceptive adult – children find meaningful ways to connect with curriculum, deepening their understanding of the content, and acquiring and expanding on skills in reading, writing, science, technology, engineering, art, and math. Play offers opportunities to practice fine and gross motor skills (i.e. being allowed to move excitedly around a ramp without knocking it over, placing small felt pieces in precisely the desired position), work independently and collaboratively, problem-solve, launch and iterate. It reminds us that learning can (and should be) joyful. Through play, children learn that their ideas matter; their teachers and their classmates want to hear about and learn from them.
Play gives teachers endless opportunities to learn about their students, both collectively and as individuals. It allows teachers to gain deep understanding into her students and use what she learns to guide the curriculum. Open Work allows teachers to see a child’s skills, understandings, misconceptions, strengths and challenges. Keen observation and listening during play allows for the collection of important data to guide the future learning for the individual child and the whole class. Are children ready to learn labeling? Could children use the next Open Work period to explore how changes in incline affects the speed of an object traveling on it? Is there a way for them to measure the incline? How could they record their understandings and share them with the class? Can Johnny’s interest in ramps be used to help him have more positive and productive play at recess? Could Bill’s expertise in ramps be used to help him see himself as a leader?
Thank you to Jen, Kayla, Tressa, and principal Dianne Spence for opening your classrooms to us and sharing your process so that others might be inspired and emboldened to do the same.
