I love setting up a playful classroom. This school year brings a new adventure: I’ve moved into a new school, and I’ll be teaching a Grade 1/2 combination class. My journey with playful learning began in Kindergarten, grew deeper in Grade 1, and now continues in this multi-age setting. The
In our Grade 1 classroom, we’ve been diving into the world of Mo Willems for an author study. His stories have sparked laughter, curiosity, and wonderful conversations—and they’ve become a powerful tool for my growing readers and writers. This author study has focused on three of his incredible book series:🟣
As the school year comes to a close, I find myself doing two things at once—celebrating the growth I’ve seen in my students and beginning to dream about the year ahead. June is a beautiful mix of finishing off the current year and then reflecting and planning for the next
Here are a couple of my favouite “don’t books” to use near the start of the school year.
I love singing in the classroom. There is not a day that goes by that I do not use songs and rhymes. They’re not only fun and playful, but they also help build a strong sense of community. Whether it’s a familiar nursery rhyme or a silly action song, music
When I was a beginning teacher, I did not know what Process Art meant or was. I organized a lot of craft projects for my students. These were the kind of activities where I had preplanned everything—I made a sample to show the children, laid out all the materials they
This week, I used the story The Little Red Hen to help my students build their comprehension skills in a playful, meaningful way. Instead of relying on worksheets, we explored the story through conversation, comparison, and creative play. We read several different versions of the book and even watched a
Ten years ago, I had the privilege of working as a developer for a program that supported families with young children. One of the key features of the program was a drop-in play and learn space—a welcoming environment where families could gather, explore, and connect. Designing spaces that felt warm
Our brains are wired for spoken language but we must be taught how to read starting with letter sounds. Reading is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced. While the brain already has areas for visual processing, understanding spoken language, and producing speech, learning to read requires building
The characteristics of play can not be defined with one term. I imagine if I were to ask you about the image that pops into your mind when I say the word play, the results would vary. Were you thinking of a child building with blocks? Or were thinking of
I share teaching tips, strategies, lesson experiences and classroom snapshots to support your 3 to 6 year old learners.