At the back of my kinder classroom we have a bag area and some sitting space. This year with a relatively large class I felt that the space was not utilised to its potential! With some guidance from my teaching partner, and 20 minutes after school, we created a beautiful space to play and discover. Next I think we might introduce the book Cat and Fish Go to Sea written by Joan Grant and Neil Curtis.
I am lucky enough to have the very talented Mrs B working in the room next door to me. Each week she is determined to create a new and exciting play space for her Kinders and ‘playgroup’. Often the play spaces are left for a few weeks with subtle changes, maybe the animals change or something little is left for the children to discover. This week she focused on frogs but some horses crept in too! For the babies we found some great bead mazes from our local tip shop and pom-poms with cardboard rolls! It is true as early childhood teachers our occupation is play.
The excitement builds every Friday afternoon in anticipation of…the selection of the new Museum Curator!
We pull out a name and then the space belongs to them for the following week. Students are able to display their collections, interests, artworks, artefacts and so on. The curator gives us a guided tour and their classmates love to point out all the personal connections they have made. It’s been powerful way to get to know each other.
Some curators provide labels, or even informational handouts. Some change their display a number of times during their week. It’s all up to them!
A quick and easy birthday/calendar chart. Spots were blu-tacked on each month with every child’s name and birth date. Adapted from a google image I came across somewhere, sometime.
Reggio inspired art space designed by Mrs Clare. All art materials are on display to enable easy access for teacher and students. Simply collect glass jars, tin cans, baskets, test tubes, old vases and shoe boxes for storage containers. What an inspiring space!
Mrs Clare and Miss M 