Play is the highest form of research. -Albert Einstein
By now most parents have heard Maria Montessori's famous quote "play is the work of the child." What exactly is play in the context of an early childhood environment? At The Garden we learn through play. This learning is facilitated through a carefully prepared environment in which children are able to explore, discover, predict, create, test and manipulate ideas, objects and materials. This learning is extended by carefully observing the children's work and adding supportive materials that will expand on their interests. We put a strong emphasis on following the child. Instead of planning the week ahead planning time is used to reflect on the self-directed play that has been occurring. Planning revolves around how to best extend and support this self-directed play. Contrary to the traditional classroom where a particular shape or letter is studied each week a child-led curriculum allows the child to deeply explore their interests. Countries that focus on this sort of developmentally appropriate curriculum consistently place among the highest scorers worldwide in international student performance.
At The Garden we practice emergent curriculum. This type of curriculum is often attributed to the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy and focuses on planning based on the needs and interests of the child. It is curriculum that is fluid, using observation and reflection to evolve along with the child. Though emergent curriculum begins with the child there are many other sources a teacher draws inspiration from. Curriculum is influenced heavily by the physical environment, the developmental level of the child, people in the social environment and the caregiving tasks that happen on a regular basis.
It is child-led yet it depends heavily on teacher initiative and intuition. It is a curriculum that is co-constructed by the adults and the children in the environment.
How does this work in practice?
A child who has an interest in racing small cars across the floor will be given materials to build race tracks. As they build the tracks they use complex mathematical and engineering skills to accomplish their goals. They may join with others to create their track encouraging prosocial behavior, collaboration and cooperation. Once the track is built there maybe a chute that the car will fly down giving the child a foundational knowledge of physics through hands on experience with gravity and velocity. Following this experience the child may want to invite people to see his race necessitating pens, paper and perhaps written examples of what tickets would say. Now he is working on his pre-literacy and language skills. He uses the executive functions of his brain as he plans, strategizes and organizes his thoughts to accomplish his goal. This is play and emergent curriculum in action.
A child at The Garden will spend their time expanding their interests, building foundations for the future and learning how to learn leaving them ideally situated for future learning experiences as they grow.
At The Garden we practice emergent curriculum. This type of curriculum is often attributed to the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy and focuses on planning based on the needs and interests of the child. It is curriculum that is fluid, using observation and reflection to evolve along with the child. Though emergent curriculum begins with the child there are many other sources a teacher draws inspiration from. Curriculum is influenced heavily by the physical environment, the developmental level of the child, people in the social environment and the caregiving tasks that happen on a regular basis.
It is child-led yet it depends heavily on teacher initiative and intuition. It is a curriculum that is co-constructed by the adults and the children in the environment.
How does this work in practice?
A child who has an interest in racing small cars across the floor will be given materials to build race tracks. As they build the tracks they use complex mathematical and engineering skills to accomplish their goals. They may join with others to create their track encouraging prosocial behavior, collaboration and cooperation. Once the track is built there maybe a chute that the car will fly down giving the child a foundational knowledge of physics through hands on experience with gravity and velocity. Following this experience the child may want to invite people to see his race necessitating pens, paper and perhaps written examples of what tickets would say. Now he is working on his pre-literacy and language skills. He uses the executive functions of his brain as he plans, strategizes and organizes his thoughts to accomplish his goal. This is play and emergent curriculum in action.
A child at The Garden will spend their time expanding their interests, building foundations for the future and learning how to learn leaving them ideally situated for future learning experiences as they grow.
