Growing Minds by Carol Copple is choc full…a collection of readings outlining important dimensions of early cognitive development! It is a naeyc item. There are lots of charts to check out! Carole takes you on a journey starting with relationships in infancy, self-regulation in preschool and kindergarten and complex thinking skills in primary.

Inquiry is about questions…but the children need a chance to get to know the thing…notice, wonder, and explore…as children explore, they will ask questions… their explorations lead to new questions and new investigations.  WOW!

 

A Place for Wonder by Georgia Heard & Jennifer McDonough

Wonder is contagious! This resource celebrates curiosity! Suggestions for using nonfiction ooze out the sides of this book. Giving children time to explore their world, ask questions, and pursue those questions that matters most to them, lets children know we value their curiosity outside the classroom as well as inside. Why… is a word children use early in life!

Emergent Curriculum in the Primary Classroom is an essential read for anyone wishing to understand emergent curriculum and who hope to nurture an enlivening, energizing way to learn!

You may be wondering how to get started creating this exemplary curriculum in spite of pressures to implement a standardized one!

Pages 96-110 of this resource will rejuvenate you!  A teacher wants to begin with the Reggio inspired curriculum but is uncertain how it would unfold.

Diljot’s question, “How do starfish be born?” is the provocation.

As the children pondered and theorized about the question, observations demonstrated that the children’s theories were flexible and capable of evolving. Conversations flourished. Documentation as process helped with ongoing planning. As children documented, their theories shifted. Graphic representations represented gateways into the children’s thinking, and as their theories became clearer so did their representations. With flexible allowances of time, children’s thinking was provoked through higher level questions that encouraged critical thinking and inference-making. Content needed to be layered to support thinking. The teacher encouraged the children to emerge as empowered researchers in an emergent curriculum that was coconstructed. Together they shared discoveries, challenges, and conflicts always moving forward!

This book is a treasure!

Beautiful Stuff is a resource you will want to have! It is written by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lena Gandini.  It is a delightful book where you will find approaches to nurturing the innate creativity of children that you can adapt to any teaching situation. These two teachers were inspired by educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy who observed and recorded what would happen when the focus is on process rather than product. This resource provides tons of suggestions for collecting, discovering, organizing and exploring materials. It even includes a letter that can be sent home to parents to assist in the collecting process! There are great observations to glean from the children as they explore the materials. Some children are interested in design and setting up a pleasing composition, others use the materials to tell a story! It’s amazing what we can learn about children as we document the children’s process of discovery!