Cross Posted from innovatingplay.worldWritten By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey Development of mathematical thinking in young children happens in three important stages: concrete, pictorial, abstract. In order to develop a firm foundation in mathematics, children must have the opportunity to manipulate objects, show their thinking in pictures, and finally represent their ideas Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.worldWritten By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey As we nurture emergent readers and writers we take time explore the craft of the author and illustrator, and the role of each in telling a story. During this three week Character Study, children had the opportunity to connect deeply with a Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.worldWritten By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey This year we have been exploring idea of extended reading and having children make meaningful connections beyond the book. (Check out our Extended Reading category on our blog to see some experiences we have offered so far.) We brought our classes together Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.world Written By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey In the midst of our casual conversation, we were talking about how one of our kiddos is challenged with letter identification, but CAN remember letters J and K because he uses them on the keyboard with shortcuts. The idea sparked….what if Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.world Written By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey As we explored the concept of winter, we used books by Jan Brett to build connections to literature and her craft as an author and illustrator. In this Extended Reading experience, children were given the opportunities to make connections to the Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.world Written By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey As educators, the creation of meaningful literacy experiences for students is a constant work in progress. In order to evolve in our practice, we must continuously reassess the world in which we live, and take note of the ways in which Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.world Written By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey Right after our Connected Play time, children take part in the Community Gathering. This time is dedicated to connect as a group and make sure individual needs are SEEN and recognized by the community. For the children, there is a flow between Continue Reading →
Cross Posted from innovatingplay.world Written By Christine Pinto and Jessica Twomey Our kids start out the day PLAYING! The centers that we plan for them are intentionally CONNECTED to learning ideas taking place over the course of the week. The play engagements give children opportunities to experience different types of play through: Continue Reading →
Recently, my buddy Cori Orlando, hit me up with an idea about a Number of the Day activity, where kids represent a number in different ways. She visualizes the activity being something the kids can do in class regularly. We put our heads together and designed a spreadsheet activity together. Continue Reading →
One of the first spreadsheet activities I expose my kids to is Pixel Art. Alice Keeler is the creator of the template: alicekeeler.com/pixelart. The spreadsheet is conditionally formatted to change color according to the single digit number that is typed into a cell. To add some addition and subtraction practice to this activity the Continue Reading →