Intentional Teaching

"I like that everything you do has a purpose, it's never just to pass time." A friend told me, on the first week she started to work in my class.

I was excited to hear that they are aware of this- it's something that I work hard on every day. I aim to have everything I do, every activity I set up, every toy the children play with, every transition I  run to have a reason and purpose behind it. Of course sometimes it runs better than others but mostly I think about each and every aspect of our room and day.

Designs for Living and Learning is a great book for anyone wanting inspiration about

setting up an early child hood environment intentionally.

This, I think, is the essence of a play based curriculum. To the untrained eye it can look chaotic, but I know that each piece in the home corner is there for a reason. I know that even lunch time can be a learning opportunity. I know every conversation I have can be used to learn more about my children and in turn encourage them to learn more about their world. It's all about how you set up the room, how you interact with children and how you build on what they know.