I could tell that many of the other attendees were concerned about the same issue. Rather than answering in a coherent and reasonable way, I began babbling and rambling like a complete goofball.  I don’t know what came over me, since I have been answering this question for 20 years, but for some reason, in the context of talking about math, I stumbled.

We come out of our teacher education programs with a clear philosophy of play as the foundation of learning for young children.  We ALL know this.  We go out into the work force and begin the long tug-of-war between staying true to a philosophy of play and the never-ending pressure to turn our preschool classrooms into 1st grades.  Sometimes, the pressure comes from the parents, sometimes from the program director.  It can also come from the folks with the money.  You have to be able to combat all of this with a clearly articulated philosophy that simply says,

“Children are never “just playing.”

So, how do you handle this question at your program? How do you defend your play-based program while also articulating a clear understanding of play as the vehicle for learning?

Let us know.

I also like a KWL as a means of communicating with parents/families about what has been happening during their child’s day in child care. It provides a format for children to talk to their parents about their school, what they do, who they do it with and what they learned.  A KWL can be the basis for a conversation at home.

If you have never completed a KWL with the children, it is quite easy.  Using a topic of inquiry (this can be anything the children are interested in exploring and learning about) have the children brainstorm things they already know about the topic.  These may be broad ideas  or very specific concepts.  You write down all of their ideas under the “K”.  You then ask the children what they want to know more about the subject.  You write all of these ideas down under the “W”.  This list provides a detailed map for exploration.  Once your have explored all of the ideas on the list, the children can tell you everything they have learned.  This list is put down under the “L”.

Usually, a KWL is written on a large piece of tag board that is left in the classroom for the duration of the exploration.  All you have to do is copy it down on a regular sheet of paper and copy it for the families.  If parents have never seen one before, you can write a simple cover letter that explains the goals and purpose of a KWL with a few talking points for families to use with their children.  You may find this to be a great way to communicate with families in another meaningful way.