“Hey everybody! Look at all of the tomatoes that are ripe today!” shouts Jacob to the gang.

“Can we eat them for lunch? Can we?” asks Lucus.

“Can we eat them now?” pleads Elizabeth.

It’s early September and preschoolers around the country are learning about apples, but we have tomatoes at our fingertips. The same tomatoes that we planted in the spring, watered, watched and then forgot about and ignored. But today these plants are full of red, ripe, juicy tomatoes. For the foreseeable future, our curriculum will revolve around tomatoes!

There’s been a lot of talk recently about curriculum themes and how they fit into early childhood education. So much of the learning that takes place in early childhood settings is spontaneous, rather than intentional. This doesn’t mean that early childhood educators shouldn’t be intentional about their curriculum development. They should. But great teachers are always willing to set their planned activities aside to seize a great learning opportunity when it arises.

I call these unplanned learning opportunities “teachable moments.” In so many ways, the child is the curriculum. By observing our early learners closely to see what ignites their curiosity, we can identify and build on the teachable moments that we encounter throughout the day.

Once we’ve identified a teachable moment, we can make the most of these spontaneous early learning adventures (and meet our early learning standards) by sharing our insights and asking questions that encourage children to dig deeper and make more connections as they engage in rich, authentic, hands-on learning that only looks like play.

After we engage in these impromptu investigations with our early learners, we can share the fruits of their learning adventures with parents and administrators, so that they can begin to understand how teachable moments can be harnessed to help prepare young children for the transition to kindergarten and success in the larger arena of life.

Soon, the stores will be filled with crisp, delicious fall apples, which will give rise to many of their own teachable moments, beginning with the letter “A.”  But today we have tomatoes, so we’re seizing the moment to harvest, sort, count, compare and investigate nature’s bounty!

It is only through genuine interactions and availability that teachers can identify these moments and act accordingly and spontaneously. Teachable moments require you to “think on your feet” and be flexible enough to stray from your planned path. If children’s interests take them in a direction that you hadn’t anticipated or planned for, you have to be ready to seize the moment and use it as a gift. Follow the joy of your students and your curriculum will develop organically!

“Look how many tomatoes are growing on this one vine!” Owen exclaims to his friends.

We are now collecting data and comparing attributes. Spontaneous discussions unfold as the children explore topics such as where the sun shines in the morning and which tomato plants get the most sunshine.

But how do the tomatoes ripen and turn red under all of those leaves? By observing, investigating and learning that living things grow and change, the children are building a strong foundation for future learning in earth science and life science.

We keep it simple. This type of learning is always developmentally appropriate because the children’s investigations are guided by each individual’s level of brain development.

“Avery, don’t eat them all!” cries one child as Avery pops a couple of freshly plucked tomatoes into her mouth.

We are exploring the concept of “many vs. few.”  But some of the children are too young to care about this concept and just want to experience the sweet deliciousness of a ripe tomato straight from the vine.

Our tomato harvest has all of the hallmarks of a true STEM learning adventure: investigation, discovery, collaboration and discussion. The children are learning through their senses: the visual task of surveying the tomato plants and comparing and categorizing the tomatoes as unripe (green or pale orange) or ripe and ready for harvest (deep orange); the tactile pleasure of separating a plump ripe tomato from its green stem; and the delicious sensation of biting into a tomato, still warm from the sun, and feeling it explode on the tongue. All of the goodness of nature and little brains in motion!

While two-year-old Lauren is more focused on picking the tomatoes and filling her bowl, some of the preschool-age children are busy trying to collect as many as possible. “Look how many I have!” squeals Linnea. “I have more than you!”

As the children explore the physical properties of the tomatoes, we are suddenly counting, estimating, comparing attributes and organizing by color and size. We have vocabulary and math flowing off of the children’s lips, which are stained with the juice of the ripe tomatoes. We are meeting our early learning standards—and the children are developing their own curriculum as they go!

Children construct their own understanding of the world when we provide them with a rich learning environment (in this case, our tomato garden) and ample time to explore, discover and investigate. We want children to think for themselves and not simply follow a preconceived curriculum or theme.

By taking advantage of authentic learning experiences in sensory-rich environments, we are setting the stage for the natural integration of early learning standards and successfully incorporating STEM knowledge into the daily lives of our early learners.

When you foster the development of a creative learning environment where children can find joy in learning, you will discover that your curriculum and lesson themes will spontaneously arise. In other words, let the children lead and the curriculum will follow!

Once the children have “followed their bliss,” introduce the books and thematic materials that support their interests. Build on their energy, enthusiasm and inquisitiveness.

If you head to the tomato garden, I think you’ll agree: early childhood STEM education has never tasted so good!

Check it out.

Last week, three of the Early Math Counts folks (including me) went to Dallas for the NAEYC Annual Conference and Expo.  We spoke on Wednesday to a wonderful and receptive audience of about 45 attendees.  We began by detailing the history of the Early Math Counts project and spent a little bit of time presenting some of the research connected to early math learning.

My part was the most fun.  I did a short activity with the attendees using small buckets of colorful plastic counting worms.  We discussed the different ways teachers might present new manipulatives with children either by presenting them first with detailed explanations about what they are and how to use them, or by presenting them as a new material and allowing the children to explore and uncover their uses on their own.  For the purposes of the day’s activities, I explained that we would operate as if we were exploring them for the first time all on our own.

I don’t know how well you can see the directions on the screen behind me, but the activity went something like this:

1.  Make a list of 3-4 different ways children might play with worms. Think what they might naturally be inclined to do with them. 

2. Think about how you could use the worms to teach a conventional math skill or concept.

3. What might you say to children to make the connection?

The attendees went to work, opening their worms and playing.After spending a few minutes exploring the worms, I asked the audience to call out the different ways they thought children might play with the worms.  They had wonderful ideas.  Some thought children might sort them, or line them up.  Others thought that they might use them to measure themselves if they lay down on the carpet and line them up end to end.  Another woman said she thought her kids would use them for pretend play, since they come in different sizes and they children might create families with them.

All of these were great ideas and reasonable as well.  I could see children using them in these ways and many others.  Next, we talked about how teachers can support these play-based mathematical activities as they unfold in the classroom by incorporating math vocabulary and extending the play.

We then ran out of time.

Do you have any great ideas for playing with these worms?  How would you support the math concepts?  How would you help make the connections?

There you will find the following 6 Principles of Family Engagement.

• Principle 1: Programs invite families to participate in decision making and goal setting for their child

• Principle 2: Teachers and programs engage families in two-way communication

• Principle 3: Programs and teachers engage families in ways that are truly reciprocal

• Principle 4: Programs provide learning activities for the home and in the community

• Principle 5: Programs invite families to participate in program-level decisions and wider advocacy efforts

• Principle 6: Programs implement a comprehensive program-level system of family engagement

How are you engaging families?

Check it out here.

This got me thinking about providing individualized care in a group setting.

Recently, I was visiting an “older infants” room in a center setting (6 mos.-1 year).  It was a lovely room with all of the appropriate bells and whistles I’ve come to expect in quality child care.  What surprised me was that the teachers fed the children simultaneously, changed them on the same schedule, and put them down for their naps all at the same time.  This is contrary to everything I’ve learned about caring for infants and toddlers “on demand.”

Nowhere is individualized care more important than in the infant and toddler setting.  Regardless of how the teachers managed to get all 6 babies on the same schedule, I can’t imagine that is best for all of them.  I am quite sure it is nice for the teachers.

The earliest mathematical concepts are reinforced for infants through a consistency of care.  Babies come to expect that when they are hungry they eat, and when they are tired they sleep.  When they are changed, there is a system in place that is consistent and follows a set order.  These set structures build trust between the infant and her  provider and ultimately create a sequence of events that is constant and predictable.

These relationships between people and events are logico-mathematical in nature and are paramount to children’s overall well-being.  For me NAEYC is really clear on this.  Developmentally Appropriate Practice asks that we consider the child in light of her/his family and culture.  Providing individual care for children under three should still be a priority, shouldn’t it?

Check it out.

PS.  Dropping off children is not easy for parents either and I am learning that it doesn’t really get easier as they grow up.

According to the Core Standards website:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

The standards are designed for children in K-12 and as of today’s date, 45 of the United States (Illinois included), 4 territories and the District of Columba have adopted the Core as  the newest means of delineating what children should be learning, what they need to know, and ways of assessing whether or not this learning is happening.

What does this mean for Home Child Care Providers, Preschool Teachers, and Infant and Toddler Specialists? For starters, the early childhood years are still defined as 0-8, so the Core includes the K-3 grades, which are clearly still in our wheelhouse.  Since Early Childhood Educators have studied education and development through age 8, we have a vested interest in closely examining the Core for developmental appropriateness since it is us who will be preparing the youngest children to eventually live out the Core in their school years.

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to unpack the Mathematics Standards for kindergarten in the Core.  This will provide us with the much-needed background to think about the mathematics education we are providing to our children in order to ready them for kindergarten.

In the meantime, NAEYC has prepared a statement about the Core entitled, “The Common Core State Standards: Caution and Opportunity for Early Childhood Education”.  Take a look at what it means to us through the eyes of NAEYC.

Reference for the Core:

Authors: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers

Title: Common Core State Standards (insert specific content area if you are using only one)

Publisher: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, Washington D.C.

Copyright Date: 2010