If you are wondering how to write open-ended math questions so you can improve your math instruction, this blog post is for you. Discover everything you need to know before you even start writing and then follow my 3 easy steps on how to write the best open-ended math problems.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle31 October 2022maths, open ended, open-ended math questions, open ended questions, kindergarten, grade 1, first grade, early years math, teaching math, math problems, problem solving, teachingComment

A Guide to Play Schemas in Early Childhood Education

If you would like to create an engaging and effective learning environment and confidently plan learning experiences that perfectly match the cognitive development of each child in your class, this blog post on play schemas is for you. Understanding play schemas and being able to pinpoint the ones your students are developing is critical to the success of your early childhood classroom.

How to Write a Play Based Learning Term Overview

If you think curriculum planning and mapping out your term is hard work and you find it a dreaded task that seems to take you forever, you are going to love this blog post on how to write a play-based learning term overview. I’ll show you my quick and easy process.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle13 June 2022play based learning, play based classroom, planning, play based, developmental play, kindergarten, teaching, teacher planning, term planning, term menu, term overview, walker learning Comment

How to Write Learning Intentions for Kindergarten and Preschool

Are you wondering how to write effective and age-appropriate learning intentions for your preschool or kindergarten classroom? In this blog post you will discover some practical strategies to help you write curriculum aligned learning intentions your kindergarten and preschool children can relate to and use.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle16 May 2022learning intentions, kindergarten, preschool, prep, foundation stage, play based learning, planning, teaching, integrated curriculum, investigations, early childhood, early years, curriculum planning, Australian curriculumComment

How to Build a Classroom Community

Discover what a classroom community is and why you need to be building a classroom community at school. Find out my easy ways to build classroom community and get some tried and tested classroom community building ideas you can use.

Social and EmotionalJanelle McArdle24 January 2022classroom community, classroom, social and emotional, back to school, teaching, behaviour management Comment

Teaching Rhyming Words

If you are wondering why you need to be teaching rhyming words in Preschool or Kindergarten and how to effectively teach the skill of rhyming to your students, this blog post is for you.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle8 November 2021rhyme, rhyming words, word families, literacy, kindergarten, preschool, grade 1, hands-on learning, teachingComment

Stages of Development - Piaget

Piaget’s theories on cognitive development were groundbreaking for the world of education. To this day, Piagetian theories continue to influence curriculum design and implementation. This blog post will take a close look at Jean Piaget’s Stages of development in children.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle31 May 2021investigations, playbased, planning, cognitive development, hands-on, teaching, early years, early childhood Comment

The Peace Table

The Peace Table is your solution to managing classroom conflicts effectively. The Montessori-inspired Peace Table teaches children self-regulation and conflict resolution strategies they can use in the classroom and the home to foster inner calm and share peace with others.

Classroom Environment, Social and EmotionalJanelle McArdle24 March 2020social and emotional, social skills, early childhood, teaching, Montessori Comments

Blog - Life in a Play Based Classroom

I’m Janelle and I’m here to help you implement an engaging, play based curriculum

that STILL has your children meeting academic standards and benchmarks!