Discover why it is so important to teach kindergarten and preschool children geometry and find out all about the Australian Curriculum Geometry strand so you can be confident teaching this complex maths subject.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle25 August 2022maths, kindergarten, preschool, shapes, geometry, play based, play based learning, hands-on, hands-on learning, 2D shapes, 3D shapes, early childhood math, early years, math activities, math provocationsComment

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 Statement of Intent for Your Play Based Learning Classroom

If you are familiar with the Walker Learning Approach, then you are no doubt also familiar with writing a Statement of Intent. This fortnightly planning document is vital to the success of your play-based learning program. Check out this blog post to see how we write ours.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle27 June 2022play based learning, planning, curriculum planning, investigations, investigative play, statement of intent, walker learning, kindergarten, play based classroom, developmental play, play based, Reggio teacher, teacher planningComment

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

Teaching the F-2 ACARA Math Learning Intentions Through Play

The best way to teach math is through play. This blog post explains the F-2 ACARA Math Curriculum and how you can create opportunities for your early childhood students to enjoy their math learning by using hands-on play based strategies and materials.

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

Do You Need Learning Intentions and Success Criteria in an Early Years Classroom?

Do you really need to display your learning intentions in a kindergarten or preschool classroom? In this blog post you will discover exactly what learning intentions are and learn some practical teacher tips and ideas for you to have success using or displaying classroom learning intentions in the early years learning environment.

Explicit Teaching, Classroom Environment, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle4 April 2022learning intentions, kindergarten, preschool, prep, WALT goals, foundation stage, ACARA, Australian curriculum, learning objectives, curriculum planning, early years, early childhoodComment

Easter Writing Prompts

Grab yourself some fun Easter writing prompts and a heap of Easter writing activities and ideas in this blog post. You will be able to keep your students engaged and writing all the way up until the Easter break.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle22 March 2022writing, easter, kindergarten, grade 1, first grade, literacy, investigations, early years, primary school, elementary, writing promptsComment

Teaching Science in a Play Based Classroom

Teaching science in a play based classroom is one of the easiest things you will ever do as a classroom teacher. In this blog post you will discover how play based learning and science education go hand-in-hand. I’ll share heaps of photos and ideas you can use in your classroom to teach science through play and learning provocations.

5 Engaging Read Alouds for the First Day of School

If you are looking for some engaging read alouds for the first day of school, this blog post has 5 wonderful picture books you can read aloud on the first day of kindergarten or preschool. I am sure you will want to add them to your classroom library!

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle31 January 2022back to school, reading, read alouds, picture books, kindergarten, preschool, prep, early childhood, literacyComment

Counting the Days of School

If you are not already counting the days of school, I encourage you to do it!!. This fun math activity is popular in kindergarten and grade 1 because it is such an engaging way to teach and consolidate early number concepts. Your students will love this predictable daily counting practice and you will be surprised at how many early numeracy skills and concepts can be taught when you count and celebrate 100 days of school.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle17 January 2022100 days, counting, numbers, early years, kindergarten, grade 1, grade one, maths, counting the days, math activities, early numeracyComment

Christmas Classroom Ideas

Are you looking for some classroom ideas to help you celebrate Christmas over these last few weeks of school? I have collated 9 of the best hands-on Christmas classroom ideas for your kindergarten or preschool classroom.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle20 December 2021christmas, kindergarten, prep, preschool, hands-on learning, play based, play based learning, play based classroom 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

Piaget and Play Based Learning

Piaget’s theories of cognitive development have influenced our modern play pedagogies. See how Piaget and play based learning go hand-in-hand and how his theories reinforce the idea that children learn through play. Discover some practical play-based learning ideas for your classroom.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle11 October 2021play based, play based learning, play based classroom, piaget, early childhood, early years, hands-on learning Comments

Why Teach Science in Early Childhood

Do you feel Science is just one more thing to add on to your already crammed curriculum? Are you thinking “Why Teach Science in Early Childhood?” Find out why you need early childhood science education in your classroom and how you are probably already teaching it.

Investigations, Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle27 September 2021early childhood, science, teaching science, early childhood science, inquiry, inquiry skills, early years science, kindergarten science, preschool science, first grade science, grade one science, grade 1 science, Australian curriculum, play based learningComment

43 Rhyming Activities for Kindergarten

Discover 43 hands-on rhyming activities to help you teach rhyming and word families to your kindergarten and preschool children. These educational games and hands-on activities are an effective and fun way to teach rhyming words. Perfect for your literacy lessons and centers.

Explicit TeachingJanelle McArdle8 July 2021Daily 5, literacy, phonological awareness, phonics, playbased, play based, reading, writing, rhyme, spelling, hands-on learning Comments

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

Use a Rhyming Basket to Teach Rhyming Words

If you are teaching rhyme and looking for a fun activity to help your students learn about rhyming words, a rhyming basket just may be the answer. Develop the phonological skill of rhyming and discover how to teach the four stages of rhyming with this fun hands-on rhyming activity.

Explicit Teaching, InvestigationsJanelle McArdle15 May 2021rhyme, phonological awareness, literacy, reading, spelling, phonics, Australian curriculum, ACARAComment

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!