I am so grateful that Juliet Robertson was able to join me for this conversation about outdoor learning and play. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed being with her in our virtual VideoCast room at Early Learning Café.

It’s hard to imagine an early learning program without paper. Paper is that incredible, adaptable surface that expectantly awaits children’s transformation. In this article, I invite you to experiment with paper yourself and discover new possibilities for exploring paper with children.

The math activity had appeal to the children gathered on the carpet that day. It had dice to roll and numbers to identify, count and write down on a whiteboard. There was a bit of competition between two teams. But there was also wait times for teammates to have a turn. At first that was fine. Eventually it was not.

If we want to engage our children in ways that resonate with their innate desire to understand their world, we must engage our imaginations too – being open to seeing things through a child’s eyes with their sense of mystery; giving them space to experience the thrill of discovering something for themselves and imagining possibilities.

It was one of those warm spring days when winter snow no longer had power to hold its shape and form. The snowbank that had been created with shovels over the winter to enable clear passage into the kindergarten doorway was shrinking. Read about the invitation that this spring day inspired!

My teaching partner, who believed strongly in creating a sense of belonging and well-being for all children, was questioning how to be inclusive and sensitive to the needs of four particular children. Could both large and small groups be offered at the same time in a way that was meaningful and engaging for all the children? Find out what we did.

This post is the first in a series about learning invitations for young children. My hope is that this series will inspire you to experience the excitement of children’s learning when we as educators, caregivers, and parents imagine and play with ideas alongside the children in our lives.