Welcome to Full Day Kindergarten!
What is Inquiry?
"Inquiry-based learning means that we are honouring our children’s ability to drive their own learning. We are placing student questions and ideas at the centre of the learning process." (journeytogetherfdk.com)
We totally agree with and embrace this concept. We have seen the benefits first hand of encouraging our students to explore, ask "I wonder questions", investigate and share their findings with others. We have let go of traditional teaching practices, worksheets, and choosing "themes" as a teaching guide. Instead, we spend a lot of time getting to know your child, their interests and finding out what inspires them. We will draw in curriculum expectations where appropriate in order to motivate them to deepen their thinking and understanding of different concepts.
"It involves a different mindset, one where educators and students are co-learners, where educators are facilitators rather than dictators of the learning. There is a culture of collaboration." (journeytogetherfdk.com)
What does Full Day Kindergarten look like in our room?
There are six program areas that we will draw into your child's play and interests in order to guide their development in each area: Personal, Social & Emotional Development, Language, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Health & Physical Education as well as the Arts.
From the Mouths of Babes: Who better to explain what this looks like than our students...
"Inquiry-based learning means that we are honouring our children’s ability to drive their own learning. We are placing student questions and ideas at the centre of the learning process." (journeytogetherfdk.com)
We totally agree with and embrace this concept. We have seen the benefits first hand of encouraging our students to explore, ask "I wonder questions", investigate and share their findings with others. We have let go of traditional teaching practices, worksheets, and choosing "themes" as a teaching guide. Instead, we spend a lot of time getting to know your child, their interests and finding out what inspires them. We will draw in curriculum expectations where appropriate in order to motivate them to deepen their thinking and understanding of different concepts.
"It involves a different mindset, one where educators and students are co-learners, where educators are facilitators rather than dictators of the learning. There is a culture of collaboration." (journeytogetherfdk.com)
What does Full Day Kindergarten look like in our room?
There are six program areas that we will draw into your child's play and interests in order to guide their development in each area: Personal, Social & Emotional Development, Language, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Health & Physical Education as well as the Arts.
From the Mouths of Babes: Who better to explain what this looks like than our students...
"We are readers and writers. We can research and read lots of cool books. We can research anything we like because I like Wooly Mammoths and I made a book about it. I make books all the time and I read them to my friends and my Mommy and Daddy. I'm a really good reader. I bring home lots of books every night." - Peyton
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"I love listening to books on the iPads about animals. I like non-fiction books most of the time because I like to write lots of true facts everyday...because I just love it. I think I probably wrote one hundred facts this year."
- Abby "Boys are writers probably everyday. I like writing on clipboards and I like to write about about what I build. I make lots of plans and lists. I'm going to show my sister next year." - Damien |
"We are really good mathematicians. I think I am a pretty tricky one. My favourite thing I did this year was make Lego graphs and find the perimeter of the water snail tank. I like doing Math everyday I come to school." - Carter
"We loving being scientists and building everyday." - Michael "I'm really good at building big exhibits." - Reese
"We are all artists. Everyone in the class." - Riley "We make art the way we like and it's so beautiful." - Morgan
"I am a famous actor. I even made my own movie this year." - Finley
"We like playing together and doing drama everywhere in the class. I liked being a scuba diver, an astronaut and a caver the best." - Sawyer
"I like getting dressed up and using the green screen." - Aubrey
"We like playing together and doing drama everywhere in the class. I liked being a scuba diver, an astronaut and a caver the best." - Sawyer
"I like getting dressed up and using the green screen." - Aubrey
We are 21st C learners...
But most importantly...
"We are all friends!" - Aubrey "We are bucket fillers and we always work together." - Grace As you can see our students have a strong understanding of different curriculum areas and recognize themselves as readers, writers, mathematicians, scientists, artists, and of course... good friends! We respect the individual differences and interests of each student and recognize children come in at different developmental stages. Our team is dedicated to providing the appropriate learning experiences and opportunities to help deepen their understanding of the world around them. |
"We can't wait for the new JKs so we can make more buddy pals." - Finley
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Why is the Learning Environment so important?
Our classroom starts off as a blank canvas waiting for student creativity to extend the four walls of our room and open it up to endless possibilities. We are educators who encourage our students to create a meaningful space that compliments their interests, questions, wonders and discoveries. Inside our room and during outdoor explore time, our students are investigators every single day. They take pride in their learning and they are eager to document their findings during play and display their knowledge in their own special way. Our students put their work in their portfolios or up on display along our documentation panels so others can explore and build upon their ideas. The thinking, planning, constructing and creating is posted as it happens. It’s our story. It’s our story that may not have an end, and probably shouldn’t have an end for we never stop being curious.
Our classroom starts off as a blank canvas waiting for student creativity to extend the four walls of our room and open it up to endless possibilities. We are educators who encourage our students to create a meaningful space that compliments their interests, questions, wonders and discoveries. Inside our room and during outdoor explore time, our students are investigators every single day. They take pride in their learning and they are eager to document their findings during play and display their knowledge in their own special way. Our students put their work in their portfolios or up on display along our documentation panels so others can explore and build upon their ideas. The thinking, planning, constructing and creating is posted as it happens. It’s our story. It’s our story that may not have an end, and probably shouldn’t have an end for we never stop being curious.
We believe in a classroom that is open, clutter-free, and inviting for students to use their imagination. We provide different materials and provocations each week that build upon our students creations and ideas in order to extend their thinking and learning even further. We also believe in the importance of learning outdoors and interacting with nature. We will invite you for nature walks, community trips and other outdoor education opportunities as much as possible.
How will I see what my child is learning?
In FDK, three people document evidence of learning through play...myself, the ECE and YOUR CHILD! Yes, your child will be provided with lots of different ways to video tape, record and photograph their inquiries. Each student can upload these to their digital journal (see an example of Sawyer's See Saw Journal entry on the left) and we will also share our journey on a classroom blog.
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![Picture](/uploads/2/1/5/7/21570120/2508072.jpg)
Inquiry Portfolios: Each student will have an inquiry portfolio to place all of their hard copy work inside. The purpose of this is to capture your child's development, connect to overall curriculum expectations and provide evidence of child reflection (e.g. I wonder... I am learning to...etc). You will be able to follow their inquiries and interests as well as monitor how they are progressing.
We will check off curriculum areas and expectations that your child is meeting. We believe it is important to leave an area for your feedback throughout the portfolio so there will always be a box available for your questions, comments or next steps. Please send this portfolio back ASAP so that we can continue to add new discoveries inside!
We will check off curriculum areas and expectations that your child is meeting. We believe it is important to leave an area for your feedback throughout the portfolio so there will always be a box available for your questions, comments or next steps. Please send this portfolio back ASAP so that we can continue to add new discoveries inside!
Here are a few examples of documentation. You will notice in the first sample, the parent wrote along the side of the reflection page, which is great! We encourage you to write comments, reflections, questions, etc. anywhere in the portfolio! We also provide a box for your comments, questions and important feedback (see second sample).
Learning Story
Why is a Home-School Connection important to us?
As the FDK Curriculum Document states, "Partnerships with families and communities strengthen the ability of early childhood settings to meet the needs of young children." We are very excited to begin this journey with not only your child but your family as well! We know that it takes a strong connection between the home and school environment to achieve the best development and outcome for each student. To develop this bond, we strive to keep you updated, informed and educated about why we do what we do. We also want to share our own experiences with play-based learning in our classroom, so that you can try to draw in curriculum skills into their play at home as well. We believe in a positive and interactive relationship with families of our students so please feel free to comment on our blog posts, write in your child's journals/ portfolios, and don't hesitate to contact us at any time ([email protected] or @mrskorstanje on Twitter)!
As the FDK Curriculum Document states, "Partnerships with families and communities strengthen the ability of early childhood settings to meet the needs of young children." We are very excited to begin this journey with not only your child but your family as well! We know that it takes a strong connection between the home and school environment to achieve the best development and outcome for each student. To develop this bond, we strive to keep you updated, informed and educated about why we do what we do. We also want to share our own experiences with play-based learning in our classroom, so that you can try to draw in curriculum skills into their play at home as well. We believe in a positive and interactive relationship with families of our students so please feel free to comment on our blog posts, write in your child's journals/ portfolios, and don't hesitate to contact us at any time ([email protected] or @mrskorstanje on Twitter)!
More Resources for Parents:
![Picture](/uploads/2/1/5/7/21570120/8709676.jpg)
Full Day Kindergarten Information Page for LKDSB:
For more information on Full Day Kindergarten within LKDSB, click the picture on the left.
For more information on Full Day Kindergarten within LKDSB, click the picture on the left.
![Picture](/uploads/2/1/5/7/21570120/1437093406.png)
A Question and Answer Guide for FDK Parents:
Click on the brochure to see a helpful guide full of frequently asked questions and answers!
Click on the brochure to see a helpful guide full of frequently asked questions and answers!
More Resources for Teachers:
Here are some very inspiring blogs that I enjoy following:
The Third Teacher: Reggio Inspirations in My Classroom
I find this a very helpful blog for teachers wondering how to bring inquiry-based learning and Reggio Emilia philosophies into the junior-intermediate grades. Alison ranges in experience from FDK to Intermediate. Click on the picture to the left to visit her blog. |
Journey Together in FDK
This is a wonderful blog if you are still wondering... What is Inquiry-Based Learning? What are Provocations? Why is Play Valuable? How Can I Make Learning Visible? How Can I Integrate the Curriculum (Math/Literacy focus) |
Ms. Kranenburg
This is a fabulous teacher on our board who integrates inquiry, technology and challenge-based learning into her classroom everyday. Her students are very engaged 2/3 students who are provided with rich, authentic learning experiences from Jen. Follow her on Twitter @JennKranenburg |
Playful Learning in the Early Years
This blog belongs to my former Kindergarten AQ course instructor, Deanna. She has some wonderful ideas on integrating nature and technology into the learning environment. She also has wonderful provocations! |
No Play, No Learning - Know Play, Know Learning
This is a wonderful Australian team integrating inquiry-based learning down under! |