Learning without boundaries!

Block play is essential. Children develop essential lifelong skills such as critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, mathematical reasoning skills and social / emotional skills through teamwork with peers.

During a recent visit to our pre-kindergarten classroom, I observed this very impressive collaborative project that was engineered entirely by this group of four-year-old students. They were using blocks, tubes, boxes and tape to create a marble run. They worked on this project for an extended period of time using a variety of different approaches to make the marbles go different ways. Their focus, creativity and enthusiasm were amazing.

Perhaps even more amazing is our pre-k teacher, Mrs. Jessica Grieve's approach to this type of learning in her classroom. She allows her students the freedom to explore the materials and create their own projects without boundaries. They have the opportunity to extend and add to their project over multiple days. She does not direct their play, but asks them questions about their creation to encourage problem solving and critical thinking skills. The children are inspired by the materials, and they feel free to explore in an open-ended way.

This is a good example of Reggio Emilia inspired learning. "In a Reggio-inspired classroom, teachers encourage groups to work together using dialogue, comparisons, negotiations and respect. They consider every element of the space thoughtfully to create an atmosphere where children can feel a sense of agency and creativity. "(Brianna Flavin)

If you notice in the picture on the left, Mrs. Grieves has put magnets on tubes and attached them to the metal cabinet in the corner. Children can also use these to create a vertical marble run. This is also an excellent example of using available materials to create unique experiences for children.

This is the kind of learning that is the center of discussion in classrooms around the world!! This is learning without boundaries. No worry about mess or overflow to other parts of the classroom, just allowing children the freedom to explore and learn at their own pace.