Designing Enriched Learning Environments

3.A.01

Teaching staff, program staff, or both work as a team to implement daily teaching and learning activities, including Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs), Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and other individual plans as needed.

The teaching staff and early intervention meet on a regular basis’s to discuss teaching strategies and outcomes.  

3.A.06
Teachers create classroom displays that help children reflect on and extend their learning. They ensure that children's recent works predominate in classroom displays (e.g., art, emergent writing, graphic representation, and three-dimensional creations) and that some displays are at children's eye level.

3.A.07

Teaching staff and children work together to arrange classroom materials in predictable ways so children know where to find things and where to put them away.

Creating Caring Communities for Learning

3.B.02

Teaching staff create and maintain a setting in which children of differing abilities can progress, with guidance, toward increasing levels of autonomy, responsibility, and empathy.

The teaching staff encourages a classroom setting where all children can learn from one another and progress.

3.B.11

Teaching staff create a climate of mutual respect for children by being interested in their ideas, experiences, and products.

Using Time, Grouping, and Routines to Achieve Learning Goals

3.D.04

Teaching staff offer children opportunities to interact with children of various ages.

Teachers have the opportunities to observe and interact with all the classrooms. Many teachers plan special activities with one another, including holiday parties and other special events.  

(working with preschool)

3.D.05

Teachers plan for children to revisit experiences and materials over periods of days, weeks, and months.

The teaching staff plans for the children to revisit many investigations.

(Revisiting shapes during circle time & the children chose to revisit circle time in the gym.)

3.D.10

Teachers organize time and space on a daily basis to allow children to work or play individually and in pairs, to come together in small groups, and to engage as a whole group.

The schedule allows for many opportunities for the children to work independently and together.  Please click here to view the schedule. 

3.D.11

Teachers create opportunities for children to engage in group projects and to learn from one another.

The schedule allows for many opportunities for the children to engage in group projects and learn from one another.

  Please click here to view the schedule. 

(the children exploring the mud together)

Responding to Children's Interests and Needs

3.E.01

Teaching staff reorganize the environment when necessary to help children explore new concepts and topics, sustain their activities, and extend their learning.

During our investigation about feelings the teaching staff added a feelings chart and more pillows to the cozy area. When investigated cars we added tires to the playground.

3.E.02

Teachers scaffold children's learning by

• modifying the schedule,
  
• intentionally arranging the equipment, and
  
• making themselves available to children.
  

The schedule is flexible and allows for changes throughout the day. The equipment in the environment is arranged to meet the needs of the children. Please click here to view the schedule.

3.E.03
Teachers use children's interest in and curiosity about the world to engage them with new content and developmental skills.

The teaching staff introduces new ideas in an engaging way, such as the farm investigation. The children we’re able to hatch baby ducks using an incubator and then learned how to care for them.

3.E.04
Teachers use their knowledge of individual children to modify strategies and materials to enhance children's learning.

The teaching staff recognizes the children’s interest and creates lesson’s to enhance their learning. For example during circle time we added props for all the children.  

Making Learning Meaningful for All Children

3.F.01

Teachers use curriculum in all content and developmental areas as a flexible framework for teaching and to support the development of daily plans and learning experiences.

The daily plans are very flexible and can easily be rearranged to better help the development of the children.

3.F.02

Play is planned for each day.

3.F.06

Teachers offer children opportunities to engage in classroom experiences with members of their families.

Families are always invited into the classroom to share experiences with us.

Using Instruction to Deepen Children's Understanding and Build Their Skills and Knowledge

3.G.01
Teachers have and use a variety of teaching strategies that include a broad range of approaches and responses.

The teaching staff uses a variety of teaching strategies that help individual and groups of children. Approaches and responses could vary with each child. During are weekly planning meetings we discuss approaches that have been helpful.

3.G.02
Teachers use multiple sources (including results of informal and formal assessments as well as children's initiations, questions, interests, and misunderstandings) to
· identify what children have learned.
· adapt curriculum and teaching to meet children's needs and interests.
· foster children's curiosity.
· extend children's engagement.
· support self-initiated learning.

Every child has a portfolio that is updated regularly to help the teacher with assessments. The child’s portfolio helps the teacher adjust her teaching strategies to better help each child. Children's work is kept in clear page protectors inside white binders. The portfolios are used a lot during parent conferences to show what children have accomplished. I also use them when I need to fill out progress reports.

3.G.03
As children learn and acquire new skills, teachers use their knowledge of children's abilities to fine-tune their teaching support. Teachers adjust challenges as children gain competence and understanding.


The child’s portfolio helps the teacher adjust her teaching strategies to better help each child. Children's work is kept in clear page protectors inside white binders. The children's work is placed in chronological order. I like using the clear page protectors because children can flip through their book to look at their photos and work. The portfolios are used a lot during parent conferences to show what children have accomplished. I also use them when I need to fill out progress reports.

3.G.08
Teachers help children identify and use prior knowledge. They provide experiences that extend and challenge children's current understandings.

Several investigations are re-visited throughout the year and extended every time. With each re-visited investigation we may add more songs/poems, harder concepts to challenge children’s current understandings.

3.G.09
Teachers engage in collaborative inquiry with individual children and small groups of children.

Both the teacher and children learn together through observation and experience.

3.G.11
Teachers are able to determine the different components of a task and break it into meaningful and achievable parts.

The toddlers staff helps the children engage in lesson's by making them repetitive. For example are duck project, before introducing baby duck eggs the children looked at picture books about ducks and created their own duck books. After the duck arrived we did the same lesson again. However this time the children had a better understanding and created a more meaningful duck book. Sarah painted a picture of grass, she liked watching the ducks eat it.

3.G.12
Teachers promote children's engagement and learning by responding to their need for and interest in practicing emerging skills, and by enhancing and expanding activities that children choose to engage in repeatedly.

The toddler staff helps children with play but will often encourage children to pick their own activities.

3.G.13
Teachers promote children's engagement and learning by guiding them in acquiring specific skills and by explicitly teaching those skills.

The toddler staff often models specific skills during play and encourages children to practice these learned skills.

3.G.14
Teachers demonstrate their knowledge of content and developmental areas by creating experiences that engage children in purposeful and meaningful learning related to key curriculum concepts.

Teachers often refer to the child’s portfolio in order to make learning more meaningful for each individual child.