How To Social Distance Without Giving Up WONDER
Social distancing is just wrong in early childhood. You know it. I know it. But what if you are mandated to do it? Recently, I was on a Zoom call, and an educator told us about her colleagues who had made taped squares in their rooms. In those squares they put a chair...
A Wonder-Filled School in the Philippines
In July 2019, I had the incredible honor of presenting a seminar in Manila. Mia Villavicencio, who is in my Wonder Tribe membership, was there and invited me to visit her center. It was such an honor and treat. Here is a peek into her amazing center! To enter this...
Fine Motor Bottle Activity with Loose Parts
In my Waldorf training, the young child's development of the fine motor skills was viewed as more important than teaching rote skills(such as recognizing the sounds of the letters). The hand can be considered as an instrument of intelligence. Philipp Martzog, a...
The Magic of a Light and Projection Provocation: Brilliant!
I had to share this fabulous provocation from Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center! Whoever thought of showcasing light onto the table? Genius right? A few years ago, Fairy Dust Teaching gifted pocket projectors to Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center (They do not have...
How to Introduce Loose Parts With Infants and Toddlers
Let’s face it, infants and toddlers are experts at tinkering. What better materials to tinker with than loose parts? Loose parts are essentially any open-ended material that can be used in a variety of ways. Introducing loose parts to infants and toddlers can be...
Rosa Parks Early Childhood: A Glimpse into their Rooms
Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center is filled with such wonder and awe. From the teaching staff, to the children, to the thoughtfully planned rooms, to documentation filled walls, and much more. I wanted to share just a glimpse into the overall rooms and share some of...
How to Transform Your Third Teacher: A Peek Inside a Real Transformation
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Pegboards: Brilliant Ideas for Organizing Loose Parts
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Restoring the Importance of Woodworking and Young Children
“I’m strong! I can do hammer by myself. See? This is going to be the bridge for we all build together.” -3 year old boy at Rosa Parks Early Childhood Center. I walked into this classroom after the FIRST MONTH of school to find children in engaged in every center...
5 Paint Invitations to Embrace the Explore Stage
The explore stage is something we need to keep talking about. In a previous post, I talked about the explore stages of clay. Today, I want to share 5 paint invitations that really helped me embrace the explore stage of paint. Conversation Tip While Painting The one...
16 Ways Loose Parts Can Ignite Curiosity
Loose parts and authentic play experiences for children are two vitally important initiatives at Fairy Dust Teaching. Many administrators and supervisors question whether loose parts can meet any academic objectives. Today I want to share some inspiring invitations...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Metal
Metal Loose Parts! Our last type of Loose Parts in this blog series. If there’s one Loose Part that really engages every child through building, creating, inventing, exploring, and more, it’s metal! From magnet exploration, to big tin cans that clink to make music, to...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Packaging Parts
Packaging Loose Parts are typically known as the recyclable parts. They tend to be FREE! Cardboard boxes, paper towel rolls, and egg cartons are just a few of these multi faceted Loose Parts. Packaging Loose Parts Bubble Wrap and Packing Peanuts reused from shipping...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Ceramic and Glass Based Parts
Ceramic and Glass Loose Parts are those unique materials that don’t often get into the hands of children enough. From glass beads to ceramic tiles to prisms, there are many opportunities for children to explore, build, and create with. A Loose Part can become...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Fabrics
Fabric Based Loose Parts add such an artistic dynamic to explorations and creations with children. From fort building in construction, to weaving, to dress up, and so much more, the possibilities are endless when it comes to Fabric Based Loose Parts! Fabric Based...
Loose Parts: Playing with Plastic!
"The child, making use of all that he finds around him, shapes himself for the future.” - Maria Montessori Plastic is one of the best Loose Parts when it comes to Recycled and Repurposed Items. These are items that most any family can help and donate as they’re taking...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Nature!
Nature Based Loose Parts! My favorite! Between going on walks with your children to find these treasures to watching how children reconnect with nature, nothing beats this. (Not to mention FREE!) Pinecones and sweet gum balls picked up from walk. Wood cookies cut from...
Loose Parts: Let's Play With Wood Reuse Parts
Wood Reuse Loose Parts are used all around the classroom. From using big old chair legs as ramps to balancing corks on a tower to using wood frames as a backdrop for designing in art, Wood Reuse Parts are multidimensional! Wood Reuse Loose Parts Reused golf tees...
How Unique Storage Solutions Reinvented My Atelier
The atelier is one of my favorite spaces to set up when getting the third teacher ready. But, one thing that can be tricky is figuring out unique and accessible ways to display your materials in the atelier for ease of access for children. Today I’m going to share...
Hopes and Dreams featuring The Orchard School
Wow. I love how social media connects us. The Orchard School in Plano, Texas saw the hopes and dreams project for families on our Instagram and brought a new spin to it. They made a Faculty Hopes and Dreams hanging! Something that would be incredible if we all did...
Going Beyond Cupcakes: Reggio Inspired Birthday Traditions
Birthday Traditions are an important component to celebrating children in your class. A birthday tradition celebrates the day with a special tradition rather than food. It goes deeper than the cupcake and engrains from an early age the importance of celebrating one...
3 Steps to Creating a Hopes and Dreams Display
One of the most meaningful family projects is the Hopes & Dreams Display. This is a visual piece displayed all year long in the classroom. It holds the hopes and dreams of the families for their child in your class. There are basic 3 steps to creating a Hopes...
How To Make A Family Chandelier In Your Classroom
“Our job is too difficult and too beautiful to do alone.” -Amelia Gambetti, Reggio Emilia Family Chandeliers are one of my favorite connections to do with families at the beginning of the year. Today, I want to give you a step by step guide on how to make a family...
Setting Up the Third Teacher: Beginnings of an Infant and Toddler Classroom
Beginnings of Ablaze Christian Academy's Infant/Toddler Classrooms I had the phenomenal opportunity to tour and photograph one truly incredible teacher who now is the director of Ablaze Christian Academy in Tulsa, OK. They serve 0-5 year old children in an emergent...
Setting up the 3rd Teacher: A peek into Nammi's Classroom (Part 2)
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Setting up the 3rd Teacher: A Peek into Nammi's Classroom
I am incredibly excited to share a peek into an incredible Reggio Inspired Classroom. This is Nammi's Classroom. She is a teacher at Educare. Her classroom is for 3 to 4 year olds. It is the end of the year for her, so you will notice how the children,...
Setting up the 3rd Teacher: A peek into Sidney's Classroom
“The environment should act as an aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes, and culture of the people who live in it. This is what we are working towards.” Loris Malaguzzi With the new school year fast approaching for many, setting up the classroom...
3 Simple Ways to Get Children to Pick Up Loose Parts
If I were completely honest, I’d tell you I nearly gave up on loose parts because of the mess in my classroom at the end of the day. I remember seeing all of those beautiful photos of loose parts in action. I loved the creativity, exploration, and inventiveness the...
Loose Parts: Who is doing the thinking. . . .the children or the toy?
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Sandra Duncan: Classroom Containers as Invitations
This year at the NAEYC Annual Conference I had the delight of meeting Sandra Duncan. It was exciting because I love her book Inspiring Spaces for Young Children. Sandra is such an inspiration! She shared an amazing perspective shift in her session. Here's a sneak...
Meaningful Documentation in the Early Childhood Classroom
Providing meaningful documentation has many benefits in the early childhood classroom. Today I want to share some examples of meaningful documentation from Rosa Parks ECEC here in Tulsa, OK. What is Documentation? To put it simply, documentation is a way to track...
Empathy for the Big Bad Wolf ~ A New Take on an Old Tale
When I went to photograph at Rosa Parks recently, I noticed some peculiar documentation panels which seemed to show empathy for the Big Bad Wolf. I asked the classroom's teachers about this and they confirmed my suspicions. Upon hearing the age old story of the Three...
Atelier Ideas
One of my favorite parts of the Reggio Emilia Approach is their dedication to the atelier. Today I want to feature some local atelier ideas in the hopes they may inspire you or spark an idea for you and your atelier! "Creativity seems to emerge from multiple...
12 Ideas for Storing Loose Parts
During the FREE Live Webinar, Loose Parts! Provocations! Oh My!, I noticed a lot of questions about how to store loose parts. Today I want to share 12 ideas with you for loose parts storage! These ideas come from the amazing Reggio-Inspired school, Rosa Parks ECEC!...
Simple Literacy Provocations
I know some people get overwhelmed when trying to think of new ideas for provocations. Today I want to share with you some simple ideas for literacy provocations that may spark some new ideas for you! Enjoy! If you are reading this and wondering what a provocation is,...
Flexible Seating in a Reggio-Inspired School
Offering children flexible seating choices can be a great way to make the classroom environment more cozy and home-like. Let's take a look at flexible seating in a Reggio-Inspired school. What is Flexible Seating? Flexible seating is simply offering students multiple...
Loose Parts Play in Preschool
Let's talk loose parts! When I was in the classroom, loose parts were one of my favorite elements of the Reggio Inspired approach to implement! My hope is after reading this post, you will need no explanation as to why that was. If you want to take your understanding...
Simplifying Documentation
One of the most important elements of Reggio-Inspired teaching is documentation. From experience, I know this can be one of the most intimidating pieces to implement. I want to share one example of a documentation panel I created along with my students in a first...
A Closer Look Round Up
I have read a lot of blog posts lately that have made me feel the need to take a closer look at the various approaches to learning. The post that really sparked this is from How We Montessori and is featured first. The following posts are ones that I feel really break...
What is a provocation?
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Loose Parts: Construction (LP Master Checklist PDF)
This week I was reviewing The Art of Loose Parts Master Workshop and had to share some of the amazing loose parts. Most of these can be had for a very economical price or free! The best loose parts or repurposed materials. Construction sites and companies,...
Construction Provocations – Rosa Parks ECEC
Every time I visit Rosa Parks ECEC, I am taken aback by their creativity and dedication. Their rooms are beautifully adorned with child-made chandeliers, inspirational documentation, earthy tones, and it is clean, very clean! It inspires me to come home and declutter...
Light & Shadow Provocations – Rosa Parks ECEC
Last week, I mentioned that I would be sharing a few of the light and shadow provocations I saw at Rosa Parks ECEC. These provocations were magical and inviting. They also added ambiance to the rooms. As beautiful as the pictures are, they can only attempt to capture...
Nature Inspired Provocations – Rosa Parks ECEC
Recently, I - along with the other members of ORIN (Oklahoma Reggio-Inspired Network) - had the pleasure of touring Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center. This is a Reggio-Inspired preschool in the Union Public School district. This school is...
St. Louis Teachers' Recycle Center, Inc.
The St. Louis Teachers' Recycle Center, Inc. is an incredible resource for teachers. What is it, you ask? It is a place where all things "teachery" come to wait for their classroom home. If you are like me, you are always reusing items from around your house in your...
All Around Child-Outside
I have been sharing the wonderful things I saw while visiting All Around Child in Overland Park, KS. So far we have explored the common areas, hallways, and the beautiful classrooms. Now you will get to see the masterpiece that is the outside play areas, but they are...
All Around Child-Inside the Classrooms
Recently, I posted about All Around Child, a Reggio-Inspired preschool in Overland Park, KS. I loved the school so much that there was no way I could have condensed my thoughts and pictures down to one post. We are about to explore the magic inside the classrooms and...
All Around Child-A Reggio-Inspired Preschool
I had the pleasure of taking a tour through All Around Child, a beautiful Reggio-Inspired preschool in Overland Park, KS. This school serves children 6 weeks to 6 years. I was so impressed with this school that I took way too many pictures to put into one post. This...
Reggio Inspired – Lights
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Inspire School in Taos
I just had to share a peek into the Inspire school in Taos, New Mexico. Inspire is a Reggio inspired bilingual child care. As you walk up to the front door - there is chicken wire running along side the railing with children's and adult's weaving. So...