It's back to school time in the Northern hemisphere.
So I felt that it might be the perfect time to give those of you that are
returning to classrooms, or perhaps this is your first time in a classroom.
And I guess just for educators everywhere else, because let's face it every
day is a good day to start fresh.
But if you are getting ready to return to the classroom, then today's
episode might be just what you need.
By now you've got your class list and hopefully you've got some idea
of the needs of the children that you are going to be teaching this year.
So now what?
I think that there are two areas that we need to address when it
comes to getting ready and start teaching on that very first day.
Firstly, everything is about being organized in terms of the setup and
practicalities of running a classroom.
And secondly, and I think most importantly is thinking about your why
when it comes to lesson planning and content, you're going to be teaching.
Your WHY is driven by your belief system and your values.
And this is why your, why needs to be really clear.
What do you think about how children learn best?
What does the research say?
Who do you most closely align with?
I wrote a blog post sometime ago when I unpacked Waldorf
Reggio Emilia, and Montessori.
So if you're a graduate or new to these educational approaches,
you might want to have a read.
I'll link to that post in the show notes and also I'll link to
episode eight, where I discussed finding your educational philosophy.
For me, everything starts with the needs of the child.
In other words, how you set up your room needs to take consideration
what is best for children?
Not what we like.
But what's best for children.
Every child comes to us with their own experiences.
Just think how hectic mornings can be in homes.
Where parents are trying to get kids ready and themselves to go to work.
So our learning spaces need to be places that are not only inspirational,
inspire curiosity for kids.
But also places that are organized and calm.
Everything needs to have a place.
You'll need all those practical things like where you're put books and equipment
and where kids will put their bags and any equipment they need to bring into class.
Children really need help with organization.
So having a practical routine in place will really go a long way to help
them settle in because routines make things predictable and children thrive
when their lives are predictable.
So make sure you model the model with them, walk them through on that
very first day, where they put their stuff, how and where they put their
books, how to store their work.
These practical routines are not something you just do once on the first day.
These routines are things you model each and every day until they get it.
And it becomes automatic.
And guess what?
When they go on holiday for two weeks and come back the next term, you
have to model the routines again, because most of them will forget.
You'll find that there will be those children who will forget stuff.
Their cubbies or their desks or their backpacks will be littered with paper,
and basically they have difficulty organizing themselves and their
thoughts, and their learning.
And learning can be chaotic for these kids.
And often they're not meeting their full potential simply because they're
lacking executive function skills.
Apart from all the other things we integrate and teach kids, I think to
teach them how to approach things in a systematic way is really helpful.
So just like, if you want kids to be curious, we need to be curious.
In the same way
if we want kids to be organized, we need to be organized.
So make sure you have an organized space.
Where everyone knows exactly where everything should go, and also how you
want students to complete their work.
Model, the writing of their name on that piece of work when you complete a task.
Model what it is they need to do or where they need to place their work.
For many of us adults, this organization comes naturally.
But it doesn't come naturally to all students.
And think about as you go about your day, what does your desk look like?
Because I think our workspace also sets an example.
One of the things, many teachers that I work with are doing more and more
are removing their own teacher's desk.
Not only does this mean you no longer have a dumping space, but it also means
you have more room for students and it forces you to be super organized.
Your teacher's desk could now either be removed totally or used
as a work surface where kids can tinker or create, or perhaps that's
where their equipment is stored.
A quick browse on Pinterest will give you so many ideas and I'll
put a link to my Pinterest board in the show notes, and hopefully you
can find some inspiration there.
Another thing we need to consider is where we store our books and equipment.
Because you want it to be some way where children can reach things.
We are trying to grow independent, self-reliant children, autonomous
children that feel that they have some power over their lives.
So making it easier for them to access equipment is crucial.
Think carefully about your storage and how easy or difficult it will be for young
children to reach and to access equipment.
Now let's talk next about decorating classrooms.
And this is something so many teachers just love,
love, love, love, love.
But I'm going to put a spanner in the works here.
Yes, you want to get your labels done.
Yes, you want to have designated places in your room where you're wanting to display
stuff and label things and you totally should because those labels also serve
as word banks and they help kids read.
So when you're printing out labels, make sure the font is such that it helps
kids to easily read the label, and for young children, the label may need to be
accompanied by a picture or a photograph.
And keep in mind what life is like for children,
and even for ourselves nowadays, life is hectic.
There is stimulation everywhere.
And many students come into our spaces already overstimulated.
So our rooms need to be places of calm.
Remember, you might like bright colors and want to bring every single thing
from your store room or your garage from home and the kitchen sink.
But this is not a space for you.
This is a space that you're creating where you want children to be calm,
be independent and be curious.
So a mishmash of rainbow colors and plastic fantastic, so that it
looks like kids have just stepped into a fanfare is not the look you
want to go for because you know how kids end up at a fanfare, right.
They're bouncing off walls, cause they're so overstimulated by all
the colors and sights and sounds.
And everything.
So you want to think about creating a place that reduces
stress and is calming for people.
And when you think about a place that reduces stress and is calming for just
about everyone what do you think of?
For me it's nature.
So one of the best things you can do when setting up your space, I think is to keep
your colors neutral and think nature.
Muted tones of sand think forests and mountains and beaches.
Bring in natural elements like pot plants.
And if you need to hang something, why not bring in more nature and
branches that you can hang stuff from.
Reggio, Emilia classrooms do this really well.
And keep in mind that the space is the third teacher.
The first teacher.
is the parents, the second is you and I, the educator and
the third is the environment.
And when you're setting up your environment, you need
to keep asking yourself why.
Why are you putting these things in the places that you are.
Why are you including this or that thing?
How does it benefit children's learning or their social, emotional development?
Children's needs should be in the forefront when we're
creating spaces for them.
We're not showing off how good we are
interior decoration, we're trying to get children, to connect to
the space so that they want to be curious, want to know more, want to
ask questions and feel safe to do so.
So our classrooms should be spaces where children can also reflect
on their work and their wishes.
So, yes, we need to be organized.
But we shouldn't be filling all the walls with all sorts of posters.
We need to keep some base spaces where children can display their work.
We also need a big bare wall for creating a learning wall.
Which is going to evidence your students, learning their questions,
and their answers and you can find out more about learning
walls by the way, and how do you use them in the interview I had with the
expert on learning walls Jessica Vance.
I'll put a link in the show notes to that episode.
Another thing we need to consider are our invitations and our provocations.
We want the objects, that we've put into our spaces, to be intentional.
And we want those objects to spark wonder and thinking and curiosity.
We're not just putting in random stuff from home because we wanted out of
our garage and out of our store rooms.
We need to be thinking about our why the entire time.
When someone walks into your classroom, your values will be clearly visible.
The colors you've used, your objects or invitations or your provocations
will all clearly convey your values.
After I completed a course with Claire Warden on nature pedagogy,
the way I approached setting up my classroom completely changed.
In my own classroom, for example, I used either hessian which is beige
brown in color to cover all the colorful notice boards on the walls, or black,
both are great neutral backdrops that make children's work really stand out.
I also have lots of natural elements in my room and my provocations
are always linked to my science and my humanities curriculum.
And often my Science stuff in an area in front of my window, where I have
invitations for children to explore and read and create independently.
And outside the window, I had a bird bath and inside the window,
a poster with the different types of birds that visit our garden.
I was also lucky to have access to an outdoor area where I had planters
and gardening tools and natural loose parts, things like pebbles
and rocks and sticks and seed pods,
and gumnuts.
And I also had a dead tree inside my room, which was really not actually a
tree, it was just a bunch of branches.
Large branches that I had tied together and used this as a tree, in my room where
I, hung many of my children's creations.
So, if you had to imagine this or walk into my classroom, I
think my values and my love for nature pedagogy is very evident.
How you arrange the tables or the desks in your classroom also says a
lot about your values and what you know about how children learn best.
In episode 11, I spoke about creating inspirational indoor spaces
so have a listen to that episode next, I'll link it for you in the show notes.
And I also have a free checklist for you that you can use as a handy planning tool
as you go about setting up your space.
I'll link that in the show notes for you too so you can very easily download that.
Now you're organized,
everything has a place, you've got everything labeled.
You've got your routines planned.
And your provocations invitations are all set up.
Just a heads up that I will be interviewing someone very special
and knowledgeable when it comes to invitations and provocations, so
make sure you take the follow button
so you're notified when that episode drops, because you won't want to
miss out on that it promises to be a very exciting episode all about
setting intentional provocations.
Now, the next part of getting ready is to consider your planning and your lessons.
And of course, If you're here it means you're either not a run of the
mill teacher or you're someone that really wants to make a change and
find the best way to engage children and get them interested in learning.
And I have to say almost every episode of blooming curious
has something to do with that.
So might I suggest you take this podcast along with you when you're
going for your walk or your run with please only one ear bud, because
you still want to be aware of your surroundings, and have a bit of a binge.
Obviously, as I have spoken about until the cows come home, if you want to truly
not only get kids curious, but keep them curious and engaged then you simply have
to make inquiry part of your teaching.
And that does not mean throwing out explicit instruction.
It means dovetailing explicit instruction and inquiry and I've spoken about that
in several episodes to which I will link in the show notes for you so you
can take a deep dive into that next.
Now I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
Inquiry does not add to your workload.
It's not a separate subject.
Inquiry is a lens through which you teach.
It's about getting kids to think, to question and to become
independent and autonomous learners.
And as an inquiry teacher, the student and their needs are at the
forefront of everything you do.
You're asking yourself why the whole time to make sure you're not just doing things
for the sake of it, but because you have a valuable purpose, and you're getting
kids to think about why too, so they can start thinking about how they learn,
so they are developing those metacognition skills.
Last week I attended the most awesome two day seminar with a wonderful Jessica
Vance and Trevor Mackenzie here in Perth.
It was entitled, Unlocking Curiosity: Nurturing and Cultivating Inquiry, and
of course they took us on an inquiry journey to uncover the various teaching
strategies that lead to inquiry and a cultivation of curiosity in our
classrooms, everything from questioning and thinking techniques to how we
evidence and document children's learning and wondering through learning walls.
And what really struck me most and the one message that stayed with me is that
it's our dispositions and our mindset
that really matter if we want to lead and teach with a lens of inquiry.
Inquiry is about being curious and finding ways to solve problems,
and think about things differently.
It's not about accepting obstacles that prevent us from doing
something in a certain way.
But more about finding ways around obstacles to empower us and our students.
I loved chatting to April Zajko in episode 33, where she talked about
how she overcame obstacles about taking children outside for learning.
Which really illustrated how, when we put children and their needs at the forefront
we can overcome all the challenges and the red tape that we sometimes have.
Where there is a will.
There is a way When we think about the curriculum.
It is what it is.
We have no control over it.
What we do have control over is how we approach it and what
happens in our classrooms.
And the strategies we use to teach the material.
So as you sit down with that curriculum in front of you, Think about how
you can use your science and social studies to drive the learning.
Think about the essential questions you might ask.
Think about the provocations and invitations, you will need in your space
to get kids interested and wondering.
Listening to episode 37, where I talk about integrating
science will be really useful.
And I'll link that in the show notes for you too.
And then from there, you plan your English language arts and your literacy, as
well as your mathematical experiences.
In episodes 21 and 23, I spoke about how to plan integrated experiences
so those might be useful episodes for you to listen to as well.
Now I know, and I understand completely how overwhelming it
can be to start something new.
You.. But I also know that trying new things makes life more exciting.
And inquiry is just such a beautiful thing because it truly taps into
what is most important for children.
Things like having autonomy.
Inquiry also has that element of challenge.
And it's the challenge that kids like just think about how they love playing video
games and getting to the next level they get so excited and pumped about that.
It makes them excited because it's challenging for them.
Our brains are hardwired to learn new things.
And to face and overcome challenges.
This is what real learning is about.
From your standpoint
I also know full well, what it's like to be the one that tries new
things or to be the one inquiry teacher and no one else is doing it.
I know what it's like to want someone to bounce ideas off and there's no one there.
Because perhaps your peers don't share your values or your mindset.
Or you want to chat about how you can get kids curious, but your partner
teacher just wants to talk about the parties they're going to on the weekend.
We all crave that human connection, just like the kids we teach, we
all want to belong to a group.
Just like the kids we teach.
And that's what my vision is for Blooming Curious a resource for
curious like-minded educators.
I also know how difficult it can be to implement what you learn either
from a podcast or perhaps in-person at a professional development day or
a workshop with your favorite expert.
And then you get back to your classroom.
Or you sit down and plan how you're going to implement all this and
you suddenly feel overwhelmed.
And you just wish you had someone there you can bounce ideas off someone
to walk you through the process.
So what I've done to help you get started with inquiry is create a step-by-step
guide called inquiry 1 0 1, which takes you through the exact first
step that I took in my own classroom
when I got started with inquiry.
And I'll leave a link for you in the show notes so that you can get
your own copy of inquiry 1 0 1.
But to take this one step further.
I also know how so many teachers are craving that interaction
with other like-minded educators.
And I spoke to those teachers at this two day PD at this two day
workshop that I was on last week.
So many of us, are just craving that interaction with
other like-minded educators.
And so I would like to offer you an opportunity to join a group of educated
who are just like you educators who want to break away from the status quo.
Educators who wanted teach through an inquiry lens.
Educators who want to include more of a connection to nature for their students.
Educators that really want to make a difference, not just to their students'
learning, but in their own lives too.
Educators that want a place to get support, uh, chat to others, get ideas and
get PD, professional development on tap.
As well as perhaps a step-by-step course to accompany, the inquiry one-on-one
e-guide if you would love to be part of such an exclusive private, professional
and supportive learning community, I invite you to just click the link in the
show notes to register your interest.
There's nothing else attached.
You're simply saying hell yes, I would be interested in being part
of a group of colleagues and friends where we help and support each other
to be exceptional curious educators.
Now I can go on and I can talk for days and there's so much to cover.
But the best advice I can give you, as you start planning to receive students
and get them thinking and curious is simply to place the needs of your students
at the forefront of everything you do.
Remember your why?
Don't lose sight of your why, and just be brave to try new
things and go and have some fun.
I wish you all the best as you start out on this new year and this new journey.
And I will be here with hopefully more inspirational content.
And remember, don't worry about things you have no control over.
Just focus on what you can control and where you can make a difference in the
lives of the children in your care.
So go to the links, download your free checklist on how to plan an inspirational
classroom, as well as you inquiry
one-on-one e-guide to get started.
Listen to all the episodes I mentioned I'll link them all
in the show notes for you.
So thanks for listening and following along.
I know you could listen to any of hundred shows out there, but you chose
this one and I'm so pleased you did.
And if you like or appreciate the show, I would love you to leave a
review, which will help the show grow.
And also hit the share button and send it to a colleague or friend
that you think would appreciate getting blooming curious too.
And if you want more of my personal insights and tips to get kids
curious and interested in learning, then sign up to get curious my
inspirational weekly newsletter.
There'll be a link for you in the show notes.
So until next week, same time, same place stay blooming curious.