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Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The study of early childhood education in action

By Deborah J. Stewart, M.Ed. of Teach Preschool


When I first said "yes" to writing for PreK+K Sharing, I thought I would focus on writing about blogging but the truth is, I am not an expert in blogging. What I know about blogging can be summed up in probably two or three paragraphs and for me, writing about blogging is really kind of boring. Instead, what I really know and enjoy writing about is early childhood education.  So today, I think I will switch gears and write about my preschool classroom.

   

 My classroom is small. not just a little bit small, but very small.  The photos actually make it look a little larger than it is in real life. I actually have two classrooms. The classroom in the photo above is called my "indoor classroom" or "indoor studio." The photo below is of my "outdoor classroom" or "outdoor studio."

   

I call each of my classrooms a "studio" because my classrooms are the places I go to study and observe early childhood education in action...


In a sense, every classroom is really a studio.  It may be a place we go to teach young children but in order to have a successful classroom experience, we must first be prepared to study and observe our classrooms and our students in action...

   

 We need to be students of our classroom environment and know when we need to change something in or about our classroom environment to make it more engaging, accessible, practical, challenging, inviting, or manageable. We need to study the classroom environment on a daily basis and then evaluate if the environment is leading children towards success...

   

 We also need to be students of our students.  We need to observe our students as they play, talk, create, and interact with each other and the environment.  It is through study, observation, and reflection that we will begin to know the best way(s) of helping our students have a successful preschool experience...

   

So, I call my classroom a studio.  It is the place my students go to actively study and build life long skills. And it is the place I go to actively study the amazing world of early childhood education...

   

Learn more about Deborah's classroom studio and the daily observations she shares on her Teach Preschool Blog!



22 comments:

  1. I love the word "studio" to describe the classroom. When I hear that word, I think of creating--as in artist's or writer's studio--and that's just what's happening. The kids are creating their learning and the teacher is helping create (hopefully) growing learners.

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    1. I agree Scott!! I think the word studio sounds warm, inviting, creative, passionate!! Wouldn't it be great to have all early childhood classrooms defined like that!

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  2. i really adore your studios!

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  3. I love your early childhood spaces. I'm in a public school setting; and although we have some preschool equipment, it still looks a bit too "classroomy" to me. I love reading your posts, as well as those from the many other great preschool educators out there, for the excellent creative ideas you all have. Thank you for taking the time to share them with the rest of us.

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and read our posts Sandy:)

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  4. Beautiful - thanks, Deborah, for the sneak peek into your studio world. How inspiring.

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  5. Hey Deborah.... the fact that you call your classroom a studio says a lot. You create invitations for children to explore, discover and learn....congrats!

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  6. "my classrooms are the places I go to study and observe early childhood education in action..."

    I love this perspective!!!

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    1. Thank you Kelly - There is so much we can learn by observing our classrooms in action:)

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  7. What a beautiful environment you have created Deborah! -- I can see there is a wealth of wonderful opportunities for optimal learning taking place as a result!

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    1. I am loving the process of developing our classroom environment Deborah! One of my favorite things to do!

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  8. I love the cabinets! What a difference they make in making the space feel warmer. I also work in a very small space. I plan on posting about it soon. It's a challenge, for sure.

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    1. Working in a small space brings unique challenges. I just added new bookshelves to my wall so to create more floor space! You can see them here! http://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/01/a-new-bookshelf-in-my-preschool-classroom/

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  9. I love the work you do, Deborah ... and your outdoor studio is awesome! I stumbled your post! Deb @ LivingMontessoriNow.com

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    1. Thanks for the Stumbl Deb!! You are always so on the ball!

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  10. This may sound corny Deborah, but you paint a glorious picture of what early childhood education and care is really all about. You space may be small, but it provides so much.
    Greg:)

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    1. I like corny Greg but this doesn't sound corny at all! In fact, we all should have a glorious picture of what we are trying to paint when it comes to our classrooms. It is part of the fun of teaching:)

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