How Children Learn
Constructivism
is the philosophy used in the kindergarten class at Walcott School. Children’s interests, feelings and ideas are respected and are reflected in the activities that are planned. There are lots of opportunities to learn and practice individual responsibility and self-regulation. Mrs. Olsen considers questions like these as she decides what to do each day:What are the children interested in? What do they want to know about?
What behaviors and attitudes are necessary on my part to show the children that I respect them and their ideas?
How will the children practice cooperation with their friends?
What active experiments can the children be involved in?
How will I tie reading, writing, math, science and social studies into their interests?
Brain research is proving that the best learning takes place when people are emotionally involved with what they are studying, they really want to know about something. As children are actively exploring science, math, reading and writing, they are building or ‘constructing’ their own knowledge. Children often work together, and sometimes it gets a little noisy!
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Every part of the school day is affected by this philosophy. The following are areas that might look different in a constructivist kindergarten classroom. Choose one to find out more about your child's kindergarten day and what you might do at home to reinforce what is happening at school!
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