Be sure to download the Course Overview and the Must Have Books List.  This is a brief review of how to use the Resources Tab on your student panel.

Project Work is one of the cornerstones of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education.  Learn how one school used an imaginary elf as a provocation to read, write and draw within a group context.

Exchange Magazine published our article, "Making Connections Between Imaginary Play and Deep Learning" in the January-February 2023 publication.  Learn how to make visible children's learning through play!

A school creates an imaginary elf who writes to the children.   Notty lives on the playground in a mobile home.  Although the children have never seen the little guy, they are sure he exists. 

In this presentation we introduce concepts of imaginary play.  We provide a strong example of how teachers and parents create a imaginary learning environment that supports and encourages learning across the curriculum

The Legend of Notty Elf Guide is designed to assist educators in organizing and establishing imaginary play at their own schools.  Divided into sections, the guide provides insights into creating the environment and design ideas around the provocation.  Also included are references to the Arizona Early Learning Standards - which are likely very similar to the standards in your state.

From the very start, we learn through play.  Play is a valuable activity through which children can learn about themselves and others. By putting a little extra thought into how, where, and when children play, we can assist them in reaping its full rewards.   We can weave the powerful force of play into all activities within our classrooms.

Be sure to download the Power of Play pdf in the RESOURCES tab, a great resource for parents and teachers.

As you observe children, you will find they often move quickly between forms of play. Therefore these descriptions should NOT be construed as a ladder or graduated list of skills. Rather, use these descriptions to help you observe and really see how individual children play and connect with others. As you build awareness of play - happening all around you - remember that what you focus on, you get more of.

We can define play in early childhood as five distinctive types:

Onlooker play is where a child is unoccupied with objects or is not connecting effectively with others. To be sure, the child is watching and observing others. They may well be thinking about how to enter the play, perhaps lacking the courage to step forward, or perhaps uncertain of the play schema.

Solitary play is where a child is intently playing with objects. Children learn deeply about objects and tools in this investigative form of play. Their attention level is high. Often children will drift into the imaginary and perhaps murmur words and create stories for the characters in the play. As such, it is vitally important for teachers to allow children this space and time to explore and create on their own.

Parallel play is where children are playing side by side in the same space. They may well be sharing materials but they are not speaking to each other. They may mirror or follow each other within the space, perhaps unaware of their own desires to connect with each other.

How might a teacher help children advance play and build relationships with each other?

Associative play is similar to parallel play in that the play is not organized. Children are speaking in limited ways with each other. They may create together, move together in a space, share materials, take turns. But the play quickly breaks down. Children drift in and out of the space. The play schema takes on a random persona in this highly fluid form of play.

How might a teacher help children “stay in the play”?

Cooperative play can be identified as actively organized play. Children take on roles and even responsibilities. Leaders emerge and often direct the play. Children engage in imaginary roles, creating scenarios that go on for several minutes and often over days. It is the kind of play children return to, playing together as a group. Dramatic play is described by many in the field as the highest form of play - where children stretch their vocabularies, their imaginations, their executive skills to connect with others, to sustain the play.

In this video we review how teachers advanced interests in dog and cats, creating an emergent curriculum around caring for our friends.  What do pets need to be healthy?  How do we keep our pets safe?   In what ways do you show your pet you love them?

By staying close to the imaginary play - following the interests of children - this teaching team was able to teach across the curriculum: Social-Emotional Development, Language and Literacy, Mathematics, and Scientific Inquiry.

Be sure to download articles and resources in the next lecture board for a deeper understanding of emergent curriculum in practice.  The Reggio Emilia approach does not use a canned or standardized curriculum.  Instead, teachers build lessons related to children's interests.

As Carol Anne Wein discusses in her book, Emergent Curriculum in the Primary Classroom: Interpreting the Reggio Emilia Approach in Schools (2008), we find "teacher-proof", "canned and prescription" curricula inadequate in responding to the creative and inventive nature of children and their teachers.   The Reggio Emilia approach invites teachers to create learning alongside the children.  To use their talents in creating a curriculum responsive to the needs of the children in their classroom. 

Emergent Curriculum is the secret to unlocking the potential in all children, to be authentically responsive to the individual child - with their unique life experiences, language, and culture.  To be authentically responsive to the unique place and time for which you are teaching.

Please be sure to find multiple resources in the download panel for this lecture.

Using a provocation of live worms, a teacher provides insights into the implementation of Emergent Curriculum.

In this section we celebrate the work of Vivian Paley, an early childhood educator that encouraged teachers to use imaginary play as a tool in developing children's social-emotion, language and literacy skills.

Paley was a kindergarten and preschool teacher for thirty-seven years, mainly at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Paley developed the technique of “storytelling” which involves children telling stories and acting them out with their classmates. Her technique is being adapted nationally, and has influenced reform in early-childhood education. Her books examine the function of fantasy or imaginary play in a child’s world and emphasizes that playful learning is the work of children.

BIOGRAPHY

Paley is the author of many books, including White Teacher (1979), Wally’s Stories (1981), Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner (1984), Mollie is Three: Growing Up in School (1986), Bad Guys Don’t Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four (1988), The Boy Who Would be a Helicopter (1990), You Can’t Say You Can’t Play (1992), Kwanzaa and Me: A Teacher’s Story (1995), The Girl with the Brown Crayon: A Literary Tale (1997), The Kindness of Children (1999), In Mrs. Tully’s Room (2001), and A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play (2004).

Paley received a B.Phil. (1947) from the University of Chicago, a B.A. (1950) from Tulane University, and an M.A. (1962) from Hofstra University.

IN THIS SECTION WE EXAMINE:

1. One of Paley's landmark publications, A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play (2004).

2. An article review from NAEYC's Young Child Magazine: A Conversation with Vivian Gussin Paley (2011).

3. A keynote speech delivered by Vivian Paley at the Wonderplay Conference entitled, "Fantasy, Friendship, Fairness, and Other Topics on Every Child's Mind" (2008).

Vivian Gussin Paley was an early childhood educator who wrote many books about her classroom experiences and the importance of imaginary play.  Paley's contribution to our understanding of the teacher's role in creating playful environments, and documenting the stories of children cannot be understated.  Please consider reading her works:

Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner Apr 22, 2014

Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four Jul 26, 2013

The Boy on the Beach: Building Community through Play Apr 15, 2010

A Child's Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play Sep 15, 2009

The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter Jun 30, 2009

Wally’s Stories: Conversations in the Kindergarten Jun 30, 2009

The Girl with the Brown Crayon Jun 30, 2009

You Can't Say You Can't Play Jul 16, 1993

Here you will find a listing of publications of Vivian Gussin Paley.  These books are available at your local library or quality book stores.

Download the article, A Conversation with Vivian Gussin Paley.  In this article Paley describes several of her books and offers educators a renewed hope for high functioning, inclusive classrooms.

Dombrink-Green, M. (2011). A conversation with Vivian Gussin Paley. Young Children, (September, NAEYC), 90-93.

Paley provides the keynote address at the Wonderplay Conference in 2008. 

In this section you will find video of her speech and a corresponding article published by the American Journal of Play.

Vivian Paley delivers the keynote address at the Wonderplay Conference: Early Childhood Learning on November 14, 2008.  At the height of her writing career, this 4 minutes captures the essence of what matters most in relationships between teachers and students.

Attached here you will find in the content tab, an article published in the American Journal of Play with a similar title, The Importance of Fantasy, Fairness and Friendship in Children's Play.

American Journal of Play. The importance of fantasy, fairness and friendship in children's play: A conversation with Vivian Gussin Paley. American Journal of Play, (Fall, 2009), 121-138.

We affirm that our primary role as an early childhood educator, is create learning environments that foster and support imaginary play.  It is through play that children's language and self-confidence grow.  It is perhaps a clue as why children within this age group so easily go into the imaginary, why imaginary play is necessary for children development and welfare.

A strong look at the work of Lev Vygotsky and his research on play.  We connect with Elena Bodrova in an interview where she discusses the change in childhood experiences, the need for teachers to scaffold learning how to play with others.

A short video describing the program, Tools of the Mind.

An interview with Debra Leong and a discussion about her program, Tools of the Mind.

While many theories of human development suggest that dramatic play has an important role in growth, Vygotsky (1978) went beyond this by considering it as a vital role in the growth and development of self-regulation (Germeroth et al. 2019; Ogan, 2008).  Executive Function can be described as:

1. Ability to stay on task.

2. Ability to pay attention.

3. Demonstrates they are remembering on purpose.

4. Demonstrates they are planning their actions ahead of the play or investigation.

5. Ability to reflect on experiences, demonstrating flexibility of mindset.

6. Demonstrates cooperation with others in actions and in speech.

In our article review, Assessing and Scaffolding Make-Believe Play, the authors describe children’s imaginary play around airports and airplanes.  Helping children learn about scripts, roles, and the rules that these scripts follow, calls for greater involvement by early childhood teachers in children’s play.  The authors provide a documentation tool to help recognize growth toward mature play.  With this tool, Bodrova and Leong help us really see children and assess children's learning through play.

We take a deep dive in the Article, Assessing and Scaffolding Make-Believe Play.  We review the article, Scaffolding Imaginary Play and share a similar provocation from one of our classrooms.   In this we are connecting the ideas presented with authentic classroom experiences.

Also in your attachments is an Report from Cambridge University, Developing Life Skills through Play, which confirms the research of Bodrova and Leong:

• Child centered activities versus child led activities.

When an activity is child centered that means it takes into consideration the abilities, development and interests of children (Pyle & Danniels, 2017). Child led on the other hand refers to activities where children have choices and where they experience themselves as autonomous learners.

• Direct instruction versus guided play activities.

In direct instruction the teacher is initiating and leading the activity; in guided play, in turn, the autonomy stays with the child and the teacher is scaffolding children’s learning. There is some evidence that guided play is more beneficial for children’s learning compared to direct instruction (Fisher, Hirsh-Pasek, Newcombe, & Golinkoff, 2013).

• Engaging children in meaningful, challenging tasks with choices.

Children show more self-regulated behaviour if they engage in tasks that are meaningful to them, where they have the opportunity to lead their own learning, and where they can adjust the level of difficulty to their own ability (Perry, 2013).

• Providing children with a variety of play opportunities.

Given that different types of play promote different developmental and educational outcomes, children would benefit from an array of play materials (Zosh et al., 2018). Materials that capture children’s play and encourage play-based behaviours tend to be visually appealing, easy to manipulate, provide immediate feedback, can grow incomplexity as the children become more experienced with the object and can be used in multiple play scenarios depending on the children’s imagination.

• Participating in the play Children are more likely to engage in more complex forms of play that have developmental and educational benefits when they feel emotionally secure (Ackermann, Gauntlett,

Whitebread, Wolbers, & Weckström, no date).

A teacher can promote children’s learning through play when they themselves take part in the activity alongside the children, which further emphasises that play is important (Pramling Samuelsson & Johansson, 2006). There is always a give and take in the teacherstudent interaction and the teacher can enrich theplay experience by assisting children with materials, ideas, and the development of their thoughts.

• Scaffolding the play Scaffolding involves an adult monitoring the elements of the activity that are beyond the child’s learning capacity at the first instance, thereby allowing the child to focus on the aspects of the task that are within his or her capability (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976).

In order for the scaffolding approach to be effective, the strategy needs to be catered to the appropriate level of the child. Six strategies that were found to be effective include co-participating, reducing choices, eliciting, generalizing, reasoning, and predicting (Pentimonti & Justice, 2010). These strategies can be used to help children make connections between areas of learning and experience, thereby supporting their learning (Pramling Samuelsson & Johansson, 2006).

• Offering positive reinforcement Providing the children with positive reinforcement, such as praising them for participating in higher levels of play, is an effective technique for engaging children in sociodramatic play activities without the use of direct imitation (Collins, 2010; Pea, 2015; Schunk &

Zimmerman, 1997).

The repeated use of scaffolding and reinforcement also allows for the development of children’s self-regulation skills because the children are able to utilize all their skills independently and adapt them as the contextual and personal conditions change (Schunk, 1999). As the children develop their skills and become more independent, support provided to the children can be gradually withdrawn (Pyle, Poliszczuk & Danniels, 2018).

The FIVE STAGES OF IMAGINARY PLAY - this is the chart that changes everything!  Use this chart to document the learning of children in your classroom.

Download the Innovations article, The Relationship Between Documenting and Assessment.

Since 1970, Carlina Rinaldi has served as a Pedagogista and as Director of the Municipal Infant-Toddler Centers and Preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. She is now a Pedagogical Consultant to Reggio Children, and a Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio in the faculty of Science and Early Education. She is a student of and was close friend of Loris Malaguzzi, developing her career under his guidance, and later guiding the schools of Reggio Emilia as they transitioned into the twentry-first century.

With this article, we further develop the guidance from Bodrove and Leong, connecting the importance of documenting and really seeing children through their play.  When we stop our hurried ways, we begin to listen and see children differently.

Reviewing what we know about imaginary play and Executive Function skills development.

An interview with an Atelierista as she describes the importance of the Atelier space, materials and interaction with the classroom teachers.

A deep dive into the role of the Atelierista and school design.   The Atelierista is central to the functioning of the Reggio Emilia classrooms, connecting classrooms to each other through artistic expression.

We are reminded that we all learn by doing, by creating, by problem solving.  This our focus and intention with all interactions with children.

Follow this classroom as they create a Monster in the Atelier.

Paint mixing and a deep understanding of color is foundational to our practice.  Children are painting on many different mediums, using many different artist tools (not just paint brushes), and painting at different levels - table top, easel and floor provocations.

We revisit the investigation into airplanes, following how the Atelier connected this interest to group work.

Following the interests of children, teachers bring in book about zoo animals.  Connecting this class interest to the Atelier by creating their own elephant.   In Reggio Emilia inspired schools, group work is encouraged around a shared interest.

In this section, we look at how open-ended materials are a natural fit for interactive storytelling.   Throughout this course you have witnessed the Six Traits of Progressive Education:

1. Foster environments that allow children to problems solve.

2. Classroom environments integrate learning across the domains.

3. Environments are designed to bring children together in small groups.

4. Learning is designed to build and construct knowledge over time - slow down!

5. Learning is not only concerned about creating good students, but also good people and citizens.

6. The burden of assessment falls on the teacher, not the student.

Focusing our efforts on language and literacy is foundational to the Hundred Languages of Children.  Here we connect creating stories with open-ended materials and the human need to express our desires and imaginings.

A quick tour of the download resources for this section.

A review of the story, Stick and Stone followed by classroom video of a teacher sharing this book with her students.  Notice the book is not read in whole group.  Rather a smaller group of children are rotated, over several days, to enjoy this story together.

Research is clear that children connect to the story when they are able to clearly see the pictures and interact with their teacher and peers.   Smaller groups and repeating the storybook reading within a few days time is sure way to bring the values of this story home.

Here we give you specific details on materials used in this provocation Stick and Stone.  We discuss how to set up a defined space for the child as well.

This content is also contained the learning guide provided in the Resources tab, Lecture 36.

Perhaps one of the most open-ended materials in our classrooms is in the block center.  In this example, teachers added clipboards and writing materials to the space.  They asked the children to draw a picture of their construction, and stories naturally followed.

When children are given open-ended tools and materials, and—most importantly—enough time, they are encouraged to explore, problem solve and innovate. These are vital life skills!

So if you think engineering block structures and early childhood education don’t go together, think again!   We are teaching across the curriculum - social-emotional, STEAM, and Literacy in the block center.

Reflecting on the work of Vivian Paley, teachers revisit a fishing story with the entire class.

Teachers experiment with storytelling in their classroom.  They invite small groups of children to come in from the playground, creating stories together with their teacher.  Over time, the class creates their own storybook by drawing pictures to go with their fish tales.

In this way, these teachers are reflecting the Pedagogy of Listening described by the schools of Reggio Emilia.

Download this free book from Amazon, Inspired by Reggio Emilia: A Teacher's Guide to Open-Ended Learning Experiences.  Please see your RESOURCE tab.

Course catalog for INSPIRED BY REGGIO EMILIA professional development series.  Links and coupon.