IELDS Standard: 1.C.ECa
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The Horse Project
Darby Harden and Tasha VerdeyenProto-Tykes Childcare CenterSullivan, Illinois Proto-Tykes Childcare Center provides high-quality full-day educational programs for infants and toddlers, 6 weeks to 3 years of age, and preschool-age children, 3 to 5 years old, in mixed-age classrooms. The center was founded in 1989 by a local company to provide on-site child care for its…
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The Music Project
Michele Baird and Jean StaffordDeSoto Prekindergarten, DeSoto Grade SchoolDeSoto, Illinois DeSoto is a small rural town in Jackson County located approximately 10 miles from Southern Illinois University. DeSoto Grade School is a feeder school to Carbondale District #95, which is one of the larger school districts in southern Illinois and houses prekindergarten through eighth grade.…
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The Worm Project
Kim Burd and Laura De LucaJ. L. Hensey Elementary SchoolWashington, IL District #50 The Worm Project took place in morning and afternoon sessions of two self-contained ECE classrooms in the J. L. Hensey Elementary School in Washington, Illinois, a community of about 15,000 near Peoria. Head teachers in the classrooms were Mrs. Kim Burd and…
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Things to Sit On
Projects are the part of the curriculum that involves children in investigating objects and events around them that are worth knowing more about. Project work is a way of uncovering a subject rather than just covering it. A project focusing on “Things to Sit On” has the potential to involve the entire class from the…
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All About Gardens
Projects are the part of the curriculum that involves children in investigating objects and events around them that are worth knowing more about. Project work is a way of uncovering a subject rather than just covering it. A project focusing on gardens has the potential to involve the entire class, the children’s families, and community…
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From Door to Door: A Project about Doors and Gates
Projects are the part of the curriculum that involves children in investigating objects and events around them that are worth knowing more about. Project work is a way of uncovering a subject rather than just covering it. Doors are so much a part of our daily lives that we tend to take them for granted.…
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Investigating Wheels
A project is a part of the curriculum that involves children in investigating objects and events around them that are worth knowing more about. Project work is a way of uncovering a subject rather than just covering it. A project on wheels has the potential to involve the entire class, the children’s families, and community…
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What’s in the Box
Many young children are not accustomed to forming questions, so the teacher has developed a guessing game in which children use questions to help them guess what is in the box.
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Talking about Waterslide Models
The children in the study group used a commercially made marble run to learn about how materials move on ramps and slides.
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Roland Draws a Garden
This video clip suggests that children have much to gain from making drawings of places they have been with their families, caregivers, or teachers.
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Observing Chickens on the Playground
Teachers have given children an opportunity to observe chickens during free play, after first having arranged some activities that allowed the children to become somewhat familiar with the chickens in another setting.
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Mozart Jazz Freight Train
In this video clip, 3-year-old Max is seated in a chair, moving a bow back and forth across the strings of a small cello.
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Magnets and Cars
The teacher took the 3- and 4-year-olds to visit the automotive lab next door to the classroom. The next day she asked the children to predict what parts of a car would attract a magnet.
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Mack Reads His Book
The teachers have encouraged Mack and his classmates to make their own books related to what they have learned during the project.
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Learning about a Stethoscope
This video clip depicts interaction between some preschool-age children and a guest expert. The class has been investigating measurement. One small group of children has focused on measurement at the doctor’s office.
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Ideas about a Marble Run
Along with another mixed-age classroom, the preschool class has been investigating ways to turn the school playground into an outdoor learning area.
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Getting to Know Rabbits
These supervised interactions between children and rabbits occurred during a science fair on the playground of a child care center.
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Explaining Cradle Construction
Children in Judy Cagle’s mixed-age prekindergarten class decided to make a crib as part of a project on babies.
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An Engineer Changes His Mind
Along with another mixed-age classroom, this class has been investigating ways to turn the school playground into an outdoor learning area.
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Dustin’s French Horn Model
At the beginning of the video, Dustin (age 4) is talking with a classroom visitor he has just met. Dustin is in a prekindergarten classroom that uses the Project Approach. His class has just finished a project on musical instruments.
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Bethany Draws a Wheel
The community college child care center in this video was near the automotive lab, where auto mechanics were trained. The families of the children were students, faculty, and members of the local community. Many of the families qualified for subsidized child care because of their income. Children had many different attendance patterns, due to their…
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Project Approach: Phase 1—Getting Started
Here are some tips to help with getting the project started.
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Comparing Firefighter Coats
This preschool class has been investigating fire safety. In this clip, the class has gathered for a group meeting.
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Say Yes to the Mess! Play with Rocks
Materials such as rocks can be important additions to a preschool’s outdoor play area.
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Remember When …
History is the story and record of the past. Children begin to develop a concept of history as they develop the concept of time.
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Out and About with Preschoolers: Literacy Activities
Go ahead—take literacy outside!
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Language Arts Lesson Addressing Benchmark 1.C.ECa
Facilitating discussion and artistic representation during a small group art activity. Ms. Jones does this by leading a conversation about the children’s shoes, their homes, and who helps children with their shoes—all while children create paintings of their shoes.