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Ms. Birdwell’s Classroom Edit display name

  • Bliss Elementary School
  • El Paso, TX
  • More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

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According to research, play should be at the heart of every early childhood classroom; however, limited resources have made it very difficult for me to give my students what I know would be most beneficial for their learning. Science tells us that brain connections are developed, strengthened, and made more plentiful through play because children are learning through hands-on, engaging experiences. "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning." - Mr. Rogers. Rather than give my five-year-old students worksheet after worksheet, I want to create a learning environment that promotes choice, intrinsic motivation, and not only grows a child cognitively but also physically, socially, emotionally, and linguistically. While I have brought in all the play materials that currently exist in my classroom myself, I know that providing a variety of new materials will only expand the students' opportunities to learn. https://youtu.be/2ekMHrdporo The link above will take you to an interview with Dr. Trawick-Smith, a play researcher, about what makes a good toy. The research team found that the best toys are those that are simple, open-ended, non-realistic toys with multiple parts because the ambiguity promotes language development, creativity, problem-solving, and peer interaction. The majority of the toys I have in my shopping cart fall under this category perfectly, including the Legos, magnetic tiles, the linking disks, the connector straws, the kinetic sand, and playdough. I have also asked for musical instruments because musical play has been shown to activate different parts of a child's brain than what is used in a typical school day. The puzzles and beads are for the development of their fine motor skills.

About my class

According to research, play should be at the heart of every early childhood classroom; however, limited resources have made it very difficult for me to give my students what I know would be most beneficial for their learning. Science tells us that brain connections are developed, strengthened, and made more plentiful through play because children are learning through hands-on, engaging experiences. "Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning, but for children, play is serious learning." - Mr. Rogers. Rather than give my five-year-old students worksheet after worksheet, I want to create a learning environment that promotes choice, intrinsic motivation, and not only grows a child cognitively but also physically, socially, emotionally, and linguistically. While I have brought in all the play materials that currently exist in my classroom myself, I know that providing a variety of new materials will only expand the students' opportunities to learn. https://youtu.be/2ekMHrdporo The link above will take you to an interview with Dr. Trawick-Smith, a play researcher, about what makes a good toy. The research team found that the best toys are those that are simple, open-ended, non-realistic toys with multiple parts because the ambiguity promotes language development, creativity, problem-solving, and peer interaction. The majority of the toys I have in my shopping cart fall under this category perfectly, including the Legos, magnetic tiles, the linking disks, the connector straws, the kinetic sand, and playdough. I have also asked for musical instruments because musical play has been shown to activate different parts of a child's brain than what is used in a typical school day. The puzzles and beads are for the development of their fine motor skills.

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About my class

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