The purpose of this professional learning is for teachers to view and reflect on an example of how one teacher involves a small group of children in planning in kindergarten.
Download and print a copy of Small group planning with children in kindergarten before viewing the video to find out more information about how this teacher plans collaboratively with children.
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Video transcript
Facilitator
Planning involves the integration of long-, medium- and short-term decisions with daily and emergent responses to children’s interests and ideas.
Emily Clark
Kindergarten teacher
All right. So today, before we start writing in our planning journals we’ll just have a bit of a meeting about the spaces that are open. So there’s a few things that I wanted to talk to you about, Jas, before we get started.
Child 1
The water paints.
Emily
Yeah, I did want to talk to you about the water paints because we’ve been doing a bit of work with them and that’s actually number one on my planning meeting, Kelsey, is our water paints.
So we’ve also been talking a little bit about the types of lines that we use in our drawings. Can you remember some of the lines that we were talking about?
Child 2
Circle.
Emily
We might do a round line. What are some other types of line?
Child 3
Squiggly line.
Emily
You might do a squiggly one.
Child 4
Wobbly.
Emily
Wobbly, straight. You might do a thick line...
Child 4
Or a little line.
Emily
A middle line or a short line. So you’ve been working with these paints for a little while, so I’ve brought in some new, special tools to use with the paints, and they’re hiding in here.
Child 4
I didn’t see the yellow the first time I had them.
Emily
Do you know what? We didn’t have the yellow and I actually found a yellow and I thought that would be a great colour to add to our palette.
Child 2
Number two.
Emily
Number two is our...
Children
Playdough.
Emily
Playdough, and today with the playdough, did you notice what’s with the playdough today for you to use? There are some … stones with the playdough.
Children
Yes.
Emily
So you might like to think about how you could use those. And we’ve also got some... rolling pins.
Child 4
Oh, I have them with Marie when she was my teacher.
Emily
Yeah, so we’ve got them out again today
Child 2
They’re rollers.
Emily
Yeah, they are rollers. See they’re over at the playdough. You can have a think about how you might like to use those.
Child 4
They’re to flatten paper.
Emily
You can flatten lots of things
Child 1
We had those when Marie was my teacher.
Emily
You right? Number … space number three that’s open today is...
Child 2
The blocks.
Emily
You right? Number … space number three that’s open today is...
Child 2
The blocks.
Emily
You right? Number … space number three that’s open today is...
Child 2
The blocks.
Emily
You right? Number … space number three that’s open today is...
Child 2
The blocks.
Emily
You right? Number … space number three that’s open today is...
Child 2
The blocks.
Emily
The blocks. So that might be a space that you might like to think about.
Child 4
Next is going to be ideas, what about that?
Emily
You think we should have space for our own ideas on here? Yep, that sounds like a good plan. Number four is space for your own idea.
So would you like to hop into your thinking bubbles before we draw in our journals? So have a think about where you would like to work and what you’re going to use in that space and who you might like to work with.
So I’ll count down from five today. Five, four, three, two, one, zero. All right, you’ve got your ideas ready?
Children
Yes.
Emily
Fabulous. Jasmine, here’s your planning journal.
Marie White
Director/Kindergarten Teacher
We use the planning journals in a number of different ways and sometimes that evolves as the year progresses. So, often the children will use the journal to plan their day out. Sometimes they will use it just to settle in for the morning.
Some children are more skilled, obviously, at sharing their forward planning in their journal. Some will choose to just draw a picture of their mum or their dad. We also use it for reflection as well. Some days the children will use the journals at the end of the day to reflect upon what they’ve done. But they have access to those whenever they choose.
You’ll notice that as the year progresses, they’re now more skilful at taking their journals with them, and they’ll go off and reference their journal when they’re doing things. So it’s a real progression through the year.
When the children have done their planning for the day, a teacher will often go and spend some time with a group drawing their ideas. We just think it’s a really important way for children to share their thinking and to develop their lines of investigation through drawing.
It’s really amazing to watch their skill at drawing improve and we take the journals quite seriously in terms of looking after them. They’re dated every day and they’re named every day carefully by the teachers so that we can progress through with the children and see how they’re growing and changing.
- Last updated:
- 30 March 2023
