We don't teach phonics but they learn letters and their sounds.

"We don't teach phonics but they learn letters and their sounds."

That's what I heard myself say when a parent asked if we teach phonics.

I pointed to the name labels on the tables and told her that we're always talking about letters and their sounds, like the sounds in their names.

I pointed to the alphabet puzzles and the magnetic letters which had been incorporated into the home center play.

On display is the recipe book, A-Z of recipes, that we will make over the year. It is through their play that the children begin to connect letters to the sounds they make.

We don't teach phonics but they learn letters and their sounds through play.

We don't teach phonics when the environment, or the third teacher, does it so beautifully.

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Journals & Writing

We like to write about what interests us. It's the same for children. Journal writing time is an invitation for the children to draw something of interest to them. They tell me something about their pictures and I write it on the page. They see how writing happens by starting with an idea then seeing it get written down.

Paper Tray / Spatial Exploration

The paper trays were moved from the top of the shelf to the table so that some of the children could make a trap using the yarn. One of the children experimented with the paper trays. He pushed them back to discover that they can be formed into steps or they can be stacked on top of one another. Spatial exploration.

Yarn Trap

The yarn was used to make a trap. It was tied to a picture frame and a basket. Each was positioned on shelves across from one another. The children had to go "under" the trap to get to the carpet for whole class time. There was a lot of sharing of ideas, problem solving, and use of the positional language "over" and "under" and "around".

NZ Teacher

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