An Ontario Play Based Kindergarten Classroom

I landed  in Toronto, Canada on a Sunday evening and it felt so good when I spotted my wonderful husband's smiling face from among the crowds waiting at the Pearson Airport! It does not matter where I have traveled, the best part is always coming home and seeing my loved ones. It was just fabulous seeing my husband and son again after almost a month away from home.  We had dinner together at an Ethiopian restaurant downtown and we had a lot to catch up! My family was very interested in learning about my trip to Cambodia and I had a lot to tell them!

Working with the Visiting Principals from China

I did not have much time to rest from my Cambodian trip as I was scheduled to work with the visiting principals from China for the next week!

Though I had worked as a public school administrator for the past decade, my passion is still teaching! Therefore, when I was asked to do some teaching for the principals by OPC, I immediately accepted the assignment.

A Pictorial/ Visual Schedule for Kindergarten Students

I love the opportunity of teaching and sharing my knowledge and experience with other educators.

I have had the privilege of  being involved in a program for international principals visiting Ontario schools. I just love it!

A Question / Challenge Posted for the children at the Sand Table

One of the Learning Centers in the Kindergarten Classroom

 I worked with a group of  kindergarten principals from Asia. These visiting principals were here to learn about the Ontario education system and to gain first hand knowledge by visiting schools in the greater Toronto area.

Each time when we receive a group of visiting principals, I could hardly wait to start my seminars with them and exchange ideas about our education systems and schools.


                                                              




These principals were eager and interested to learn about our students, school organization, curriculum, and the problems and challenges facing our school principals. However, nothing could compare to how excited they were when they visited the schools!

Another Question for the Children at the Music Table

The principals were especially very interested to learn about our play based kindergarten program and how teachers use play to teach students in their classrooms.

The principals observed that there were many learning centres set up in each of  the kindergarten classrooms they visited.

The Crafts Table Where Children Experiment Their Art Ideas

They observed that when the children were playing, they were not just playing but learning while doing so.

At many of the learning centres, there was a question or a challenge posted  and children were encouraged to find answers for the question by actively engaging in the playing/ learning process.

Children were encouraged to come up with their own creative ideas and experiment with them while playing /working on their tasks.












Though the children were working on the same theme, they were not asked to produce the exact picture, therefore no two pictures made by the children were exactly the same.

Children Placed Their Movable Teddy According to Instruction

In the area of reading and building up new vocabulary, the teacher made it fun and interactive by asking the children each to make a story book with a movable teddy bear.

After the children cut and paste the book together, they each had their own story book and were asked to place where Teddy should be by reading and following the instructions as stated on the pages.

A Math Question for the Kindergarten Children

The visiting principals gained an understanding of how the play based program and were very impressed how well disciplined and focused our students were when they were playing/ learning in the classroom.



R.T.  Toronto, Canada
Dec. 2012