Pre-Kindergarteners in Tulsa are building communities with their minds through play-based curriculum, and it's transforming the way kids learn.
It's called Tools of the Mind and it is being implemented at Tulsa Public Schools. Pre-K students are using their imaginations to reach their highest potential.
Jennifer Ladner, a Pre-K lead teacher at Zarrow International, said the curriculum is preparing students for the future.
"Hopefully it's preparing them for going out there and doing a job that maybe hasn't even been created yet and allowing them that creativity and flexibility and imagination to imagine things we haven't imagined yet,” Ladner said.
The Pre-K students at Zarrow International are learning the basics while developing cognitive, social, and emotional skills needed to lead the future generation. This is all done through play-based learning.
"In-the-play is an opportunity for them to pretend, and that's when children are learning,” Lander said. “They are in roles, and they are having skills of, ‘I’m going to stay in this role as a doctor, until it's somebody else’s turn to be in that role.’"
In Ladner’s class, the children have created a community with a medical theme where they've built a doctor's office, dentist, pharmacy, hospital gift shop, and even an optometrist.
"It's more about problem solving and thinking outside of the box and doing writing that's meaningful,” Ladner said.
The children prepare what they are going to do. They draw a picture and write their plan, and then act it out.
At Lewis and Clark Elementary, Pre-Kindergartners are focused on a pet vet theme.
"We use math, literacy and oral language skills in every center that we have,” Amanda Teague, a Pre-K teacher at Lewis and Clark Elementary, said.
In Teague’s classroom, students can visit the pet store, doggy daycare, vet, and adoption center, and even a “barkery” to make dog treats.
“They’re using all their skills in a way that is fun, and so they are willing to do that."
This imaginative play makes learning more relevant, rather than isolating reading and math to a worksheet while sitting at a chair.
The curriculum is already showing great reward. Both teachers said students have shown more interest in learning and have already significantly enhanced their language skills.
The hope for Tools of the Mind is that these Pre-Kindergarten students not only take what they learned to kindergarten but carry it with them through their entire education journey.
The curriculum is implemented in the Pre-K classroom all year with a different theme every several weeks.
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