Environment as Third Teacher


Our classroom environment has truly become the third teacher to our students.  What this means is that the children learn just as much from the placement of materials within the classroom in a hands on way, as they do from our guided instruction.

Our environment continues to evolve, as we reflect upon the documentation of our space.

Here is a new table that is covered with a large mirror.  Three students are actively engaged in writing.


Mirrors allow children to see the classroom, or in this case the flowers in another dimension.  They are also fascinated by their own reflections!


Furthermore, the students enjoy spreading out onto the ground to paint with acrylic paints and canvases.


After observing our students interactions with the math manipulatives, we realized that the table was limiting their creativity and freedom to explore.  The picture below shows our new math carpet, which allows the students to engage more actively with their math inquiries.  Thank you to our friends at Havergal College for inspiring us to make our math learning area even more hands on!


Finally, in our creative crafts corner we continue to offer the students opportunities to create with recycled materials.  The more variety we provide them with, and the more open ended we are, the more they surprise us each day!


Thank you to the families who continue to send our recycling requests to school each month!

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@joannebabalis