We began the year by coming together as a teaching team and anticipating the road ahead through thinking deeply about our curriculum and creating our learning destinations. From there we observed and listened to the ideas and theories of the children to build inquiries that were authentic and meaningful. We co-constructed criteria with the children for everything from classroom expectations to what makes a GREAT story.
In January, the team embarked on a professional learning journey that took us to Opal School in Portland, Oregon. The children and educators immediately welcomed us as equals and invited us to share our perspectives of their work. We listened to the children’s ideas, questions and inquiries and observed how the teachers intentionally prepared the classroom environment each day. Questions were visible everywhere, art materials were laid out thoughtfully, and the children’s work and thinking was documented and made visible to the school community and the world. It was a powerful experience that inspired us to think differently about our practice and the power of collaboration.
This year we've learned that collaboration is more than working together, it's about sharing ideas, building relationships and grounding learning in the collective. When we come together, we inspire, draw strength, create, innovate, discover, invent and learn.