Educating Young Children Volume 1 – Spring 2025 | Page 35

When they got a little bigger, we planted them in small pots and watched them grow inside the classroom. With the advent of spring, we transferred our sunflower plants to the garden outside.

A practice I find to be helpful when creating lesson plans is to reflect on questions, such as those listed below. As you consider intentional planning and practice in your setting, I encourage you to use them too.

› For a particular topic of study, what concepts and skills are important for the children to know before working and playing in small groups and independently?

› How can I create space and provide supports for children to choose among various materials and for child-led exploration?

› How can I integrate opportunities for children to share discoveries, questions, and ideas that have emerged from their small-group and individual activities during whole-group meetings?

› How do I identify children’ s interests and use them to plan different types of activities and to align with learning goals?

› What resources, materials, and supports do I need to include in different formats to help every learner progress in these goals?

Roberta Bernhard has worked in early childhood education for over 25 years and currently teaches preschoolers in New Jersey.

Photographs: sunflower images, © Getty; all other photos, courtesy of the author. Copyright © 2025 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC. org / resources / permissions.