Planning for Play, Observation,

and Learning:
How on Earth Do You Do it All?
Gaye Gronlund, M.A.
Early Childhood Education
Consultant
Tucson, AZ & Traverse City, MI
gayegronlund@yahoo.com

It is rocket
science!!!!!!!
Your work is not haphazard or random - it is
thoughtful and planned. You base what you
do on:

what you learn from your observations of

children in action
your knowledge of child development
and your magical way of weaving learning into
play and exploratory experiences.
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Today we will focus on tips and strategies for

planning a program that incorporates the best
practices for young children including:

play-based activities and exploratory

experiences with learning at the core
authentic, observational assessment that
helps you know each child well and better
understand developmental pathways
working in partnership with families so that
you can communicate effectively with each
other about learning through play, and
together see the development and progress
of their child
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Curriculum is imbedded in every minute

that children are in attendance.

The focus on learning happens

in play and exploration,
in large and small group times,
and in daily routines (like hand washing,
snacks and meals, and transitions).

Reflective teachers integrate observation

with curriculum planning.
Gaye Gronlund 2013

The Planning/Observation/Individualization
Cycle

Planning

Individualization,
Adjustments &
Accommodations

Implementation

AgeAppropriat
e GOALS
Integrated
in All
Activities

Observatio
n

Reflection

Gaye Gronlund 2013

From Planning for Play, Observation, and Learning

in Preschool and Kindergarten
Gronlund 2012

Lets look at the planning/observation

and individualization cycle

In

play

In

daily routines

In

small and large groups

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Watch 3 boys at play at the

water table:

Is their play productive or chaotic?

What do you see in their behavior that helps
you to determine that?
What is beneficial about this play for them?
What would you do to support and enrich
what they are doing?

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Play

Daily Routines

Plan

Plan

for play with

learning goals in mind
Organize the
environment and
change materials as
needed
Be a play facilitator,
stepping in and out of
the action

for daily routines

with learning goals in
mind
Facilitate routines
with those goals in
mind
Use familiar and fun
transition songs and
chants

Being intentional in planning for

play & daily routines
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Identify possible learning goals

For

play and
exploration with
mirrors, mobiles,
stacking rings
and/or shape boxes
for infants and
toddlers

For

play and
exploration with
playdough or clay
and/or constructive
manipulatives like
Legos or puzzles for
preschoolers
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Identify possible learning

goals
For

diapering
infants or toileting
toddlers

For feeding for

infants or snacks
and meals for
toddlers

For

snacks or meals

for preschoolers

For

outdoor time for

preschoolers
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Write goals for play and daily

routines on your lesson plans.
The following frameworks are from
Planning for Play, Observation, and
Learning in Preschool and Kindergarten
by Gaye Gronlund
Redleaf Press 2012
You can download these forms at
www.redleafpress.org
Locate the book, click on it, and
click on Web Components to access the forms

Gaye Gronlund 2013

 Gaye Gronlund 2013

 Gaye Gronlund 2013

Planning for Small Group

Times
If

done during play or choice time, children

choose whether to participate or not
Science experiments, cooking activities, or art
activities that require adult supervision
Skill work that has many levels of participation
If scheduled as a separate time of the daily
schedule, children are divided into two or three
groups
Teacher and educational assistant each
supervise one group
Additional group could do independent work

Gaye Gronlund 2013

 Gaye Gronlund 2013

Preschool Small Group Activity Ideas

Read a Story

Name Study

Shop the
Room

Sort &
Classify
Multiple
Collections
(bottle caps, keys,
shells, etc.)

Label the
Room/Read
the Room

Nature Walk &

Graph

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Write & Draw

Explore
Tastes,
Textures &
Smells

Measure the
Room

Planning Effective Large Group

Times for Preschoolers
Call children together through ritual and routine.
Move from more active to more passive activities.
Start with dancing, movement, standing songs
or chants
Move to sitting down and fingerplays, fine motor
activities,
and quiet
If children settle down, choose from the following:
Take attendance
Read or act out a story
Demonstrate something
Introduce plans for the day and dismiss children as
as they make choices

Keep the group time going as long as children

are interested and engaged
Have a routine for dismissing to the next
activity.

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Tying It All Together:

Observing Children and Planning
Curriculum that Meets Their Needs
You use observations for two purposes:

To assess childrens learning and

developmental progress

To reflect on how well your curriculum

is working for individual children and
for the whole group
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Play Story: Rocks, Water &

Brushes
Four

children are gathered around the water table.

In the water are rocks and toothbrushes. The
children scrub the rocks vigorously with the brushes
and talk among themselves about getting them
clean. Shortly, the childrens attention begins to
wander and each one looks around the room even
as they continue to scrub the rocks. Soon, they lose
interest altogether, remove their plastic smocks and
choose another area in which to play.
What are some strategies that you would try to enhance the
experience of these children so that it is more engaging and
moves to a higher level of play?

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Being a Reflective
Practitioner
In

order to plan for the next week, teachers and care providers
need to reflect on all that has happened this week. Formalizing the
reflection process makes the planning process more meaningful.

They

reflect about how things went for the whole group.

They

consider what they observed happening for individual

children.

Consider

What
What
What
What

the following reflective questions:

worked well?
did not work well?
did you learn about individual children?
will you do differently next week?

Gaye Gronlund 2011

 Gaye Gronlund 2013

Ways to Make Learning

Evident to Others
Through

classroom area labels and

bulletin boards

Through

displays of childrens work

Through

documented observations and

assessment portfolios

Through

parent newsletters

Through

parent workshops
Gaye Gronlund 2013

Host a Play Night for Families

Come

and Play! Invite family members

to join their child at school (either during

the day or in the evening) and set up play
areas with clear directions for ways to work
together in that area.
Read books together in the class library
Paint pictures together at the easel
Make things together at the playdough table
Build something together with blocks or Legos
Measure water or sand together at the sensory
table
Cook dinner together in the play kitchen
Listen to a story together at the listening center
Enjoy snack together at the snack table

Gaye Gronlund 2013

A Literacy Night for

Families

Have all family members (children, too), sign in as they arrive.

Make letters out of playdough.

Make a My Family book with a page for each family member.

Read stories together at the class library.

Put together puzzles made by cutting up childrens name cards.

Let them take those home.

Follow directions by making snack from recipe cards with pictures

and words on them.

Tiptoe, hop, jump and walk the ABCs on the floor.

Put together ABC puzzles.

Read the Room using special glasses and pointers.

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Remember, with all that you are balancing

as you teach young children.

To teach is to touch a life

forever!!!!

Gaye Gronlund 2013

Resources by Gaye Gronlund

available from www.redleafpress.org or
www.naeyc.org

Planning for Play, Observation, and Learning in Preschool and

Kindergarten

Developmentally Appropriate Play: Guiding Young Children to

Higher Levels (with parent brochure, Why Children Play, and CD-Rom
program, Developmentally Appropriate Play Stories)

Make Early Learning Standards Come Alive: Connecting Your

Practice and Curriculum to State Guidelines

Focused Observations 2nd edition: How to Observe Young Children

for Assessment and Curriculum Planning (coauthor, Marlyn James)

Focused Portfolios: A Complete Assessment for the Young Child

(coauthor, Bev Engel)

Early Learning Standards and Staff Development: Best Practices in

the Face of Change (coauthor, Marlyn James)

Produced the CD-Rom accompanying Developmentally Appropriate

Practice in Early Childhood Programs, 3 rd Edition, NAEYC and the
DVDs, The New Developmentally Appropriate Practice, DAP and
Intentionality and DAP and Play
Gaye Gronlund 2013