• About Us
    • Teaching Preschool Partners believes in co-creation with our partners, and that our partners are a wellspring of inspiration and wisdom. We do not subscribe to conventional ideas of the “expert.” Learn more about how we work!

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    • We cherish our partnerships and acknowledge the boldness of what our partners are doing. They are creating worlds for children that build on their capabilities and gifts, and upholding a vision of a transformed public education system. Get to know our partners and arrange for a visit!

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      • About the Project
      • See Our Press Release
  • Classroom Resources
    • This resource library was created with educators in mind. It includes tools and stories from TPP collaborating classrooms and Opal School. We hope you’ll explore these resources to find inspiration, get curious, and imagine next steps for your work with children. This is for you.

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    • When we invest in playful learning, we invest in the brilliance of every child. Every contribution helps classrooms stay curious, creative, and full of joy.

      • Donate
      • Donate Financially
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      • Store
  • About Us
    • Teaching Preschool Partners believes in co-creation with our partners, and that our partners are a wellspring of inspiration and wisdom. We do not subscribe to conventional ideas of the “expert.” Learn more about how we work!

      • Our Team
      • Our Approach
      • Our Board of Directors
      • Connect
      • Contact Us
      • Follow us on Social Media
      • Join our Email List
  • Programs & Partners
    • We cherish our partnerships and acknowledge the boldness of what our partners are doing. They are creating worlds for children that build on their capabilities and gifts, and upholding a vision of a transformed public education system. Get to know our partners and arrange for a visit!

      • Events
      • 2026 Virtual Professional Learning
      • 2026 Summer Early Learning Conference
      • Past Conferences
      • Teaching Preschools
      • Parkrose School District
      • Gladstone School District
      • Public School District Partners
      • Beaverton School District
      • Greater Albany Public School District
      • North Clackamas School District
      • Portland Public Schools
      • Regional Partnerships
      • Southern Oregon Cohort
      • North Coast Community Page
      • Active Playful Learning
      • About the Project
      • See Our Press Release
  • Classroom Resources
    • This resource library was created with educators in mind. It includes tools and stories from TPP collaborating classrooms and Opal School. We hope you’ll explore these resources to find inspiration, get curious, and imagine next steps for your work with children. This is for you.

      • Resource Library
      • All Resources
      • Documenting Learning
      • Opal SchoolNew
      • About Opal School
      • Opal School Online Archive
      • Collections
      • New to Playful Inquiry?
      • Environments and Materials
      • Tools and Publications
      • See All
      • Store
      • TPP Field Guide
      • Family Explore
      • Opal Publications
      • Habits of Mind Posters
  • Donate
    • When we invest in playful learning, we invest in the brilliance of every child. Every contribution helps classrooms stay curious, creative, and full of joy.

      • Donate
      • Donate Financially
      • Donate Materials
      • Volunteer
      • Store

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Come see what we are up to! From inspirations for practice to insights into how we work.

teachingpreschoolpartners

We help districts grow strong early learning, create demonstration teaching preschools, and give visibility to genius of children. PreK to Elementary.


Play is not extra. It is how children think, conne
Play is not extra. It is how children think, connect, and make meaning.

Oregon’s proposed bill SB 1596 recognizes this by affirming that play counts as instructional time in K–5 classrooms. This matters for children, and for the educators who too often feel pressure to choose between what they know is right and what is narrowly defined as “rigorous.”

We’re proud to support this bill and to see powerful testimony like this from educator, advocate, and TPP partner, Lyzett Gutiérrez, naming what’s at stake: teacher agency, children’s joy, and learning environments where all identities are valued.

📣 Contact your local state senator to share your support for SB 1596 and for learning that honors children’s full humanity. This is not the end, but it is a start.

🔗 We’ve shared links in our bio to help you find and contact your senator.

Playful, developmentally appropriate learning is not a lack of rigor, it is a commitment to equity, belonging, and deep learning.

#PlayfulLearning #SB1596


Every child holds innate capability and genius. Wh
Every child holds innate capability and genius. When adults begin with curiosity, children reveal their strengths and possibilities. They become true partners in their learning.

In this virtual professional learning session, we’ll explore how curriculum structures in playful inquiry programs help adults plan with intention while supporting deep engagement and children’s emerging Habits of Mind. Together, we’ll look closely at three foundational structures: Materials Explore, Studio Workshop, and Partner Explore, and consider how each nurtures curiosity, agency, and connection.

This session is designed for PreK and Kindergarten educators, and is open to anyone curious about playful learning.

🗓 Tuesday, February 10
🕠 5:30–8:00 p.m. (PST) on Zoom
🔗 Link in bio to register

#PlayfulInquiry #EarlyLearning #TeacherPD


Right now, children are encountering big, complex
Right now, children are encountering big, complex ideas about identity, truth, fairness, and belonging whether we invite those conversations or not. Cracking Open Words offers a way to engage these ideas together, with care, curiosity, and trust in children’s thinking.

This tool supports children to think deeply, speak boldly, and engage with complexity in ways that build belonging, empathy, and connection.

Link in bio for the full guide.

This and other resources were preserved at opalschool.org thanks to generous support from James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation

#CrackingOpenWords #TeachingForBelonging #EarlyLearning


What can happen when children and adults lead with
What can happen when children and adults lead with love?

At Shaver Elementary, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds imagined and planned a Love Parade to spread care and connection throughout their school community. Carrying handmade hearts, they visited each classroom, sharing what they love and inviting others to reflect: What do you love?

Along the way, children noticed what mattered, what was missing, and how stories can grow when we listen closely to one another. Moments like these remind us that belonging is built through relationship, agency, and the simple act of asking meaningful questions together.

A story from the field. ♥️

#StoryFromTheField
#ChildrenLeadTheWay 
#PlayfulLearning


“Every child deserves safety, stability, and the o
“Every child deserves safety, stability, and the opportunity to learn and grow.” -NAEYC

Safety and belonging are foundational to children’s learning. When children feel safe, seen, and valued for who they are, they can engage fully in play, relationships, and discovery. We stand with NAEYC in affirming what children deserve and what our work must protect.

Full statement from NAEYC at the link in our bio.


When the world feels heavy, educators shouldn’t ca
When the world feels heavy, educators shouldn’t carry it alone.

This collection includes community resources and TPP classroom resources we’ve found helpful for processing, regulation, belonging, and community building - especially when the world feels heavy.

Explore, share, and return to what feels supportive.

Link in bio.


"I painted a flower that bloomed at night. It bloo
"I painted a flower that bloomed at night. It bloomed with all of its strength. The night sky is kind of like sunlight for the flower."
In dark times, this is when people organize, support their neighbors, and come together. Finding the power to bloom with all their strength just as M, age 10 reflected in her painting of the night blooming flower. Children remind us of the inner light we all carry that can help us all bloom in darkness. 

How might listening to children help us navigate the darkness together? 

We stand with the children and families in the communities where we work and across the country who are living with fear and uncertainty right now. What children are noticing, carrying, and expressing is shaped by ongoing threats to safety, belonging, and freedom. We commit to making intentional space in classrooms for children to process their experiences through play, materials, conversation, and care. Protecting children’s right to be heard and to make meaning of their world is a response to this moment and an act of resistance.


At our January Teacher Collaboration Event we gath
At our January Teacher Collaboration Event we gathered at Terra Linda Elementary in BSD in the Kindergarten classrooms of Sarah Gooding and Chloe Evans. They welcomed us with full transparency opening not only their classroom doors but all of the cupboards and closets as well revealing how systems of organization deeply support their work in Playful Inquiry.

Interested in joining our monthly collaboration events? Reach out to connect@teachingpreschoolpartners.org

#TeacherCollaboration #ProfessionalLearning #TeacherCommunity



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