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  • 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
      • Current PD Offerings
      • 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
      • Opal SchoolNew
      • About Opal School
      • Opal School Online Archive
      • Collections
      • New to Playful Inquiry?
      • Environments and Materials
      • Tools and Publications
      • See All
      • Store
      • Invitation to Explore
      • TPP Field Guide
      • Documenting Learning with Habits of Mind
      • Opal Publications
      • Habits of Mind Posters
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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.


Have you ever noticed that when a child is paintin
Have you ever noticed that when a child is painting, what they seem most interested in is how the color of the water in the rinsing jar changes?

As a way to deepen and honor that interest, offering water and tiny amounts of food coloring in ice cube trays gives children the tools to really focus on the changeability of water before we ask them to use watercolor cakes or tempera paint. If your students are mixing beautiful colors in the rinsing jar too, how might you make space for them to slow down and explore the changeability of liquid color?

#teachersofinstagram


"The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hand
"The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking.

A hundred, always a hundred, ways of listening, of marveling, of loving." Loris Malaguzzi


The invitation: How can you use paper to represent
The invitation: How can you use paper to represent a child's Funds of Knowledge?

During a professional development session on Starting the Year with Playful Inquiry, led by TPP, educators were offered paper as a thinking tool. They created representations of the gifts children bring with them to school starting on day one: relationships from home, trust, friendship, wisdom, open ended creative play and so much more...

Want a session like this for your team or site? Reach out!

#PlayfulInquiry #FundsOfKnowledge #teachersofinstagram


Be inspired by Opal School 5th graders sharing abo
Be inspired by Opal School 5th graders sharing about the power of materials as thinking tools.

As school communities reflect on how technology affects children's development — from complex problem-solving skills, to fine motor development, to social-emotional learning — playful, hands-on inquiry through materials brings kids back to their natural learning strategies and highlights their habits of mind.

Let's reinvigorate playful curiosity in our classrooms!

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

#InspiringInventiveness #TeachingForThinking


The first weeks of school set the tone for everyth
The first weeks of school set the tone for everything that follows.

Invitations are thoughtful setups that spark curiosity, connection, and discovery and are a gentle way to welcome children back into the classroom. 

These invitation ideas are an offering to start the year with exploration and discovery.

How will you invite curiosity and connection this year? 

#teachersofinstagram
#learningthroughplay
#reggioinspired


Bring Playful Inquiry to life in your classroom th
Bring Playful Inquiry to life in your classroom this year!

Invitation to Explore is TPP's new curriculum resource for PreK and Kindergarten educators: 14 areas of focus, each with materials lists, guided invitations, book connections, and more, so curiosity can lead the way.

$50 · Get your copy at the link in bio. 

#PlayfulInquiry #earlylearning  #Invitations #TeacherResources


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.


Take a look inside Madeline's classroom in Beavert
Take a look inside Madeline's classroom in Beaverton for an inspiring glimpse into what's possible in a Playful Inquiry inspired public 2nd Grade. ✨



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