𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 '𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱'!

From May 2023, group classes from 'In The Real Wonderland' will only be offered on Outschool on a limited/ occasional basis. One-on-one, individually tailored play-based learning sessions will continue to be available on Outschool for the remainder of 2023.

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Ｃｌａｓｓ　Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ

This is an online Talk-For-Writing class, with adaptations to include gestalt language and other neurodivergent learners. Talk-For-Writing uses an evidence-based "Science of Reading" approach, which supports the specific language, phonemic and symbolic thinking skills that underpin reading and writing. Talk-For-Writing differs from the most typical forms of literacy teaching in that it is easily adapted to a play-based, interactive and child-led approach.  This means it is more developmentally appropriate and accessible for younger learners. 

The Talk-For-Writing approach has been shown to improve medium and long-term literacy scores (including for ESL learners) to:
➡ 91% (writing) 
➡ 90% (reading)
➡ 93% (mathematics) 
(Corbett & Strong, 2020). 

One reason that the Talk-For-Writing program has such significant effects, may be that it focuses on developing the core oral language and decoding skills that are learned through play and story-telling, and are often "missed" when formal letter learning, reading and writing are introduced prematurely. 

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀:
In this class we transition from stories created in play and oral speech, to creating and telling stories using written language, with a focus on the use of symbols (letters and drawings) and fluency. Children will learn how creating and reading letters and other symbols is a way to represent linguistic structure. In this class, we will be using a fictional story to develop our skills. Beginning writers will learn how to create a 'text map' with symbols and letter shapes to represent a familiar story. Then we will use our maps to create, write and read our own original story using strong sentence and narrative structure. 

In our first session, we will choose a story (see list below) for our class. Then, in weeks 1 - 5, we will use different story-telling and play activities to to build our understanding the language and linguistic structure of our story, and developing fluency in following a text. 

During the first five sessions, we will also introduce a "text map". This is a piece of text which uses symbols and some initial written  words (you can see an example of a text map in the video at the top of this page).  These first five sessions will allow us to gradually develop and internalise our skills, knowledge and confidence in:
- vocabulary and word knowledge (meaning, morphology, pronunciation);
- the relationship between spoken and written sentence comprehension, structure, composition and fluency; and
- story structure using five key connectives.

In the second half of our class (sessions 6 - 10), we will shift our focus to using our text map to:
- use all of our senses (visual, hearing, kinesthetic) to recognise narrative structure in spoken and written text; and
- guide creation of our own original texts (orally, and using emergent/ beginner writing).

Together, these skills will enable children to be able to invent a linguistically sound story, represent it using a text map (with some words and other symbols), and to read their story and orally re-tell it. 

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:
This is a "semi-instructional" class. The majority of time will be spent doing active play, drawing, beginning (developmentally appropriate) writing, story-telling and conversation. 

I use explicit teaching in this class which means that I sometimes provide information to explain something. For example, I use explicit teaching when I am explaining the meaning of a word or something about our text map...but I do this through conversational approaches and building on children's existing knowledge rather than as a "lecture". As a teacher I don't talk "at" children and expect them to memorise abstract information. Nor do I direct children that they "have to" do something, or only do it in one certain way. Please see below if you would like more details about my teaching approach in this regard.  

In each class, there will be short periods of "listening time", usually as I am telling a story. These "listening times" are limited to periods of approx. 2 - 5 minutes. Children are welcome to fiddle, wiggle, draw and move during listening times. 

Children's interests are actively incorporated into the class and I use these to provide rich language and cognitive development experiences that are meaningful to each child. 

The small size of this class means that no child will be "ahead" or "behind", as we will be working at the level of each child's skill development.  

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴:
This class does not provide instruction for writing each letter of the English alphabet. Rather, in this class we will be consolidating our skills in decoding oral language (phonics, rhythm and linguistics), and transferring these skills to create and understand the basic elements of how written structures and texts work.  

Learning how to create, write and read a text map (and understanding how text and spoken language relate to each other) helps children more gently transition from oral language to written language by:
~ visualising how (written) symbols and words go together;
~ understanding how writing represents and communicates sounds --> language and linguistics --> ideas; and
~ giving them the practical skills to manipulate text (read it, pull it apart, create and re-create it) in linguistically sound ways; 

As well as drawing from my background as a Masters-qualified Early Childhood Teacher (with specialist training in inclusive education and play development), I also draw from my qualifications in a number of evidence-based approaches to teach this class. This includes the "Talk-For-Writing" model (Corbett & Strong, 2017) to enrich the authentic play and language experiences that young children need to master as they transition from spoken language to written language and communication. I also use elements of the "Learn to Play" model (Stagnitti, 2009), to support children's cognitive and social learning through gradually increasing the complexity of play. 

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁:
This is a 10-week class. During our first session, children will select the story to be used during our 10 weeks together. In the class, I will offer up to four choices of stories based on the individual children's current skill level (this will be observed during a small, conversational activity in session 1 - see "Progress" section below). The specific stories offered to the group will be chosen from the following list: 
~ Goldilocks and the Three Bears
~ The Gingerbread Man
~ Cinderella
~ The Three Little Pigs
~ Red Riding Hood
~ Jack and the Beanstalk
~ The Princess and the Pea
~ The Three Billy Goats Gruff
~ Chicken Little
~ Hansel and Gretel
~ The Little Red Hen
~ Little Charlie
~ The Enormous Turnip
~ Pirate Tom
~ Maisy Mouse

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Ｗｈｏ  Ｉｓ  Ｔｈｉｓ  Ｃｌａｓｓ  Ｆｏｒ？

If you haven't already done so, please download the following checklist to see if this class (Part 3) is most suited to your child's needs. 

https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/ca2PbbfcTmmGQ9Oxjoag
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Ｈｏｗ  Ｄｏｅｓ  Ｔｈｉｓ  Ｃｌａｓｓ  Ｓｕｐｐｏｒｔ 
Ｒｅａｄｉｎｇ  ａｎｄ  Ｗｒｉｔｉｎｇ  Ｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ？

Reading and writing are extremely complex skills, involving much more than memorising letters and sight words, or reciting the alphabet. The human brain is not "wired" to naturally be able to read and write...we are instead "wired" for communicating through spoken language. Being able to make a smooth transition into reading and writing, comes firstly from developing a range of effective speaking/ listening language skills throughout early childhood. 

Long-term studies funded by NICHD (1998; Bock, 2010) have identified that many reading and writing difficulties stem from early childhood. 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗴𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴  (𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻) 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴/ 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻. This means that pushing formal reading and writing skills in the early years has little value for many children: if they can't hear or sign it, then many children can struggle to read and write it! In this class, I draw from my training in the early years literacy education, and particularly from an approach called: "Talk For Writing". This child-led and inclusive approach targets many of these skill gaps. 

Talk For Writing is an educational model which teaches many aspects of writing through story-telling and story creating. It creates multiple pathways (play, speech, listening, dramatisation, visual mapping and symbolic representation) to help young children practice and then internalise skills in decoding the phonic, rhythmic and linguistic building blocks of language. In this class, I enrich these pathways even further - by using active, hands-on story telling, where the child uses miniature toys and objects in a sand (or other sensory) tray, and collaborates on the story development in ways that are interesting and meaningful for them. This makes it an ideal setting for introducing the fundamental "Talk for Writing" experiences - particularly for young children - prior to the introduction of shared writing. 

As well being trained in Talk For Writing, I am a trained nurse 𝐚𝐧𝐝 a certified/ registered Early Childhood Teacher, with specialist training in Play Therapy, Sand Play Therapy, DIR-Floortime,  Neurosequential Development, and Hanan Speech interventions. While this class is not a therapy intervention, I draw extensively from my background to provide all children with positive experiences to develop their play, conversational and language, problem-solving, social, and cognitive skills through experiences of:
~ Being creative and expressive;
~ Feeling that their contribution is valued by others;
~ Being accepted for who they are; 
~ Thinking critically and challenging ideas;
~ Being able to voice and express their own perceptions and ideas, and to have their ideas understood by others; and
~ To be (and feel) secure, safe, and welcomed in a group. 

Please view the "Learning Goals" section below, to read more about the underlying concepts and skills that children will gain in this class.

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Ｓｅｓｓｉｏｎ   Ｔｉｍｅｓ

For family reasons, I teach in line with the Australian school terms (four x 10 weeks each year). 

This means that, depending on when you start, this 10-week class may overlap with my break between each term. This results in some classes extending over 12 weeks, with a two-week break during the section (10 teaching weeks in total). For this reason, please carefully check the dates of your booked class. 

If you do not wish to have any breaks in this class, you will need to enrol in a section that starts in either January, or the first week of each Australian school term. 

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀:

➡ week of January 9, 2023
➡ week of January 16, 2023
➡ week of January 23, 2023
➡ week of January 30, 2023
➡ week of April 24, 2023
➡ week of July 17, 2023
➡ week of October 30, 2023

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Ｉｎｃｌｕｓｉｖｅ　Ｐｌａｙ　＆　Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ　Ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅｓ...Ｆｏｒ　Ａｌｌ　Ｌｅａｒｎｅｒｓ

All children have preferred ways of engaging with learning content. 

Typically, children learn best when they can engage with content in a way that reflects their own unique preferences. 

I endeavor to ensure that this class is inclusive of all learners (including E and 2E learners). I do this by structuring classes, activities and conversations so each child can choose to engage in the whole class, using whatever way is most appropriate, meaningful and rewarding for them. Children may substitute sand for whatever material is comfortable for them (such as cloud dough, water, etc.), and are also welcome to use an empty tray if they prefer. 

In this class, I introduce children to an approach called 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘. Using sand (or another sensory substitute), children can engage in play, stories and conversation as an inclusive and non-threatening context for learning and development. By creating their own stories children our focus is on discovery, creation, confidence, exploration, experimentation and critical thinking...rather than simply copying the teacher. 

This type of play offers a high-quality context for all children to engage in meaningful and purposeful learning. This is enabled because children are empowered to engage in whatever way is most meaningful and interesting for them:  
~ sensory experience
~ exploring and discovering the properties of materials
~ manipulative and fine motor activity
~ sorting/ aligning/ categorising/ patterning activity
~ exploring cause and effect
~ problem-solving
~ construction
~ imitation and role play
~ fantasy/ imaginative play and creativity
~ and artistic play itself

By ensuring children can engage in learning using their preferred approach, their motivation is naturally much higher. This style of sand play offers many benefits, including:

𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦:
Some young children experience performance pressure and perfectionism when creating things. Sand and dough are incredibly flexible and forgiving mediums, reducing children’s sense of “risk” or concern about getting things “wrong”. It can be made more, or less, challenging to suit each child. I also often find that, because children get “caught up” in the fun of sand play, they lose their self-consciousness and forget to worry about producing a particular outcome and more easily immerse themselves in the experience. 

𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:
In sand play, rich and creative expression does not rely on verbal ability – it can just as easily be achieved by the child’s use of objects and other symbols (a skill that contributes to the foundation for later reading and writing). This means we can include and meet the needs of children with strong verbal abilities as well as those who are still developing (or are self-conscious about) their verbal abilities. It also offers children a way to connect and communicate with others, regardless of language. Understanding (and being understood) is important for all children in developing their sense of confidence, and self-worth in the learning environment. 

𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:
Because sand storytelling is play-based, children can engage in the ways they feel most comfortable. Some children prefer to play independently, and some children are most comfortable responding to gentle prompts from the teacher. Others want to deeply collaborate on a story with the teacher and other children. In all situations, I use a range of evidence-based strategies to help children practice and extend their language skills from “where they are”. Because we are engaged in play together, their motivation to engage in shared language and conversation is typically much higher than when in a more instructional-style lesson. 

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:
Imagination is a life skill, with research highlighting it is a feature of cognitive, language, social, and emotional regulation skills. Over the years, I have used this activity extensively to support imaginative development and expression with very diverse children. Sand play makes imaginative thinking accessible and non-threatening for children with strong imaginations, as well as those just staring out on their imaginative journey, or who find imaginative and symbolic thinking challenging or frustrating. 

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠:
Although we often think of “play” as something that is natural, it is actually a learned skill. There are also many different types of play, with different degrees of complexity and which support different types of learning. Research clearly shows that play in early childhood is far more beneficial for cognitive, academic, social, and emotional learning compared with early academic instruction. Sand play is particularly beneficial because it is so flexible: children can engage in the type and complexity of play which feels most comfortable…they do not have to “fit in” with standardised expectations. From there, we gradually and gently add more complexity to the play activity, ensuring that every child can experience the joy and satisfaction of authentic learning. 

__________________________________________
Ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇ　Ａｐｐｒｏａｃｈ

This information will help you decide if my approach is a "good fit" for your child.  

This class is capped at a maximum of five learners, to ensure each child has the best possible child-led, personalised learning experience. I believe that learning comes not from memorising abstract facts, but though children being able to create and make sense of new ideas. To guide this learning, we need to have immersive, two-way conversations with children. Small class sizes allow me to work personally in this way, with each child. 

Child-led learning means that your child decides how they participate and what they focus on in our class. In this class, I do not tell children what to think about, or what to focus on. Instead, my goal is to understand your child's unique internal motivation. I do this by using stories, art, creativity and conversation to spark engagement. I then support each child to respond to these ideas and to follow their interests in a way that the class content and material comes to life for them. This helps make their learning become meaningful and sustained. 

You may see some differences in my classes, from the traditional US-based pre-K/ K/ early elementary and seated classroom approach. My aim is to extend your child's learning beyond our allocated screen time, through teaching and classroom practices such as:

🦋 Child-led learning (not teacher-led instruction)

🦋 Shared understanding (not imposing meaning)

🦋 Individualised and humanising relationships (not standardised expectations)

🦋 Hands-on, authentic play (not lectures)

🦋 Deep experimentation with creative, scientific, mathematical and relational process (not factory produced products or worksheets)

🦋 Collaboration and meaning (not rote memorising)

🦋 Imaginative resourcefulness (not mundane replication) 

🦋 Growing children's passions (not their performance)

🦋 Reading and responding to children’s cues, behaviours and signals (not managing, pathologising or fixing them)

🦋 Being an adult who is in calm control (not an adult who is battling for control and compliance)

My teaching approach tends to suit families who are seeking a humanising and wholistic learning experience for their young child.