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

For the remainder of 2023, 'In The Real Wonderland' will not be offering this group class on Outschool, with other group classes offered only on a limited/ occasional basis. However, one-on-one, individually tailored play-based learning sessions will continue to be offered by 'In The Real Wonderland' on Outschool for the remainder of 2023. Please see my main profile page for these options. 

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✅ This class is Part 1 of Play-Talk-Write, and is best suited to beginning English speakers and listeners. Please download this checklist  to see if Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3 is best for your learner. 
https://cdn.filestackcontent.com/ca2PbbfcTmmGQ9Oxjoag

✅ 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 --> Please check the supplies list! 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 - children will need to bring materials to participate in the class. 

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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, which are often "missed" when formal letter learning, reading and writing are introduced prematurely. 


𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀:
In this class each child will 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 ‘𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆’ (a simple, small plastic tray filled with sand or a soft sensory substitute) to play with. As children play, I use a combination of oral storytelling, prompts, and questions to develop children's conversation and talk about the "story" elements of their play (such as the characters, setting and plot). Children's ideas will then be woven into a single story that we tell, using the miniature, magical 3-D world they have created in their sand tray. 


𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁:
This is not an "instructional" class and there is no "sit-and-listen" teaching. 

This is a play-based and hands-on class in which children can actively play and move, and their interests are used to provide rich, language and cognitive development experiences. 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:
Our story each week will be created based on the play, imagination and interests of the children in each group. I draw from the play ideas that each child spontaneously engages in, to create our weekly story. 

I use a number of different strategies which enable me to inspire children's play, prompt conversation, and create the weekly story. These strategies are specifically focussed on using and developing children's language in two areas: 
(1) The elements of a story (characters, place and plot); and
(2) A simple three-part narrative language structure (beginning, middle, end).

In addition to this, we will use the sand tray and toys to introduce and develop children's confidence with the visual-temporal-spatial and symbolic elements of language. 

As well as drawing from my background in Early Childhood education and child play development, I also draw from my training in a number of evidence-based approaches in 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 before transitioning 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 an ongoing class. Every week is a stand-alone exploration - so you can start the class in any week. 

Sometimes, children in the class feel uncertain of how to begin and come up with ideas for their own play and stories. In these instances I may offer a simple prompt for children to explore. Prompts may include ideas like: 
- A spaceman comes to Earth
- A lion gets lost in the jungle
- A rabbit digs a tunnel
- A dinosaur catches a plane
- A fairy loses his wand
- A child finds an egg
- Some trains line up in a row

This class runs throughout the year, with scheduled breaks on: 
~ 19 Dec 2022 - 8 Jan 2023 (classes resume on 9 Jan 2023)
~ 10 - 23 Apr 2023 (classes resume on 24 Apr 2023)
~ 3 - 16 Jul 2023 (classes resume on 17 Jul 2023)
~ 25 Sep - 8 Oct 2023 (classes resume on 9 Oct 2023)
~ 18 Dec 2023 - 7 Jan 2024 (classes resume on 8 Jan 2024)
Reminders are sent to enrolled families one week prior to a break period.

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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 1) 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 and "gestural" (body) 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 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 postpones formal "schoolish" academic and rote learning in early childhood. Instead, we focus on ensuring young children have the space and time to engage in rich play experiences and purposeful, interesting conversations - particularly through story-telling. These are considered the fundamental building blocks needed for children to develop the cognitive, social, linguistic and decoding skills needed to more smoothly transition into formal reading and writing. 

The "Talk for Writing" approach I use in this class 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 to introduce the fundamental "Talk for Writing" experiences. 

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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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 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. 

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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.