Offering Children Invitations for Learning

"In my work as a preschool teacher," writes Deb Curtis, in Really Seeing Children, "I have found that offering information about things that children have limited experience with, or posing a series of questions to try to encourage their thinking, doesn't seem to get much of a lively or sustained response. But when I carefully arrange props and representational material in the environment with a particular focus in mind, the children are delighted to discover and play with them. …I call collections of interesting and carefully combined materials ‘Invitations’ and I use them in a number of ways."

Here is one example Curtis gives of an effective Invitation:

"I arrange blocks and other block props in specific ways that suggest new possibilities for building and design and include photos of children’s previous block constructions. The children use these Invitations as launching points for revisiting their work, adding complex ideas, and trying new skills."

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