• Tools of the Mind Curriculum

    Tools of the Mind preschool activities are multi-level, capable of meeting the needs of children from two and a half to five years old. Each child is challenged and supported at their level, and teachers scaffold children with diverse needs within the same activity. Using these strategies, Tools teachers focus on helping children become intentional and reflective learners, creating a classroom in which literacy, mathematics, and science instruction reflect children's learning capacity.

    Tools of the Mind Preschool Activities Examples:

    Play Planning: Children describe what they will do when they play and then represent their plan on paper in drawing and writing. Children work at their level, adding detail to their drawn plans, using lines to represent words in their written message, and using the Tools of the Mind Sound Map to write letters representing the sounds in their words.

    Graphics Practice: In Graphics Practice, children develop the fine motor and self-regulation skills needed for writing. They draw on whiteboards with markers, stopping and starting in response to musical cues. Children use private speech to help them remember how and what to write, learning to inhibit while also remembering the shape they're representing in writing.

    Buddy Reading: In Buddy Reading, pairs of children "read" books to each other, using external mediator cards to remind them of their roles as they take turns reading and listening. Buddy Reading is one of Tools of the Mind's cooperative partner activities. These activities are designated to foster self-regulation development and positive child-child interaction while fostering emergent literacy and numeracy skills.

    Making Collections: In Making Collections, children work in a cooperative partnered mathematics activity taking turns counting and checking using one-to-one correspondence. Children use Vygotskian tactics such as private speech, external mediators, and other regulation tactics.

     

    By exploring monthly themes, preschoolers have the opportunity to engage in make-believe play and play planning to take on roles and actions.  Each theme of study covers about 5 weeks.  Students and families make props and the classroom is transformed into theme-based centers. New themes are introduced, but the classroom remains structured around 6 learning centers (Literacy, Dramatic Play, Science, Blocks, Art, & Math).  Preschoolers learn the importance of self-regulation while engaging in a 60-minute play block. 

    The following are sample themes:

    • Back to School
    • Family
    • Grocery 
    • Restaurant
    • Medical 
    • Pets & Veterinarians  
    • Community & Community Helpers

     

    New Jersey State Department of Education:  Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards (2014)