Choice Time: How to Deepen Learning Through Inquiry and Play, PreK-2

 "In her inspirational, well-researched book, Renée describes the kinds of learning opportunities that all parents want for their own children. Her accessible writing style makes it easy to envision the environment, teaching, and community she describes with such clarity you’ll want to get started on her ideas tomorrow." ―Jennifer Serravallo

"How refreshing it is in a test-driven climate to read a book stressing the nurturing of imagination and empathy that comes from inquiry, play and children making choices." ―Deborah Meier

"The bottom line is when children are at play, they’re not just playing––they’re learning machines, and play is the engine that drives them.” ―Renée Dinnerstein

How do you define play and choice time in early childhood classrooms? According to Renée Dinnerstein,“During choice time, children choose to play in a variety of centers that have been carefully designed and equipped to scaffold children’s natural instinct for play.”

In Choice Time, Renée gives you everything you need to set up choice-time centers that promote inquiry-based, guided play in your classroom. Renée summarizes the research, describing the different kinds of play and why they are important. Then she dives into the nitty gritty, providing:

• blueprints for six proven choice-time centers, with variations
• a guide to arranging your classroom space to maximize play’s value and support the child's growing independence
• scheduling suggestions for different grade levels
• ideas to connect centers to the curriculum, giving children greater agency in designing and planning centers.

Renée reveals what can happen when you embrace a culture of inquiry, providing opportunities for children to be explorative and creative in their thinking. She believes that, “A child’s engagement is the most powerful asset we have for teaching and learning.” Give your students choice time, and watch them engage in joyful, important, playful, age-appropriate work that will empower them to become lifelong learners.

Kathy Collins is coauthor with Matt Glover of the Heinemann title I Am Reading. Kathy is the beloved author of Growing Readers as well as Reading for Real. She presents at conferences and works in schools all over the world to support teachers in developing high-quality, effective literacy instruction in the elementary school grades. Kathy has worked closely with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University, and she was a first grade teacher in Brooklyn, New York.

Renée Dinnerstein (@RDinnerstein) has almost 50 years experience as an early childhood educator, teaching in both Italy and in the United States. She is a past member of the Teachers’ College Reading and Writing Project Early Childhood Reading ‘think tank’, and has worked as an Early Childhood Staff Developer in the New York City Department of Education, where she helped write the New York City Pre Kindergarten Standards. Visit her online at investigatingchoicetime.com.