Teaching Preschool Partners

Exploring color 🎨 Color mixing invites our youngest learners to watch hues shift and blend right before their eyes.

We keep our questions open and let curiosity lead the way

"How does color move?"
"What does this color remind you of?"

Want to try it in your classroom? Grab our NEW printable teacher guide!

free at the link in bio

"Translanguaging means using our full linguistic repitorie, all the languages and ways we communicate to express ideas." -Nell Duke

Did you know proposed federal rule changes could reshape Head Start as we know it? These changes would loosen protections around staff-to-child ratios and allow larger class sizes, reduce pay for Head Start educators by changing staff qualification requirements, and mandate English-only classroom instruction with no accommodations for children who are actively building English proficiency.

Research is clear: young dual-language learners actually acquire English faster and reach better academic milestones when their home language is supported, not excluded.

Take action by Oct. 6! Submit a formal comment through the federal clearinghouse at Regulations.gov, under the administrative title "Reducing Federal Burden for Head Start Programs." Link in our bio.
https://www.regulations.gov/document/ACF-2026-0595-0002

We stand with Head Start. 💛

Special thanks to the teachers and children at Clarendon Early Learning Academy featured in these photos.

Have you ever noticed that when a child is painting, what they seem most interested in is how the color of the water in the rinsing jar changes?

As a way to deepen and honor that interest, offering water and tiny amounts of food coloring in ice cube trays gives children the tools to really focus on the changeability of water before we ask them to use watercolor cakes or tempera paint. If your students are mixing beautiful colors in the rinsing jar too, how might you make space for them to slow down and explore the changeability of liquid color?

"The child has a hundred languages, a hundred hands, a hundred thoughts, a hundred ways of thinking, of playing, of speaking.

A hundred, always a hundred, ways of listening, of marveling, of loving." Loris Malaguzzi

The invitation: How can you use paper to represent a child's Funds of Knowledge?

During a professional development session on Starting the Year with Playful Inquiry, led by TPP, educators were offered paper as a thinking tool. They created representations of the gifts children bring with them to school starting on day one: relationships from home, trust, friendship, wisdom, open ended creative play and so much more...

Want a session like this for your team or site? Reach out!

The first weeks of school set the tone for everything that follows.

Invitations are thoughtful setups that spark curiosity, connection, and discovery and are a gentle way to welcome children back into the classroom.

These invitation ideas are an offering to start the year with exploration and discovery.

How will you invite curiosity and connection this year?

Bring Playful Inquiry to life in your classroom this year!

Invitation to Explore is TPP's new curriculum resource for PreK and Kindergarten educators: 14 areas of focus, each with materials lists, guided invitations, book connections, and more, so curiosity can lead the way.

$50 · Get your copy at the link in bio.