As a Reggio Emilia-inspired kindergarten program, Collingwood believes that during the early years of education, the learning environment is essentially a “third teacher” that provides students with opportunities for directed play and interaction with their physical and social environment. This engagement allows students to learn through hands-on exploration, relationships, inquiry and creative expression.

This past spring, Ms. Karpiuk, was thinking about new and different ways to introduce the basic elements of financial literacy to her kindergarten class. Part of the mathematics curriculum, these skills include learning basic counting, number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, comparing quantities and understanding the purpose of money in everyday contexts.

After some thought, Ms. Karpiuk came up with an exciting plan… First, students broke out into small groups for a guided exploration of the different names, shapes, illustrations, portraits and values of Canadian coins. Students shared observations and sorted the coins by different attributes. They then explored the concept of value by creating a restaurant menu inspired by their experiences both inside and outside of school.

As students began to build their understanding of money, intentional changes were introduced into the dramatic play area to provoke them to explore their learning and interests through various role-playing activities such as cooking, serving food and shopping. New materials included such things as kitchen tools, real packaged goods, play food, a class cookbook, menu, cash register, play money, and paper, pencils and clipboards.

These provocations culminated in an actual storefront, where students could conduct transactions at an actual customer counter. Through both group experiences and play, the class co-constructed knowledge by discussing prices, exploring how money is used, negotiating roles, and engaging in problem-solving. Eventually, students began to independently incorporate their emerging understanding of money into their grocery store and restaurant scenarios as they played.

“Play is an important part of learning. Through play, students can co-construct knowledge as they explore, experiment, question and test their theories. A fun part of my job is finding creative ways to connect curriculum to children's interests by utilizing the environment as the “third teacher.” What materials can I add or take away? How can I provide materials that help children bring their ideas to life? How can I provoke new questions and opportunities for the students to share and apply their knowledge? What stood out most during this experience was the joy the students demonstrated as they explored money through meaningful play. They reflected on past experiences, experimented with new ideas, and collaborated with peers while building their numeracy, literacy and social-emotional skills.”

- Julie Karpiuk, Wentworth Kindergarten Teacher

Students were observed taking on roles of customers, cashiers, cooks and servers. They used menus and recipe books to make choices, connected prices to these goods and services, and exchanged money for them.

In addition to learning about money, this unique learning experience also helped students develop their language and literacy skills and supported their social-emotional development through collaboration, conflict resolution, and understanding of community roles.

While it will be several years before these students can participate in the entrepreneurship development opportunities at the Senior School, this unique learning experience set them off on a great start.