Matt Karlsen
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Embracing Inspiration
This Friday, a group of four of us head to Italy for a study group with colleagues from other children's museums. We're anticipating a provocative,…
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What role do the Hundred Languages play in 4th and 5th grade?
The following poem has helped me shape and deepen my understanding of teaching practices inspired by the early childhood centers in Reggio Emilia, Italy. It…
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What is the view through a window into Opal 4 this week?
Some images, captions, and quotes from a little over a week in the Opal 4 classroom. What languages and materials are supporting our work as…
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Why imagination?
Opal School exists to extend the imagination around environments that support curiosity and the wonder of learning. As we face a series of crises –…
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The Learning Communities Teachers Need (to support the learning communities children need)
Visiting the preschool this morning, I came upon a group of three children creating a world on a mural. As they developed their story, they…
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On Homework
Homework is one of those words we teachers at Opal School continue to create shared meaning around. We love this post http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2011/10/home-work.html that explains how…
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Camp Collins 2013
What happens when a group of 9, 10 and 11 years olds who have been together as a learning community for over a year spend…
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Learning Communities – For children & adults
One way to describe our work at Opal School is “a pedagogy of listening and relationships.” In her most recent post, Opal 1 teacher Marcy…
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Creating the Conditions
Not just was the school good – I also felt safe, and, you know, this feeling of safety had been lacking for the previous few…
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Story Workshop: Supporting Children with Disabilities
What is the connection between literacy and the arts? How might this connection deepen children’s creativity, cognition, and communication? Investigating these questions, teachers at Opal…
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