After the week’s holiday, the children were delighted to reunite with their classmates. We enjoyed hearing their stories about travel and their experiences with the recent heavy rain here in Oman. With the cooler weather, we have also been making the most of extended outdoor playtime before the temperatures begin to rise again.
One important aspect of learning in KG1 is developing children’s sense of agency. While there are certain expectations and key learning experiences each day, the children are given many opportunities to make their own choices—such as where they play, which resources they use, and who they choose to work with.
Each week, we take this a step further through a class planning activity. During a whole-group session, we share some of the learning experiences already prepared, and then invite the children to suggest an additional activity they would like to explore the following day. As ideas are shared, we record them on the board using simple drawings and words.
The children are then asked to choose their preferred activity. As each child makes their selection, we record their choice using tally marks. Over time, the children have become familiar with this system—recognising that four vertical lines crossed horizontally by a fifth line represent five, and that two groups of five make ten. Once all the votes are counted, we identify the most popular choice, which becomes the activity set up for the next day.
This routine has now become so familiar that some children are beginning to initiate it independently. Some have started creating their own tally charts, using clipboards and pencils to gather ideas from their peers and record votes around the classroom. It has been wonderful to observe not only their growing independence and confidence in making decisions, but also how they are taking meaningful action—applying their learning in authentic ways. Through this, they are further developing their understanding of early mathematical concepts such as counting, grouping, and simple data handling.
