In ChildFriendly Pro's first ECE Learning Lab in March 2026, child care operator Krystal Churcher showed educators how to take one low-cost activity (a scoop-and-pour sensory bin, process art with toy cars and rollers, or a contact-paper sticky wall) and change the materials and questions for children aged 12 to 18 months, 19 to 36 months and 3 to 4 years.
What the session covered
The ECE Learning Lab is an evening workshop series for educators, sponsored by ChildFriendly Pro and hosted by Krystal Churcher, a child care operator and Chair of the Association of Child Care Entrepreneurs. Churcher said the series does not promote one framework or curriculum over another and avoids complicated lesson plans and rigid curriculum binders in favor of simple invitations that follow children's interests. Each session is organized around three areas, Explore, Create and Build, and shifts the educator's role from direct instruction to observation and interaction. Churcher described hands-on play as building several skills at once: pouring, stacking, rolling and building support cause and effect, comparison, problem solving and early math; the same actions develop coordination, hand strength and shoulder stability, which she called foundations for later writing; and describing and sharing work supports language and social development. All materials were chosen from items most centers already have, so the activities add little cost. What changes between age groups is how the materials are presented and how educators support the play.
How do you set up a scoop-and-pour sensory bin for different ages?
Churcher's Explore invitation uses one sensory bin across three age groups. For children 12 to 18 months she suggested large scoops, one or two big cups such as measuring cups, and a simple base material such as water, oats, sand or rice, depending on whether a program uses food in sensory play. At this stage children pour, dump, fill and empty, and she said repetition of the same action helps them understand cause and effect and develop coordination. Educators narrate with words such as pour, dump, full and empty. For 19 to 36 months the setup adds funnels and small containers with lids, and children experiment with volume and comparison; suggested questions include "Is it full?", "Can you fill this one?" and "What happens when you pour slowly?" For 3 to 4 year olds, educators can add more containers, color, sorting bowls, small figures such as dinosaurs, and pom-poms. Children then explore measurement, prediction and planning, prompted by questions such as "How many scoops will it take?" and "Which container holds more?"
What is process art, and how does a sticky art wall support building skills?
Churcher defined process art as focusing on the experience of creating rather than the final product. For 12 to 18 months she suggested large paper or butcher-block paper, thick tools such as sponges, rollers and toy cars, and a limited number of paint colors, with language such as roll, push and "look at the marks". For toddlers the paper moves to a vertical surface; Churcher said vertical painting strengthens shoulder stability and crossing the midline, which she linked to writing readiness. Preschoolers can add textures such as cardboard, foil, fabric or bubble wrap and experiment with design and pattern. The Build invitation is a sheet of contact paper fixed to a wall with the sticky side facing out. Younger children reach up and press soft items such as pom-poms and tissue squares; toddlers add yarn, feathers, pipe cleaners and outdoor items such as leaves; 3 to 4 year olds add cardboard shapes, bottle caps, scissors and paper and plan the wall together. Churcher's main strategy was to introduce materials gradually, then step back and observe.
How should educators observe and document learning during simple play?
Churcher closed the session by stressing that educators should not only engage in activities but also observe and document the learning, to guide planning, follow children's interests and support each child. She listed what to watch for: engagement, persistence, creative expression, language use, problem solving and regulation. She recommended that documentation focus on the process rather than the final product, and that educators reflect on how the activity worked, what did not work, what children were most engaged with, where children took the activity and how it could be adjusted next time. Her sample observation described a child named Ava carefully layering tissue paper pieces vertically and adjusting their placement until they stayed, demonstrating planning, persistence and refined hand control. Churcher said observations written this way let educators translate a simple activity, such as contact paper and recycled craft materials, into learning that families can recognize, which she described as adding value to the program. She said future Learning Labs would follow the same Explore, Create and Build format, about once a month, with materials that fit a typical budget.
Explore, Create and Build activity guide by age group from the session
| Time | Key point | What centers should do |
|---|---|---|
| 02:32 | Churcher: the Learning Lab supports no single framework or curriculum; it uses simple invitations based on children's interests. | Plan invitations from what children show interest in, not from rigid curriculum binders. |
| 05:12 | Churcher: hands-on play builds cognitive, motor, language and social skills at the same time. | Name more than one skill area when planning and describing an activity. |
| 07:28 | Explore, 12 to 18 months: large scoops, one or two big cups and a base of water, oats, sand or rice; repetition builds cause and effect. | Narrate with words such as pour, dump, full and empty while children repeat actions. |
| 09:08 | Explore, 19 to 36 months: add funnels and small containers with lids to experiment with volume and comparison. | Ask "Is it full?" and "What happens when you pour slowly?" |
| 10:10 | Explore, 3 to 4 years: add more containers, color, sorting bowls and small figures for measurement, prediction and planning. | Ask "How many scoops will it take?" and "Which container holds more?" |
| 11:20 | Create: process art focuses on the experience of creating, not the final product. | For 12 to 18 months, offer large paper, sponges, rollers, toy cars and limited paint colors. |
| 13:04 | Churcher: vertical painting strengthens shoulder stability and crossing the midline, which she linked to writing readiness. | Move toddler painting to a wall and ask "What happens if you press harder?" |
| 14:53 | Build: a contact-paper sticky wall, sticky side out, supports fine motor skills, spatial awareness and visual planning. | Introduce materials gradually, let children guide the project, then step back and observe. |
| 18:11 | Build, 3 to 4 years: add cardboard shapes, bottle caps, scissors and paper for collaboration and pattern creation. | Leave the wall up as a group project and ask children about their shared plan. |
| 20:21 | Sample observation: Ava layered tissue paper vertically, adjusting placement until it stayed, showing planning, persistence and hand control. | Document the process and the skill shown, then share it with families. |
How ChildFriendly Pro automates this
The session described educators planning age-adapted activities by hand, often without set planning time; Churcher said ChildFriendly Pro users can search the platform's learning modules by age group, interest and topic to find activities for planning (21:22), as described in the March 2026 recording. ChildFriendly Pro's Classroom & Learning Tools cover frameworks, portfolios and lesson plans for recording observations like the one modeled in the session; no product demo was shown.
Next steps
- Register for the next free ECE Learning Lab workshop for educators
- Classroom and learning tools for lesson plans, portfolios and observations
- Learning Lab Educator Guide Session 1: Scoop, Pour & Explore, Paint, Roll & Create and the Sticky Art Wall
- Book a demo of ChildFriendly Pro for child care centers
