Free templateChild Development & Programming

Learning Lab Educator Guide – Session 1

An 11-page educator guide to three play-based classroom experiences: Scoop, Pour & Explore (sensory play and early math), Paint, Roll & Create (process art) and The Sticky Art Wall (fine motor and visual planning). Each has setup steps, adaptations for three age groups with materials, focus and educator language, and a Family Update to send home.

Format: PDF guide · A4
Pages: 11
Best for: Educators · room leads
Updated: Oct 2026

Download free template See what’s inside

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Preview of the Learning Lab Educator Guide – Session 1

What’s inside

Three play-based experiences with setup, age adaptations and family wording

Explore – Scoop, Pour & ExploreA shallow bin with a base material such as oats, dyed rice, sand or shredded paper. The guide links scooping and pouring to early math concepts — volume, cause and effect, comparison — as well as coordination, focus and regulation.
Create – Paint, Roll & CreateProcess art on large paper taped to a table or wall, using tools that are not brushes: toy cars, sponges, rollers, forks and natural materials. The guide says not to provide an example of “what it should look like”.
Build – The Sticky Art WallContact paper taped sticky side out on a wall or window, with lightweight loose parts such as tissue paper, foam shapes, fabric scraps, feathers and yarn. The stated purpose is shoulder stability, hand strength and visual-spatial planning for writing readiness.
Age Group AdaptationsEvery experience is adapted for 12–18 months, 19 months–under 3 years and 3–4 years, each with materials, a focus list, educator language (from “Pour.” “Dump.” to “Which container holds more?”) and a Family Update paragraph.
Observation Focus for EducatorsA closing page listing what to look for — persistence, coordination, problem-solving, creative expression, language use, regulation and engagement — with one worked example of a written observation.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Choose one experienceExplore, Create and Build each stand alone. Start with the one you already have materials for.
2
Follow the Educator Setup GuideEach experience has numbered setup steps. A common thread is to keep materials minimal at first and model the action once.
3
Use the adaptation for your age groupTake the materials list and educator language for your group. For Explore, the guide says to observe before extending with prompts or challenges.
4
Document and shareUse the Observation Focus page to note what the child did and the skill demonstrated, then send the matching Family Update.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Check base materials first

Oats, rice and sand are suggested as base materials. Check allergies, your centre’s policy on using food in play and choking risks for your youngest group before choosing.

Leave out the sample

The guide’s process-art advice is to focus on movement and experimentation. Without a finished example on the table, children are less likely to copy.

Put the sticky wall at child height

Tape the contact paper where children can reach the whole surface while standing, and secure the edges with painter’s tape as the guide describes.

Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro

Plan the week in the app — tagged to your framework automatically

Build the same plan in ChildFriendly Pro and every observation you log is tagged to FLIGHT, ELECT, ELF or your own outcomes, added to each child’s portfolio and shared with families in their daily journal.