Category: Без рубрики

Lilian Katz’s Theory: How to survive as a teacher

~ Storykate ~ Leave a comment

As an early childhood educator, I’ve experienced the full spectrum of emotions that come with this rewarding yet challenging profession. From the overwhelming feelings of the survival stage to the deep sense of fulfilment in the maturity stage, I’ve walked the path that Lilian Katz, one of the most significant scholars in early childhood education, has so eloquently mapped out.

Katz’s theory of teacher development outlines four distinct stages that every educator goes through: survival, consolidation, renewal, and maturity. In this comprehensive blog post, we’ll dive deep into each stage, exploring the unique challenges and opportunities they present. By understanding this framework, you’ll gain invaluable insights to navigate your own professional journey and elevate your teaching practice to new heights.

Stage 1: Survival

The survival stage is where many of us begin our teaching careers. It’s a time of intense learning, self-doubt, and a constant struggle to keep our heads above water. As Katz describes, during this period, teachers are primarily concerned with their own survival – how to manage the day-to-day demands of the classroom, control the children, and keep up with the curriculum expectations.

I vividly remember my own experience in the survival stage. I was standing in the staff room, tears streaming down my face, feeling utterly overwhelmed and unable to control the group. That child with behavioural issues was pushing me to my limits, and I couldn’t seem to find the right strategies to reach them. Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone.

According to Katz, first-year teachers often struggle with managing behaviour, keeping children focused, and feeling confident in their teaching strategies. They may not fully understand the intricacies of early childhood development or the nuances of effective curriculum delivery. The constant self-doubt and questions like “How do I keep my students engaged?” or “Why do we have so many incidents?” are all too common during this stage.

But fear not, the survival stage is a necessary step in your professional growth. It’s where you lay the foundation for your teaching practice, learning the basics of classroom management and curriculum implementation. With time, patience, and the right support, you’ll gradually transition to the next stage of your development.

Stage 2: Consolidation

Once the initial hurdles of the survival stage have been overcome, teachers enter the consolidation stage. This is where the metaphorical “putting it all together” happens. The focus shifts from your own survival to the needs of the children in your care.

During the consolidation stage, you’ll start to feel more confident in your abilities. The systems and routines you’ve put in place will become second nature, allowing you to focus on providing differentiated instruction and addressing the unique needs of your students. This could include tailoring support for children with anxiety, autism spectrum disorder, sensory processing challenges, or other special requirements.

For me, this stage of consolidation came during my second year of teaching. I no longer worried about keeping my class under control; I had established effective systems and routines that allowed me to truly focus on the children’s learning and development. It was a liberating and rewarding experience, and I’m sure many of you can relate to that sense of accomplishment.

Stage 3: Renewal

After years of consolidating your teaching practices, you may find yourself entering the renewal stage. This is a time when teachers begin to feel a sense of stagnation and seek out new challenges, fresh ideas, and innovative methods to reinvigorate their practice.

Katz explains that during this stage, educators often focus on their own growth and development. They may attend more professional development courses, workshops, and seminars, or even consider pursuing a master’s degree to deepen their knowledge and skills.

This was the case for me. After several years of teaching, I felt the need for a new challenge. I decided to enroll in a master’s program, where I had the opportunity to collaborate with other educators who were also going through the renewal stage. Together, we explored new educational approaches, such as project-based learning, inquiry-based instruction, and the importance of play in early childhood education.

The renewal stage is a crucial time for teachers to step back, reflect on their practice, and seek out opportunities for growth. It’s a chance to reignite your passion for teaching and discover new ways to engage your students and contribute to the field of early childhood education.

Stage 4: Maturity

The final stage of Katz’s teacher development model is the maturity stage. This is where teachers view their professional activities as a lifelong contribution to the field of education. They reflect on their practices, share their knowledge and experiences, and often take on the role of mentors to younger or less experienced educators.

For me, this stage of maturity has been incredibly rewarding. I’ve had the privilege of working as an early childhood trainer, university teacher, and qualified early childhood teacher. I’m passionate about sharing my knowledge and experiences with pre-service and in-service educators, helping them navigate the challenges and joys of this profession.

In the maturity stage, teachers may participate in advocacy work, contribute to the development of policies and philosophies, or even write books and create educational resources. It’s a time of deep reflection, a desire to leave a lasting legacy, and a commitment to guiding the next generation of educators.

Your Unique Professional Journey

As you reflect on Katz’s model of teacher development, consider where you currently find yourself on this journey. Are you in the survival stage, struggling to keep your head above water? Or have you reached the consolidation stage, where you’re starting to feel more confident and focused on the needs of your students?

Perhaps you’re in the renewal stage, seeking out new challenges and opportunities for growth. Or maybe you’ve reached the maturity stage, where you’re ready to share your wisdom and expertise with others.

Regardless of where you are, it’s important to remember that these stages are not strictly linear. You may find yourself moving back and forth between them, depending on your experiences and the unique challenges you face. The key is to approach each stage with an open mind, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to continuously improving your practice.

Resources to Support Your Professional Development

As you navigate your teaching career, there are a wealth of resources available to support your growth and development. Here are a few that I’ve found particularly helpful:

In addition to these resources, I encourage you to connect with me on social media, where I share a wealth of ideas, examples of good practice, reflections, and more. You can find me on:

And if you’d like to support my work, you can buy me a coffee on Patreon.

Remember, your teaching journey is unique, and the stages outlined by Lilian Katz are simply a framework to help you understand and navigate the ebbs and flows of your professional development. By embracing each stage and seeking out the resources and support you need, you can unlock your full potential as an educator and make a lasting impact on the lives of the children you serve.

Plants as co-teachers

~ Storykate ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever thought about plants as teachers? Well , I did and here are my thoughts!
They model patience, growth, and interconnection every day; they are quietly guiding children to notice, care, and wonder. When we slow down and learn with them, our teaching shifts from managing nature to co-existing with it.

What can we do with plants?

1. Observe and Listen

  • Talk with children about plant species indoors and outdoors. How are they used by First Nations? Talk about the sensual appeal of some plans.
  • Discuss how plants grow, change, and respond to light and weather.
  • Keep a daily or weekly “plant diary” with drawings and photos.

2. Care and Connect

  • Invite children to water, prune, and touch leaves gently.
  • Use compost bins or worm farms to see how waste becomes new soil.
  • Notice the smell, texture, and colour of different plants.

3. Rewild and Respect

  • Leave small outdoor areas to grow naturally.
  • Watch how insects, bees, and birds interact with “weeds.”
  • Talk about how plants and animals depend on each other.

4. Grow and Experiment

  • Plant quick crops like radish, lettuce, and alfalfa.
  • Grow herbs, vegetables, and sensory plants.
  • Compare deciduous and evergreen trees.
  • Explore mosses and lichens that like shade.

5. Collect and Create

  • Curate a seed-pod collection from local parks.
  • Make art or loose-parts play with leaves and pods.
  • Save seeds from fruit eaten at mealtimes.

Teaching with questions

~ Storykate ~ Leave a comment

Have you ever noticed how children never stop asking questions? “Why is the sky blue?” “Where does the moon go at night?” “How do birds know how to fly?”

That relentless curiosity isn’t just adorable—it’s fundamental to how children learn and make sense of their world. And guess what? Educators have been fascinated by children’s questions for nearly a century!

Susan Isaacs: Listening to Children’s Thirst for Understanding

Back in the 1920s, British psychologist Susan Isaacs did something revolutionary at the Malting House School in Cambridge. She carefully documented the questions children asked during their play and exploration. Why? Because she believed that these questions revealed something profound: a genuine thirst for understanding.

Rather than dismissing children’s questions as simple or trivial, Isaacs recognised them as windows into children’s thinking. Each “why” and “how” represented a child actively constructing their understanding of the world around them.

Want to know more about Susan Isaacs and her groundbreaking work? Check this article https://storykate.com.au/tag/susan-isaacs/

Vivian Paley: Understanding Before Teaching

Fast forward to the 1980s, and American kindergarten teacher Vivian Paley carried this torch forward. Paley spent her career listening carefully to children’s questions and conversations. She famously wrote something that should be on every educator’s wall:

“I must know what questions they are asking before mine will be useful.”

Think about that! We can’t guide children’s learning effectively if we don’t first understand what they’re genuinely curious about. Their questions reveal their current thinking and show us where they’re ready to grow. Brilliant, right?

Reggio Emilia: Questions as Windows to Children’s Theories

The educators of Reggio Emilia, Italy, inspired by Loris Malaguzzi’s philosophy, took this listening stance even further. Malaguzzi encouraged teachers to pay close attention to the questions children ask. Why? Because through these questions, children develop theories about their world—about how things work, about relationships, about emotions, about everything they encounter.

In Reggio-inspired classrooms, documentation of children’s questions becomes a vital teaching tool. It helps educators understand children’s developing theories so they can plan meaningful learning experiences.

The Theory Behind the Questions: Constructivism

Here’s where it gets really interesting! All of this connects deeply to constructivist learning theory.

Constructivism, championed by theorists like Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Jerome Bruner, and Barbara Rogoff, tells us that children don’t passively receive knowledge—they actively construct it through experience and social interaction.

Social constructivism (which I strongly support as an educator!) tells us that construction happens through dialogue and relationship. From infancy onward, children engage in conversations with parents, family members, and others. They learn first to respond to questions, and then—crucially—to ask their own.

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

This brings us to one of Vygotsky’s most important contributions: the zone of proximal development (ZPD). This is the sweet spot between what a child can do independently and what they can do with guidance and support.

As teachers, our most important skill isn’t just answering children’s questions—it’s learning to ask questions that move children’s thinking forward into this zone. Questions that challenge them just enough. Questions that invite deeper thinking. Questions that scaffold their understanding without simply giving them answers.

https://youtu.be/jmBGzQcrn7A?si=jdWiGBlebtLc5fAu

Questions as a Teaching Strategy

Asking effective questions is an art form! It requires us to:

  • Listen carefully to what children are genuinely curious about
  • Observe closely to understand their current thinking
  • Respond thoughtfully with questions that extend rather than close down inquiry
  • Create space for children to develop and test their own theories

When we do this well, we honour children’s natural capacity for learning while gently guiding them toward new understanding. Pretty amazing!

3 questions you should ask children today

Why This Matters

Questioning isn’t just something children do—it’s how they learn. And learning to ask better questions is one of the most powerful ways we can support that learning.

From Susan Isaacs in the 1920s to Vivian Paley in the 1980s to the Reggio educators and beyond, we’ve learned that children’s questions—and ours—truly matter. They’re not interruptions to learning; they ARE the learning.

Coming Soon!

I’m going to dive deeper into specific questioning strategies in upcoming posts. We’ll explore different types of questions and their purposes, and I’ll share practical examples from real classrooms. Because if there’s one thing Susan Isaacs, Vivian Paley, and the Reggio educators have taught us, it’s this: children’s questions deserve our full attention.

What questions are the children in your life asking? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

MAKING PIZZA (Sample Group Observation)

~ Storykate ~ Leave a comment

As a part of our restaurant investigation we made our own pizza at kinder room with Kathy, our chef. We put two tables together and children sat around. Kathy made toppings and sauce. The choice of toppings was based on children preferences during group time discussion. Children were offered to choose what to top up their pizzas with.

Before that we talked about what is pizza and how can we make pizzas. Kathy showed children all the toppings and asked if they know which one do they know. Children were very confident with naming salami, cheese, ham, pineapple. They needed some help remembering capsicum.

What do we put on our pizza? – we asked children first.

  • Cheese! – said Child A
  • Sauce, – said Child B.

What is that, Kathy? – asked Child A pointing at tomato sauce.

That’s tomato sauce.

“My dad likes this sauce” – said Child B.

So children spread sauce on their pizzas and started to choose toppings. They used thongs to pick up ham, salami, mushrooms, pineapple and cheese.

My pizza is going to be a burger! – Child A folded his pitta bread as a burger and pretended to eat it.

When pizzas were all done we put it in the oven, cleaned the table and put our new placement on the table.

After 5 minutes our little pizzas were ready to eat. It was so good to make our own lunch. Child A, Child B, Child C were so happy with experience they asked to make chocolate cake with Kathy next week.

EYLF Learning Outcomes

Children have become more confident in cooking in a group, they displayed curiosity, enthusiasm and persistence during making their pizzas.

 Children resourced their own learning through connecting with Kathy and other educators, by asking questions and sharing their ideas and knowledge about pizza making, food ingredients and cooking process.

One of the goals of the experience was learning more about nutrition, healthy cooking and making our own lunch. Children deepened their understanding of pizza making, ingredients we use to make pizza. Another goal was to provide children with opportunity to make a choice and be active participants in making their lunch from the ingredients they’ve earlier decided upon.

Why I Love Studymate Linking Cubes for Early Childhood Education

~ Storykate ~ Leave a comment

Hey educators!

Today I want to share one of my all-time favourite resources for preschoolers and early years learning — Studymate Linking Cubes (sometimes called linking blocks).

These colourful cubes are a must-have in any early childhood classroom, family day care, homeschooling setup, or STEM corner. They’re simple, open-ended, and surprisingly powerful for building so many foundational skills.

🎥 Watch the full video here:
👉 Studymate Linking Cubes – Fun STEM Learning for Preschoolers

🌈 What Makes Linking Cubes So Great

I take these cubes with me whenever I visit early childhood centres — and they never fail to spark curiosity!
Children love how they click and twist together on all sides, which means there’s no single “right way” to play. You can build trains, robots, towers, dinosaurs, or anything your imagination allows.

They’re also slightly challenging — perfect for building hand strength and fine motor control. Some children will find it easy to connect the cubes, while others need to use both hands and a bit of effort, which is excellent for developing grip and muscle coordination.

✋ Skills Developed Through Play

Here’s why these little cubes are so much more than a toy:

🔹 Fine Motor Skills

Every snap helps children build hand strength, coordination, and control — important pre-writing skills that support school readiness.

🔹 Counting and Maths Concepts

Linking cubes are ideal for counting, comparing, and measuring.
You can invite children to:

  • Count how many cubes they used in their tower or train
  • Make groups of ten
  • Compare which creation is “longer” or “shorter”
  • Try early addition and subtraction (e.g., “Take away two cubes — how many are left?”)

🔹 STEM Learning

These cubes introduce early engineering and design thinking. As children build, balance, and modify their constructions, they’re exploring problem-solving and spatial awareness — essential STEM foundations.

🔹 Colour Recognition and Patterns

You can explore patterns, symmetry, and sequencing (“red-blue-red-blue”) or let children design their own. Pattern play naturally builds early maths and logic skills.

🔹 Creativity and Imagination

There’s no limit to what children can make — from robots to castles to “machines that fly.” Linking cubes encourage open-ended exploration and storytelling through construction play.

🧒 Suitable Ages and Safety

The cubes are best for children aged 3 to 5 years, as they’re small enough to manipulate but large enough for safe play. As always, supervise younger children closely and introduce them gradually if working one-on-one.

💡 Ideas for Educators and Families

  • Create a STEM challenge table (“Who can build the tallest tower?”).
  • Encourage collaborative building projects to support teamwork.
  • Use cubes for measuring classroom objects (chairs, books, even friends’ height!).
  • Combine with literacy — children can “record” their design by drawing it afterwards.

🧩 Final Thoughts

Studymate Linking Cubes are one of my top recommended resources for preschool education, early learning centres, and homeschooling. They combine fun, learning, and creativity in one simple tool.

So next time you’re planning your STEM or fine motor setup — grab a set of linking cubes. You’ll be amazed at what children create and how much they learn through play.

🎥 Watch the full demo here:
👉 Studymate Linking Cubes – Fun STEM Learning for Preschoolers