What is The Kindergarten Diaries?
The Globe and Mail spent the last year inside three Toronto-area schools following the progress of four kindergarteners, each representative of different needs and backgrounds.
Over the course of the year we visited their classrooms and performed a battery of tasks, including puppet interviews, drawing exercises and photographs, that allowed us to map their progress.
Here is how the series broke down:
SEPTEMBER
We met with the children, their families and their teachers and established a starting point for the year ahead.
- The Rutherford Family
- The Mistry Family
- The Bolton Family
DECEMBER
Our first visit to the classrooms since we met the children, produced these video reports.
- Kindergarten diaries: The finger-puppet test
- Kindergarten diaries: The photography test
- Kindergarten diaries: The drawing test
MARCH
In March we brought the children to the Globe and Mail's offices where we set out one-time-only tasks.
- Video: The marshmallow test
- Video: The theory of mind test
- Video: Head, toes, knees and shoulders test
JUNE
In June we brought the families together to discuss each child's progress and reflect on lessons learned.
- Video: Parents look back on a formative year
- Video: The lighter side of learning
You can follow Kate Hammer's reporting and the research done by her partner in the series, graduate student Kadria Simons at www.globeandmail.com/kindergarten
DISCUSSION
Kate Hammer and Kadria Simons will participate in a live discussion Tuesday, June 14th at 1 p.m. ET
