What is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is an educational practice that has broad applicability and support. Research suggests that formative assessment can have powerful impacts on children's learning (Black and Wiliam 1998; Briggs et al. 2012; Kingston & Nash 2011).

Formative assessment is used to follow children’s learning to inform teaching. In other words, it is an assessment for learning (Wiliam & Leahy 2015).

Formative assessment helps the teacher to track what the child is learning, what type of skills are developing, and what to focus on next.

Why is Formative Assessment helpful in early childhood education?

There are many potential benefits when using formative assessment in ECE. Formative assessment can be used by teachers to identify the skills, capabilities, and strengths of learners. They can also inform teachers on areas of need or skills children are having difficulty achieving.

Teachers can then use the information for different purposes. Design appropriate learning tasks, boost the areas of need or change their teaching in ways that extend children’s strengths.

Formative assessment can also be used to document and communicate children’s progress to their families. Teachers can also use formative assessment to reflect on and assess their own teaching methods and lesson plans.

The goal of formative assessment is to monitor the child's learning and provide continuous feedback to improve teaching and learning. It puts the child at the center of their learning process and provides a better understanding of how learning really happens.

Documenting observations and the child's own reflections is essential in implementing formative assessment. Read more about Formative assessment practices in early childhood settings by NSW's Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation.

Watch our brand new video: Kindiedays supports children's learning

10 practical tips: How to do Formative Assessment in class?

1. THUMBS

Children show with their thumbs whether they have understood or learned about the topic. This method can also be used when asking for children's opinions about something, for example, 'Would you like to learn about rockets and space?'.

• Thumb up = I got it, yes!
• Thumb in the middle = I don't know, I am not sure.
• Thumb down = No, I don't think so.

2. PORTFOLIO

Becoming friends with Kindiedays has many advantages for your early learning center. And all people supporting the child's learning and well-being.

Kindiedays offers 3 alternative packages to match your present needs.

All packages include tools for attendance management, daily routines, and rich communication between staff and families.  

Then you choose your optimal set of features to support every child's learning path. And engage families in the child's learning journey like never before.

Read further and see the 3 choices of functionality and their pricing. Which one suits your needs best - Starter, Portfolio, or Premium?

Starter

Manage daily routines. Engage families. Observe learning with photos & notes.

Price: 12€ per child/year

Popular features:

• Attendance management

• Messaging with families

• Child's journal

Kindiedays Starter is a compact solution as the first step to support children's learning and engage families. Set your learning objectives, run your lesson plans, document important learning moments, and share with families. 

You can later smoothly upgrade to Kindiedays Portfolio.

Portfolio

Support and follow children's learning with online curriculums and statistics.

Price: 20€ per child/year

Popular features:

• All features of Starter included

• Child portfolios

• Learning statistics

Kindiedays Portfolio is a leading-edge pedagogical management tool for the whole learning process on par with best Finnish practices. Follow your curriculum daily, make pedagogical observations, assess children's learning, and use versatile statistics to guarantee children's holistic education and the competitiveness of your center.

Premium

Set up your preschool inspired by Finnish pedagogy, learning objectives, and lesson plans.

Price: 25€ per child/year

Popular features:

• All features of Portfolio + Starter included

• Learning objectives

• Lesson plans

Kindiedays Premium is a complete package for renewing your preschool. It enhances the Kindiedays Portfolio solution and includes a holistic set of learning objectives derived from the Finnish National Curriculum. A versatile package of lesson plans to match the learning objectives is also in there. Just add children and teachers to start your "Finnish" style preschool - an effective, yet fun way of learning!. 

Become the leader by creating your own future - click here to schedule a free online demo with our expert.

Happy Days - with Kindiedays!

• Curriculum statistics
• Attendance statistics
• Automatic portfolios
• Learning statistics based on your curriculum's learning objectives
• ...and more!

"The brain wont learn unless it feel secure." Dr. Katie Penry

That is right! No child can focus on learning if his or her mind is going circles and thinking 'what happens next?', 'where are we going now?' and so on... Here is a simple tip to calm things down and to help you with planning. It is helpful, effective, and convenient for everyone. Set routines and schedules in early childhood education. It has benefits for teachers, children, and parents too! Keep on reading.

Who uses Kindiedays?

Why love routines?

Teachers love routines. Consistent routines reduce planning time and general commotion in the kindergarten or preschool. The teacher feels that the situation is in control and he/she knows what happens next / tomorrow.

Children love routines. Consistent routines make children feel more safe, calm, and productive. Children feel excited and motivated when they know what is going to happen in the kindergarten.

Parents love routines. Consistent routines decrease stress levels, help with organizing the practical issues and give peace of mind.

So plan each day and each week at the early childhood education based on the same routine. Follow further to see concrete examples.

A digital tool like Kindiedays help you stay organized

How to make a daily schedule?

The kindergarten's or preschool's daily schedule is very important. It lays the foundation for each day! When the basic structure is well planned, the children feel happier, more relaxed, and confident of knowing what will happen next.

You have to take several issues into account when planning the daily schedule:

• What time does the kindergarten/preschool open?
• What time is breakfast/lunch/snack time?
• Is there nap time for the little ones?
• What time does the kindergarten close?

When these basic blocks and times are clear to you, it is pretty easy to build the structure of the daily schedule. Customize the schedule according to your routines.

Here is an example of a daily schedule according to a Finnish kindergarten:

Daily schedule

7:00 Good morning and welcome! Kindergarten opens

7:30-8:30 Breakfast

8:30-10:00 Outdoor playtime

10:15-10:30 Circle time

10:30-11:00 Playtime and activity time

11:15-12:00 Lunchtime

12:00-14:00 Nap time / Storytime and Free play

14:30 Snack time

15:00-17:00 Outdoor playtime

17:00 Bye-bye, see you! Kindergarten closes

Make a visible timetable on the wall, so that the teachers and parents, can see it. After the schedule is visible, everyone knows what happens and when. Nobody needs to fuss. The daily schedule is helpful for the parents as they try to understand their child's day. The same is true for any new staff member.

How to make an effective, yet convenient weekly plan for early childhood education?