Tools of the Mind
The Tools of the Mind curriculum is an early learning program OELC implemented in 2008 through a grant to the Olympia School District from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Tools of the Mind teaching method focuses on self-regulation and relies on structured and directed play to help students learn problem solving and cognitive control - in short: how to think.
The classrooms go on field trips to obtain real life experiences in the community and then role play based on their field trip experiences. The children create daily play plans for the areas they are going to be role playing in during choice time. These play plans have a spot for the children to draw pictures of what they are going to do and then they have a sentence explaining what they are doing. The sentence at the bottom of the play plan is the beginning exposure to sentence structure and word recognition. Throughout the week, children also answer mystery questions, shapes, words, and rhymes. The children play many other games that help them to learn music, mathematics, early literacy, and cooperative play in groups.
This New York Times Magazine article gives a more in depth explanation of how Tools of the Mind works and the research results supporting the program.