THE PIRATES OF PONDERING
Early Childhood Programme (Grades PK-2)
Did you know that ongoing exposure to trauma can have a lasting negative effect on the developing brain and children’s learning in school?
By developing Flexible Mindsets, The Pirates of Pondering early childhood programme will help you equip young learners with the foundational tools they need to face uncertainty and adversity with resilience and adaptability.
Through storytime and imaginary play, Pirates builds children’s awareness of executive function processes and provides mindset messages that promote flexibility and resilience.
Did you know that teaching executive functions can lessen the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and that executive functioning in early children strongly predicts academic outcomes?
Our early childhood programme is built around 8 children’s stories that follow the adventures of The Pirates of Pondering, 6 characters who embark on a quest to find a mysterious treasure. Along the way, children learn about the brain and key executive function processes such as goal-setting, planning and self-monitoring. They also learn the value of mistakes and how to respond to obstacles by persevering and thinking flexibly. See below for links to purchase the stories.
The stories are accompanied by an Educators’ Navigational Guide that includes activities, ideas for structured imaginary play, posters and parent handouts for each unit. See below for a link to purchase the Guide.
Does it surprise you that preschoolers can generate multiple solutions during problem-solving, especially within the context of imaginary play?
Our outcome evaluation studies provide clear evidence that The Pirates of Pondering early childhood programme is highly effective, with benefits that include:
1. Increased student engagement in generating multiple solutions to complex problems during imaginary play;
2. Shifting the mindsets of teachers to become more comfortable applying Flexible Mindsets competencies; and
3. Family involvement in reading The Pirates of Pondering stories, playing recommended games at home and observing an increase in their children asking questions and using their imaginations.
We hope you connect with our shared passion for creating trusting relationships where children feel safe to ask questions, make mistakes and take risks for learning. Make today an early milestone in your students’ journeys along the pathway of self-directed learning.
FLEXIBLE MINDSETS CHILDREN STORIES
A series of 8 stories for 3 -7 year old children written to develop early thinking skills and concepts that promote Flexible Mindsets.
THE ADVENTURES OF THE PIRATES OF PONDERING
(BIG BOOK INCLUDING ALL 8 STORIES)
Our early childhood programme is built around 8 children’s stories that follow the adventures of The Pirates of Pondering, 6 characters who embark on a quest to find a mysterious treasure. Along the way, children learn about the brain and key executive function processes such as goal-setting, planning and self-monitoring. They also learn the value of mistakes and how to respond to obstacles by persevering and thinking flexibly.
The Pirate Navigational Guide
The Pirate Navigational Guide is a companion to the 8 stories and contains materials to inform the ways that professionals use the Flexible Mindsets principles. This is followed by 8 units designed to be used in sequential order. Each unit contains:
- A 1-page overview
- The learning objectives
- A walk through for using the children’s storybook
- Ideas for arts and crafts
- Tips for structuring imaginary play & the Productive Puzzling Imaginary Play Scale (PPIPS)
- A reflection sheet to help you think about Flexible Mindsets practices in your classroom
- A parent handout (if storybooks are available to families)
- A visual of each character that can be enlarged & used as a poster in the classroom
