In her blog article, Some Benefits of Multiage, or Mixed Age Learning Environments, Lilian Katz writes about some of the benefits of Multiage Groupings.  She writes, "In classrooms where the Project Approach is implemented, multiage grouping has benefits for the older children, who get genuine opportunities to lead, and even to teach, younger ones how to deal with various challenges that come up during extended project investigations. The older ones encounter occasions to modify how they explain something to the younger ones and how to write things down for them, and perhaps read a book to them." 

She goes on to write about the intellectual benefits for younger children, which include, "opportunities to learn from older ones how to solve a wide range of practical and academic problems. Younger children have frequent occasions to observe older ones when they are drawing during a field trip and constructing representations of what they had observed when they return. Younger children can also observe how older ones pose questions to visiting experts who come to the group to share expertise."

Discover how Infant & Toddler, and Preschool & Kindergarten Mixed Age Learning Environments work at Small Blessings by listening to what our families have to say: