Inspired by the kindergartners!

The children were interested in nature and began digging in the courtyard, looking into the crevices of the rock wall, and eventually taking rocks from the wall.  The teachers were inspired by their curiosity and decided to give them the freedom to explore nature in our side yard.  We told them they could collect any object that they found.  The kindergartners were to place their found object on the picnic table for others to observe.  They were so eager and excited to dig, look, touch, and talk about their objects.  We captured their excitement through photos and documented their thoughts on the subject.  This philosophy is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to working with children.  We wanted to share their enthusiasm with you.

"I found bark."

Hudson and Andrew collecting rocks.

Ian and Chloe finding "wings".

The boys on the hunt!

Daniel is all smiles for his found rocks!

Emma and Adina needed two hands for these heavy rocks.

Ian is excited to show off his dirt covered rock.

Ethan and Sammy show off a stick with dead leaves still attached.

"A roly poly bug."  A unique treasure!

Haley found silver!

Kennedy is showing off how strong she is, holding the rock with only 2 fingers.
She noticed that the rock is dry and wet at the same time.

Andrew is placing his rock collection on the provocation table.

Zachary and Andrew talking rocks!!

"Look what I found!!"

Sophie found some dried flowers! A true treasure!

Chloe and Emma also found dried flowers.

Chloe is all smiles with her smooth rock.

Taking a closer look. 

All gathered around the provocation table for a group discussion. The provocation table is a child-sized table that either teachers or students can put items on to inspire or provoke interest.  This table is so important to young children as it incites collaboration as the items placed on it are a group's effort.  As you can see from the dialogue below, the children are engaged in their own learning.  The photographs show the kindergartners vested interest in their learning process. The responses show their creativity as they imagine what they could do with the found objects.

Mrs. Koteles: "Friends, we did such a nice job collecting.  What could we do with all these items we found?"

Brody: "We could make different kinds of insects with them."

Brando: "We could make a fairy house."

Emma: "I think we can make a brick house."

Chloe: "I think we can make a bug house."

Pranav: "I think we can do a project."

Kennedy: "I think we could make a beautiful castle house for the fairies."

Zach: "We could make an inside forest."

Humphrey: "We could make the biggest fairy house in the whole world."

Hudson: "We could put these on a shelf for everyone in the world to see it."

Daniel: "We could make a pyramid."

Zachary: "We could make a tower with it."

Mrs. Koteles: "I love all of your ideas."

Mrs. Fiore: "I had this idea, we were talking about: First, Then, and Finally.  We could do a storyboard writing with our found objects.  How many of you like to draw? Raise your hand if you love to draw.  Maybe we could draw our found objects in nature."

All kindergartners documented their experience during writing workshop.  They created a storyboard with the three elements of story telling. The children were the characters.  The side yard was the setting for their stories. The important information was written in the sequence of first, then, and finally.

If you would like to read more about the Reggio Emilia approach click the link below.

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Reggio_Emilia/


We hope you enjoyed viewing this, till next time...