Planting and Growing Inquiry

A few weeks ago I used two avocado seeds as part of a provocation table.  Ms. Marrella and I purposely didn't tell our students what these seeds were, as we wanted them to wonder about what the seeds could be.  

Not knowing what they were looking at, our students predicted the seeds to be eggs and some sort of nut.  They made connections to past learning we did about 3-D shapes and identified the seeds as being in the shape of a sphere.  One imaginative student explained that the seeds were round houses where a princess was growing inside.  

Ms. Marrella and I created a scrapbook for the students titled, "Look What We Are Exploring", and placed pictures, student observations, predictions and drawings about the avocado seeds in it.  Our intention was to honour student learning and encourage further exploration.  Though the book was on display for students to peruse through, we made it a point to share the book with our students daily and highlight any new pages that we added about their learning.    

Because our students showed such curiosity for the avocado seeds, Ms. Marrella and I decided to invite our students to explore seeds and plant growth though an inquiry.  

After exploring a variety of seeds, and noticing that they were all different shapes, sizes and colours, our students wondered how long it would take each seed to grow, and how they would look during the growing process.  Our students wondered if all plants grew in the same way. Our students were also curious about what makes a seed a seed.   

After labeling jars, our students planted... grass seeds, jewels, rocks, beans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and Lima beans.  

After we planted all our seeds, we created a Growth Chart to keep track of the length of time it would take each seed to grow.  

We created a diagram and labeled it to show what a seed needs to grow.  

Finally, Ms. Marrella and I decided to add a bin of soil for students to explore as a sensory activity.

Our Planting and Growing Inquiry has just begun.  We can't wait for next week to share with you our new discoveries!   

Provocation Tables

Play nourishes every aspect of children’s development – it forms the foundation of intellectual, social, physical, and emotional skills necessary for success in school and in life. Play “paves the way for learning.”

Canadian Council on Learning (Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre),

“Let the Children Play: nature’s Answer to Early Learning”, Lessons in Learning (Ottawa: CCL, 2006), p.2.

A few weeks ago, Ms. Marrella and I decided to create some provocation tables for the students in our class to explore and play with.

We are currently participating in a workshop series called, Creating Intentional Spaces, and have been asked to experiment with, and reflect on provocation tables that we create in our classrooms.  We received a great article written by Deb Curtis titled, Creating Invitations for Learning. The article outlines for readers the principles for designing invitation tables (provocation tables), and strategies for collecting, arranging, and displaying materials in a meaningful and purposeful way for students the explore.   Below is a short excerpt from the article that explains how students use and benefit from provocation tables. 

"In my work as a preschool teacher I have found that offering information about things that children have limited experiences with, or posing a series of questions to try to encourage their thinking doesn't seem to get much of a lively or sustained response.  But when I carefully arrange props and representational materials in the environment with a particular focus in mind, the children are delighted to discover and play with them, eagerly share their ideas and theories, and seek more information." 

Below are the provocation tables Ms. Marrella and I  created over the past few weeks.  Each table was created with intention (e.g., to strengthen fine motor development, build on math skills, etc.), however the students were invited to explore and play at the tables as they wished.  Ms. Marrella and I observed the way students used or didn't use the materials, and made changes as needed.  

The Water Table      

The original intention of this table was for students to experiment with mass and capacity.  Through observation, Ms. Marrella and I noticed that though some students experimented with mass and capacity through the materials we provided, other students explored and enjoyed the sensory stimulation of the water and jars.  Ms. Marrella and I responded to this by adding soap to make the water bubble.  The soap created even more interest for students at this table.  We started to observe students using their imagination and pretend they were washing dishes at a restaurant.  After some reflection, we decided to add some sponges, pates, cups and a drying rack for the students to play with. 

The Light Table   

The idea for this came from an AQ course I am currently taking.  We filled some vases with water, and invited students to experiment with food colouring.  Our original intention for this table was for students to experiment with colour and express a response to the visual art forms the food colour created in the water.  Our students were very intrigued by how the food colour moved and mixed in the water.  Ms. Marrella and I didn't expect to observe students responding to filling up and emptying out the water from the vases.  They were intrigued by how the water gushed out of the vases so fast.  The students also experimented with putting food colour into empty vases, and then observing what happens when they slowly or quickly add water. 

The Rice Table 

Our intention for this table was for students to explore letter names and sounds.  We noticed that students weren't interested in this activity.  We wondered if the basket that held the letters appeared too overwhelming for the students to experiment with.  Ms. Marrella and I decided to reduce the number of letters available for students to play with, in addition to placing the letters in a bin of coloured rice.  We also thought the students might be interested in colouring the rice as a way for them to help reconstruct this learning centre.  The changes we made did the trick!  Our students enjoy finding and identifying the letters names and sounds in the rice, and felt that they had a hand in creating this learning table. 

The Sand Table

This table gave students a chance to explore 3-D figures and create a variety of structures.  Next week, Ms. Marrella and I will be adding 2-D shapes to this table for students to compare and play with. 

Play Clay

Students strengthened and developed their fine motor skills by using play clay to create animals and characters.  Ms. Marrella and I changed the theme of the table and added pasta to keep student interest high.  

Signs of Spring

This past week, the kindergarten students explored the neighbourhood around our school searching for the signs of Spring.  

Using Twitter, we connected with @RangerRidley under the hashtag #KindergartenBioBlitz. Ranger Ridley is currently the coordinator for the Peel District School Board's Outdoor Education Sites for Environmental and Character Education Programs.  #KindergartenBioBlitz are week long events encouraging students and teachers to explore the outdoors.  The focus of #KindergartenBioBlitz during the week of February 17 to 21 was for students to look for examples of the season changing. 

Twitter page of @RangerRidley

It had just finished snowing quite a bit when we set out for our first walk in search of the season changing.  We weren't really sure if we would find any evidence of Spring.  Sure enough, our students did find some signs of Spring, and they also had some questions for Ranger Ridley.  

Question #1: @RangerRidley #KindergartenBioBlitz
Why is it cold and snowing if the sun is out today?

Response: @ElissaIagallo Hi! Good Q! The sun is out -
but not as long as we aren't getting the power of
the sun either... but it's getting warmer!

Question #2: @RangerRidley #KindergartenBioBlitz
We saw lots of nests, but no birds today. Where are all the birds?

Response: @ElissaIagallo Keep those eyes open - they are there!
I'm setting up the sugar bush & have seen lots - maybe more in the forest today?

Question #3: @RangerRidley #KindergartenBioBlitz
Why do pinecone trees have "leaves" and the other trees don't?

Response: @ElissaIagallo Evergreen trees lose their needles too -
just not all at once... great place for wildlife in winter to stay warm & hide.

The students were excited that Ranger Ridley replied to their outdoor wonders.  Many of the students in our class are not familiar with Twitter.  Being able to send and receive messages that students were interested in, helped students better understand and connect with this social media tool.  

What was so great about Ranger Ridley's responses was that he answered questions with questions!  This gave us the opportunity to have class discussions and further investigate the outdoors.  

For example, some students were curious about which animals stayed warm and hide in the evergreen trees during the winter months.  They made a list of guesses, and then we formed a question to ask Ranger Ridley. "@Ranger Ridley #KindergartenBioBlitz Who stays warm in the evergreen trees during the winter? We guessed birds, chipmunks, bunnies & wolves."  Ranger Ridley responded to us by saying "@ElissaIagallo All correct! Deer "yard" there as snow is not as deep. Chickaddes hide there for warmth as do squirrels #KindergartenBioBlitz"

Our Response to Question #2: "#KindergartenBioBlitz Hey @Ranger Ridley
we kept our eyes open & found lots of birds this afternoon, and a squirrel!"

Ranger Ridley Responded: "@ElissaIagallo Grey squirrels -
down south all are grey, up north all black - in our area few of each.
Black fur keeps them warm where colder?"

Our Response to Question #1: "@RangerRidley #KindergartenBioBlitz
Lots of puddles today! Does this mean the power of the sun is getting stronger?"

Ranger Ridley Responded: "@ElissaIagallo Good point! Where are puddles
forming the most? ie dark road or the lighter sidewalk?
Any ideas why? #KindergartenBioBlitz"

This coming week the kindergarten students will be busy investigating Ranger Ridley's responses and questions.  

Ms. Marrella and I both agreed that this has been a great experience for our students. #KindergartenBioBlitz encourages outdoor environmental education with a 21st Century twist to it.  Being able to actually connect and dialogue with someone like Ranger Ridley through twitter provides students with motivation to further explore, while creating a bond and relationship with a naturalist.      

Our kindergarten students reflected on their first
week communicating with Ranger Ridley through #KindergartenBioBlitz 

Constructing A Car Ramp

Our students have spent some time investigating how cars fly.  They have watched videos of Monster Truck races and jumps, and used snow and their classroom toys to construct ramps to fly cars from.  

These were some of the materials students were
invited to use to construct their ramps.

Ms. Marrella and I divided our students into small groups.  We asked them to work together to construct a ramp that would allow a toy car to fly.  They were invited to choose and use a variety of materials. 

First, students in their groups worked together to design their ramps.  Then they presented their designs to the class.

"We're going to put some egg cartons and
boxes together.  Then we're going to
put a water bottle on the ramp."
Presentation by: E. L.

"We put a bottle. We put a box beside the
bottle. Put a car on top of the cardboard."
Presentation by: J. P.

"It's a trampoline. You put a car on top to
make it jump." Presentation by: S. E.

"Cut a piece of wood, put a ramp on top
and put a car on top."
Presentation by: M. R.

"This is the water bottle. This is the
egg carton. The ramp is made of iron."
Presentation by: N. C.

After their presentations, each group selected materials and began constructing their ramps.  Students were challenged to design a functioning ramp.  This required students to test their ramps with a toy car.  Some groups learned that they needed to reinforce the base of their ramps in order to avoid collapsing. 

Each group presented their ramp construction to the class. 

"We put bottles on cardboard, glue and tape.
Then it (the cars) will jump on the trampoline (bottles)."
Presentation by: A. M.

"We used cardboard, tape and cartons.
We taped a long board and a tiny one together."
Presentation by: G. V.

"We used cardboard, paper and quilts and tape.
The bottle helps it (car) start. The egg carton
(under the ramp) helps it stand" Presentation by: A. V.

"We used cardboard, tape and BINGO dabbers
and a bottle.  The bottle helps it (car) slide."
Presentation by: K. V.

"We put a bell. It goes 'Ding, ding, ding' so
it (car) knows where to go." Presentation by: M. C.

Reflecting Thoughts

Ms. Marrella and I wanted our students to use this opportunity to work together and solve a variety of problems that may arise.  For example, one group accidentally spilled a whole bottle of glue.  Though it was much harder for me, Ms. Marrella and I waited for the students to notice and figure out how to clean it up.  We also noticed that most groups experienced difficulty cutting pieces of tape until one group solved this problem by using scissors.  In another group, the ramp fell flat when they did their test run.  This problem was solved by using egg cartons to strengthen the ramp. 

In addition to problem solving, Ms. Marrella and I also wanted our students to experience team work.  In one group, a student motivated his team by chanting, "Lets go team! We can do it!"  We were really proud to see our students cheer the other teams in genuine excitement when they presented their ramps to the class.

As a wrap up to this activity, Ms. Marrella and I asked our students to think about their experiences. They were invited to share their thoughts.  Here is what they said...

M. B. "It was so much fun!"

G. V. "You have to build it high so it can jump high and hit the trees."

M. C. "You have to work together just like a team."

M. R. "There has to be an elevator for the car to get to the top."

J. P.  "It's important to make it strong so it (car) can go fast!"

S. E. "We have to share so no one is sad."

A. M. "I like my team."