Bats have fur, birds have feathers! Using a Venn Diagram to support our learning!

As we continue to explore and investigate how bats and birds are different, I thought this might be a great opportunity to introduce the Venn Diagram to students and demonstrate how it might help us with our comparison. 

With the support of natural artifacts such as nests and feathers, as well as various fiction and non-fiction books about birds and bats, students independently deciphered important facts and information to add to the Venn Diagram. 

Wonderful story comparing bats and birds.

Students seemed to enjoy using the Venn Diagram to document their learning about bats and birds using drawings, adding labels, and writing descriptions.  

"Bats hang upside down." J. S.

"Bats are nocturnal." W. E.

"Bats hibernate in the winter." E. E.

"Bats have fur." P. I.

"Birds have feathers." C. C.

"Birds have beaks." L. B.

"Birds make nests." O. S.

When I introduced the diagram to students, I asked them what information we would place where the two circles intercept? Right away students mentioned that we would put things that bats and birds have that are the same.

"Bats and birds have wings." Z. G.

"Bats and birds fly." O. S.

Our Venn Diagram continues to be a working document. Students are adding to it daily as we discover new information about bats and birds.

From lines to letters...the co-construction of our Alphabet Wall!

As a way to engage the students at the beginning of the year, I set up a provocation (invitation to learning) on exploring lines. I felt this was a safe and motivating topic that would support students at varying abilities to feel confident in expressing themselves creatively. Keeping in mind the many ways that children learn (Hundred Languages of Children), I placed plasticine, crayons and paper, as well as wire (large twist ties), to allow for exploration using various channels.   

Simultaneously, we also read some wonderful books about lines to further enhance student learning!

While observing the students, I noticed them rolling the plasticine into a ball, then using their palm, they would press and flatten the ball, and start rolling it up and down their hand using the table to give it a worm like appearance. Then they would shape it to their desired line. The students who used the twist ties loved creating swirls and zigzags which they related to looking like lightening (E. E.) or the first letter in Z. G.'s name. The lines drawn on paper were of multiple colours and shapes! As students worked, it was interesting to listen to them identify the lines they were creating by name. 

"I made a curved line! P. I. 

"Look Mrs. Ralph, it looks like the hermit crab shell! It's a swirl!" W.E.

Their new knowledge about lines was also evident in their drawings. They seemed to start noticing lines everywhere, in picture books, as well as objects in class and outside. 

Now that they were comfortable and confident in identifying various lines, I felt this was a great time to read the book, "Harold's ABC", hoping this would challenge them further to notice lines in letters.

I then added Harlold's ABC book and an alphabet card to the line exploration table to see what would happen. 

A few students rushed over and started creating the first letter in their name. Others chose letters they thought they could manage replicating with the plasticine. I also invited other students to give it a try. It was lovely to see the positive relationships forming, where some students started assisting others who were a bit more hesitant. I took pictures of all the letters created, showing the students what had been done and what letters we could still make. 

The article "Letting go of 'letter of the week'" by Bell and Jarvis (2002) discusses the importance of making all letters of the alphabet accessible authentically rather than introducing isolated letters and sounds sequentially.

-Make It Meaningful! Emergent Literacy in the Kindergarten Years By Laura Logaridis, Katie Tranter , and Leslie Siegrist. The Early Childhood Educator Summer 2012

Providing students with meaningful authentic experiences, enables them to connect with their learning in a positive way and allows them to put things in a context that is personal to them. In the end, we created all the letters of the alphabet! They loved seeing the pictures of each letter, and were excited every time they saw the letter each created! 

During a discussion with students I asked them, "what can you do if you forget what a letter looks or sounds like?" A few suggested to get the alphabet card, letter ring, or ask a friend or teacher. Then I showed them the pictures of our plasticine letters. "What can we do with these?"

"We can put them on the wall!" O. S.

Many were in agreement with this idea. I then asked them which wall they wanted to place their alphabet letters? We decided that a survey would be the best way to figure this out.

I handed the pictures of the letters to a few students and asked them to figure out how we could display them on our wall. 

I observed and listened to them reason with each other and was surprised at how great they worked as a team. They supported each other when they couldn't find a letter, and started singing the alphabet song when they got stuck on what letter came next. When they mixed up some letters, one student ran and grabbed the alphabet card and together the group looked it over and found their error. It was amazing to watch. When they were done, they laid out the entire alphabet for the class to see. We all sang the alphabet song again and agreed it looked great! Up on the wall it went in the Reading Area where they felt everyone could see it the best.

It is important that students are given the opportunity to engage in and design their classroom environment. This process supports their learning by giving meaningful experiences for them to connect to. 

According to Partricia Tarr, "Not only might children be involved with selecting work that goes on display, they also can be part of the process of creating the display."

Tarr, P. 2004. Consider the Walls. Beyond the Journal

    

Batty for Bats!

The Discovery Area is a space that encourages children to ask scientific questions about the world around them. It is these wonder questions that enable children to develop theories and come to conclusions based on their own explorations and investigations. On the first day of school, I placed a provocation (intentional placing of materials without showing/telling children how to engage in order to allow for self directed exploration) about birds which included nests, feathers, and books hoping it would act as a motivator and entice them to ask questions, eventually leading to further investigations about birds. 

After a few days, only a few students explored the materials. Though they seemed engaged, I didn't notice a strong motivation from those children in wanting to investigate their wonders further. But this is the beauty of emergent curriculum, which is following the children's interests authentically, where they take ownership of their learning. 

During a group discussion a strong spark ignited! I wanted to get a sense from the children if they were at all interested in learning about birds or if we needed to find new discoveries. So I asked them if they had any wonder questions about birds that they wanted to explore? That's when our discussion became very interesting. 

M. O. responded with the fact, "Birds have wings and feathers."

"what about bats? They have wings and fly?" F. D.

"I think bats have black skin." M. O.

"Because they're (bats) black, they live in caves because caves are black!" D. C.

"The claws make the bats have grips to go upside down." 

S. C.

"Bats sleep upside down, that's why they have claws. Bats like to sleep upside down." W. E.

"How do you know this W?" Mrs. Ralph

"I thinked about it in my mind." W. E.

"Bats hang upside down because they need a rest." E. E.

"They hang in a cave. My mom told me." O. M.

"I think bats live in Gotham City because Batman has the word bat in his name." W. E.

"I watched a bat movie and it was scary because it was a lot of caves and it was 3-D and it felt like I was in it." P. I.

"Why were you scared? Mrs. Ralph

"Because it was dark and the bats were handing upside down." P. I.

"I saw a real bat once at my cousin's house. It had fur and it was eating fruit." L. B.

"When did you see it?" Mrs. Ralph

"It was in the night time." L. B.

The children had so many things to say about bats and they were so excited and passionate about their knowledge. Bats are different than birds. The big idea that was evident in their discussion.  

Creating bats out of plasticine. 

Using post it notes to mark important facts about bats! 

Drawing our bat! 

Telling me about what vampire bats eat!

Watching a National Geographic short video about bats!

Creating our Bat and Bird Wonders chart. 

I cannot say right now where the bat interest will lead, or if it will become an inquiry. It may be that we bounce back to birds or end up investigating many aspects of both, depending on the interest group of students that form.

I wonder where this will lead us? Stay tuned!

A new classroom of possibilities!

The Environment As Third Teacher...

There are three teachers of children; adults, other children, and their physical environment.

Loris Malaguzzi

Quite some time has been spent on planning and reflecting in regards to the setup of our new space. It's more than just decorating! Many factors played a part in creating an environment for children that acts as the third teacher. 

You may be wondering what I mean by "the environment acting as the third teacher"? According to Margie Carter, "we must ask ourselves what values we want to communicate through our environments and how we want children to experience their time in our programs. What does this environment “teach” those who are in it? How is it shaping the identity of those who spend long days there?"   

Carter, M. 2007. Making Your Environment “The Third Teacher”. Exchange Magazine

This is where the reflecting piece came in for me. The following are a few factors that I felt were important to the design and setup of our classroom environment: 

1. Flow in the room (allowing children to move freely between exploration areas, allowing for clear paths)

2. Accessibility of materials (supporting independence, being self-sufficient, seeing themselves as capable learners) 

3. Connecting home and classroom environment (creating softness, a safe home like feeling)

4. Starting with bare walls, and being open to co-constructing the space with the children 

5. Engagement through the natural world, (connecting children with nature by using natural artifacts and taking part in experiences outdoors)

6. Creating an environment that fosters wonder, exploration, and curiosity (being intentional with the materials that are placed out for the children to interact with and explore) 

7. Creating an environment that fosters respect for the materials used and for each other 

Without further ado, here are a few photos of our new classroom environment! But please note, it may change frequently based on the suggestions and needs of our students!

“In order to act as an educator for the child, the environment has to be flexible: it must undergo frequent modification by the children and the teachers in order to remain up-to-date and responsive to their needs to be protagonists in constructing their knowledge.”

Gandini, L. 1998. “Education and Caring Spaces” in Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. The Hundred Languages of Children. 

Sand Area 

Light Table Area (various materials intentionally placed to explore light)

Writing Area 

Paint Area - part of Arts Studio (allowing for curiosity and exploration using different sized brushes and painting tools. Clear containers to explore creating different colours)

Arts Studio (Mirror for sketching flowers etc. adding another dimension)

Line Provocation (exploring lines using different mediums, e.g., plasticine, crayons and paper, and wire) 

 Loose Parts (recycled and natural materials for creating)

Construction (big blocks, recycled large cardboard tubes, tree slabs) 

Wonder Window (binoculars! I wonder what we'll see this year!) 

Playdough Provocation (What can you create? Using corks, buttons, pebbles, shells, beads) 

Discovery Area  

Math Area (intentional materials placed, e.g. dice, dominoes, wooden numbers)

Reading/Quiet Area 

Closer look at our Arts Studio (shelving unit to the left contains various recycled materials for creating!)

"When teachers and parents find themselves in environments that are beautiful, soothing, full of wonder and discovery, they feel intrigued, respected, and eager to spend their days living and learning in this place. Aren’t these the very feelings we want the children to have?"

Carter, M. 2007. Making Your Environment “The Third Teacher”. Exchange Magazine

We are so excited to begin a new journey with you! See you soon!

Play Is Learning

This summer I was fortunate enough to attend the week long Reggio Summer (What is the Reggio Emilia approach?) Intensive course hosted by Rosalba Bortolotti of Acorn School, and facilitated by Louise Jupp and Diane Kashin, along with some very inspiring educators. What made this experience so unique for me, was getting the chance to play (explore, investigate, mess about) with a variety of natural and loose materials.

When children are fully engaged in their play, their activity and learning is integrated across developmental domains. They seek out challenges that can be accomplished ... Through play, children learn trust, empathy, and social skills.

Pascal, Every Child, pp. 8-9

 Creative expressions using natural materials found during outdoor exploration walk

Exploring and investigating light, on the light table and overhead projector using various materials 

Creative expressions with sand, mirrors, and natural materials

As teachers, we often observe, listen, and pay close attention to the interactions that children have with each other, as well as with the materials they are using. But to actually start manipulating the materials, and allowing oneself to explore, investigate, and mess about (Messing About) through play as children do, is very powerful. For myself, faced with so many open ended materials, I felt a bit overwhelmed, I wasn't sure where to start, or even what I wanted to do? During my thinking, I started touching and handling some of the materials, and then the creativity and ideas came out. Allowing choice, time, and offering multi-sensory experiences, creates powerful learning! This experience with play, allowed me to reflect on the type of learner I am. It also gave me more insight in understanding my students better in order to be able to support and extend their learning further.

One of the pivotal moments for me during the course, was when we had the opportunity to attend the Seneca College Newnham Campus Lab School and mess about at the Exhibit Tour - Cultivate the Scientist in Every Child: The Philosophy of David and Frances Hawkins. 

  A few of the open ended materials at the Hawkins exhibit

Our task was to collaborate and use any materials we desired to create a marble run. At first I was a bit disappointed. I didn't want to play, I wanted to observe children using the materials, to be given information etc. But I was enlightened by this experience yet again. There were a lot of open ended materials but working in collaboration changed the way I approached this learning invitation. I didn't feel as overwhelmed since my partners and I discussed and verbally outlined a plan of what we wanted to construct. We were also invited to draw our design to help us plan, but similarly to some of my students, I realized it's very difficult for some learners to draw something if they can't see it, or did not have time to first explore, investigate, and experiment with the materials to see how they work. 

Building the marble run was slow going at first. We decided we wanted the marble to travel from a high point, but we didn't quite know how to make that happen? We tried various tubes, boxes, even a tree stump, placing a tube horizontally on it. But through various investigations, we realized we needed to stabilize the tube to keep it from rolling off the log. Once we accomplished that, one of the group members wanted to try and make the marble travel from an even higher place. So now we were faced with finding another base, and another tub that would connect to the tube we already had on the stump. Once we figured that out through some trial and error, we decided to test out our structure and see how well the marble traveled from the top of our design. With each test trial our motivation grew to making the needed angle changes and lining up the tubes in order for our marble to connect and travel down the second tub down to the ground. I was so excited I was becoming really loud and jumping up and down a lot. Once we had success with that part of the marble run, we needed to figure out where we wanted our marble to go? So after some discussions, we decided to wanted to create an angle for the marble to travel around then to land in a small basket. We searched for various angled objects, and found two angled block pieces. We placed them together then tested again. There were many test trials. We realized we needed to make our angle softer so that the marble wouldn't travel so fast out of the tube and not make it around the angled blocks. But finally when we tested our design and it worked, we were so happy we finally got it to work! Here we were, grown adults hysterical over the success of a marble falling into a basket! 

Marble run creation using open ended materials

But let me tell you how great it felt to see something work as you envisioned after many failures. This to me was an everlasting experience. I can understand so much more the importance of purposeful play and its ability to connect experiences to learning. 

“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

Below is a short video of our marble run success taken by Laurel Fynes (this kindergarten life).

Te beautiful design with @inostribimbi @anamariaralph @eyaw3 https://t.co/YARVqRiTTN
— kids connect (@KinderFynes) August 12, 2014