Exploring Elements of a Play

The children have been so enthusiastic about making plans for our play and recognizing the idea of a play being a process and not immediate.  New ideas about things to incorporate into our project keep emerging through the ideas of the children.

One inquiry group has been working on thinking about the characters in the play and sketching them thinking about 2D shapes and writing as they create.  There is lots of descriptive language happening as the children think about the character's traits and how they fit into the story.  Here are a selection of some of the characters being explored.

The other group took an interest in the stage and set.  We went for a "field trip" to explore the stage and the wings of the stage.  The children observed and sketched carefully and incorporated various 2D shapes into their work as they designed a set.  An interest around the stage lights emerged and we played a game as we raised and dimmed the lights.

Many children were paying careful attention to details in the costumes of the characters they were sketching.  We decided to bring in a variety of fabric (lace, broadcloth, satin, organza, etc.) to talk about the various fabrics and make decisions about which ones to use in our costume sketches.  Some children even chose to use tinfoil to create knights!  There was a great deal of thinking about 2D shapes as they explored.

Recently, our children saw another class borrowing our straws and connectors that were being stored in our closet.  They asked to explore them and we were amazed by the construction that began to happen.  The children began to develop a very rich sense of what a cube was and it's properties.

Below is a transcribed observation session of some children working on the cubes on a later day.  In the classroom, we use photos captured, quotes recorded, and ideas that emerge to move our programming forward and to make our learning visible to guests who visit our room.  The math thinking and the rich oral language within the quotes below are incredible:

On the third day of exploring cubes through coloured straws, the group built on their structure.  

"JR!  Save my cube!" - ET (as he left to hang up his things)

"This is gonna be hamster world, right HSC?  My hamster is going right on the edge.  And you can't fall into the water, Mister!" - IRB

"HSC- can you make my square?" - ET

"Me and Hailey are the fixers." - JR

"I'm the builder!" - IRB

"I"m the stabilizer!" - JM

"I'm the cube maker!" - ET

"I'm the cube maker, too!" - LW

"ET, can I use this (points to a cube) to stabilize it?"- JR

"The building is shaking!" - JR

"Can someone hand me 4 straws?  Is that 4? (Counts) 1, 2, 3,4!" -IRB

"Guys!!  We're almost touching the roof!" -JR

"Whoa....!" - Whole group

"Maybe that's the problem that's making it falling." - ET

"What was the problem?" -Miss H

"That the parts at the bottom were broken."-ET

"So you've discovered stability at the bottom is important?"-Miss H

"Ya!" -ET

"Put that cube on top of the green one.  That looks like the hamster's garage!" - JM

The tower grows higher and is almost at the ceiling.  The children begin to chant:

"One more to go!!" 

The children gave instructions and directions to Miss Heffernan as she placed cubes at the top.  When the last cube was on, Josh said:

"Look!  It's taller than Mr.F!" - JM

"How could we find out?" - Miss H

"Ask Mr. F to come over!" - JM

ET and JM dash across the hallway to invite Mr. Farnworth in.  They direct him to stand beside the structure.

"It's taller!" - JM

"How do you know?" - Miss H

"You're not at the very top cube.  It's taller than him!"-ET

Mrs. Diljee and I hypothesized that if we were explicit and intentional about teaching the names of 3D shapes in small groups, that we should begin to hear that vocabulary regularly in play.  Even though we were pretty certain it would happen, we still continue to be astounded by the math languages and connections children are making.  Because the kindergarten curriculum states that learning happen "in various contexts" and "in meaningful ways", we are thrilled that children are connected their play to the curriculum.

Here is a collage of photos from earlier this month.  They were so beautiful that we couldn't resist posting them a little late!

As the outdoor environment changes, interests often emerge.  There was lots of discussion about ice that was brought into the classroom by a few children.  I've posted the quotes we gathered below to support our photos:

Some children brought ice off of the yard and began to explore it's properties.

"We're gonna let it melt all day!" - LO
"We're gonna get a tiny bit of water to add!  Get more water!  It's starting to melt!"-JR

"We're just touching the ice.  It's soft."-AS
"Let's read a book on it!"-TM
"Let's read the book and write it down!"-AS

"The ice is making the water colder."-BR
"I can stick my finger in it!"-MD
"Really coldy!"-IS (She then began to break the ice into pieces and investigate that there was more)

LO excitedly held a small piece of ice.
"It melted!"-LO
"Why?"-Ms. Gingrich
"Because it's not cold inside."-LO

Mid-November Investigations

It is so important to Mrs. Diljee and I to share our daily excitement with classroom happenings with families and we are thrilled that so many of you are visiting the blog.  We hope that the photos allow you to have rich conversations with your children about what they've been engaging in at school.  "Tell me about this" is a wonderful prompt while looking at a photo with your child.

The weather has gotten colder and we continue to meet outside first thing in the morning.  It's been exciting to see the new adventures that children are having with the snow and the creativity that they are using now that our play structures are closed for the winter.  Below is a collage from some of our outdoor play time.  We notice environmental investigations, dramatic play, social development through games, and much more!  We were particularly intrigued by a group of children using branches and logs to create the rooms of a home and calling other children over to give them tours!

A new interest has begun to emerge during our inquiry project time.  A small group of children were interested in the notion of putting on a play.  Other children began to become curious and we realized that it was a rich project for us to begin.  We're taking our cues from the children in that they have brainstormed a list of things to think about (set, costumes, stage, props, story, characters, etc.).  We have begun with two groups:  one group is doing some shared writing about characters and the storyline of the play.  The other has begun researching castles after a trip to the library so that we are able to work on the set.  We've also noticed children incorporating the idea of taking on roles during dramatic play exploration and a group of children exploring dance to classical music which may work their ways into our play.

There was considerable interest in building castles using 3D shapes today.  Children used blocks to create various castles and we were looking for knowledge of 3D shapes as well as richness in the stories they were telling about their structures.  The attention to detail and patience as they balanced blocks was remarkable. In addition to the use of 3D shape vocabulary that we heard a lot of,  we've listed some other things we overheard below.

"It's a half of a circle." - AT

"We are making a tower." - JM

"Let's make it symmetrical so it looks like a real one." - JR

"I built a Chinese castle like Mulan.  She has a castle like this." -AW

"This is the ramp to walk up on (to the castle)."-LR

"This is a path and these are the trees through the forest and this is a house for someone to live." -LR

I am also trying my hand at posting a link below to the 3D shape video we watched as a minds-on activity before our building.  (Though, some of you may remember that last time I tried to post a link, it ended up being a tutorial on how to shuck corn....!!)  

3D Shape Song

A large part of our philosophy is that children are competent and capable and come to us eager to learn.  This is evident countless times through our day.  I'm realizing that the documentation we are posting below came all from today (with the vehicle documentation building over time) and, on a regular basis, we have a hard time keeping up with all of the amazing ideas, learning, and self-directed exploration.

Mrs. Diljee and I have been fascinated as we've watched a group of children use blocks and other pieces of furniture to build stable structures.  Recently, most of the structures seem to be vehicles but there is so much creativity in the types of vehicles we are seeing (tanks, trains, jets, rocketships, ships, etc.).  We are also in awe of the amount of measurement taking place along with the concept of symmetry emerging.  There has been a recent interest in planets with our rocket ship, so we have introduced the concept of the 3D shape called a sphere.  We also have provided globes as a model of the Earth which has inspired conversations about where in the world their vehicle is travelling.  The richness of the stories being told during this discovery time is incredible.

The concept of 3D shapes has been uncovered a lot lately during our exploration.  The clay creations inquiry group watched a Pingu video clip today where clay characters are animated.  This inspired us to try some of our own characters and we used 3D shape language as we created (sphere, cylinder, cube and cone).  

We've noticed the sphere shape coming up a lot - especially with snow that can be packed into that shape!  Encourage your child to find 3D shapes in their environment as you are in the car or out for a walk.  Children need meaningful and real-life connections to solidify their learning.

Spheres came up again when children explored styrofoam balls and dowling.  There were all sorts of creative uses for these inventions and attention to detail as children were building structures.

Our interest in mixing continues and we've noticed that children tend to mix our loose parts in the classroom together.  We wanted to provide a space for this so cleared out our sand and mixed in many objects.  The theory behind loose parts is that giving children open-ended and enticing materials that can uncover all sorts of curriculum (math, art, science, language) will allow them to use them in creative ways.  Children were eager to explore this area - some were still exploring in their coats as they came in!  Check it out.

Instead of Mrs. Diljee or Miss Heffernan reading today, we had a new face in the "teacher chair" reading Pete the Cat (one of our favourites).

Mid-November Update

We continue to notice interests emerging on a daily basis in our classroom and are so thrilled to have children who are curious and eager to learn.  We continue to have two inquiry groups available during wondering time - sensory mixing and clay creations.  We also are supporting interests of individual children at centres throughout the day.  For example, we have had a group working on creating a structure at the block centre (measurement, science, oral language, storytelling, etc.) that we have been watching carefully.  One student said they were in need of a steering wheel so we pulled one out of storage for them to use.  Children's curiousity continues to drive our programming and we are uncovering tons of curriculum as we journey through the beginning of the year.

Below is a project our sensory group was working on.  One child discovered that purple marker from the table changed the dough into a different colour and others began to build on this and explore print making.

We have also started to work with small groups now that we are into a routine.  We are beginning to look at children's knowledge around patterning and then are planning our small group instruction accordingly.  The idea behind this is that we aren't having all children doing the same thing.  We have some children who are already demonstrating pattern knowledge in the classroom because it is familiar to them and others who this is very new to.  Our goal is to be instructing children at the level that is appropriate for them.

Because Remembrance Day is very important to us, we wanted to ensure we focused on it in a developmentally appropriate way that was meaningful to them.  Our fantastic planning time teacher Mrs. Armstrong organized a kindergarten Remembrance Day ceremony.  The children were very attentive and engaged.

Finally, we so appreciate your flexibility around the time we've been out of the classroom this week.  We thought we'd give you a look into some of the workshops we've been facilitating for kindergarten teachers in our board.  Your children inspire us on a daily basis and we were excited to be able to share their learning and our journey as educators with others.  One aspect that we focused on for sharing was provocations which are open ended invitations to learning that invite children to explore and can lead to further learning.  Often they are based on children's interests but can sometimes be used to elicit interest in new learning or in gaps of learning.  We also talked about the inquiry process (taking children's questions and noticings to move programming forward) and documenting learning through photos, children's quotes, children's work and learning stories.  We've included a photo below from our workshop set up to give you a glimpse.

Authentic Writing Opportunities

Our writing centre has been a popular place lately and we've also noticed that children are taking writing materials to different centres which is exciting.  This is exactly what we want to support and encourage:  meaningful and authentic writing opportunities.

We also think carefully of how to bring writing to other centres.  For example, we added clipboards, recipe cards, cooking magazines, etc. to our dramatic play baking centre.  We also provided opportunity for creating maps and roads at the block centre to encourage emergent writing.

We also use provocations in our classroom to inspire learning.  A provocation is an invitation to learn where educators are either looking to inspire new learning or are providing materials based on an interest from the children.  One of our most recent writing/sketching provocations is our wonder window is posted below.


Our Wonder Window provocation.


One of the children noticed the monkey bars and hill outside of our window.  We were captivated by the attention to detail.

Sensory Mixing Continues

The mixing group explored different materials today and began to explore and investigate using their own ideas.  As Mrs. Diljee watched the experimenting and interest and reflected alongside Miss Heffernan, we began to think of lots of connections and next steps from this group.  We continue to be excited about where our discoveries may lead.

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Our other inquiry group has been focusing on mixing and carefully observing.  Mixing is an interest that continues to stand out within many areas of programming.  The children in this group were so excited about the goop exploration that they were asking to investigate further during discovery time later in the day and many were asking to take the recipe home.  There has been a great deal of math (measuring) and science (observing, hypothesizing, sharing results) along with oral language and sequencing within this topic of wonder.  Our goop lead us to writing and drawing and exploring the transfer of print to the goop.