Creating an Invitation
October has been a busy month filled with investigations. The children continue to explore the classroom environment as well as the natural environment outside in the playground. The month began with an interest in ladybugs. Several children used the observation collectors from the science area to place the ladybugs in that they were observing outside during recess. In our early years program we encourage the children to look closely, to take the time to slow down and we find this helps with their investigations. We want them to use all of their senses to gather information and experience their learning with their whole body and mind.
"Nature is PAINTING for us,
day by day,
pictures of infinite BEAUTY if only we
have the eyes to see them."
~ John Ruskin ~
There are many special moments that occur when working with children. Those times when as an educator you just stand back and watch in amazement the work of a child. This was one of those moments. Within our classroom, we carefully create invitations for learning. These are spaces with are carefully crafted using learning materials that will spark the children's interests and expand or extend their ideas. The beginning of this ladybug interest however was created by one of our students. She brought the collected ladybugs in from recess and placed them on the table. Next, she began to collect items from around the classroom. Items such as markers, a clipboard with paper, pencils, and magnifying glasses. She carefully arranged them on the table and as she did there was a flutter of activity around her as several students became interested in what she was doing. When she finished she sat down and went straight to work. Looking closely at the container of ladybugs and recorded what she saw on the paper.
The children continued their investigations during play block. They shared their ideas with us as they wondered about the ladybugs. One of the children said, "He has a crack hidden in the middle and the wings pop out." I asked her where she found the ladybugs. She replied, "Outside on the tree." Next to share their ideas was another child she said, "It's really young because it is a baby ladybug." A peer added, "Because it is little." A friend joined the conversation and shared, "The legs were smaller. That is not a baby. The baby would be smaller. That one is younger cause this one has more dots than that one. Some ladybugs are all black." Then she said, "The baby looks like a tomato." This initial dialogue between the children emphasizes their ability to look closely and make connections with their ideas and thinking around ladybugs. We wanted to expand on their ideas so I offered to them a book about ladybugs. The children looked at each page in the book and discussed their ideas further.
On one of the pages, the children found a picture of two ladybugs. They resembled the two ladybugs they had collected from the schoolyard and they took immediate notice of this. They shared, "It is a match to ours." They continued to look at the pages in the book. When they came to the page with the photo of the ladybug larva there were many ideas and a new question emerged.
They shared, "It is a caterpillar." Then wondered, "Maybe they eat leaves?" Then she placed an acrylic red leaf on the photo by the larva's mouth. She said, "What do caterpillars eat?' A friend answered her by saying, "Leaves and bark." The children discussed their ideas for quite some time. They were unsure if this was a caterpillar or not. I did not provide them with the answer. Allowing them the discover the answer on their own after further investigations would be so much more meaningful as we encourage them to become lifelong learners.
One of the children shared his observations from one of the pages in the book. He said, "These ladybugs are poisonous. Cause if you look really close there is a stinger."
The children had also discovered a ladybug that had died. We placed the ladybug in a plastic lid so we could make observations. The children also began to record what they saw on paper. Using the materials that they had been offered in the initial setup of this invitation they revisited their thinking. When the children came to the page in the book where the ladybug was laying on its back they shared, "He is playing dead." They were using their previous knowledge to make this connection as the children had not heard the text of the book yet.
We moved the children's invitation to the writing centre and added the text, "Ladybugs" along with the question, "What do you wonder about ladybugs?"
We also offered this loose parts tray to the children at the writing centre providing them with another opportunity to display their thinking other than drawing and writing.
The children continued to collect ladybugs and we needed to create a proper habitat so that they could survive a few days within the classroom. After this looking up we provided the ladybugs with the following, raisins soaked overnight in water and split them open and fresh green leaves. The children also sprinkled a few drops of water onto the leaves so the ladybugs could have a drink. Establishing this habitat with the children deepened their understanding of what living things need to survive. As well we wanted to instill in them a responsibility that we should carefully care for all of God's living creatures.
The children continued to observe and document their ideas over the following few days. We posted their pages up within the classroom.
Lovely Ladybugs created with the loose parts tray.
After a few days, we released our ladybugs back to the schoolyard. The children still had some unanswered questions so we created this invitation to see if we could expand on the question, "Is this a caterpillar." We recorded the children's thinking on Post-it notes and placed them around the photo of the larva.
We gave the children time to think about this question and several children shared their thinking. Then I read the text, "Ladybugs" to the children who began our investigation with this question.
After reading and discussing the text they each used the loose parts tray to create a ladybug. We asked them, "What did you learn from listening to the book?" They shared, "I learned about ladybugs that is not a caterpillar. It's a larva." Another friend said, "They don't look like ladybugs when they are born." Then someone else shared, "That they have lots of spots but some do not" A friend added, "Counting their spots do not tell its age." I asked this group of children if they would present their findings to the class the following day during shared learning time. They readily agreed and I looked forward to their presentation.
During shared learning time the children presented their findings from our ladybug investigations. This allows the children an opportunity to consolidate their learning and teach each other.
The children's interest in ladybugs was represented in many areas of the classroom. They used the ladybug specimen to create this loose parts story at the inquiry table. She displayed her understanding of the anatomy of a ladybug by representing how many legs she thought the ladybug had along with their spots and wings. By looking closely we can see her thinking.
At the math table, we offered this invitation to explore with a loose parts tray, counting fans and the text, "Ten little ladybugs." The children often worked here during play block. Looking at the book and creating with the loose parts.
We observed them creating patterns, making homes for ladybugs, baking ladybug cupcakes, and preserving each other's work through documentation. When I asked them about their work at the math table they shared, "I am writing down my friend's work." This statement gives us evidence of the importance of providing the children with a meaningful and reflective classroom environment. That they see value in their work and celebrate the ideas and accomplishments of each other. We could not have been more proud of this moment.
