The Wonder of a Wing

Our Wonders Take Flight

A beautiful discovery led to our first nature investigation this school year. One of the children brought to school a single dragonfly wing. As she shared her wing excitedly with educators a few of the children gathered around to take a look at her discovery. She said, "I saw that at my Grandma's house. It is like black, white, black, white." Miss Virban had assisted one of the children the previous day to research the wing on the iPad. She also drew the location where she found the wing. She shared her page with the educators the following day and indicated that she wanted to investigate the wing further. Through her research, she discovered that the wing was from a dragonfly through her research on the iPad. We placed the wing in a specimen viewer and put it on the light panel. She shared her observations excitedly, "I see a rainbow." Another child observed, "The wing looks like mine." Then she commented that she had a whole dragonfly at her house. This child offered to bring it to school the following day.

"Curious dragonfly with 

Wings of stained glass,

Oh, ancient bearer

Of secret dreams,

Your delicate beauty

Keeps wonder in my heart."

Grace Edwards 

2008

She presented her research to the children and shared the story of her wing.

Dragonfly Blue

The following day another one of the children shared her dragonfly with the class during shared learning time. She said, "It is blue. I found it at my Grandma's house. Its wings are pretty. They look cool." Many of the children wondered why the dragonfly was dead. She thought and said, "Cause it was too hot in the sun." Another child asked, "How did you catch it?" She told the children, "I used my hands. I picked it up by the tail. I didn't want to break the wings." We then had a discussion about how the wings were fragile and delicate. The children continued to share their ideas. A friend asked, "Why does it like the sun?" She replied, "So it can see where it is going?" Then Miss Virban wondered, "What will happen when you touch the wings?" She replied, "They will break." This concluded our discussion and we wondered if it would spark any more questions or ideas with the children about wings or dragonflies.

Giant Swallowtail Meets Viceroy

This mini-investigation came about after a visit from a former student who is now in grade one. He brought his butterfly to the classroom with a newspaper article. On that same day, I had brought a butterfly that I had found on the road while riding my bike the night before. What wonderful timing to be able to investigate two butterfly specimens. Two of the children were very interested in finding out what type of butterflies they were. The former student shared his research with them and told the children he had a Viceroy butterfly. Then they looked in my butterfly book until she found a matching illustration to our specimen. We discovered that I had found a "Giant Swallowtail" butterfly. She drew the butterfly and labeled her illustration the following day. During shared learning, she presented her work to the class.

That night I was able to video a Viceroy butterfly to share with the children the following day that paid a visit to my garden. The sequence of these events was so amazing to me. What wonderful learning for all of us.

Over the next several days this student continued to complete her drawing and labeling of the Giant Swallowtail butterfly. As well her friend was still very curious about her dragonfly wing. She continued to ask questions and look closely investigating the structure of the wing. I printed several photos of dragonfly wings and we continued to look at photos on the iPad.

The Art Of A Wing

The children were given a creative invitation in which they could view real butterfly specimens and photos of dragonflies. We wanted to see if any wonders or discussions would emerge from this experience. The children used the Sharpie markers to draw the wings and we encouraged them to look closely and add the details they saw. After drawing the children painted their wings with watercolours. For many, this was their first experience using this medium and we assisted them with the technicalities of using the paints. 

A Curious Caterpillar

One of our SK students came to school with two caterpillars in a bug viewer. She wanted to share them with the children. She placed her viewer on the inquiry table and began to excitedly share her ideas about the caterpillars. She said, "Wow, so long. He has so many spikes on his legs. His eyes are so white. He's probably going to get a cocoon." There were several children gathered around her caterpillars. They were curious about them too. The children observed and shared their thoughts with one another for quite some time. Then she and a friend used the clipboards at the inquiry table to record some of their initial ideas about the caterpillars.

As they were drawing she shared, "The poisonous one eats grass and the other one eats tomato plants. Look at the spike on there." Her friend added, "I know what the spike is for to keep other predators away." Then she continued to share her observations, "It climbs on the walls. I wonder what kind of caterpillars these are?" The two caterpillars were very different from each other. One was furry and brown the other one was big and green. The children took immediate notice of this. Next, she chose to go to the writing table. She had a slip of paper from the question box. She asked me to help her write her question down. She asked, "How to do you spell I wonder?" I showed her the "I Wonder" text and told her she could copy from the title. Then I assisted her in using her letter-sound knowledge to finish writing her question. She placed her question in the question box.

The following day she asked if she could present her caterpillar to the children at shared learning time. She began by holding up the viewing container with the caterpillars inside to show the children. Then she shared, "I found a caterpillar on a tomato leaf." A friend asked, "How did you pick it up?" She replied, "I used a leaf. My mom picked it up." Another friend wondered, "How big is it?" She said, "It's that long." Then she pointed to the caterpillar. A peer who was also interested asked, "Why did you bring it?" In response, she went to the question box and took out her slip of paper. She read her question, "I wonder what kind of caterpillar it is?" This demonstrated to us as educators that she felt she could share her discovery with us and that we would value her desire to investigate her wonders and assist her in discovering the answer to her question. At this point, we shared with the children that if they had wonders or questions that they could also place them in the question box for discovery. This child had also brought in two tiny green cocoons. She showed them to the children as well. She had spent some time the previous day exploring the photos in the butterfly and moth text at the inquiry table. She had found a page that included an illustration of cocoons that looked very similar to the ones she brought in. She shared with the children, "They are cocoons." A friend asked, "Are they baby caterpillars hatching out of the cocoons or butterflies." She answered, "They are moths." This discussion gave us a beginning understanding of the children's previous experiences and knowledge about caterpillars. We are curious to see how they lead this learning journey around caterpillars.

At recess, while I was on yard duty the children and I discovered a white caterpillar. We brought it in the classroom so we could observe it with the other caterpillars. The children were very curious about these caterpillars. The following day we were so surprised. Inside the caterpillar container, one of the caterpillars from the previous day was missing. We could not figure out what happened. We wondered if the green caterpillar had eaten the brown one. Then later that day we made an exciting discovery. The brown caterpillar was not missing. It was under one of the leaves. The caterpillar had made its cocoon. The children were very excited. We looked forward to continuing to observe the green caterpillar and the white one. The next day brought more surprises as we discovered that the white caterpillar had also made itself into a cocoon. With the sun shining through the window I was able to video the cocoon. We could see the caterpillar working hard at making the cocoon thicker.

Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar

Over the next few days the children continued to observe. They named the big green caterpillar, "Baby Boo Boo." In the art studio they made labels and attached them to the big viewing container. We had moved Baby Boo Boo into the larger container to give him more room and the children created a home for him by placing stones and sticks along with the tomato leaves that they brought to school. They made sure the caterpillar had everything it needed especially food. They continued to bring in tomato leaves and share what they had researched at home about the caterpillar. One of the children shared that he was a tomato hornworm caterpillar. She said, "Miss the cocoon is ugly my mom and I looked it up." The children were so surprised each morning when most of the leaves had been eaten. I bought Baby Boo Boo home for Thanksgiving weekend. Thankfully my neighbour still had tomato plants in her garden and she graciously let me feed Baby Boo Boo all weekend. I continued to photograph and document Baby Boo Boo each day. I added soil to the container after researching that this type of caterpillar makes it's cocoon in the dirt. I wondered if the caterpillar would cocoon before I could return to school the following Tuesday. Well Baby Boo Boo did go into the soil but luckily he came out twice so that I was able to actually video the caterpillar going into the soil for the children to see at school. I couldn't wait to show them. I bought Baby Boo Boo back to school. The children could see the caterpillar in the bottom of the dirt through the clear bottom of the container.

We shared with the children all of the photos and videos that had been collected about the caterpillars so far. One of the children said about the white caterpillar, "He's making his cocoon thicker." Another child added, "He's going to turn into a butterfly." A peer also shared, "He's going to be a moth." After watching the video of Baby Boo Boo crawling a student asked, "How can he go upside down?" A peer replied, "Cause he is holding on." Another child added, "Cause he has sticky feet." One of them thought, "He has syrup on them." Then we watched the video of the Baby Boo Boo going into the soil. We wondered why the caterpillar was not eating anymore. The child who brought the caterpillar to school shared, "They make a cocoon." The children continued to share their theories. One of them added, "He's in the soil because he's making his house." Next, to speak was one of the boys he said, "I know why he's going under the dirt cause the soil is his food." Their wonders continued and one of them asked, "How does he dig under the dirt?" I asked the children if they could share with her how they thought the caterpillar would dig. One child said, "He digs with his front legs." Another child then asked, "How does he breath?" We continued to record all the children's questions for further research and to help us inform our next steps. Some of the children completed their own research at home. One of them spoke next and she shared some interesting information about tomato hornworm caterpillars. She said, "Wasps lay their eggs on Baby Boo Boo." We then discussed why this happened and what it looks like on the caterpillars. The children continued to share some wonders and questions based on their observations of the caterpillars later that same day. We wrote them on the whiteboard as they spoke. 

They are as follows:

"I wonder what kind of butterfly it will turn into?"

"What kind of caterpillar is it?"

"It's poisonous."

"Why did it go into a cocoon today?"

"So it can turn into a butterfly."

"Is it going to turn into different colours?"

"Why are butterflies poisonous?"

"I wonder if the poisonous caterpillars when it comes out will be a poisonous butterfly?"

What thought-provoking questions. 

Creating Cocoons

An invitation to explore cocoon making. Several of the children had expressed a wonder around the idea of how caterpillars make their cocoons. We offered an invitation to use wire and yarn to share their thinking around this wonder. A group of children gathered at the table and after choosing a piece of coloured wire and showing them how to use the wire cutters we began our exploration of wire. I began by asking the children to see what their wire could do. For some of the children this was their first experience using the medium of wire. The children described the wire as bendy. I explained that wire came from the ground. That it was mined out of rocks and formed into the long wire piece they were holding. Many of the children could not believe it. The children were eager to get started. One of them wanted to use the photo of the dragonfly wing to help her form a wire wing. The other children used the wire to represent their thinking about cocoons. After completing her cocoon, one child shared, "This is the caterpillar

inside of the cocoon." She used red wire to represent the caterpillar and a silver wire oval surrounded the red wire as the cocoon. Yet, another child wanted to wrap her entire wire structure with white yarn. She said, "I don't want any of the wire showing." The children continued to work and we documented each wire design on a white sheet of paper with the children's name stick. Their wire work was delicate and simple. A beautiful representation of their observations of the cocoons.

 We read the non-fiction text, "Caterpillars" to the children. After sharing the book one child said, "Butterflies and moths have to collect their lunch and snack from flowers." She demonstrated her previous knowledge of these beautiful insects to us. What a great connection to our text. Her friend asked, "How do butterflies get their food?" One of her peers added, "How do caterpillars make their cocoon?" A child replied, "They use strings." We wondered where the strings came from. One of the children said, "On their feet." Then a peer shared, "I know how they get out of their cocoon. They wiggle.

Is That You Baby Boo Boo?

About a week and a half after our tomato hornworm caterpillar went under the soil we noticed a small moth inside of the specimen container. The children couldn't believe it. They immediately set out to document their observations of the little moth. They discussed how Baby Boo Boo had come out of his cocoon. The children asked me to dig up the cocoon. After some looking through the soil we found no cocoon. However when we came to one of the corners of the container we saw the dirt moving!!!! How surprising this was for the children. We decided that our little moth was not Baby Boo Boo. The children thought it was too small because Baby Boo Boo the caterpillar was big so when he becomes a moth he'll be big too. 

The children know that they will have to wait to see what will happen next. We have learned that these cocoons will not hatch until the spring. We will however continue to explore our ideas and wonders around caterpillars and cocoons. How exciting the spring will be. A time of new life and new growth that we hope to share with a few new beautiful insect friends. Baby Boo Boo sleep well!

"Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar."   Bradley Miller

Framing Our Learning

The Kindergarten Program

This past summer the Ontario Ministry of Education released the new Kindergarten Program document for the upcoming school year. I was very eager to read this document and happily set out do so with my passion for early years education at the forefront. What I learned from my first read through of the document is that it is rich in it's layout of the Kindergarten program and I will be rereading it and revisiting the video clips embedded many times. I am looking forward to discussing the document and continuing to develop our program as we learn throughout the school year. One of the biggest shifts within the document is the introduction of the four frames of learning. They are as follows: Belonging and Contributing, Self-Regulation and Well-Being, Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviours, and Problem Solving and Innovating. We will use these frames throughout our program development to support the children in their learning. Whether it's while creating the classroom environment, setting out invitations to learn, extending their wonders or planning focused activities we will be framing our own thinking with the new document. I have labelled some of my thinking in this blog post with the four frames. However, one quickly comes to realize how intertwined the four frames are and how they support one another. Really all the frames work together in all the learning spaces to support the children in becoming life long learners.

I was also happy to see the document talk about the learning enviroment as the third teacher which comes from the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. This is something I believe strongly about. While setting up the classroom we are carefully selecting and creating a space that will support the children in their ideas, wonders and learning. Each item is chosen for a specific reason and for it's potential to engage our youngest learners in a rich experience. The classroom environment is not static. It will change throughout the school year in response to the children's ideas and needs so that as educators we can move their learning forward. Here are some of the learning invitations or provocations we offered to the children as the school year started. I hope you enjoy our Reggio inspired learning environment.

On their first day of school each child was given a recycled crayon star as a gift. This is an excellent way to use up all those crayon bits that would otherwise go unused and be wasted. Here's how I made these rainbow crayon stars. I peeled and broke the crayons into small pieces. I also sorted each colour into baggies. This made the filling of the silicone molds much easier. I bought my mold at Michaels Store. I heated the oven at 225 degrees. Then I put the mold filled with crayons on a baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Take the tray out and let it cool. This takes about 1 hour. Once cool pop out the crayons. I hope that our little learners enjoy their crayons and make many colourful creations!

The Wonder Frame 

and 

Question Box

Belonging and Contributing

Self Regulation and Well Being

Demonstrating Literacy and Mathematics Behaviour

The literacy shelf is right next to our big carpet. This photo was taking at the beginning of the school year and the shelf has already been changed in response to the children's needs. To start I included blank paper, pencils, dry erase boards and markers and our drawing cubes to explore line making. The bottom shelf has two of our inquiry binders from last year for the children to revisit their previous learning. As well as our large plush alphabet letters. The wooden box is our question box and in the green box next to it is the slips of paper for the recording of questions. At the beginning of the year educators will scribe and support the children in recording their wonders and questions. However as the year progresses the children will often record and display their questions all on their own. We already have a few questions and wonders which we are exploring with the children.

The Inquiry Table

The inquiry table is a place for the children to explore their ideas and wonders. To begin I set the table with clipboards and empty tray and the two photo frames. This table has been the place of many investigations already which I will share in another post soon.

During the first few weeks of the school year we shared the book, "I Wonder" with the children. This is a wonderful book with lovely illustrations and I highly recommend it to introduce the children to discovering their wonders. After reading the book to the children we shared with them how to use the question box and wonder frame.

Exploring Self With Loose Parts

Belonging and Contributing

Self Regulation and Well Being

This invitation to create self portraits was set in the art studio or our atelier. The children were immediately drawn to the tray of loose parts. I did not instruct the children before they explored this invitation and because of this they interpreted the materials with their own ideas. For about two weeks the children used the circular cork boards to explore many concepts such as patterning, one to one correspondence, measurement as they compared lengths of yarn and storytelling. Then during the third week of school I asked them to create their self portraits. I am so happy that I did not give them any instruction before this as it would have impeded their own creativity with these loose parts. This was very intentional on my part and something I feel is very important within the Reggio inspired classroom. We should allow children to express their creativity and own ideas freely.

Our Home Away From Home

Belonging and Contributing

Self Regulation and Well Being

The Home area is usually a very popular space of exploration within our learning environment. This summer I really tried to make it a very home like space. I lined the shelf with shelf liner and lace placemats and really considered carefully the materials that were to be offered. I removed a lot and I am so pleased with how the children have been using this space. Last year we did not offer the children plastic food within this area. I had made some felt lettuce leaves and we added yarn and wooden spheres painted like meatballs. The children also used paper and art materials to extend their ideas. This year we are continuing this in the home area but I also wanted to add a loose parts tray. So this summer I cleaned and saved peach pits to add to the loose parts tray in the following photo. The children sort the tray each clean up and have been very responsible in helping keep track of all the loose parts in this tray. Their play as been so creative in the use of these parts. They have made soup and salad as well as poured, scooped and transferred the materials between containers.

Building

Problem Solving and Innovating

Our block shelf is home to a variety of materials to support the children as they explore building, constructing, problem solving and innovating. We have included a bin of cans and lids, carpet squares, foam upholstery sheets, and tree cookies to support the children's constructions. The "Can You Build It" book has photos of famous buildings from around the world. 

Exploring Light

I have been able to purchase two light panels for the classroom through the Scholastic book orders. They have been such a valuable resource to our classroom. The children love using the rainbow blocks and many other transparent materials when investigating here. Before I purchased these two panels I had made a DIY light box using an under the bed storage box and tap lights from Home Depot. There are many DIY versions out there and it's easy and affordable. The children also readily explore with the small flashlights from the Dollarama. Light investigations are always fascinating to the children and this medium gives them another avenue to explore their ideas with.

The children initially explored line with this invitation. Then they began to sort the glass stones by colour. Next I encouraged them to count the stones to see which group of stones had more. Then Sophia printed the numbers indicating the amount for each set. 

The Math Shelf

Demonstrating Mathematical Behaviour

Invitations on the math shelf and the materials will change through out the year as we explore different mathematical concepts with the children. Last year I made the number stones for 0 to 10. This summer I added 11 to 20. As well included are beads on rings for the numbers 1 to 10. The ten frames I made using washi tape and bread boards purchased from the Dollarama. The text, "Friendshape" is a lovely book about friendship and shapes. It's a great read for the beginning of the school year.

I thought I would share a photo of one of the two manipulative shelves. These two shelves generally remain the same throughout the school year. The two activities in the white trays are switched out when the children are no longer interested in them. They usually focus on fine motor skills but also include other learning opportunities at the same time. 

This invitation with the glass gems and cupcake liners has been very popular with the children. They have sorted by colour, explored pattening, compared amounts, participated in imaginary play and explored literacy skills with "The M and M's counting book." 

This tray activity focuses on transferring the beads from one bowl to the next. The children are also used this invitation with the cupcake liner tray during imaginary play. So although it's primary focus is fine motor skill the materials lend themselves to so much more than just one interpretation.

Playing with Patterns

Demonstrating Mathematical Behaviour

Many of the children have demonstrated their knowledge of patterns this month through their play. We have therefore extended their ideas during our small group lessons. The children are now beginning to draw and label their patterns ABAB, AABBAABB etc.

Documenting Our Thinking

Belonging and Contributing

We are encouraging the children to document their own learning. We support them as they draw and write about their explorations. This is a very important step in the learning process as it leads to new discoveries and ideas. When we represent our thinking in new ways there is always new connections and ideas made. The children are also so very proud of their efforts and this preserves for them a trace of their learning. 

Sensory Bin  Play

The intention of this invitation in the sand bin was to encourage imaginary play and storytelling. The children have also added to this play by incorporating the flashlights into their play. As well, there is a bin of cardboard tubes nearby that have been added to the bin often. The proximity of materials to each other is very important. As the children often bring materials over from other spaces during their play. The cardboard tubes have been filled and dumped with sand repeatedly. 

We are fortunate to have three sensory bins in our learning space. However, before this, we often used large dishpans as my sensory bins and this works well on a tabletop or the floor. There are even DIY sensory tables that you could create as well. 

Sensory play engages the whole child and all of their senses in exploration. This collection of buttons was donated to me from our financial advisor. She had saved them for me after hearing me speak about the classroom during one of our meetings. They will certainly be treasured for years to come in our learning environment. I share this story with you because creating a Reggio-inspired environment for me is most meaningful when the materials have their own history to contribute to the space. The children and their families and the environment are our riches source of inspiration and materials. 

 Environmental Explorations

Belonging and Contributing

Our environmental exploration area is filled with natural items that the children have collected over the years in our learning program. Bowls are filled with seashells, acorns, feathers, pine cones, maple keys, and sticks. These natural loose parts are there for the children to look closely at, create with and investigate. The children will also continue to add to this space as they collect new natural items throughout the year. The empty trays will hold these dear nature treasures. We often have lively visitors in the fall and spring seasons and the bug viewers are perfect for taking a closer look. In years past we have viewed ladybugs, a toad, a grasshopper, a spider, and worms. I encourage you to look back through the blog at these inquiries to see all the wonderful learning that took place. 

The past few years I have been saving my bonus coupons from the Scholastic Book orders to purchase a Folkmanis puppet for the environmental exploration area. The past two years I purchased the rabbit and squirrel. I love the quality of these puppets and this year I am so excited to add the beaver to our collection. A perfect Canadian symbol to include in our learning space. 

Here is the address for their website: www.folkmains.com

 The children recorded their thoughts about the acorns, work together to discuss their thinking, and draw where they discovered the acorns.

Observing Nature

Our first live visitor from the schoolyard this year was this moth that Cassidy collected. The children enjoyed looking at the moth and this along with a few other lively visitors have sparked our first inquiry.

Our Book Nook and Writing Space

Demonstrating Literacy Behaviours

This is a new space in the classroom this year in that we placed the bookshelf and reading area next to the writing table. I wanted to bring these two spaces together so that they could support each other as the children explore books and writing. Another new feature in our classroom is the lamps. These are from IKEA and have really added to the home like environment we want to provide for the children. Most days are spent with the large overhead lights turned off and the lamps turned on. Not only does this help conserve energy as we are a Gold status Eco school but also creates a calmer learning environment with the natural lighting. 

This is the invitation we used to create our names using the wood log slices and the ABC stones. The capital letter stones were easy to make using stickers and Mod Podge. For the lower case letters, I used Sharpie oil-based paint pens. 

Many of the children have demonstrated that they are ready for some sight word exploration especially our second-year students. Therefore I created this tray to peak their interest and help in identifying sight words, writing sight words, and building simple sentences using the sight words. The tray was added to the literacy shelf. 

Storytelling and Oral Communication

Belonging and Contributing

Self Regulation and Well Being

Demonstrating Literacy Behaviour

This was perhaps one of my favourite little projects this past summer. I had an idea for the use of these colourful people stones in the art studio or atelier. But I decided to put them in our story making area first. I had so much fun painting these stones. First I chose 10 stones by size so that they grew in size from smallest to largest. Then I painted them in rainbow order. On their bellies, I decided I would paint the colour graduating from white to the pure colour at the bottom. Therefore creating a various tints of the colour. Wow, so many ways to stimulate learning from these stones. The children have certainly included them in their play. The story making area is right beside the doll house and how clever the children were in placing the 10 stones in the doll house bed. Of course, we then had to sing, "There were 10 in the bed." I also included an empty house frame which I picked up at Michaels Stores with these stones. The invitations offered were very simple and the children added their own touches to each of them. 

The Art Studio

Our Atelier

Belonging and Contributing

Self Regulation and Well Being

Problem Solving and Innovating

Here is just a quick view of the art shelf in our atelier. It is one of my favourite spaces in the classroom as an artist with a visual arts background. What I have come to discover as we continue on our Reggio-inspired journey is that every space in the classroom becomes the atelier. Whether it's the children bringing art supplies over to where they are investigating to document or the intentional placement of coloured pencils, pastels, and loose parts throughout the learning environment and at invitations. The importance of the atelier could be a blog post all on its own. Since this photo, I have changed the bottom shelf to resemble the shelf above and the art supplies are sorted by colour in small containers. 

This year we have decided to not put the paint in the paint cups that come with the easel. Instead, we purchased two paint palettes from the Dollarama. I am also putting the paint in empty cleaned-out Heinz ketchup bottle that are 375ml. So far I have two one for the red and one for the yellow. This has made painting so much easier as the children can self serve themselves the paint. Also now we feel like real artists using a paint palette. 

Although the corkboard is not in the atelier the explorations here lend themselves to the many concepts of art. The children explore line, symmetry, shape, texture, and design. This invitation also lends itself to collaboration, problem solving, and innovation.

The Engineering Station

All Aboard at the Train Table

Problem Solving and Innovating

Belonging and Contributing

The engineering table underwent a major change this year as we set up the classroom. I love the use of mirrors in learning invitations. So I included three as the backdrop for the engineering table. I also covered the table with a large piece of butcher paper to neutralize the work surface. In the past, we have added markers to this space for the children to use as well as a tray of loose parts. I also removed much of the commercialized train set pieces. What stayed were the bridges, train track pieces, and the trains. The space is less cluttered and more open-ended for the children. 

Children often bring materials from other areas of the classroom to support their play.

The Save My Work Shelf

This shelf came about because we often have children who do not want to take apart their creations at the end of play block. We feel that it is important to honour the effort they have put into their play by allowing them to keep their work for a time on the save shelf so that they can revisit their ideas. We also document their work as a way to support this as well. So usually after a few days the children are more than willing to remove their work so that other children can use the materials. This has kept the classroom much tidier as the children's creations were often on top of other shelves.

Our little learners love Magna tiles. It is such a wonderful toy. This year we see a focus on building towers and using flashlights to illuminate the tiles from the inside. This will be such an interesting inquiry to explore with this group of children.

The Peace Table

Self Regulation and Well Being

The peace table is a place to explore emotions and well-being. We will be sharing many texts with the children this year to explore and develop self-regulation. This is a space of safety, beauty, and calmness. The children are not sent here by educators. They choose to go here of their own accord. The activities here will be quiet and reflective. A big thank you to Rachel from www.stimulatinglearning.co.uk for the recommendation of this book. "In my heart" is a beautiful book that explores love. 

I leave you with this final photo. It represents so clearly how these lovely children have come together this first month of school and become a community. Each day before going outside for recess they arrange their shoes in a variety of ways. They did this without any prompting and totally independently. On this day they created a circle. I love how there are a few shoes in the middle of the circle protected by the other ring. How symbolic of our first month of school and our desire as educators to give these children a welcoming and safe environment. 

"In Kindergarten the classroom environment is thoughtfully designed to invite, provoke, and enhance learning, and to encourage communication, collaboration, and inquiry." 

(The Kindergarten Program, 2016, p.29)

We look forward to a wonderful year!