Project Work Enrichment is occurring in the Oak Room! As projects evolve, the students’ inquiries go deeper and become more complex.
This month we planted outside our pea plants that we grew from seeds. We also planted more strawberries, lavender, lettuce, bell peppers, flowers and herbs. Everyone contributed to make the new garden a success! So far they have observed baby strawberries growing, and our lettuce leaves disappearing. Their best guess is a rabbit that comes and night when no one is at school to eat a snack! This time in the garden teaches the students to observe, form hypotheses, and problem solve. What should we do about the rabbits eating the lettuce? Most of them want to let the rabbit eat so he isn’t hungry, even though they know that means they won’t have as much to harvest later.
Meanwhile, our continued exploration of care has expanded to include learning about other cultures and the continents. North America was explored first. We read books about different cultures in North America including “Off we go to Mexico!” by Laurie Krebs and Christopher Corr, which was graciously donated after the book fair. We also set out a desert provocation table with sand and different desert animals. Then the children became very interested in rainforest animals that they saw in various books so we explored South America more. They also love hearing Ms. Lina’s stories from her visits there. Eventually they had the idea to create a rainforest in our very own classroom! They made leaves by cutting and pin-poking leaf shapes out of green paper. They also made animals to put on the vines and branches that they learned about from books like “Over in the Rainforest” by Connie and Peter Roop.
Another focus in February has been food prep where each child peels, cuts, and serves a different food to their classmates during work period. This work builds their confidence because they can create something nourishing for others all by themselves! The children have also really enjoyed flower arranging. This work is valuable for teaching them stewardship and care of their environment by creating a beautiful display of cut flowers. Thank you to all the parents who graciously donated flowers to the classroom!
As we move into March we are discussing more ways to beautify our outdoor spaces. Many of the children have contributed ideas which can be read on our classrooms documentation board. We will also work on creating a zen garden as a quiet and meditative space for the children to enjoy nature.
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