As summer winds down, this is the time that I would start planning provocations for the first week of Kindergarten. In the science area, I would provide a focal point of interest for the children. The best ideas are usually ones from nature: shells, rocks, leaves, or even a fish.
One year, I brought in a container with 3 snails. It was such a wonderful way to engage the children in that first week or two of school. As they gathered around the inquiry table, they would share their observations and joy, as they had no expectations on them but to enjoy watching the snails. Then I would add paper pads and pencils, asking the children to draw what they see. Once a child completed a drawing, it would be displayed in the same area. This encourages other reticent drawers to do the same and it also encourages conversation as the children encounter new representations. The children are encouraged to draw what they see and all representations are displayed. They are drawing to learn about the snails – not learning to draw. In time, I would also add play dough to the inquiry centre for those children who would like to create 3-D representations. Then, I would often watch the children and record their comments and conversations. These could be displayed to demonstrate their thinking and also to read aloud to the class as a whole to encourage more discussion or encourage research for their questions.
This year, I will be teaching a grade one and two class. I am getting a new classroom, much smaller than the last. It is my plan to set up an atelier and an inquiry centre. However, with a more structured curriculum I will not be using provocations in the same way. My plan is to provide the students with a plain, blank journal. And with this journal, we will visit a nearby ravine on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to observe the same outdoor and real world space as it changes throughout the school year. Using our journals as an inquiry tool, I hope that the children will learn to use their drawings as means for learning. The visits to the ravine will begin in September as a free exploration. Then, we will focus on connecting the curriculum to the real world, such as making observations based on our senses, observing energy of the sun and the wind, or observing the effects of liquids and solids in the ravine through the winter. The journals will only be a part of our inquiry/science lessons, but I am hoping that it will also provide a purpose to integrate other parts of the curriculum, such as language, math, and art in a meaningful way for the children.
Your plans are fabulous! Thank you for sharing. I need to dig into the rest of your blog!
Thank you!
~Alison