Monday, October 27, 2014

The Enchantments of the Forest


Forest  Day is a day to exhale.

The children have the freedom to run, shout, sing, swing, stomp, climb or just sit without transitions or the demands of a schedule.

As we observe the  children and the energy, we notice that the environment and the play exudes a confidence that makes risk taking palpable to many. These risks include crossing a log, jumping from a rock, climbing a tree, building a shelter, forging a pool of water and leading a group.


We marvel most at the children who are reserved or hesitant in the classroom. The forest provides a leveled playing field and anonymity easing the anxiety of making a mistake or collaborating with a large group.

We place great value on the environment in the learning process. The Forest is an environment that presents shifting variables instilling flexibility and creative thought. It is also an environment open to possibilities and demanding flexibility.

We have linked two videos providing a glimpse of several children playing and stretching their comfort level.

One child jumps as other children watch. This observation leads to one child accepting the challenge and another considering it. The passwords for these particular videos are sabotkindergarten.
Seeking Challenges

One child requests scaffolding from another as they climb trees together.
The Forest Changes Everything






Sunday, October 19, 2014

Rethinking math in the Kindergarten





The intention

After spending years hosting a math circle and workshop in the Kindergarten each afternoon, we decided to make a concerted effort to embed literacy and math into our morning and afternoon experiences this year.

The Reasoning

Young children have a curiosity that is contagious. They are intrigued by problems in their environment and enjoy solving these problems with their peers. As the co-construct meaning together, they propel the inquiry process forward. We always seek best practice that engages and motivates the Kindergarten children.

The environment and routines are  equally important to the effort of embedding literacy and math and provoking inquiry. Story Workshop emphasizes the studio languages of expression and story development. We are looking for similar experiences that consistently stretch strategic, logical and mathematical thinking.



How does this intention translate to practice?
                                                                                                                                                                  
                       Gabriel  loves nature and notices the daily evidence of the Fall season. He has been collecting acorns. He filled a jar with acorns and presented his classmates with the challenge of estimating the number of acorns in the jar.  We later read the recorded estimates, counted the acorns and decided which estimate was the closest. C. is estimating our second challenge. This time Gabriel has filled a larger glass container.                                                    
Reed estimated 54 acorns in the jar.

Counting has many perils. Remembering the sequence of numbers is one such obstacle. We also try to assign only one number to each object counted and avoid skipping objects. Our class has developed several strategies to support counting. O. and G. were counting the floors in a skyscraper they built. They disagreed regarding the number of stories. 




They both counted separately several times. O. noticed that G. skipped a floor and G. noticed that O. counted out of sequence. Finally they decided to count together and agreed that there were 16 stories in their skyscraper.








The sensory experiences of a rice table inspired thinking regarding measurement. Tucker noticed that there were markings on one of the cups. When he put a "teeny" bit more in the cup and the rice rose to the number one but when he put more rice in the cup it moved to ten. Cole said that he filled all of the containers up to the top. The biggest container was the heaviest. Carter suggested that we get a scale and weigh the containers to see which container was the heaviest.

The next day....

Tucker: I kept scooping until they were the same size. This side is holding the other side down even though it has more rice.

We compared the size of the containers. Cole felt that the containers that were wider would hold more rice but Oliver disagreed. "If we filled both containers one would be way heavier because it is made of glass."


A week later we are still recording discoveries.
S. works meticulously to measure equal amounts of rice into the same containers achieving balance between the scale.


N: This is weighing the scale down because it is the tallest container.
S: It is because it is tall and made of glass.


S., N. and O. decide to use containers made from the same material to try to achieve a balanced scale. They realize through trial and error that they must continue to add rice and then weigh the containers.





Success.

The Scaffolding
We to meet in small groups during the morning and afternoon, as we have done in previous years, to consider the skills that support mathematical thinking and literacy. Mary and I notice the  challenges that exist for each child as they solve problems mathematically . Small groups provide an opportunity to tailor an experience to fit the needs of a particular student or group of students.

Working this way does require an understanding of the development of mathematical thinking of five and six year olds. This process also demands a vigilant level of listening and documenting. The questions that we choose to ask are also crucial.


One questions leads to another....
On Friday, a large noisy crowd gathered at the estimation jar. The children noticed that one of the acorns was sprouting.

Evan: Gabriel, look what is coming out of the acorn. It has a tail and is growing.
















Monday, October 13, 2014

Do You Live in the City?






We listen for the space that exists between understanding and confusion. The space that lives between agreement and conflict. This space was defined by Vygotsky,  a well respected Soviet psychologist,  as the zone of proximal development (ZPD). We see potential in this space (or zone) for learning and discovery.








We returned from our field trip with new knowledge regarding the word "city". We saw skyscrapers, new city hall, old city hall, roads, a river, a circular coliseum, the baseball diamond, apartment buildings and parks. Several classmates expressed their vision of the city using blocks and then labeled the parts of the city.  








 As the children were building  I documented a conversation. I included the things I notes while listening in blue.


L: O, you live in the city.

B:  No, you live near me and I don't live in the city. I live in a neighborhood.
(using landmarks in close proximity to determine location)

L: Just ask your mom. (authority source)

B: You live close to me and it is definitely not the city. (sorting attributes)

L: I live more far away and the city is far from my house. You live close to my brother's school. (more sorting and identifying landmarks and proximity)

G: I live in the place where there are no buildings and just lots of houses. There are lots of vines, morning glories and flowers. (defining attributes) 




I asked the children what was needed when creating a city.

O: It needs to have lots of buildings and there are schools. I don't live in one.

L: You live on the side of a city. (attaching a visual representation)

O: I have gotten in my yard and looked over my fence. I do not see anything that looks like a city. (offering proof)

Dy: If you live in the city it has to be Virginia but I don't live in the city because there are not any hotels.




El: I live on the border of the city.  I live in a tall tall building. I can see a little bit of Sabot and a little bit of the city. (provided a word for the idea of a "side of the city".)

Len: I live in Virginia and I live right next to Sabot.









We brought the thinking from the block table  to our Project Circle. In their mind's eye where do the children see their house in relation to the city? Where do they see the school? Do the children think that they live in the city of Richmond or do they consider the city an urban environment with a city hall, buses, tall buildings and many hotels? 

Where do you live? Do you live in the city of Richmond? We added the visual of the yarn and beads to support the conversation and offer a representation of the conversation.

SR: I live no where near the city.

Do you live near Sabot school?

SR: Yes.

Li: I don’t live near the city. I am not close to Sabot.

Dy: Sabot is really close to me though and I don’t live near the City. I live in Virginia near my school.

N: I live close to Tavish. Yeah, you can ride a bike to his house. I don’t know why I am not next to Miles because my dad said that I live near Miles.

T: I live near Nathan’s tower. 

The conversation continued as children determined where to place their bead in relation to the tall buildings in the center of the circle (City Hall).


Elina shared her map of Richmond completed at home with her family. The map spanned a large region but offered a perspective of the city because Elina lives in the city. 

Anna asked the children to raise their hand if they live near Cartwheels and Coffee or raise their hand if they go to Sabot. Raise your hand if you live near the Diamond. 

The children also noticed the river running throughout Elina's map.

 

Together with the teachers the children hung for awhile in the ZPD and felt some disequilibrium. What does the path to the city look like for each child? Do their paths overlap with each other? What parts of their paths are similar and what parts are different?







Monday, October 6, 2014

We Dwell in Possibilities




 The Hundred Languages of Children is a poem written by Loris Malaguzzi, a visionary and the father of the Reggio Emilia schools. He instituted an educational philosophy reverencing the potentiality of the child and their intuitive ways of expressing ideas. The poem conveys the ingenuity of these modes of expression and their absence in schools.   

Children have deep reservoirs of imagination and remain open to the possibilities that a medium of expression might provide. They often begin with play or experiment with materials. When others join and provide feedback or clarify the intention of the work the children develop a deeper understanding of the materials. A compatibility between the children and the mode of expression develops. This compatibility extends both the children's understanding and their ability to express that understanding using these mode of expressions to promote thinking.







 During project circle children share their work and discuss the ideas, theories and thinking generated. Several children brought their representations of the city and City Hall to the circle for discussion. Did our individual perspectives match the three dimensional rendering? Were the elevators on the outside of the building? Was the building similar to a cylinder or a rectangular prism? Did the observation deck have windows to look at the view?



Sometimes words fail us when we collaborate. We talk and talk and yet our colleagues and friends remain confused or perhaps just not inspired. Collaboration at the light table or painting a mural can begin with play, generating comradery  and then an exchange of ideas that is detailed and visual. The ideas are tangible and can be moved or added. This way of working can level the playing field allowing everyone to have a voice and a contribution.  


                                                                    Through observing the children we slowly acquire ways to scaffold children as they use the materials and resources. This year we are asking children to use pastels. The children have noticed that the light colors add depth to darker colors and that pastels resist a watercolor wash. The approaching holiday of Halloween inspired a plethora of work using black and orange paper.                                                                                                                                                                      
              

We discussed the poem written by Malaguzzi at the start of our faculty conversation on Friday. Miles Curtis, one of our teachers, mentioned that the Hundred Languages poem reminded him of a poem  crafted by Emily Dickinson. I went looking for the poem this morning. Such lovely images to leave you with.

I dwell in Possibility

I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –