How many times have we walked past this tree?
We know it is unusual. We think that there is a probable explanation but we have places to be and conversations to finish. The moments and questions that adults often relegate to their subconscious are the same moments and questions that tantalize a child.
The children try to make sense of the "line up" tree (the location we gather before going to the classroom)
Peyton: This is actually a castle. It is
rounded.
Noah: Maybe we can
uncover the spot to open it up (to put the key in).
Guys, I got it maybe this is a round thing with a stairs inside and a person put a tree around it so somebody might think that it is really a tree.
If someone pushed the tree part off it then maybe we could see the round part.
Guys, I got it maybe this is a round thing with a stairs inside and a person put a tree around it so somebody might think that it is really a tree.
If someone pushed the tree part off it then maybe we could see the round part.
Elizabeth: We could
get a magic robot to open it.
Gardiner built a model of the stairs that is inside of the tree.
Dante considers x-raying the tree. This is the only way to see the inside of the tree.
Mary, Anna and I talked about the children's questions and work. Anna suggested that we ask the children to define a tree.
What does it mean to be a tree? What must a tree have to be a tree?
Dante: You need to
have leaves.
Noah: Trees are made
of wood.
Annie: There are no
bricks.
Tannin: Fruit is a
on a tree if it is a fruit tree.
Noah: Branches.
Elizabeth: Roots or
on a tree.
Nora: They give a
tree food.
Tanner: They make
the tree big.
Gardner: They stop
the tree from blowing away.
Nora: Trees don’t
have leaves if they are dead.
Jesse: In winter, trees don’t have leaves except if it is a pine tree.
Mary: What is a pine tree?
Mathilda: It is a
tree that we celebrate at Christmas.
Ian: It is an
evergreen tree it is always green until it falls to the ground.
Caleb: It means the
tree is dying if you find brown needles under it.
Gardner: You need
water to be a tree.
Tannin: Evergreens
don’t loose their leaves in the fall.
Ella: If you pick
needles off a pine tree they don’t grow back.
Elizabeth: Why would
a tree have bricks in it?
Acadia: The bricks
might help the tree to stand up.
As we leave Project Circle and make intentions for the work we are interested in pursuing during Project Time (Investigative Research) many of the children represent a tree.....a real tree.
I'm so excited about this investigation! This tree has intrigued me since first seeing it.... I can't wait to watch this unfold.....
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