From Primary Colors to Squirrels: How the Environment Shaped our Curiosity (Part 2)

Yes, a rock. This rock in particular.

And really, these rocks were placed months before school even began. Painted during a professional development exercise for staff, these rocks were later placed in a rock river. This space is an active and open area for exploring kids.

So when they discovered this multitude of beautiful and unique rocks, they wanted to take them home. Great, the perfect time for multiple lessons including not taking things that do not belong to us and leaving no trace and not taking nature with us.

After many days of these rocks ending up somehow so mysteriously in backpacks, it was decided that the best place to start was decorating our own. One to contribute to the rock river and one to take home.

Painting with pre schoolers can often be a “this is why I have grey hairs” type of experience. But in my effort to learn to let go, we proceeded. Knowing that the colors would inevitably get mixed, I chose to only give students primary colors. This launched us into a great lesson about primary and secondary colors (ultimately inspiring the cover photo of Part 1 of this series).

From there, students noticed how every time they washed their paintbrush in the water, the color changed! This then prompted putting food coloring in cups of water and mixing that together to discover more colors.

And of course, just as If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, if you give a pre schooler colorful water, they are going to want to paint with water colors. And when you do that, you will want to read them the book The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. Then, they will discover a fascination with rainbows.

And once they discover this, you will have to become scientists and complete a walking water science experiment.

They are going to keep asking the question “How do you make ______?” So then, you will all decide to make your own color chart for the classroom art center.

Then, they will want to show off their incredible work and create a homey feel, museum like art gallery.

Then, the real exploration begins and they mix paint on the table and pour colorful water all around.

But this will engage them for an entire 60 minutes!! So when you turn your back and a student decides to recreate the walking water experiment using cups, soap and water, you are going to freak out about the mess and waste. Here is where it is most important to think before you act. Because you have created a space where this child feels safe enough to explore and recreate something you taught them. What is to you, a disaster waiting to happen, is true, authentic learning taking place. So you breathe, get down next to her and ask “Tell me about what you are doing?” “What is your plan?”

Then, fall will hit and pumpkins will become the new interest. We could not have had a better transition if I had pre planned and decided what we were doing. But because it was on their terms, we transitioned by painting pumpkins. Baking pumpkin muffins is next because once they hear pumpkin, their developing brains immediately remember all the pumpkin flavored things they have enjoyed in the past. Then, seeing a need to develop fine motor skills, you pull out a large pumpkin, a hammer, and some golf tees. They enjoy hammering them in and taking them out, a great task to keep them occupied while the muffins bake.

Still fascinated with pumpkin insides, we cut one open. The seeds then lead us to our long term classroom project (another aspect of Reggio Emilia), Pumpkin Jack.

We notice the seeds growing and have now become interested in seeds and plants. Because we live in Texas, acorns are aplenty. Utilizing the natural environment and native plants, we learn the life cycle of an oak tree. And of course, if you stare at oak trees long enough, you are bound to see a squirrel. And once they see a squirrel, they’'re going to want to know more. “Why does it have hands?” “How does it store acorns?”.

From primary colors to squirrels, that is how students took charge of their learning and learned more than any scripted curriculum ever could have taught them.