STEAM in the Garden - Constructing Insect Houses using Natural Loose Parts

"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better."

Albert Einstein

The children were gathered around a large landscaping rock, working together to arrange twigs and flowers they had picked from the ground nearby.

"I think that this side should be the living room and the bedroom can be over here," Jack gestured as he spoke. "The living room will be next to the bedroom and the ladybug can crawl across by using this little bridge."

"So what are these little sticks here for?" Mary pointed to a little row of twigs placed next to each other.

"Oh, those are going to be the bed." Olive answered.

"But that's way too big to be a ladybug's bed," Mary responded.

"Oh," Olive pondered. "I didn't think about that.

 

"That's okay," Mary smiled. "We'll just find more than one ladybug and then the bed will be the perfect size for them to share." 

Spring was in the air and the children were excited to discover that many little creatures were venturing out into the warm sun. Ladybugs, rolly pollies, and ants were abundant and this sparked the children's imaginations. Eager to 'help' the insects the children set to work building little houses for them. They searched the yard to gather materials they felt would be best suited to this task. 

 

Each day the children would return to the mini houses and continue their work, focused on creating the most aesthetic and functional space for whatever creature they had found that day.  

   There are four steps to the design process for young children. When I reflect upon the children's garden engineering of the habitats I observed these steps in action:

Identifying a Problem - the children felt the insects needed a home
Imagining and Planning - children brainstormed that natural loose parts could be used to design and construct a habitat and engaged in conversations about what this might look like
Creating - children spent time over many days creating different homes for different living creatures
Improving - children revisited their creations each day and revised their plans when necessary after they noticed new things about the insects or had engaged in conversations with peers

  

What might seem like a playful activity outdoors has the potential for much rich learning using an engineering mindset. When children create habitats outdoors they are participating in rich math exploration in action including:

 

-discussing, designing, and refining a plan

-classifying and sorting materials by common characteristics

-considering proportion as they build for specific insects

-using spatial reasoning and design as they manipulate materials

-thinking about measurement as they incorporate area and perimeter into their 'house' or discuss the attributes of materials (e.g., the heaviness of rocks, the length of sticks)

-counting materials gathered and used in the design process

-naming colours and shapes that emerge in their work

-using positional language to describe their creations

-thinking about balance and stability as they assemble materials 

-incorporating patterns or symmetry as they create aesthetic structures

 

It's amazing to notice and name the rich math learning that emerges in children's self-directed play outdoors. Taking photos and videos of the work, engaging in discussions with kids about their play, and reflecting upon the experiences can help educators make this rich learning visible to others! Sometimes nature is the most effective math teacher of all!

Fairy Tale Inspired STEAM Invitations in the Kindergarten Classroom

"I can help the goats escape that silly, old troll. All I need to do is just make a bridge that is so low to the water there is no room for the troll to hide below. That's the problem with the one in the story. There was enough room for the troll to hide. My bridge won't do that."

 

Young children are naturally curious about the world around them as they marvel and wonder about what they experience in their daily lives. According to Let's Talk Science this means that every moment has the potential for learning because children desire a deeper understanding of the world around them. STEAM learning in the early years is especially important because it helps prepare children with skills and knowledge for an unknown future. Let's Talk Science explains that STEAM activities can:

• Foster natural curiosity and creativity 
• Encourage independent and collaborative learning 
• Improve work habits and grades 
• Promote confidence in learning and ‘science identity’ 
• Promote language learning 
• Improve social-emotional skills 
• Build decision-making, problem-solving and critical thinking skills 
• Support inclusion and reduces gender disparity

In our classroom I have found that children are usually very motivated to help solve problems that appear in books we have read aloud and explored together as a class. In particular fairy tales that have likeable characters that need help evading a villain seem to elicit the most excitement and enthusiasm from kids. Sometimes STEAM invitations that are inspired by fairy tales naturally occur as a result of the children reading and discussing the text together in large or small groups. Other times I will invite children to engage in helping solve a problem by asking a question in our whole group meetings and inviting their ideas, or setting up an invitation for learning based upon the text.

One of the most popular invitations was based on the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. After reading the book I asked children to think about whether they could help the goats by building them a new bridge. On a table I created a quick playscape replicating the river by using green place mats for grass and blue paper for water. I offered baskets of different wooden loose parts for them to explore. I also added three toy goats and a troll that could be used as character props to help inspire children to retell the story after building the bridge.

    

During play time children worked collaboratively to build a number of interesting bridges. It was fascinating to discuss the attributes of each, and listen to the children's rationale for how the goats could evade the troll by using the bridge's features (e.g., close to the water, troll traps, fencing). 

      

  

  

Looking for some STEAM inspired invitations for other fairy tales? Here are some easy ideas to get you started:

The Gingerbread Man:

• build the Gingerbread Man a boat to use when crossing the river to avoid the fox
• design a fox-proof water suit the Gingerbread Man can wear when swimming across the river
• create a trap the bakers and animals can use to trick and capture the Gingerbread Man
  

Goldilocks and the Three Bears:

• build Baby Bear a new chair that will not break no matter how much weight is placed upon it
• design and draw a security system that will alert the three bears next time someone enters their house
• sketch a disguise for Goldilocks so the three bears will not recognize her
  

The Three Little Pigs:

• draw three new wolf-proof houses for the Little Pigs
• build a wind machine for the wolf that will work on a brick house
• build the setting of the story using various materials (e.g., wooden sticks, tape, play dough) that can be used to retell the story when toy pigs are added
  

Little Red Riding Hood:

• design an invisibility cloak for Little Red
• build a strong basket for Little Red that can hold many small objects without breaking (e.g., pennies, cubes, marbles)
  
• create a transportation system to move the basket of food from Little Red's to Grandmother's house
  

Jack and the Beanstalk: 

• build a beanstalk using tubes and card stock as tall as you can without it collapsing
• design, create and test a parachute that Jack can use to escape from the castle in the sky
• create a structure that the hen's golden egg can be dropped into that will keep it safe
  

A Classroom Tour for September

 

For many years now I have been greatly inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education and have sought any source of information that I could get my hands on! When FDK was first introduced in Ontario I was thrilled to see that many of Reggio's beliefs were interwoven in the document and honouring children's interests through play, inquiry and documentation were highlighted. As educators who follow a standardized curriculum we have great flexibility in our interpretation and implementation of the expectations and this makes our role exciting and dynamic.

I believe in having a fluid, evolved space that continues to change to better reflect the needs of the children and support heightened understandings of explorations and inquiries as well as enhanced abilities in the various domains of learning. We want to support the whole child in developmentally appropriate experiences and integrate learning materials from centres in diverse and unconventional ways.  

Some of the Reggio principles that have guided my work include:

• children are capable of constructing their own learning
• children form an understanding of themselves and their place in the world through their interactions with others
• children are communicators
• the environment is the third teacher
• the adults in the room are mentors and guides
• there is an emphasis and importance on documenting children's thoughts and experiences
• there are hundreds of languages of children and these are used to explore and communicate ideas and experiences

This is the door leading to our classroom. I post information around the door to assure visitors to the space that I believe in an inclusive environment where all children are respected. Building relationships with families and helping them learn about and support growth mindset is a big part of creating a safe and supportive space for learning. Something about which I've had a lot of positive feedback is our 'wish wreath'. Each September we ask families to write their hopes, wishes, dreams, etc. for their children's kindergarten experiences on paper ribbons. We weave each of these onto a grapevine wreath and display it on our door. We want it to be a symbol of our partnership and collaboration with families for the year ahead. We also include a photo of our teaching team and visitors to the room can access our class blog by scanning the QR code on the door.

Above each child's cubby is a recent photo and painted self-portrait. These change a few times each year (usually a new photo and self-portrait per term) to help show their growth. We like including a real photo to celebrate each child and love how the children use the language of art to represent their perception of self. 

Our quiet literacy area has a collection of books and writing materials to explore. It's a comfortable area for children who want a quiet space to read or draw and the sofa and chairs are a great way to calm oneself if a child is tired or needs a break. The whimsical light invites children to stay for a while and read a book or chat with a friend. We ask families to send in photos that are hung by the sofa as a sign of connection and comfort. The light table and weaving wall encourage creativity and fine motor development which will help children with writing readiness. An upcycled photo display holds seasonal vocabulary cards that can be manipulated by children. The wooden shelf holds diverse and inclusive books so all children can see themselves reflected in classroom resources.

 

Our math area has many things available for children. We include mentor texts, learning props, and documentation to showcase and support our program.

Our drama centre changes based on the interests and requests of the children. At the beginning of the year it is set up as a little 'house' to provide comfort and familiarity to children.  We include many real objects for the children to use in their imaginative play; real objects communicate the message to children that they are capable of using these tools and make the context for the imaginary play very real and meaningful. Donations from families and the local community also helps represent the diversity of our population and encourages children to see themselves and their peers reflected in the space. Literacy is interwoven throughout as children can talk on the phone, write on the chalk boards, or follow a recipe when cooking. A variety of scarves encourages children to dress up and create their own costumes and clothing. A large basket of fabric flowers can be turned into different arrangements for the table or inspire other dramatic play (e.g., a flower shop, a farmer's market).

Our building area is the heart of our room and the most popular place to be. Children integrate materials from all around the classroom into their play here. We love the big body play the wooden blocks encourage. Small loose parts (e.g., tile squares, corks, wooden spools) are also included in this area for children to combine with wooden blocks. Pillow are available for incorporation in the creations and photos of local structures are displayed for inspiration.

My favourite center in the classroom is the science area. We are fortunate to have a very large wall of windows on one side of the space. The shelf near the window houses materials that are specific to ongoing inquiries. Loose parts play are a big part of our program as we embrace all things STEAM and love our makerspace. We use many natural and found materials here and always welcome donations from our families. The science area also houses many building materials and the children can freely use these around the room in any area to support their play. Often treasures found outdoors (e.g., pinecones, feathers) and the changing of the seasons inspire inquiries. Invitations for further exploration are sometimes set up on the table in this area. A sensory table integrates imaginative play regarding current interests, here insects and their natural habitat. Children can swap out materials for other small world play (e.g., dinosaurs, fabric flowers).

The art studio is located in a sunny area of the classroom. You can see that colours and colour mixing are ongoing interests and there is much art that supports this. The materials are aesthetically arranged to be accessible for children and also decorate the space. Materials are organized by colour for ease of accessibility and also to embed math and sorting into the centre.

We are often asked by other educators about how we encourage the children to engage in regular reading and writing in a child-driven space. On the back of our bookshelf are writing clipboards, one per child. We ask children to self-select a piece of writing that they are proud of and display it on their clipboard. These are then brought to a sharing circle where children can discuss their work with others. It's a quick and easy way for us to see which children have (and haven't) engaged in regular writing so we know how to better support their needs. This clipboards can also be brought on nature walks in the yard or community as needed.

Thank you for visiting us! We love feedback and to learn about your classroom and program. Please share in the comment section below or connect with us on Twitter @McLennan1977.