Loose Parts Provocation with Mirrors

I have been interested in exploring the use of loose parts with the children at home. After gathering some simple, versatile materials I set up an inviting provocation for exploration. I used two acrylic mirrors as 'mats' that would be each child's building space.

The materials were organic and each child was very interested in creating. At first the designs were simple.  

    

After a few attempts they realized that the pieces could be interpreted and used together to form interesting pictures.

A few faces...

A garden...

A roller coaster...

  

Someone's name...

I was amazed at the level of interest and creativity that a few ordinary materials could provide. I believe part of the appeal in this experience was the use of the mirrors, which reflected the pieces back and created interesting effects depending on whether the light hanging above was turned on. In a few days I plan to add a few more materials to the collection and see how they influence the play!

Honouring Children's Questions

A few weeks ago Cadence ran off the school bus and excitedly held something in her hand. It was an orange seed that she had saved from a snack the school had served. "I wonder if it will grow," she yelled to me as she ran across the front yard.

Seeing this as an excellent provocation for inquiry, we planted the seed in a clear cup, using cotton balls for soil. The cotton balls held moisture and the clear cup allowed us to observe the changes in the seed.

We also planted peas and bean seeds alongside the orange seed. I thought it would be interesting to compare the seeds to each other and see the differences in how they sprouted. We placed the cups in a sunny window and kept track of how many days it took for them to sprout by recording the number on a post it note.

This was an incredibly engaging activity. Each morning the kids would rush to the window to see what changes had occurred in the seeds. It was so interesting to see the root systems develop and stems grow longer until they bent upwards and reached out the cup. 

When it was time to transplant the seedlings to pots with real soil, we spent a few minutes examining them on the light table and discussing the names of each part of the plant. The root systems were so complex and it was really neat to observe them when illuminated by the light table.

We carefully transplanted the seedlings to little pots that can be planted directly in our garden as soon as it's warm enough. These are now sitting next to a sunny window.

The orange seed never grew. It turned moldy after a few days and then we threw it out. This lead to some really interesting conversations about why the kids thought it didn't grow (perhaps because oranges grow in warmer climates than ours?) and what the needs of plants and living things are. By honouring Cadence's question about whether the orange seed would grow, we spent three weeks exploring and examining how seeds grow and what living things need in order to thrive.

Adult Initiated Provocations for Inquiry

In a developmentally appropriate, play-based learning environment children are encouraged to explore areas of self-directed interest. Sometimes these provocations for inquiry occur quite naturally (e.g., finding insects outdoors) and other times they are introduced by adults.

I thought it would be interesting to liven up a grey winter day by putting out a mystery object for my children to explore. I had them guess what they thought these were....

...and then compared them to artificial ones!

 
It was interesting to hear the children compare the two kinds of sponges. This was an opportunity for rich oral language as we described attributes and I introduced new vocabulary. Their engagement lead to the wonderful question of where real sponges come from. We spent some time researching this online before playing with both kinds of sponges in the tub!

The children were intrigued with how hard the natural sponges were when dry, and how easily they became soft and pliable when wet. They noticed that the artificial sponges seemed to float more easily and held more water. There was an interest expressed in how these sponges would compare as painting tools, so the next day we conducted an artistic experiment in order to find out.

The children help me create the experiment. We decided to choose three colours of paint and use one type of each sponge in order to compare the kind of marks they would make.

Although both sponges appeared to work in the same way, we noticed that the natural sponges were easier to smear and lightly dab on the paper when they had less paint on them.

 

The sponges are now a regular feature in our bathroom and the children can use them during water play or art creation. This inquiry lasted a few days and I'm now on the lookout for more interesting mystery objects to use as provocations for wonder and excitement in the house!