Interest in shapes is evolving naturally in our classroom and the children's awareness of shapes in the world in which we live is exciting to observe. During lunch and snack the children are often referencing their observations with both joy and excitement! '' My thermos top is a circle", "See, my sandwich is a triangle and when I put my two triangles together I have a square!" or " Watch me eat my celery because I can change it into a small rectangle from a long and large one!" , are just a sampling of the many conversations heard during our lunchtime together. It is fascinating to observe how children process and weave information into their real worlds. This reminds us of how important it is to create a learning environment and curriculum that is meaningful, interesting and real for children. This supports our beliefs that children learn through best practice which is anchored with the idea that the children are curious and inquisitive and that it is essential that we create learning environments where our children are fully engaged.
What's next? At our weekly planning session, we reflected on our observations of our children's connection to shapes and discussed possibilities and provocations that would facilitate a deeper exploration of shapes. At the same time, we all commented on the growing feeling of community we were sensing with the group in general, and that we were really thrilled with how comfortable the Cardinals seem attending assembly, MFW as well as visiting new places on campus. What was emerging for us was to begin to think of ways that we could connect both aspects of our curriculum together. A Shape Walk seemed like an ideal activity that would meet the interests and goals for us.
As we prepared to go on our walk, we first had a conversation about what our 'job' would be on the walk. We looked at things in our classroom environment before leaving and identified the shape that would be associated with the object. We described our work was like being 'shape detectives' and we practiced identifying shapes before venturing out of the classroom. The children were excited and felt confident going on this shape adventure!
Walking through the halls of AFS our children were greeted by many familiar faces of friends, family and teachers and the joy and happiness that our children experienced was quite special to observe! As the children's awareness of shapes heightened, their excitement and enthusiasm soared! It was as if discovering shapes in the world was almost
magical! We will certainly be going on more shape adventures and will explore new spots on our beautiful campus! Take notice of shapes with your child at home... it is lots of fun to share in their learning and discovery.
