West Pod-February Newsletter

What was happening?

Water has been of great interest to our West Pod students. It started with the rains of the previous month and the puddles that children delighted in afterwards. In addition to being a fascinating topic to explore, water is also one of the 5 basic materials that our curriculum is centered on.

Lucas and Joshua observe a fish that Teacher Kahdijah brought in for the class.

Children have been exploring how sound changes when experimenting with a “water xylophone” using jars to fill with water. They experimented with various materials they found and were offered, to see if they would sink or float. One day Joshua asked question “Why doesn’t the ocean dry up?” At circle time we looked at a globe and pondered the question together. Lucas replied “Because it’s so big!” Each child touched an ocean on the globe, we read the name of it, and the group noticed how the vast oceans covered much of the earth. This gave us the opportunity to extend the exploration to oceans.

Children experiment with materials they find around them to see if they sank or floated one morning.We logged their findings on a list. Children counted and compared, finding that there were more objects that floated.

Circle Time:

At circle time we read a book called “The Water Princess” about a girl in Africa who walks for a long distance every day to get water with her mother. Through the story and photos of real children included at the end, we learned that there are families don’t have water “in the sink”. Sometimes these families travel long distances to get water that is not clear.

To the left we see Amari experimenting with two gutters. He shouts excitedly when the water he pours gains enough momentum on the slope down to go up another gutter. To the right is Lucas and Ximena as they take turns watching water drain out of sieves. They laugh in delight as they observe and repeat the process back and forth.

Children enthusiastically volunteered to narrate the story “Wave” a book of only pictures depicting a girl’s visit to the beach and interactions with the waves. They also learned about coral reefs in a book read by Teacher Kahdijah and many tried two types of Japanese seaweed at snack and lunch times. Most preferred nori, which is often used to wrap sushi rolls. They said, “I like it! I want more, please!” Teachers observed much creative play around sea snakes, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles and more, as children acted out stories using various sea creatures at the water table, with sand and blocks.

Adriana and Arabella (below) work with marine animals and play dough. As they form the dough, they also strengthen the little muscles in their fingers, preparing them to write and draw with more control.

We are looking forward to hearing more about children’s interests and questions about the ocean.