Nature Comes Alive!

We were trying to come up with a way to get the kids writing at the Nature Table so I put some clip boards there along with some "stuff" from nature. We also added markers for fun writing because all kids love to write with markers, right?

After some kids visited there, I talked to the children about writing and how it takes many forms.  I praised the students for writing and that sparked some interest in the writing materials.

 

Then, a miracle happened!  The children found a spider in the classroom so instead of stepping on it (like I would have before inquiry learning), I scooped it up and put it in a container.  Later that day, someone found an earwig.  So we added that too.  This led to questions of whether or not the spider would eat the earwig or vice versa...

 

The children got out their magnifiers and checked them out.  Very quickly, the spider spun a web!!! I asked the kids to write down what they were thinking and they got to work.

When they got to go to the computer, this group of boys were attempting to spell s-p-i-d-e-r so they could search it in Google!  We found a YouTube video on National Geographic about spiders.  The excitement of it all!!!  

By the way, did I mention that this was Ss week?  Hmmm, spider...I believe that starts with Ss!!! Stay tuned...

 

Friday:

 

Our search for insects continued outside all week long.  Today, the students found a big spider so we brought it in and put it in a jar with some fall leaves.

The children got to work drawing pictures and recording about spiders and I found some spider facts to read to them.