Science and Discovery in the PreK4 Classroom

 The inquiry approach in our PreK classroom allows us to listen and discover what our children are interested in and follow their interests to create our curriculum.  

We are currently discovering many things in the outdoors that the  children are asking questions about.  We collected and asked about nuts and created a guide book to the outdoors. Our interests have turned to FUNGI as they have become  more evident outdoors.  

To begin our process of discovery, we spent time looking outdoors and finding mushrooms.  This was our observation/documentation period. 

Once we had collected quite a few pictures, we also added some to our mossy terrarium, which the children are free to observe on the science table. 

As our discoveries increased, we asked the children what they WONDERED about mushrooms, and consulted an expert, Leiana, for information.  This is the INQUIRY portion of science in the classroom.  

We looked at guidebooks, observed mushrooms in nature, and read books about mushrooms as we continued our study.  We constructed a very large mushroom for our classroom and have decided that we are going to perform a story, The Mushroom .  We used recycled packaging to create the cap of our mushroom!  It's very colorful.....

Our questions were answered in part by Jesse, a Parker family member who loves mushrooms and was able to share their knowledge with us. He brought in pictures of SPORES from a microscope, and answered our many questions and share in our excitement about the wonders of the fungus kingdom.  

The result of our inquiry approach is still in progress: we will add to our Guidebook, create mushroom/fungi sculptures, and continue our hands on approach to answering our children's questions. Some of our discoveries included:

For our culminating activity, each child is given the opportunity to share what they have learned about mushrooms by creating and naming their own mushroom from recycled materials. 

While they are creating their mushrooms, they are describing all the parts of the mushroom.  "I need roots-mycelium."  "This is a puffball, it needs to be in a circle shape."  "This is JUST a mushroom."  

Having a very large mushroom to fit underneath certainly helps our imaginations!  Stay tuned.......

Until Next Time,

Michele and Charlene