Winter Holiday Investigation...with a twist!

Let me be clear from the start - this was NOT a normal investigation.  It didn't grow out of students' interests, and their curiosities and questions did not lead the way.  Rather, this investigation grew out of the (slightly unexpected) success of our continued Thankful Thursday tradition, the goal of guiding students to think beyond themselves by considering the variety of winter holidays celebrated in our community, and by my current interest in learning through process FOR a purpose. 

Front Door Investigation

There's been a lot of talk around the lower school lately as we transition from a history curriculum toward a social studies one about what exactly that means...and more importantly, what it could look like.  While many of those big questions still linger, one thing I know for sure is that the concept of identity has come up over and over again.  Along similar lines, I always have Angela Maier's teachings running through my head about humans' inherent need to matter.  So, helping kids think more deeply about who they are, where they belong, and what they stand for - along with my commitment to helping kids realize they truly matter - have both been at the forefront of my mind.  

Squirrel Investigation

It's been a long time since I've blogged about an investigation.  Admittedly, I'd been stuck.  Stuck between this place of having gotten pretty good at the "investigation" process with young children while at the same time feeling less and less sure it was always the best use of their time.  

Since first discovering Ken Robinson's work 10+ years ago, I've been a HUGE believer in the importance of curiosity and creativity in learning.  So much of my work with young children is centered on these ideals.  The last several years, though, more and more of my reading has been pulling me in the direction of valuing agency and impact too.  Lately I'd been realizing much of the focus of our investigations was on acquiring content.  We aways started with inquiry, but so much of what happened after that was learning the content that answered their questions.  Yes - it was hands on, and yes it was joyful - but at the end of the day, so much of it was about content.  And I kept finding that I was having a lot of trouble getting out of the cover-it-all rut.  

The Self Driven Child

Whittling this book down to my biggest takeaways was almost impossible, because this book spoke to me in SO many ways. I’ve read a ton of teaching and parenting books over the years, and this is one of my all-time favorites – for so many reasons.  It’s already impacted my teaching, my parenting, and my own personal “living” too. Here’s my best attempt at a top 5, but they don’t fully do the book justice…

So what's the big deal with kids and outdoor play?

If we work from the premise that play is an invaluable part of childhood, then why does it matter so much if kids play indoors or out? The truth, of course, is that both types of play are indeed valuable. Unstructured outdoor play, however, provides important avenues for growth and brain development that can rarely be replicated through indoor play. And for a variety of reasons, it doesn’t happen nearly enough anymore. So why do we need more of it?

Why Kindness Ninjas?

We’ve been talking a lot about our Thanks and Appreciation Tool this year in kindergarten, so what better way could there be to cultivate a caring and empathetic mindset than by recognizing and appreciating the people around us?! That’s how Thankful Thursdays was born…and I was blown away by how effective it has been in cultivating this mindset of appreciation. Not only has it helped the kindergartners build connections and relationships with members of our community, but it has also encouraged them to notice people around us doing important work – taking care of books in our library, fixing the leak in our ceiling, working hard to teach us math, helping wash our dirty dishes, etc.

The Benefits and Challenges of (Reasonably) Risky Play

(Reasonably) risky play is thrilling and exciting and incredibly important for kids. So why aren't kids getting enough of it these days? Well, the main answer is US - we're often the ones holding kids back from engaging in risky play. Let's be honest - it can be SO hard to watch those little people we love so dearly do something that might cause hurt. So. Very. Hard.  

Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World

This book is powerful. It rests on the premise that today's teens are measurably 40% less empathetic than they were 30 years ago and that today's culture values "me" more than "we." As long as you can look past the excessive usage of acronyms, I HIGHLY recommend it. I discovered concrete explanations for why developing empathy in children is so important...

"Empathy is the root of humanity and the foundation that helps our children become good caring people, but the empathy advantage also gives them a huge edge on happiness and success."

I also discovered that empathy is highly teachable...

"Empathy can be instilled, and it is composed of teachable habits that can be developed, practiced, and lived."

So here are my 5 take-aways...

Life Tools for Social, Emotional (and Intellectual) Development

The longer I work at this whole teaching (and parenting) thing, the more convinced I am that it's (almost) ALL about social emotional development. I think great teachers have known this all along, and now the emerging field of neuroscience can overwhelmingly support this notion.

So this year I finally decided to do something about it. I decided I'm no longer okay with leaving SEL up to chance, fitting it in occasionally during a morning meeting, or thinking of it as something that gets in the way of the other more important stuff. As a kindergarten teacher I have firmly committed to the notion that it IS the important stuff.

Why Investigations?

So much of teaching (at least in my experience in independent school classrooms) is about making hard decisions. There are countless things we could learn/do each day and an increasingly long list of innovative (or even more traditional) ways of teaching them. In order to stay on track I find myself constantly asking - What do my students really need, and given what I know about them (and the world in which they live) what is the very BEST use of their time at school?

Sound and Instrument Investigation

It all started with a visit from the 7th/8th orchestra.  One morning they decided to practice in the first grade commons area and invited Lower School classes to watch. My kindergartners sat mesmerized as they watched the big kids play.  I could tell right away that music was an interest that spoke to many of them, and my suspicions were confirmed the very next day when I noticed several kiddos making paper instruments during choice time.  Since we were deep in the midst of our Lower-Middle-Upper school investigation, I filed the idea away for a few weeks...

Until one morning my daughter was headed to middle school with her violin in hand. The kindegartners gathered around as she opened up her case and revealed (and played for them too, of course) what was inside.

Lower-Middle-Upper School Investigation

For a variety of reasons we've had several older Stab visitors in our classroom this school year, and my class is always completely enamored with our visitors.  One day an upper school visitor walked in and the kindergartners rattled off about 20 questions for her in less than 5 minutes - all about things they wondered about her life in the Upper School. Clearly, they were interested in finding out more! 

Since the beginning of a school year in a brand new building is a perfect opportunity for learning more about the people and spaces around you...AND because of their unquestionable curiosity surrounding this topic, our Lower-Middle-Upper school was born.

Games Around the World Investigation (under construction)

Individual Investigations (under construction)

Our Rainbow-Chihuly-Waterbottle Investigation

Our Rainbow-Chihuly-Waterbottle Investigation was unlike any other, in large part because it seemed to never end. One of my main goals as a teacher this year has been to pause and give the kiddos time to think, remember, extend, and reflect. Since I'm the kind of person who tends to move quickly, slowing down and reflecting does not come naturally to me. Despite that challenge, I've come to finally understand that's where the real learning happens. Yes, in many ways this investigation went on and on and on - with a few other smaller investigations even happening in the midst of it. However, the slower pace and reflective mindset (especially toward the end) that guided our work allowed for a whole new level of depth, quality, and meaning.   

Our investigation all started with a rainbow obsession, but that's definitely not where it ended up! From the very beginning of the school year it was obvious that many of my kindergartners loved rainbows. Our drawing and painting and creating and building centers always seemed to be full of them.  

Our School Investigation

Most of our investigations in kindergarten arise out of students' interest and/or needs. However, I've always been curious to try an investigation that begins with a teacher-selected guiding question instead. I wanted a question that would lend itself to as much critical thinking as possible, and I also wanted one that would enable the kiddos to do the actual investigating themselves. Since we had already completed three interest-driven investigations so far this school year, January seemed like a perfect time to try something new.  

Our investigation began with the question, "What are the most important places at our school?" Since one of my main goals this year is to get those little brains thinking deeply as much as possible, we brainstormed a list the first day and the following day I challenged the kindergartners to explain their reasoning behind each suggestion.

Once our list was complete, we headed out to explore the Learning Village to see if there were any important spots we might have forgotten.  

Game Investigation

Our game investigation came about in the most organic and natural way possible, and it was the perfect fit for my particular group of kindergartners this year. One day someone brought a game to school in the share sack, and then all the kiddos gathered around after snack to play it. The following day our next sharer also brought in a game, and the same thing happened. It only took two days to VERY clearly see that this group of kiddos already had many of the social skills required for successful game play and that they absolutely loved doing it too.  

The countless benefits of playing board games are well researched and documented. Board games help develop...

• math skills - number recognition, grouping, counting, detecting patterns
• literacy skills - letter and word recognition, writing, sequencing, vocabulary development 
• social skills - communicating, sharing, taking turns, patience, being a good sport
• cognitive skills - problem solving, strategizing, decision making, critical thinking, logic and reasoning skills, cause and effect
• ability to focus and persevere
• friendships and a sense of belonging and community through shared fun

Squirrel Investigation

It all started with a pretend squirrel restaurant outside (isn't fall such a perfect time to explore outdoors!), 

and an ongoing LOVE for Scaredy Squirrel books...

Crayon Investigation

From the very first day of school I began noticing how much this class likes color!  Rainbow after rainbow after rainbow kept appearing in the art center. 

I had a hunch this interest in rainbows was more about beautiful colors and less about actual rainbows, so I decided to try out some color activities to see if I was correct.  We learned to mix colors to create new ones, explored shades as we made our color wheel, dove head first into the 100 color challenge, and put our new knowledge about making shades to use as we matched colors to paint swatches.   

Individual Nature Investigations

As our bee investigation was wrapping up, the kindergarteners began bombarding me with questions and suggestions about what we would investigate next.  The more they questioned and suggested, the more of a sense I got that they were ready to branch out and investigate on their own.  I have never done individual investigations and was concerned about the time constraints (only 2 1/2 weeks left of the school year!), but nevertheless I decided to give it a go.  Recently I had listened to several podcasts about Genius Hour and was inspired me to see what this type of individualized learning might look and feel like in a kindergarten classroom. I wondered what I might sacrifice from the learning and discovery process by letting kids investigate on their own rather than collectively, and on the flipside I wondered what my students and I might gain from the experience.  I often think of our investigations as a process of learning and discovering through projects and then ending with a final project that helps us reflect or make a difference in our own little corner of the world.  This experience, however, would be markedly different.  I wondered...

• Would there be a collective energy and excitement in the room even though our topics were all different?
• Would the kids care about their topic for more than a few days, or would they start to become more engaged in classmates' topics?
• Would they learn as much about their topic without doing little projects to make their learning come alive along the way?  And, would that matter?
• Would this type of learning process feel as joyful as our typical investigation process?
• Our investigation project ideas naturally emerge as we explore and wonder together, so how would project ideas emerge when kids are learning on their own?

Clearly this individual investigation process was going to be as much of a learning experience for the kiddos as it would be for me!!

I had noticed many of their recent investigation suggestions stemmed from things (other than bees) they had been noticing outside (isn't spring such a perfect time for little people to wonder about nature!), and I also had a hunch that making sure their topics could be seen and touched would make for deeper learning...so we settled on the broad topic of nature around our school.  Under that umbrella, the kiddos were free to investigate whatever their little hearts and minds desired.

We headed outside to notice, explore, wonder, and of course PLAY!

Bee Investigation

In the process of thinking about, talking about, and observing signs of spring together with the kiddos, I narrowed our next investigation topic down to the bees. Not only had the kids been noticing (and running away from!) lots of bees on the playground, but I also knew this topic would give us an opportunity to tie in some service work...which hasn't happened yet with any of our investigations this year.

Guinea Pig Investigation

To say that my class this year loves my guinea pig (Strudel) would be a massive understatement! They love watching him, feeding him, petting him, talking to him, writing notes to him, reading to him, 

holding him, 

Hot Air Balloon Investigation

It was hot air balloon season in Charlottesville.  Each morning as we passed our green sharing ball around the circle several kids were telling us about the hot air balloons they had seen on the way to school, and the rest of the kids were excitedly shaking their hands and heads in agreement. This morning routine continued for several weeks, so our next investigation was born.

We began by drawing and telling each other stories of hot air balloon sightings or anything else we already knew about them...

And we compiled our knowledge into an anchor chart...

Theater Investigation

If there's anything I've learned over the past 3 years it's that ANY topic can make for a literacy rich, joyful, challenging, engaging, and wonder-filled investigation, with plenty of opportunities to build and create along the way.  In fact, some of my favorite investigations have been our most unusual ones (spies and games and a magic door, just to name a few).  It's the kindergarteners' job to be playful five and six year olds full of curiosity and wonder, and it's my job as their teacher to figure out what interests and motivates them and help facilitate a learning journey around that big idea.  

In the process of preparing to act out a Halloween story for the other kindergarten classes (each K class chose a book to explore all week and then perform), I discovered how naturally all things theater (and storytelling) related come to this group.  In fact, the mere mention of the idea of putting on a show sparked a whole new choice time obsession in our classroom.  Not only did they spend the week preparing to act out our Halloween story, 

Our Nature Investigation

I've read a lot recently about the role of driving questions in project based learning (both at the beginning and/or end of investigations) and wanted to give it a try with my kindergarteners.  I was curious to find out whether or not starting an investigation with a driving question would elevate the quality and depth of what we would accomplish along the way.  Rather than just learning about a particular (and undoubtedly fascinating!) part of nature, I wanted to focus our learning around the deeper question of "Why is nature important?"  One thing I've learned for sure is that kindergarteners can and DO think deeply, as long as you give them the time and space to do so.

I began our investigation by adding some spring themed provocations to our environment.  The kids made nature bracelets outside, started talking about and creating artwork with flowers, and began telling fairy stories in our newly created imagination (small world play) center.

Space Investigation

Every spring our kindergarten classes explore space in preparation for a moon party celebration.  All it takes in order to build excitement for space is a few non-fiction books, and the kids are instantly hooked.

I knew going into the investigation that the kids were well prepared to engage in some research on their own.  But, before I sent them off into the "independent research world," I modeled the process as we explored the ever popular topic of space travel together.  We wondered...

Pet Investigation

A new non-fiction book about baby animals in our classroom library sparked an exciting conversation about pets, which ultimately led to the beginning of our new investigation.  I knew the kindergarteners were ready for an investigation that would still be hands-on but could also incorporate a bit more of a traditional research element as well.  Plus, talking about our pets would be another great way for us all to get to know each other a little bit better and learn about responsibility and caring for animals in the process.

Simple Machines Investigation

When this group of kindergarteners arrived at the beginning of the school year, I noticed right away that many of them were interested in motion.  In fact, ramps and marbles were such a big hit back in August that we put them away for a while because the kids' collaboration skills weren't yet strong enough to handle their level of interest.  Over the past months I also noticed kids kept building things with wheels that moved really fast.  Catapults made from our Lincoln Logs kept appearing as well. Right before winter break our sneaky gingerbread men ran away, so the kiddos came up with the idea of building traps to catch them.  That's when I first noticed a real interest in pulleys too.  Thus, our simple machines investigation was born.  I had a feeling a simple machines investigation would be a productive and thought-provoking way to channel all their excitement and interest in movement!

Homes Around the World Investigation

A number of students told me at the beginning of the school year their hope was to learn about the world.  However, the world is not exactly an easy concept for five or six year olds who are still trying to understand the difference between Charlottesville and Virginia to fully grasp.  I wondered how I could make the topic of the world more concrete and meaningful for them.  Our school had also been engaging in professional development around topics of diversity and inclusivity.  These conversations got me thinking about my role as an educator who puts great value into growing what I do out of students' interests versus my responsibility to help grow my students' thinking by exposing them to topics they might not be naturally drawn to themselves.   And finally, I was hoping to begin an investigation that would get more of my students building with recycled materials so they could grow more comfortable engaging in the design process independently.  Thus, our homes around the world investigation was born...

We began as close to home as possible - by carefully sketching and painting our own houses.  There was a lot of detailed fine motor work that went into their artwork!

Ant Investigation

For a wide variety of reasons (strengthening our observation skills, learning to use books and the Internet as valuable resources for gathering new information, developing our critical thinking skills through thoughtful conversations, and strengthening our capacity for empathy by taking an ant's perspective) I had secretly wanted to explore ants for a while.  When we spotted a bunch of ants outside the K classrooms, I knew it was the perfect time to (hopefully...assuming the kiddos were interested) begin our new investigation.  We wondered, Why were there so many ants? Where were they all going?  Some of the kids were completely fascinated by what they saw, so we grabbed the iPad to snap a few pictures for reflection when we got inside.

Before we delve into an investigation, I'm always curious to see what the kids know (and/or misunderstand) about the topic.