Our 5-6 year old pre-schoolers were just back from their visit to the Honey Factory and the learnings were fresh in their minds, the classes buzzed with connections to bees and the honey factory in all its glory. Just then, a hive that was housed at our school campus collapse due to its weight.
We made use of this opportunity to let children observe, feel and explore it further. The hive was carefully laid on the ground in their play area. As children arrived, some were excited, some confused, some were shocked and some curious.
E: I can see honey.
Ab: (Shocked) Where are the honey bees? O My God! They killed them. There are thousands of bees which are dead!
Aad: Because they put smoke to them (referring to a honey harvesting technique using smoke that she had heard about)
Sh: I can see the eggs, all the circle ones are eggs.
Ab: (checking if he could touch) Can I touch?
Facilitator: Gently
(Everybody take turns to touch it)
Sh: It's hard, but I can smell some yummy honey.
Aad: It looks like a mountain.
T: It's a rainbow pattern.
Post this, Ab suddenly calls out for everybody.
Ab: Worker bees! Come on, let's go look for nectar!
An: (runs to Ab) I want to be the queen bee Ab, what do I do?
Ab: You go lay eggs up there (pointing toward the area above the doll house)
An followed the instructions, while the others went looking for nectar in the garden. The exploration, in no time had taken a turn into a game of pretend play.
Children called themselves worker bees and fetched nectar from the flowers in the garden area and brought it back to the hive above the doll house, while An, pretended to lay eggs.
Once they were done with pretend play, they got back to their classes and discussed more about the bees as children who had done some research on this topic shared their knowledge with the class.
An: Talked to the class about how the bees are transferred from their natural hives to domesticated boxes.
E: Talked to the class about the process of honey creation by honey bees which she had seen in a video.
The whole class together explored the shape of the the honey comb.
When children are given an environment that kindles their curiosity and allows them to play with it, magic is sure to happen! They take that extra mile to delve deeper and immerse themselves in the learning. And things learnt through play stays for life.
We at SM constantly strive towards creating a space that helps children explore their interests to the fullest while embedding their curriculum into it. This helps children develop a love not just for learning, but for learning in different ways which we believe is one of the most important skills to possess.
#reggioemiliainspiredlearning
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
Contributed by Yashika CG, Learning Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.
We made use of this opportunity to let children observe, feel and explore it further. The hive was carefully laid on the ground in their play area. As children arrived, some were excited, some confused, some were shocked and some curious.
E: I can see honey.
Ab: (Shocked) Where are the honey bees? O My God! They killed them. There are thousands of bees which are dead!
Aad: Because they put smoke to them (referring to a honey harvesting technique using smoke that she had heard about)
Sh: I can see the eggs, all the circle ones are eggs.
Ab: (checking if he could touch) Can I touch?
Facilitator: Gently
(Everybody take turns to touch it)
Sh: It's hard, but I can smell some yummy honey.
Aad: It looks like a mountain.
T: It's a rainbow pattern.
Post this, Ab suddenly calls out for everybody.
Ab: Worker bees! Come on, let's go look for nectar!
An: (runs to Ab) I want to be the queen bee Ab, what do I do?
Ab: You go lay eggs up there (pointing toward the area above the doll house)
An followed the instructions, while the others went looking for nectar in the garden. The exploration, in no time had taken a turn into a game of pretend play.
Children called themselves worker bees and fetched nectar from the flowers in the garden area and brought it back to the hive above the doll house, while An, pretended to lay eggs.
Once they were done with pretend play, they got back to their classes and discussed more about the bees as children who had done some research on this topic shared their knowledge with the class.
An: Talked to the class about how the bees are transferred from their natural hives to domesticated boxes.
E: Talked to the class about the process of honey creation by honey bees which she had seen in a video.
The whole class together explored the shape of the the honey comb.
When children are given an environment that kindles their curiosity and allows them to play with it, magic is sure to happen! They take that extra mile to delve deeper and immerse themselves in the learning. And things learnt through play stays for life.
We at SM constantly strive towards creating a space that helps children explore their interests to the fullest while embedding their curriculum into it. This helps children develop a love not just for learning, but for learning in different ways which we believe is one of the most important skills to possess.
#reggioemiliainspiredlearning
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
Contributed by Yashika CG, Learning Facilitator, Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.
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