Over the past few weeks we have had some different things going on. One is taking some time to just work freely with materials in the atelier. This time does not have a set provocation but instead gives children the time and space to build relationships with the materials with which they choose to work. We value this time just as we do the time that the children are working within our inquiry project. The second piece is working alongside both Kindergarten projects.

From the last blog (Ms. Hitomi’s class):As teachers shared documentation, we uncovered this bigger idea of children making sense of their world through these lenses. With the pipes, it seems the children are making sense of the larger systems and connections in their world, and within the materials and the tiny things the children have been finding, they have uncovered interconnections. They are observing how things are connected, like insects and seeds, plants, even objects that are found and how they got there. It’s amazing because they are uncovering the macro and micro views of their world.

After looking at our documentation of the children looking closer at the materials they had found around school and the ones Finley had found around her house, we decided to split the class into two groups. One group included the children who were reading, noticing, and observing the mysteries around seeds and pods, delving into the interconnected relationships between seeds, trees, and insects. I asked the children how they could discover more about the seeds and pods with which they had become so fascinated. The children made this list: - they could use a microscope,- they could feel and smell it,- they could go back to the place they found it

and observe there, and- they could grow it. After talking at our last meeting, the children decided that observing in the space was the best way to gather more information. Their new theory is that some trees have seeds while others don’t, and by being in the space, they can observe the seeds, insects, and the relationships between all these elements.

Our virtual learning student also went out on walks and collected materials, like the children at school, and we were able to bring this student’s objects to school. Because many of the children were so fascinated by the objects that she found by her house, we formed another group of children to look closer at these found objects - a large pipe at the ocean’s edge, two pieces of glass, and one piece of cement and rock. Looking carefully at these objects, the children used clues to speculate their story. They wanted to see if they could collect more information for their speculations. They, too, thought it was important to go back to the space, so they wanted to ask their classmate to video the space, the ocean, the pipe, and the sky. They believed this information might help them more. If we look carefully, this is another way the children are coming to know the world around them. By looking carefully, they have uncovered that objects hold value, history, and story. In the next few weeks we will continue into these inquiries.

Above looking at part of the Brocken piece of glass children speculate that it must been in the water for a while. The “patteren”

as they called it gives clues that it is a bottle.

Above each child in this small group makes observations about fragments that are stuck in the clear glass, from pink threads, spots, to cracks.

Review from the last blog of Ms. Matsumoto’s class: Within their conversations about ants themselves, the children shared ideas of roles, jobs, structures, communities, rules, rules that sometimes don’t apply, work vs. jobs, characteristics, which uncovers a multitude of layered ideas about self, identity, and roles within a community! Yes, all from ants! And when we began to dive deeper into the structures, it was apparent they were building with design, function, and aesthetics. As Ms. Matsumoto’s class continues to dive deeper into conversations about ants and their communities, which, if you look carefully, actually mirror human beings, we will also take a closer look at buildings themselves.

From our past research on children and materials there are two things we consider as we move ahead: 1) materials can give children ideas, and 2) planning, drawing, and editing can also give children ideas and help to develop ideas.

As we continued to look at documentation of the children’s work and their building with the materials, we also analyzed the observations they had been making as they watched ants in different spaces at school. The children made theories and speculations that these spaces were actually separate cities with different kinds of ants, different things going on, different roles and complexity, just like human society. The children were very observant as they noticed size, color, and movement. They speculated reasons for behavior, like being scared or moving faster than another ant because of having more energy. These theories are extremely important as they can help the children further their ideas for building. This past week, we brought the children into the studio to discuss the different spaces they had observed, what they observed, and what those ants might need or want if we were to build something for them. In pairs, the children planned the things that they wanted to build. Several children also realized that using natural materials might not be enough, and they decided they may need additional materials, like clay or blocks.

Two drawings for the ants that live in the tree: The children’s ideas range from getting them electricity and cell phones to providing them extra homes both above and underground, even a school. Some of the details the children put in the drawings show us not only the empathy they have for the ants but also how they made decisions based on their observations, like creating small tree houses so the tree ants don’t have to climb all the way up the tree with their food, or by putting lights inside their houses so that the ants can see better underground. Even the small details like drawing pictures of ant wedding photos and family photos on the wall of the houses illustrate the empathy the children feel for the ants.

As we continue to discuss and analyze the children’s drawings, we see that some of their ideas are missing or are not readable. In the weeks ahead, the children will concentrate on editing and revising their plans before we move into working with clay and building.