Children are naturally curious about the world, they ask questions, discover, observe, problem solve to find answers. Inquiry learning is driven on the children's questions, their ideas and wonders of the world. This week in my Kindergarten class we started a great inquiry around pumpkins. Children wondered what was inside, some said seeds, some said milk. We took it apart to see what we would find. The children were amazed to discover many seeds inside. The children began to inquiry how the seeds got there? Why there were so many? Why it felt so "smushy". We began to research their ideas. One boy thought it would be a great idea for each child to take home a seed and grow at home. We packed a seed for each child and wrote a note together to parents explaining our project. We then began to grow our own seeds in the classroom. We asked children what things plants would need to grow. They decided that we would plant the seeds into many different materials to see what would grow best. We went out into the natural environment to look for these materials. They planted the seeds into; rocks,sand, soil, and wood chips. This inquiry came from the children's interests, when you build on their ideas and questions you create a program which is more meaningful to children. Spend some time really listening to children's questions, what do they wonder about the world? What can we research and investigate together?
Below is a link to inquiry information online:
Inquiry in the classroom
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