Where could it have come from?
What connections could they make about when and where they found the ice?
We went on some buggy walks and noticed the ice in the Charles River. Again, I wondered about the connections they made about where it came from and what might have changed for it to be there. While there are many constants in their lives, there are always so many new and changing things as well. I imagine that our toddlers are pretty used to things being one way on one day and then a different way the next.
How does consistency and inconsistency play a role in children's learning?
When it became unseasonably warm and all of the ice melted, some of our children were still exclaiming, "Ice, ice!" as we got ready to go outside, but then there wouldn't be any when we got out. We decided that we could try to continue this interest in ice by offering it inside as part of a provocation in the morning.
I thought that it would be interesting to freeze a small object inside the ice so that we could have a reference for seeing how the ice changed. I put the small plastic penguins in water and put them in the freezer so they would be stuck inside the ice, and then they would emerge as the ice around them melted. We ended up keeping the elements of ice and penguins consistent as we changed other variables, such as the size of the containers in which we froze the ice and other materials to explore with. Harry was interested in lifting a large round piece of ice that had been formed in a bowl. How challenging it must have been to pick up such a heavy, slippery, and cold object! When it broke in half, he noticed that it looked like the moon! Theo discovered tiny bubbles in the water the melted ice produced, and we noticed they formed when we moved our hands around in it. Oscar paid close attention to the penguins in the ice and when we saw that one of their feet broke, he said, "Penguin. Foot. Break. Oh no." He also consistently proclaimed that the ice was yummy.
When cleaning up from the morning's ice provocation, we would save any pieces of ice that were still there so that we could take a look at them later in the day. We either put them in a bin inside the sensory table or in a bowl on the counter. Some children remembered in the afternoon that we put the ice away and pointed to the covered sensory table, saying, "Ice, ice!" One afternoon, when we went to look at the ice in the table, we discovered that there was only water in the bin and I wondered aloud where the ice may have gone. Oscar offered, "Slinky [Christina] ice table take!" He remembered that Christina had put the ice in the table, but thought that maybe she had taken it back out. So the concept of ice melting into water may not be there yet, but observing, noticing, remembering, and articulating are all skills they are working on.
On another occasion, after exploring ice and penguin figures along with a video projection of real penguins, Adi saw a penguin sitting in a bowl on the counter and pointed up at it, saying "Penguin." I asked him if we should take it down to look at, and maybe he could tell Nate about what he did in Studio that morning with Theo, Anika, Emily, and Katie. He said yes, so the two of them had an opportunity to quietly explore the remainder of the earlier provocation.
I saw so many deliberate actions from both Adi and Nate as they took turns dropping the penguin into the bowl of water. I think they were curious about the distinct "plink" sound the penguin hitting the edge of the bowl made, because the bowl was different from materials we usually have. I wonder how Adi and Nate felt about sharing the materials they were using.
What do you see, think, and wonder about while watching this video?
What else do our children learn through these explorations?
It has been fascinating to continue this investigation in the studio with video projections of penguins in the snow along with real snow and ice. I look forward to seeing where our investigation will take us next.
With love and wonder,
Amara
