This week we’ve transitioned from one unit of inquiry (rocks tell the story of the Earth) to another (cycles in nature depend on each other). It’s been amazing to hear the children make some connections between how rocks change and wondering why the leaves on the tree outside our class window change. A student even raised her hand to ask, “Is the tree alive?” We took this great student question and rolled with it: we grabbed our writing books, pencils, hats and water bottles and went straight to the ABIS farm. We observed and tried to sort what we saw into two categories – “alive” or “not alive.” After following some chickens, drawing pictures of various objects we saw, and getting excited about the turtle swimming in the water, we came back to the classroom and discussed our observations in groups. Is water alive because it moves? Are those bananas alive on the tree? The hose looks like a snake … is it alive too? Come to school next week (and all the weeks left after that except for Eid) to find out! I was just glad that at least one group wrote “Ms. Lucy” under their “alive” heading. Phewww – that’s a relief!
