Nature

Nature continues to be an important part of learning in Kindergarten. Nature is both a part of inside the classroom and outside, too. Each week, we use Paris as a classroom and support children's learning by taking them outside to nearby parks, nature trails and walks around the local neighbourhood. Sometimes, the natural environment is used to support children's play or scaffold their inquiries. Other times, nature might be used to provoke and challenge children to think creatively.

Benefits of play and learning outdoors include:

- fitness and physical development

- limitless opportunities from loose parts 

- opportunities to explore, discover and understand the natural world 

- fresh air and well-being

- getting dirty or wet and self-management at these times

- negotiating risk 

Learning in and about nature

As children play in nature and learn more about concepts linked to the natural world, they develop a respect and level of appreciation for its beauty and become increasingly more responsible in their choices to protect nature as a resource. Nature transcends disciplines so big ideas can be explored through different subject areas. For example, patterns, ecosystems, resource management, waste, symmetry...

A sense of awe and sparks of curiosity are nurtured through opportunities to observe and learn about elements as wide ranging as rainbows and sunsets, snow and fog, plants and animals, rocks and minerals, volcanoes and oceans... 

Kindergarten's current unit of inquiry is based on the central idea: Looking closely at nature helps us to appreciate its beauty. 

We set the classroom up with many examples from nature as shown in the photos above. Children naturally used their senses to make observations and notice details about each object. We named the senses and then explored the objects more systematically through touch, sight, smell and sound. 

As children were drawing their observations, one child asked for the magnifying lenses to see more closely. This unprompted initiative changed the level of observations and provoked the children to notice and wonder in new ways. 

Children were not introduced to the word 'nature' through these explorations and the central idea was not shared. Instead, children were asked to think about what all of the things we had been exploring had in common. Documenting their ideas, several theories emerged that we can test and explore more deeply in the coming weeks. These working theories include the outdoors, growth, common colours, living things and having feelings. 

The sketchbooks will be used continually to observe nature, including outdoor spaces, nearby nature spots and other field trips. The children have already started sketching in the garden. 

Children were invited to see what was inside the fruit and vegetables, so a group chose to do this using their fingers and knives. 

Children were invited to use other media to capture their observations of natural objects. Some children chose to paint. 

We also thought about different ways to look closely at objects. This included from different angles, looking inside, looking up, moving parts to see what is between them. Observing plants, children had many ideas about seeds, pollen and juice that we can explore more deeply. 

I also revisited the question about what makes all the objects the same after these further explorations. More working theories were revealed which we will come back to. One of them was the idea of what makes an animal an animal, and the idea that bugs are not animals. 

Important to note is that the documentation shown here is from just three days of a new unit of inquiry. We have nine weeks to explore more deeply, test and develop new working theories, take time to be in awe of nature, ponder on what we are truly curious about and reflect on how we might found out more. An understanding of the central idea will be developed gradually over time by children experiencing it and reflecting upon their experiences. 

Also important to note is that while we brought nature into the classroom to launch the unit, we will spend a lot of time outside in nature in various places. 

What are some ways that you use to help children be immersed in and wonder about nature?