Learning Across the ELC

Building Together: Exploring Interdependency Through Construction

In Preschool Blue, we have viewed children's curiosities through an interdependency lens. Through recycled loose-parts construction, children work with asymmetrical, lightweight and imperfect objects, requiring them to rely on one another and apply opposing forces to stabilise their structures. They are developing spatial awareness as they problem-solve through rigorous trial and error and back-and-forth coordination. This social and cooperative building with purpose requires negotiation and shared roles. It also encourages children to develop narratives while exploring concepts of gravity, friction, texture, weight distribution, counterbalancing, anchoring and, most importantly, interdependency.

Constructions continued outside at our water pump, with children developing pipe systems using flexible tubing, connectors and funnels cut out of milk bottles. We have revisited construction in Yarning Time, asking whether these creations could be made alone and celebrating the children's resilience and problem-solving.

Hugo: "You need help to bend the pipe in".

William: "We connect them into the shovel and into this pipe and the slinky thing…. They made of a cow bottle, we need to recycle them to make this part".

Benjamin: "We need to save milk bottles for making them". 

We have been learning about interdependency through our environment too, by observing and maintaining enclosures for snails, frogs and tadpoles. Children also created a collaborative artwork on one of our core flute construction pieces. Starting with “the seed”, their artwork grew both below and above the soil level in 2D and 3D, demonstrating their growing understanding of living things and interdependency in our environment.

We are even encouraging children to notice interdependence when climbing trees in our playground, helping them understand the importance of negotiating space so that everyone can climb safely and find a place without damaging the tree.

The Preschool Team

News from the Wattle Team

Some of the children in Wattle have been exploring food as part of our ongoing 'Language of Care' inquiry. A smaller group of children has been exploring how to care for our bodies and others through the languages of food and hospitality.

Darcy: "I'm cutting celery.”

Zoe: “Yes!” when asked “Are you peeling the celery?”

Arlet: “Can you help me break” when she was trying to break the celery in half.

Eli: “I want a spoon!” 

The Wattle Room Team