Learning Across the ELC

Preschool

Towards the end of last term, our Preschool children had been interested in the flowers blossoming and finding snails, which led to a Life on Earth Inquiry this Term. We began by exploring and investigating provocations, noticing the sensory aspects of things found near the ocean, by touching, smelling and observing objects, sorting, classifying and drawing them too. Children have been sharing their prior knowledge, what they notice, and discussing the attributes of both living and non-living things. They have also been sharing what they might like to learn more about. The starfish, pufferfish and shark egg seemed to generate the most interest, so we began looking at some short videos to learn more about those species. We discovered where a starfish mouth is located and how they eat, we also found out that starfish don’t have a head, and they use sea water in their circulatory system instead of blood. We watched a horn shark lay their egg in the crack between rocks on the ocean floor, and a baby shark hatching out. We watched a pufferfish puff up to show its spikes and scare away predators too.  

The children have also been using clay to investigate the attributes of eggs (sizes/shapes/colours) and noticing the egg phase as part of a life cycle. They have been manipulating clay into egg shapes, marking patterns and features on them and painting them to match eggs from the book ‘An egg is quiet.’ Then using the iPad, children entered some letters from the names underneath the egg images, to research the animal species that will hatch out. This has been a great focus of our inquiry, as it is linking back to our sea creatures and exploring the idea that not all eggs are found in nests. Children have also started sculpting animals that hatch from eggs. As the fascination in animals and life cycles continue, children are beginning to wonder about what different animals eat and how they grow. Ms Julie brought in her pet Green Tree Frog Chino, who has been a fabulous focus of investigation. We have been observing, drawing, feeding and spraying Chino. We engaged the children in conversations about how to care for Chino and keep Chino safe in Preschool. Having Chino in our space has linked to our exploration of UN Global Goal #15 Life on Land, where we have been learning about environmental sustainability and how to keep plants, forests and animals safe. 

Ms Lauder, Ms Cocca and The Preschool Team