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I'm Colleen, and I teach preschool
in a Head Start classroom.
My assistant Kelly and I have 18 preschoolers,
ages three to five years old.
- I see a bean.
- I see a root.
- All of the children in my classroom love doing
science activities, but they are all different
in terms of their ages,
abilities, interests and backgrounds.
So we have to be flexible in finding ways to support
everyone's science learning.
What is this?
- A plant.
- We started our plant and seed exploration at circle time.
And the stem is like a big straw.
I talk to the children to try to get a sense
of their knowledge, interests and questions about plants.
Where do you think the buds are on the plant?
- Here.
- After circle time, we moved on to more independent exploration.
We try to give the children as many choices as possible.
They can get dirty planting, watering and digging
or create art with beans and seeds.
From reading about plants at our book center,
to going outside and exploring the plants
and trees in our yard, we try to provide them
the freedom to follow their own interests,
which makes it more likely they will become engaged
in the science.
What do they smell like?
This freedom to explore can sometimes be overwhelming.
One of the boys in my class had never really looked closely
at a plant before.
So I asked him simpler questions.
Are all the flowers the same?
- No.
- No, are they different?
- Yeah, but this is not different to that one.
- How are they the same?
- Because they have the same colors.
- What color?
He also has an interest in math.
So I made sure to incorporate it into our exploration.
Now I wonder, which one is the tallest?
You think that one?
Can we measure it?
- Yeah.
- Oh, you measured right over to this bud.
It hasn't blossomed yet, it hasn't bloomed into a flower.
Can you point and count?
One of my children had more experience with plants,
so I decided to give her a challenge.
Can you find me three different plants?
- Yes.
- And take a picture of them?
- Yes.
- This led to some great conversations.
- I took a picture.
- What did you notice?
What do you think's underneath this concrete?
- Soil.
- You think there's soil under there and the plant
is starting to poke up? - Yes.
- You want to go look at the other plants around?
- Yeah.
- Let's see what other plants we can find.
Why did you take a picture of this plant?
- Because it looks prettier.
- How would you describe these leaves?
- This one has white and green.
It's different because it has white and green.
- Put your hand through.
Taking pictures was also a great way to get my youngest child
involved, without the pressure of being in a big group.
Awesome.
One.
Two.
- And because all of his classmates were engaged
in our other activities, I could continue to explore with him
at his own level.
It takes a little bit of extra work and creativity
to figure out how to inspire all of the different children
in my care.
But seeing them so excited and engaged makes it all worth it.
- Because it needs more energy to grow and grow.