Quadra Children's Centre
  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • School Age
    • Summer Programs
  • About us
    • About Lise
    • About Cally
  • Parent Corner
    • Photo Gallery
  • Kid's Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Contribute
  • DONATE

  Natural Materials - Last Installment in this Series.

10/15/2014

3 Comments

 
The introduction of clay presented the children with a whole new experience. Crushing it in a mortar, they were able to notice a rapid transformation. “Whoa, it’s sandy. It’s like a volcano. Watch the smoke. It’s smoking.” 
Clay was like magic. By adding water to the powder, it transformed once again. 
Chalk offered the same properties as clay and with the addition of water became a “paint” that could be spread on the body and transferred onto paper.
 As we go deeper into this investigation we observe the natural materials creating a strong bond amongst the children. Their camaraderie inspires them to build upon each others ideas. In other words they are scaffolding their own learning.
We saved everything. After several months of crushing and transforming the materials, we as adults wanted to catalogue our collection in various stages of transformation. We found that the children could identify most of the materials. They described the various stages as “crunched up and not crunched up.” The very fine clay was called “pixie dust clay.
Using clay as a medium with small amounts of water.
Crunching up materials and collecting even the very small particles. 
At this time we reflect upon this exploration and make these findings:
There is value in lengthy experimentation, it takes children a long time of exploration to understand something on a deeper level.
The value of children’s sensory experimentation is scientific - it may look the same every time however the understanding grows deeper.
The children have been fully engaged in the process thus far, with experiences being diverse and rich.
 
3 Comments

    Archives

    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • School Age
    • Summer Programs
  • About us
    • About Lise
    • About Cally
  • Parent Corner
    • Photo Gallery
  • Kid's Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Contribute
  • DONATE