At Newton, we love nature from childhood.
Our Activity’s Origin Story
This fall, when the leaves of the ivy quietly change color, teachers and students engaged in a discussion about the nature around them. During an after-lunch walk, Qiqi suddenly shouted: "Look! The grapevines are so strong; they look like they're climbing all the way to the top!" Qiqi mistook the ivy for grapevines, but it got the teacher thinking: How can the Children learn from this? What's the educational value?
The last time we went for a walk, the children were fascinated by the ivy climbing up the wall, so we searched all over the kindergarten for more plants that could "climb."
Children are always interested in learning new things; they are inquisitive and curious, absorbing new knowledge – Why is this plant called ivy, and how does it climb a wall? We encouraged them to take the discussion about vine plants home over the weekend. Armed with surveys, they went to their parents to have an adventure of hunting other vine plants to observe and document.
——Discussion and Inquiry
The children took their magnifying glasses, observation books, and curious minds to the ivy to observe it using their senses of touch, sight, and smell.
The children thought of new questions to ask while painting…
Does the ivy have flowers? What does its fruit look like? Can we eat it?
Will the leaves of the ivy fall off in winter?
Mom said that ivy can make medicine, will it make grapes, can make a wine?
The teacher told them that the ivy is different in each season, we can observe together!
The children were full of enthusiasm over their exploration of the ivy. Throughout this journey of discovery, they spontaneously found something new, put forth their questions, and went on an adventure into nature with their parents. Looking for other climbing plants and acquiring more knowledge about ivy was an excellent activity for parents to get involved in. Curiosity is the best teacher.
——Exploring and Observing
Measuring the Ivy
As the children began to learn more about ivy, they also wanted to know how tall it was. They engaged in discussion with their teachers about how to measure the height of the ivy. Over the following few days, they brought in measuring tools from home. When trying to use the tools to measure, they encountered a few problems.
Oh no, our tools are not long enough!
It would be much better If we could connect our rulers.
Yes, it's too high! I think we need a ladder!
We can also use long bamboo poles.
They realized that they could only use their rulers to measure the height and width of the leaves. The height of the ivy was too tall and too challenging to measure. They noticed that the vines were curved, and there were so many branches that they questioned which branch they would even use to measure its height.
If we had a long ruler like a measuring tape, we could measure alongside it.
We could use a rope.
Can we use the PVC pipe to measure along the main vine, and then measure the length of the PVC pipe!
Although the result is simple, the process is beautiful and gratifying!
The children unintentionally pulled its vine but found that the ivy was firmly attached to the wall and difficult to detach. After more observation and discussion, they learned that ivy couldn't grow without its magical "root," a powerful suction.
"Where is the ivy's root?" "What's does it look like?" Then the children scrutinized the ivy once again; they found tendrils on the vines, which had many branches. The end of each branch had tiny tendrils, which helped ivy climb on the wall. Its stem cannot grow upward unless it climbs on other objects.
——Documentation and Creation
During this process of exploring ivy, the children's understanding of beauty has been broadened, and they recorded this beauty in their own way.
The curious children put forward a series of questions. The weather is getting colder; how will the ivy change? "Will it feel cold?" "There are some leaves that are withered; will they grow again next year? " The story of autumn and ivy has not yet ended; let's wait and see what other beauty it will bring!
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