This month, the children in Toddler 1 at RisingOaks Early Learning | St. Patrick have been showing a growing interest in light and reflection. It began with Cassidy and Renzo’s curiosity and excitement when they noticed the light from the iPad reflecting onto the ceiling during lunch one day. Soon, our lunchroom was filled with laughter and joy as we watched the light dance across the ceiling, disappearing and reappearing. As the toddlers followed the light with their eyes, Cassidy reached up her hand in an attempt to “catch” it.
This emerging interest inspired Eria to introduce a flashlight and mirror, reflecting the light onto our whiteboard so it would be within reach for the children to explore. Cassidy and Renzo once again followed the light. Cassidy repeatedly tapped the whiteboard where the reflection appeared, trying to “catch” the light.
To extend the exploration further, Eria wondered what would happen if we used our translucent blocks to shine the light through. How might the toddlers respond to the light changing colours? Cassidy was mesmerized by the changing colours and reached for the flashlight to try it herself. She carefully balanced a yellow block on top of the flashlight and watched as the light changed colour. Cassidy then explored other blocks, switching to green, blue, and purple, shining the light through each one and observing how the colour of the light changed depending on the block she used.
Building on these emerging interests, Nitya later set up another experience. She introduced additional flashlights along with a variety of coloured lenses for the toddlers to investigate. Dino and Renzo began by experimenting with how to turn the flashlights on and off. Once Dino became confident with how the flashlight worked, he began exploring the coloured lenses. He shone the light through each lens, testing the different colours and noticing how the light changed. Through this process, Dino explored cause and effect as he experimented with the materials.
Renzo explored his flashlight in a different way. He pointed it toward the ceiling and watched the light move as he moved his hand. Excitedly, he called out, “Up light!” as he watched the beam shine above him. Renzo then continued exploring the room, pointing the light at different objects and observing how it interacted with them. He shone the light on toys, on the door, and even inside a cup, carefully noticing how the light appeared in different spaces.
To further extend the children’s curiosity, Nitya invited the group to explore the whiteboard again. She placed coloured magnetic tiles onto the board to see how the light might interact with them. This sparked the interest of several children, including Rahiya, Cassidy, Seren, Nellie, Vivaan, and Dino, who eagerly joined the exploration. The children experimented by shining their flashlights onto the whiteboard and moving the light around. They watched closely as the light changed colours through the tiles and as shadows appeared and moved with the motion of the light.
Rahiya brought over a blue lens to explore and excitedly noticed the colour change as she moved it across the board. She proudly demonstrated her discovery to Nitya, calling out, “Look! The blue is moving!”
Throughout these experiences, the children demonstrated curiosity, excitement, and attention to detail as they noticed changes in light and colour. They also engaged in problem-solving and early scientific thinking while exploring concepts such as cause and effect, light and shadow, reflection, and colour.
