Recently, from a provocation on the tuff tray where the preschoolers were invited to use magnifying glasses to search and find the insects hiding inside the grass, many different areas of interest were created.
Not only did the preschoolers use the provocation as intended, but they also exceeded the expectation by matching the insects and sorting them into categories (all the spiders together, all the ants together). They also began listing characteristics with their peers of the insects they had ‘caught’, describing their legs, eyes, wings and even what one described as its fingers!
Through this type of exploration, the children are able to begin to explore early math concepts of sorting, organizing, but also the cognitive ability of gathering information and being able to sort and notice the difference between the two items when comparing them.
In the future with the change of the season, we wonder what other types of ways we can utilize this interest to scaffold their learning and understanding. Who knows, maybe as we shift into spring we will see some of these insects outside on our playground and as we get back into our neighbourhood walks!
