Exploring Play Everyday!

How do animals features help them survive in their environment?  This science provocation was really engaging for the students. They enjoyed being able to play with the finger puppets and plastic animals while talking about the features of the animals. I heard discussions about warning colours and camouflage, about snail shells and 'goo' trails and about tiger stripes and squirrels tails.   Another science provocation that students explored in science was about how animals move. While we had already learned and practised this concept outside the other day, I thought it would be beneficial for the students to engage in more discussion and practice with the concepts.  Students even added another movement - slither- and added some animals from the other table into the sorting circles.  Happy Exploring! Rainbows and Sunshine,  Mrs. Lloyd

One of my favourite parts of Play Based Learning is taking the learning outside. While my school doesn't have a lot of space on the property for play and exploration, there is a trail system close by that we can explore. This week we have continued our Living Things science unit with lots of outdoor learning. How to animals move?  Students brainstormed the different ways animals can move, and we chose 6 of those ways to put on our big active living cube. Then we took turns rolling the dice - they would call out the name of an animal who travels in that way and then they would pretend to be that animal. Students had lots of fun. After the game, we had a discussion about why animals move in different ways. Why to snakes slighter? Do animals move in different ways so they can get to the food they want? Why are some animals faster than other animals? Crabs and bugs both crawl- but really differently- are they both called crawling? So much wonder, inquiry and questioni...