32: Taking Action by Caring

 Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. 

For, indeed, that's all who ever have. 

-Margaret Mead

Inquiry-based learning is a student-centered approach where learners are actively engaged in the process of asking questions, investigating, and constructing their own understanding of concepts. The beauty of this approach is that learners are encouraged to use what they learned in the process to take action.

By taking action, learners move beyond passive recipients of knowledge and become active participants in their own learning. It empowers them to make a difference in the world and contribute to positive change. For me, this is the most meaningful, if not essential, part of learning. 

Taking action can be in the form of raising awareness for a cause, volunteering, or mentoring. It can also be done in simpler ways, such as making better and informed choices, helping a friend, or extending our care for others. 

This week, the kindergarteners deepened our inquiry in our Sharing the planet unit by finding out ways on how we can take action by caring for plants and animals. 

We began by answering this question

What do plants and animals need in order to survive? 

(What’s ‘survive’, Ms. Pam? 

It means ‘to live’ because plants and animals are living things.) 

We read a series of books called Why Living Things Need...

We discovered that that they need:

Air

We learned that plants help make fresh air that we can use for breathing.

Food

We learned that animals eat different kinds of food, and plants make their own food!

Water

We learned that plants drink water from their roots!

Homes

We learned that different living things need different homes.

After much discussion, we also agreed that some living things also need:

-to be clean

-to rest and sleep

-to have fun (just like people!)

Now that they know what plants and animals need, the children think they're ready to take on the responsibility of taking care of a pet. 

The children picked a pet to adopt.

Then, they were given tokens to buy their pet's needs from a pet store. They only had 4 tokens and their goal is to ensure that their pet will survive and thrive under their care. 

So they shopped.

After shopping, we checked if the children were able to buy everything their pet needs. We discovered that some pets didn't have water, the right food, and homes to help them survive. 

We all agreed that we all deserve another chance to grow and learn from our choices. We also agreed that we DO want all our animal friends to be taken good care of. We went on a second shopping spree and gave the children a chance to buy more items for their pets. This time, we focused on the needs rather than the wants. Buying Legos and soccer balls were definitely not a priority this time!

At the end of it, all the pets that we adopted got everything they needed...and more.  

We also visited a small pet that the Pre-Kindergarten children have been taking of for a while now. It started off as a tiny caterpillar, and just this week, it transformed into a beautiful butterfly. It was the perfect time to re-read one of our favorite books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. It was a perfect story to remind us that even little animals need food to grow. When they get what their body needs, they become healthy and could possibly even go through an amazing transformation.

We learned so much this week about taking care of animals, but we know that we could learn more. We were invited to visit the Preschoolers' Animal Exhibit, which was the perfect opportunity for us to learn from others. We listened to what they've learned about animals in their unit, and enjoyed the creative stories they wrote. Their exhibit inspired us to become better friends for animals. 

The children expressed that they know how to take good care of plants, too.

We checked what they know by sequencing how plants grow from a seed to a full grown plant that has flowers and fruits. Some of us definitely know the whole process of planting, but there's always room for learning for everyone. 

So we learned again by doing. We got some pots and decorated them so that we know which one is ours. 

Then, we went outside to get some of the fertile soil. These are from the worms that we have been taking care of since last school year. After that, we planted some new seeds and of course, we watered them. 

And now, we wait. 

We also didn't forget about the sweet potato seedlings that we planted last week. We visited them in the field and made sure that they are watered -- especially now that the weather is getting very warm.

The children have truly grown into such thoughtful and caring individuals. They shared their own personal stories of how they have been taking care of their plants and animals at home through Show and Tell. It was wonderful to hear that they have learned about responsibility at such a young age, which is truly the foundation of taking action. 

Yorinobu takes care of plants by watering them regularly.

Emma takes care of plants in her home.

Chanin takes care of strawberry plants by giving them water.

Kanato takes care of kilifish and strawberry plants at home. 

Eisuke loves playing with his grandparents' dogs.

Emma likes feeding her pet, Mootz.

Haruto takes care of flowers and kilifish at home. 

Yui takes care of flowers and strawberry plants at home.

Clara plants and harvests daikon in their farm.

Koh plants lettuce and strawberries in their garden. He also takes care of kilifish and beetles.

Tamaki takes care of kilifish by giving the food.

There was so much joy and pride as they shared how THEY were the ones who provided their plant and animal friends with what they need. The children knew that their love and care played a big role in keeping their pets and plants alive and happy.

For our Story Workshop this week, I asked for the kindergarteners' help in taking care of a dog whom I love very much. His name is Riley and he's a happy little dachshund who lives with my parents. 

Instead of working on our stories individually, I asked the children to work with a team to complete Riley's story. I only supplied the beginning of the story, and I asked the children to use what they learned this week to ensure that the story will end happily.

There was a dog named Riley who is loved by Ms. Pam. One day, Ms. Pam had to travel to Japan to teach Kinder 2. Riley was left with Ms. Pam's parents. Their names are Pat and Steve. They want to take good of care Riley so they went to the shop to buy him what he needs.

GROUP 1's STORY

GROUP 2's STORY

Riley received everything he needs. Food to eat, water to drink, a home to live in, comfortable things, and toys to play with.

After a whole week of learning how to take action for others, the children also took care of themselves by exercising with their parents and the other Early Years children. Just like plants and animals, people also have needs in order for them to grow and be healthy. Exercise strengthens our body and allows it to grow to its best potential -- the fun while we do it us the cherry on top.

We also took this opportunity to release the butterfly that was under the care of the younger children. It was beautiful to see it spread its wings and fly away. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Your Kindergarten teacher, 

Pam