4: The Gift of Our Senses

 "Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him 

and calls the adventure Science."

-Edwin Powell Hubble

Every person has the capacity to become a scientist. From an early age, humans exhibit a natural curiosity about the world around them. Children constantly ask questions, explore their environment, and experiment with different things. This innate curiosity is at the core of scientific inquiry.

Human biology also allows us to connect with our world and gather information about how it works. We are gifted with our five senses to use as our primary tools to explore, investigate and experiment on our curiosities, and test if our theories are true.

This week, the kindergarteners used the gifts of their five senses to gather information, test theories, and create new things --- and of course, to have fun.

We began the week by putting on our imaginary scientist hats to prepare us for our investigations.

Touch Investigation

For our investigation using our sense of touch, the children took a barefoot walk around the school and playground. I asked them to be aware of the different textures they feel on their feet. We ended our walk with cool water to clean our feet. 

Taste Investigation

For our investigation using our sense of taste, the children had a tasting party with a twist. We brought different kinds of food to share with everyone -- fruits, cookies, pancakes, chicken,  and even yummy tofu! The children were all eager to try the scrumptious food on the table, but I told them that to isolate their sense of taste, we had to try the food on our plate without seeing what it is.

 They were all risk-takers by trying the food with little to no hesitation -- and they loved it! 

They used their prior knowledge in making inferences, and all their guesses were right!

They even discovered new food that they haven't tasted in the past.

Sight Investigation

For our investigation using our sense of sight, the children used their observation skills to spot the difference in two sets of pictures. We used the new smartboard in the STEM Room to make the investigation more interactive. The children loved the idea of being able to draw with their hands on the board

Sound Investigation

For our investigation using our sense of hearing, the children unleashed their inner ninja and stealthily explored around the school and Rokko Island to capture sounds from the environment. 

Smell Investigation

For our investigation using our sense of smell, the children became chemists and concocted their own special blend of scents from a variety of different “potions.” They loved mixing the substances and using their fine motor skills to move the liquid from one bottle to another.

After days of using our five senses to connect with and find out about the world, we transformed our imaginary scientist hats into real ones. After all, we are full-fledged scientists now -- ones who use our curiosity and gifts to learn about the things around us. 

Training ourselves to be attuned to the world is the first step to life-long learning -- it helps us to remain curious, ask questions, and discover new things. More importantly, the more we learn, the more we can impact the world for the better. 

Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

Your Kindergarten teacher, 

Pam

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Club Information

Dear parents, 

Here are the links to the signup sheets for our clubs this year. 

If you would like to sign your children up for a club then you will need to fill out the form provided.

There are also parent clubs available, have a look at what is on offer. If you're interested please sign up.