The children were so excited to get outside and discover ‘Signs of Spring’ this week.  I wondered what they had noticed over the past few days.  “We saw tiny, tiny pinecones, and our tree has little, brown and red buds on it.” Daffodils and tulips were brought in for them to do observational sketches and watercolours of.   These will be making an appearance in our gardens over the next few weeks, and so it seemed natural to introduce them to the children, as we await their imminent arrival.

Their interest in the lifecycles of living things, led them to wanting to plant, and many shared their experiences from home. The children have been collecting seeds from September in our classroom, and are excited that they will soon begin planting them.  

The children drew their hypotheses of the lifecycle of these Spring flowers. It was interesting to note that all plant lifecycles began with seeds, rather than a mix of bulbs and seeds.   Magnifying glasses came out, as the children looked closely at the daffodils and tulips. An automatic response now to anything new in the classroom! Their “I wonders” exploded, as one child built onto another’s ideas. 

The Language of Inquiry is now very much part of their learning skill set, and a reflection of our months of investigations.   The children are very confident in expressing their own ideas. Their natural curiosity continues to lead them into deeper and deeper learning and understandings. Connecting children to nature during outdoor times naturally supports both their love of play and inquiry.  It also supports the development of meaningful relationships between both the social and natural environments all our children have the right to inhabit. 

It is place where learning to care for plants and other living things can provide wonderful opportunities to develop a moral disposition to care. After all, human life is dependent on plants.