Exploring Wintry Themes in Early Childhood Learning
I learned a curious fact this week – supposedly I am not as tall as a polar bear. While I am not so sure about the veracity of this statement, I had a wonderful time joining our Pre-K students as they measured the length of the polar bear and took turns comparing their heights against that of this rather large arctic mammal.
It is a joy to see the active, engaged learning currently happening on campus. In NPK, each grade level studies different aspects of winter for their social studies units at this time of the year. Our Nursery students enjoyed a pajama day on Monday, as they learned about hibernation and then snuggled down for their own dormant nap. Next week, they will continue this theme as they go on a bear hunt around the WES campus.
In Pre-Kindergarten, students are currently happily immersed in the wonders of Arctic life. In addition to honing their mathematics skills through counting, measuring, estimating, and comparing the height of polar bears against themselves and others, our virtual learners built igloos made out of marshmallows today and our on-site learners will test their own sugary engineering skills next week.
Our Kindergarteners are in the middle of a multifaceted study of penguins. Last Friday, they were learning about how blubber helps penguins stay warm. First, they dipped their hand in an icy cold water bucket and then they put on a blubber glove and tried it again. I tried this experiment and found myself wishing I had a pair of blubber gloves, too! Each student was also assigned a different type of penguin to study. After researching their penguin, they created posters about their species and are now in the process of presenting them to the class. Their posters are incredibly impressive – but even more so is the poise in which they present their research and all of the questions they are able to answer from their classmates!
I have greatly enjoyed observing their smiles and delight as they engage in these wintry explorations.
Danny Vogelman
Head of School
