Whatever the weather, the infant classroom spends time outside each week. This week was a particular joy as we could feel spring on the horizon with the dazzling sun and smooth breeze. To celebrate this transition of the seasons, the Infant Teaching Team set up an invitation in the tuff tray.
The tray was filled with natural materials found in the infant yard: soil, rocks, seed pods, sticks, and pinecones. In addition, we added rakes, shovels, bugs, and magnifying glasses to lean into the children’s interest in decoding the world around them. The children were immediately curious about the new protagonists within our outdoor space.
Some children were most interested in exploring the soil and rocks, some the bugs, and others the magnifying glasses or shovels. Various groupings of children approached the table to experiment with their unique ideas and hypotheses about the world around them. In response to the class’s continued interest in bugs, rocks, and other small things, we’ve brought in pictures of our buggie friends to hang on our felt wall in the classroom.
