Opening the doors for learning...

Elias picked up the clock and said, "Lauri why isn't the clock on the wall?"  He went on to say, "I found a good spot right there!"  Elias asked if he could hang the clock on the nail on the wall.   I said, "Sure!"   He brought a chair over climbed up with the clock, but as could well imagine he was not tall enough to reach.  Noah and Micah tried to reach the hook as well.   But Sasha, being the tallest person in the room was able to assist the group in their efforts to hang the clock on the wall.

Once the clock was on the wall Micah G announced he was going to draw a clock like the one on our wall.  He proceeded to draw a circle and then asked Elias to help him draw the numbers.  Elias said, "Lauri will you help us make the numbers?"  I said, "I bet you can make the number one."   Micah picked up the marker and demonstrated how to draw the number one.  They asked me to write the rest of the numbers.  Micah said," I can draw the lines."  Elias responded with, "I can too."  I suggested the do it together.

When the clock we made was finished Micah wanted to figure out how to make the numbers himself.  He sat at the table for quite some time making the number 2 over and over again.  Today we with explore numbers with geo-boards.

As we work alongside the children and study our observations, we can discover their interests to spark further investigation.  Children's actions and words also help us see what they already know, and we can use this awareness to support them in new challenges.