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Wondering about Worms

superworm guardian childcare Tapping into their natural curiosity as kids learn about worms

“Superworm is super-long. Superworm is super-strong. Watch him wiggle! See him squirm! There’s no other worm like SUPERWORM!”

Julia Donaldson

 

We all share this planet and we believe in teaching children about nature, their environment and sustainability from a young age. 

 

During an investigation about worms, the Kindergarten children became curious about the anatomy of a worm and wondered how their worm would use their sense of sight.

“What do worms’ eyes look like?” 4-year-old Imogen inquired…

 

Then other children joined in with their questions:

  • What do worms look like?
  • Where do they live?
  • How do they move?
  • What do they eat?”

But the children always ended up questioning how the worms could see… In the children’s understanding, humans and therefore animals, need eyes to see, and so it was believed by the children that worms truly had eyes.

It would have been very easy for the team of teachers and educators to provide the answer as to whether a worm does, in fact, have eyes. But this teacher’s response was simply, “I wonder if a worm does have eyes?”

The children remained confident that a worm does indeed have eyes and this was followed by 3-year-old Isla’s thinking and wondering, “They would be delicate eyes? I wonder what worm eyes would look like?”

The children represented their ideas of worm eyes through their drawings. Each of the children’s ideas was different, and each child had an explanation of why they represented the worm’s eyes the way they had. Each child had their own theory which they continue to explore as they come to know more about our worms. As they continue to question, to investigate and discover and to learn about their world.

To wonder doesn’t require science or facts but the ability to imagine and create.

To wonder provides opportunities to collaborate and to share ideas.

To wonder is limitless. What does your child wonder about? It’s when we begin to understand children’s thinking that we can best support their learning and know where to head to next in our planning. Sometimes our wondering questions are not posed to children, but to ourselves.

What ‘wondering’ questions might you have or could you pose to discover more about your child’s thinking?

Danielle Grey Teacher and Educational Leader Guardian Munro Street.

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