In the Classroom: The Rainbows
Inviting Rich Learning
Inspired by Reggio Emilia, Rainbow teachers have taken a closer look at our values regarding childhood, education, and community. In our classroom, we encourage experiences that are rich in trust, laughter, and exploration. We value our time to play together, but we are also independent learners.
Last month, with this in mind, Rainbow teachers set up daily "invitations" for the children to explore color and textures by preparing a variety of materials for them to experience, interact with, and discover.
- See, touch, and smell as we learn about the color yellow.
Various textures were felt, using play dough as our base and every yellow item or toy we can find. Rainbows prodded, poked, rubbed, filled, dumped, cut and traded tools amongst their group. We added yellow mustard and mint for aroma. - Sweet gum tree balls collected from a walk in our neighborhood.
Rainbows counted them, pretended they were lollipops, stuck them in holes, filled and dumped them out. Rainbows described them as "prickly" and "spiky." The stems were referred to by one Rainbow as "handles." - Popping bubble wrap and jumping on the air-filled plastic making loud pops.
One Rainbow took bubble over to the furniture, using it as a support to steady herself as she jumped and landed hard with a pop! Observing this, another Rainbow imitated the strategy with the same success. - Rainbows read "Dancing with Degas" by author Julie Merberg
- This book featured impressionist’s artist Edgar Degas's ballerinas. The children described their work as they painted, looking at the dancers, and then they danced with flowing, airy movements and textures.
We have captured these experiences (and more) in photos and hung their art work so both teachers and children can reflect/revisit these invitations at any time.