Embracing Their Interests

One child went to the sandbox today. He started mounding dirt with a shovel. Once he had made a nice peaked mound he set his shovel aside.  Then with one finger he poked a hole in the top of the mound. Another child nearby was closely observing the child's actions. 

"You just wrecked your castle," the child said.
"No, I made a volcano."
"Hmm, like around the dinosaurs, with hot lava, bubbling?"
"Yeah."

Quietly they worked side by side. The sandbox went from a flat desert, to a very mountainous area full of volcanos. Their intensity as they worked, drew others first to just watch and then to join in.

The conversations were rich with description: "mine is big, look at the hole in the top, you mean the crater where the lava comes out." 

The cooperation was great as they shared space, shovels and ideas. They worked as individuals and as teams. Then I had an Aah moment. 

I went in and brought out red food coloring, vinegar and baking soda.  We filled a nearby pan with baking soda that they passed from volcano to volcano, waiting patiently and taking turns, next I poured a little vinegar with red food coloring added, on the first volcano. "Wow, it exploded like a real volcano!"

We then passed the vinegar from child to child as they continued to set off a chemical reaction in their own volcanos. The next thing we knew over an hour had passed and it was lunch time.

Clean up was a breeze and everyone agreed they want to do it again next week. This has fit in nicely with our study on the solar eclipse and solar flares, and on rocks and the different types of rocks and the way they are formed. I am so glad I let them lead the learning and happy for the memories we created together today.