Kitah Alef Finds a Worm

One of the tenets of Reggio Emilia is that nature is a teacher and should be considered as such. In Kitah Alef, we spend as much time outside as possible. The fresh air is calming, the open space is necessary, and our students always find little ways of learning something new and surprising. Their attention is turned downwards, many times, and items that may go unnoticed by an adult or an older child become the pentacle of the day. 

 Recently, it had rained overnight, and there were a handful of earthworms on the playground. Sydney and Abe noticed one, and pointed it out to a Morah. Of course, we quickly moved our earthworm friend to one of the raised planting beds so it would be safe! Sydney and Abe referred to the worm as a "snake", which is genius in its own way (that they've related it's size and shape to that of a snake, something generally much larger). We talked about the similarities between worms and snakes, and the differences. We took turns making the "sssssssssss" sound, and even learned that earthworms are our friends because they make more dirt. 

 

                     

Soon enough, other friends were attracted, and come over to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone took turns pointing out the worm to newcomers, making sure they could see it, and watching their faces light up as they did. We also used our bodies to show others how a worm moves (like doing the wave with one arm). At the end of our adventure, we wished the worm well and went back to other play, but there was something condensed in that 20-or-so minutes. The sheer joy students find in noticing something small, and all the learning that can emerge from even a single earthworm. The Morahs learned something too, about providing the students as many opportunities as possible to "discover" small special things, and give those discoveries weight.