This is more of a fun activity than considering as provocation. This game is very simple and fun. All it needs is a drawstring bag and some 3D solids. Alternatively you can use any bag and blindfold the kid. Hide a 3D shape in the bag.Objective of the game is to let the kids feel for the shape hiding in the bag and guess the shape.
Asking questions such as "what shape are sides of the solid?" , "How many vertices do you feel?" will add more points to discuss during the game. This sensory activity will help to reinforce structure of 3D solids.
Here is a short video of the twins enjoying this game.
Provocation 2 - Building 3D shapes with Magna Tiles
Hands on experience of building 3D shapes provide many insights on the structure of 3D solids.Magna tiles is an excellent tool to help build them. I laid out Magna Tiles for the kids to explore and they started building lots of cubes, cuboids and pyramids. They were able to understand what are bases and sides of 3D solids.
A lot of scope for inquiries such as " what is base for triangular pyramid?" , " how to build square based pyramid?", "can you change a pyramid into prism?", "can you turn a cuboid into cube?"
Here is a short video of Shrini building 3D structures.
"Hey mom! Look at this cone! It has a circle and a triangle in it!" exclaimed Shrini pointing to the base and sides of a funnel.That was a very interesting observation. Often times an inquiry arises through observations rather than 'I wonder' kind of questions when involving 3 year olds.
I thought working on 3D shapes is a relevant topic now since I could understand from her statement that she could comprehend both 2D and 3D shapes. They have already been introduced 3D shapes using Montessori three period lesson. After-all, there are no 2D shapes in a 3D world except on paper. It is time for them to view the world in 3D.
How can we go about this inquiry? For any other topic, my first step would be get books on the topic. But 3D shapes are something very real and are to be understood through our senses.
So, this inquiry is going to be series of provocations and Montessori inspired activities.
I laid out Learning Resources Geometric Solids in a tub of Kinetic Sand and let the kids explore. They took out each solid and guessed the shape. Then started free play. They poured sand from one shape to another observing which shapes are easier to fill with sand.
They made impressions on the sand and observed shapes of base and sides of each solid.
Here is a short video of Sid identifying a few 3D solids.
Today I set up a very simple provocation, a water xylophone, to further the kids' interest in music exploration. The idea is very simple. Just fill water of different quantities in identical glass jars. Tap with a wooden spoon or a pencil to observe the differences in pitches.
My thought on setting up this provocation was to help us initiate discussions on pitch, tone etc.
I demonstrated a bit by tapping on glasses to let them know that it produces sound and then let them play freely for some time. First, they identified the colors. Then, they had fun tapping the glasses in many different ways. They were excited by tapping action rather than actually listening to the tones.
After a few minutes, I pulled out a sheet of paper and drew colored circles which I referred as " music notes" and the sheet as "music sheet". I suggested them to try tapping the glasses in the order of the notes to make music. However, the kids pounced at the chance of creating their own music sheets than making music and they went to town painting!
Our "music sheets"
What did they actually learn from this provocation? May be trying to paint within the lines! LOL! And that's child led learning :)
"The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world..." Says Dr.Maria Montessori.
I feel sense of hearing is one aspect that is often overlooked in our chaotic house.
Many times I have wondered, if my 3 year old boy is listening to me. I mean really listen and pay attention. But today my preschoolers confirmed that they can listen and concentrate if something interests them. I loved the way they tried to focus and concentrate when playing the sound bingo game.
I found a free download of sound bingo game here. It came with a bingo card and musical instrument sound sample audio clips.
The kids have never played a bingo game before. I didn't want to overwhelm them with new audio, visual and also new instructions for the game. So we played an oversimplified version of it.
The rules are simple. Calmly listen to the instrumental sound and point the corresponding instrument.
To play this, I created my own set of musical instruments nomenclature cards. These cards can be later used for matching and sorting into musical families.
Here's a short video of them playing the game. We repeated a few sounds often to see if they are really focusing. Being first time players, I would say they did pretty well. I am planning to play this game whenever I could to sharpen their listening skills and obviously they too enjoy hearing the instruments.
"Mom, is this guitar and drum that I hear in the background of this song?". This was the inquiry made by my son while listening to the children's music cd when driving home. We might have heard the same songs over and over a hundred times by now and I found interesting that he has started really listening to the instruments. I made a mental note to observe if his curiosity persists and it did. So, we have started our inquiry and exploration of sounds, music and instruments. More than music or the theory behind, Sid and Nidhi are particularly fascinated by the sounds of musical instruments.
So, we started by watching a couple of animated videos that introduces various instruments and their names. They were so excited to share the newly learnt musical instrument names with their visiting aunt and uncle the same night.
Then started the pretend play where they posed themselves as violin, flute ,drum and occasionally reeling me in as the mother flute.
I picked up a few books from library on the topic of orchestra. Here is the list of books we have read so far.
Tubby the tuba by Paul Tripp- a classic book for 60 years
Crash bang donkey
Mole music
Tuba lessons
Animal Orchestra
They also watched a boston civic symphony rendition of Tubby the Tuba on YouTube. This is when they got to see real live action of an orchestra.
Then we spent a couple of days exploring diy guitars and kazoos. They enjoyed presenting their own concerts with their own instruments.
Till now, we have learnt to identify the following instruments and their sounds
Violin, flute, cello, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, drum, cymbal, xylophone, piano, piccolo, trumpet, trombone, French horn and tuba.
As with any inquiry based learning approach I have my anticipatory web of learning which includes
1. Introducing musical instruments and their sounds
2. Instrument families - string, wood winds, percussion and brass
3. Keywords and definitions such as melody, rhythm, orchestra, conductor, note, tone, pitch etc.
4. Learning about renowned musicians and composers like Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven.
5. Exploring and modeling diy instruments such as guitar, panpipes, water xylophone
6. Introducing East Indian music and instruments.
I have also planned a couple of montessori inspired activities to keep the interest alive a while longer.
1. Found a sound bingo game online which I am excited to play with them
2. Matching musical instrument models to nomenclature cards.
Coincidently, our local library has a music event " well tempered flutes",a choir of seven flutes which might be a fine experience pertaining to our topic.
I am excited, not just for my kids but for myself. How much we learn when we really listen to our innocent inquiry of our kids!!
