Testing my Theories as I Explore

21 June 2019. Written by Teacher Liz.

Amr, over the last few weeks I have noticed you are spending lots of time investigating
how things work at preschool.

I had seen you pushing yourself on the swing a lot over the last 2 weeks and on the 14th
May I watched you pushing yourself again. You waited until Teacher Haya said “It’s your
turn Amr”. You sat on the swing seat and wriggled your legs but you didn’t move. T
Haya watched you and asked “Amr, would you like some help to start?” You nodded so
she pushed you forward, as she encouraged you to “put your legs up as you go forward,
then put them down when you go backwards”. I could see you were listening, as you put
your feet up as you went forward. T Haya kept encouraging you “Feet up to go forward;
feet down to go backwards”. I saw you put your feet up and down as T Haya suggested
and you swung higher and higher. Tino pai to mahi (Great work) Amr!

You were busy on the sandpit with Saloomi on the 11th June, as you worked beside him
digging a hole. When I asked you about what you were doing you told me you were
making a hole. I watched you digging, as you created a big hole. You smiled when I
asked “is your hole down to the bottom of the sandpit yet”? You carried on digging your
hole and I described how you had “a big pile of sand beside you that came from the
hole.” I also said that “I was glad to see the road cones beside your hole to remind
other children to be careful”.

We had a special treat on the 21st June when a group of girls from Selwyn House
School brought some beebots (little robots that look like big bumble bees) to
preschool. You stood at the back of the group as the girls explained how to work the
robots. You watched other children getting a bee bot form the girls, and took one when
you were offered one to try. I saw you push the buttons and we watched what
happened every time you pushed a button. You copied your friends Saloomi, Ahmad,
Bukhari and Amin as they worked the controls on the bee bot to ‘drive’ their little
robots around the room. You walked across the room and watched as Bukhari and
Ahmad built a ramp and you helped with the construction. You took turns with your
friends to race the bee bots down the ramp, and tested how many bee bots you could
get on the ramp at the same time.

What Learning Occurred?

Amr’s learning pathway for this term is developing theories about the world around him
as he explores. He is using a trial and error method of exploring and increasing his
initiative as he expands his own investigations such as pushing himself higher on the
swing. Amr is developing his thinking skills as he tests his body and/or tools to explore
an activity, such as the swing or digging. His collaborative problem -solving skills are
emerging as he works with others to test his theories. Amr’s knowledge of the world
around him is growing as he thinks about what he observes.

How can we extend this learning?

We will support Amr as he continues to develop and test theories about the world
around him by listening to his theories and asking him about his ideas as we talk
together.