Memories of a kindergarten Local Food inquiry: "What food grows on this land?"
We started with a plan to build a treehouse, and soon found ourselves on a hunt for a banana tree. Through this inquiry, we ended up growing our knowledge of the kinds of trees and other food-bearing plants that grow locally on the land where our school is situated. Meaningful opportunities for problem-solving and sensory experiences, and cross-curricular connections to science, math, literacy, health, visual art. * * * One morning at outdoor learning time during the first week of school, a student announced, “We should build a treehouse!” This was an exciting idea, so when we went inside later we made a plan. The students decided which tree would be best for building the treehouse, and they thought about the kinds of materials they’d like to use—a blanket, some string, and some tape. The next day, we worked together outside to bring the plan to life. The ‘treehouse’ was a fun little home to play in, and the students quickly started to play ‘kitchen’ in the treehouse. They used our out...