This month we are trying something that our school has never done before: Individual Projects.  This may be familiar territory to some, but I have generally done one project per class at preschool.  I try to observe the greatest interest within the group or introduce something that may soon be a big life experience for the children, for example, The Tooth Project for 5 year olds.  I was doing some reading on project work that described how several projects could actually be occurring within a group at the same time and thought it would be an adventure to try this. 

Using literature to explore frogs. 

Today we observed that some have webbed feet and others 3 "fingers".  Also a trip to the neighbourhood pond is suggested.

The children picked the projects they wanted to explore. Two children were fascinated by the new penguin exhibit at our Calgary zoo and wanted to explore penguins.  They used a kid's website about penguins to identify the types of play penguins we had in our classroom.

We are also located in an area with many ponds and two children wanted to investigate frogs.  One boy is interested in houses, how they are built, what they look like, and who lives in them.  We have three big windows in our room and he was looking out them at the homes near our school.  He was counting and analyzing their colours and details.

 Another child loves flowers and how they grow.  Two children were intrigued by alligator books and again spend a lot of time at the zoo observing alligators.  And, one girl was observing clouds out the window and exploring them during free play. 

We used our classroom computer to answer our questions.

We thought:  What are our goals for these projects?  It is that they learn everything there is to know about frogs, clouds etc?  Or, is it to create an environment that encourages self-directed learning, critical thinking, and that the children are smart, creative, and have the ability to learn?  We believe that we are showing these children the following:

1.  We hear what you have to say and what you think about
2.  We recognize your unique and individual interests
3.  We will support you in your quest for discovery
4.  You are smart, you can do it!
5.  To discover you need to ask questions and we will help you find ways to answer those
6.  Grow your brain!

Enjoy the journey of these projects.