Just before we closed for the winter break, the preschool 2 room received a light table and translucent shape tiles to add to their classroom. Throughout January the preschoolers experimented with different colour combinations and shared their theories and discoveries. When children make their own observations and discoveries, they are forming and testing hypotheses. These moments of learning empower them to continue their exploration and investigation outside of the classroom as well. Eli said, “hey it turned green” after placing a blue square on top of a yellow square. Nyra put a purple square over top of her eye then placed a red square on top of the purple square. She said to her friends, “it is now dark purple.” Next Nyra found a card that displayed pictures of different patterns to make. She found one she liked and then found the same colour shapes and put it together. Nyra asked me. “What happens if I put blue and green together?” I said, “why don’t you try it and see!” She placed a blue shape over her eye then grabbed a green shape placing it over top of the blue shape. She started to giggle and said, “It makes dark green!” Some of the other children asked, “How can we make new colours?” I showed the children how they could change the light colours by placing one colour on top of the other. Jackson was at the table at the time so I changed it to his favorite colour orange by placing a yellow and red shape together. When he held it up to his eyes to look at it he exclaimed, “What, it worked!” Carleigh exclaimed, “hey I want purple next!” This self-guided exploration paves the way for inquiry-based learning. By turning on that light table, it triggered some curiosity and we watched the magic of play and discovery brighten up their day!
