Continuing to Share Collections

9/29/2022

Collections Spotlight

The children have been taking an interest in each other's collections. They are asking thoughtful questions and making profound observations and connections during our morning meeting discussions. We had three more children share their collections this week including Fay, Louisa, and Mimi.

Fay's Collection of Exoskeletons

Fay shared her collection which included pieces of exoskeletons from “crabs and lobster” that she found at the beach this summer. While collecting her exoskeletons, Fay set upon the beginning steps of scientific research by making observations about her environment and the creatures within, collecting specimens, and making hypotheses. The Rainey Room children shared their hypotheses about the fate of the crabs and lobsters as well.

Whit observed: It’s part of a crab.
Fay picked up one claw then another.
Whit commented: Crab fingers.
Emma: Is the crab still alive?
Charlton: It’s died because it’s still.
Brigitte: Where did you find your collection?
Fay: At Bethany Beach. I dig them up. They was in the sand. There was a little pool at Mimi’s (Fay’s Grandmother) house.
Brigitte: How many days did it take you to find them?
Fay: A lot of days. I put them in a bag.
Fay picked up two claws: These are from a lobster. Lobster pinch-ers.
Rawls: What is that one (pointing to a smaller claw)?
Fay held up the lobster pinch-ers: These are big.
Fay picked up a few seashells and held them up to share: These are from my sister’s collection.
She then looked back at the pinch-ers and shared: The small ones are from the crabs.
Ford: How did they break?
Fay: I think they broke when they died.
Ford: If they pinch themselves they die.

Louisa's Collection of Dinosaurs

Louisa brought her collection of dinosaurs to the morning meeting circle to share. She pointed to her different dinosaurs which included three small dinosaur figurines, one stuffed animal dinosaur, and one book about dinosaurs. She was feeling a little hesitant to talk about them with the whole group but did respond by either agreeing or disagreeing when her friends made observations about her collection.

Ellie: What is that her bring? I know, Dinosaurs!
Ford: Unicorns.
Ellie: You have different kinds.
Rawls commented on Louisa’s dinosaur stuffy: It’s a triceraptops because it has three horns.
Charlton: They have no horns or 3 horns or 7 horns.
Ford: That is a T-rex.
Charlton pointed to the small dinosaur figurines: This is a T-rex and this is an allosaurus. Allosauruses are orange.
Ellie noticed that Louisa had a book about dinosaurs in her collection: That is a book.
Karen: So can a collection be different things that have something about them that is the same?

Mimi's Collection of Gems

Mimi shared her collection of gemstone rocks which included an identification guide. She set her gems in the middle of the circle and sorted them into piles of the same kind of gem. Mimi shared the story of how she acquired the gems and made observations about their physical properties. The other children also noticed differences and similarities of the gems in Mimi’s collection including the size, color, and features.

Mimi: They’re gems. Some are black. Some are white. Some are blue. I collected them somewhere with dirt. The gems are on a box and I shook the box. My dad helped me make them. They are so shiny.
Whit observed: They see-through. Sometimes they always be white.
Mimi: They even have some stripes.
Charlton: I like the blue rock.
Ellie: Some of them are so big.
Whit: Some of them are so little and so big.
Mimi: They are crystals.
Whit: My scepter has a crystal.
Isabelle: Where did you get it (the gems) from?
Mimi: I forgot.