Moss gardens bring nature inside. They offer children opportunities for imaginative play, experimentation, and hands on exploration of the world of plants. We started by collecting moss and a mossy log in the forest. Then we placed a layer of soil on a boot tray and added the pieces of moss. At this point my eight year old helper took…
Does photosynthesis work the same in underwater plants as land plants? This perceptive query about photosynthesis asked in a fifth grade botany class led to one of those moments when curiosity electrified our classroom. When I admitted I didn’t know the answer yet, my students gave me an assignment. “Will you find out and tell us?” By fourth…
It seems that news of the day is rarely uplifting or inspirational. So we need to find time to turn off the negative and turn to the positive. Join a group of children and their teacher as they journey together from first through sixth grade. You will laugh, smile, and just want to hug these kids a they grapple with…
I followed his astounded gaze back to the high window ledge. The pod had burst wide open into a cumulous, pulsating mass. The slight breeze from the other window tickled the fluff, coaxing bits of down into the air. Suddenly the room was clouded with milkweed down. Then something happened, something that would happen again and again over my six…
From Chapter One, A Gift of Wonder, A True Story Showing School As It Should Be by Kim Allsup I followed his astounded gaze back to the high window ledge. The pod had burst wide open into a cumulous, pulsating mass. The slight breeze from the other window tickled the fluff, coaxing bits of down into the air. Suddenly the…
Reesa was lost in golden October. Shining maple trees bridged the concrete walk down the gentle hill. Brown-gold fallen leaves carpeted the hillside. Bright gold leaves floated toward this mottled carpet where, upon landing, they glittered like brilliant stars. Alone in this golden splendor, Reesa seemed unaware that she should be with her classmates. Tall, slender, and light on her…
It is engagement through wonder, curiosity, and joy in learning –not test scores– that is the true indication of effectiveness in education. A Gift of Wonder, A True Story Showing School As It Should Be, is a new book available that shows this engagement and the type of teaching that supports it. We need many such stories about ways to work…
You can’t put wonder in your lesson plan any more than you could plan for a sunny sky. But, while the weather is totally beyond our control, you can put out solar panels to catch the sun when it shines and teachers and parents can, similarly, prepare to catch wonder when it happens. Or you could bring a monarch chrysalis…
Kim Allsup is the author of A Gift of Wonder, available here
Growing Children 