Why is the river changing?

Why is the river changing?

Simone Penner, BH Beginnings
Our child care staff, noticing the interest the girls had in the changing river decided to make that the focus of a new Reggio Emilia / IB PYP project.
The girls in Riverbend Room observed the fact that the river was changing everyday. They saw the water flowing in the middle, but the edges were still snow-covered and frozen. The staff decided to merge our current IB PYP unit, 'Tis the Season – Spring, with a Reggio Emilia project, and, as such, The River Project was born.

The girls have been observing, taking pictures, sketching the river, and noting the changes. Each week the girls make new observations on how the river is changing. They also take note of other observations such as the trees having no leaves, the squirrels and rabbits they are beginning to see, and the grass that is slowly turning green. These observations are documented using pictures and direct quotes from the girls. A wonderful observation the children made was on the incredibly windy day we had a couple of weeks ago. They watched as two trees were blown down by the wind into the river. The children were safe up on a hill where they could remotely observe the power of wind erosion.

Staff have also changed the sand table in the room to make it an indoor river. They talk about the birds they have seen, and they have had an opportunity to decorate birdhouses for display in the room. They collected materials such as sticks and small rocks and brought them in to explore, as well. Staff offered some playdough with their collections to see what they would create. They also used the sticks to make beautiful plants for the room.

This project will continue as they explore their observations. We will allow the children to guide their learning, proceeding with activities that will engage them by encouraging their exploration.
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Balmoral Hall School

630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
Charitable Registration No. 12994 3932 RR0001
Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.

We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.