The beginning of each project is an opportunity to identify where the desires and interests are for each learner. During the month of October, our friends “traveled” to Europe and studied maps, learned about different cultures, food, customs, animals, monuments, and more. They were all captivated by the country of Italy and collectively decided they would like to “land” their airplane in the country to do an in-depth week long study.
A shared interest amongst our learners at this time had to do with all things architecture. They were fascinated by how buildings were built and what materials were used. As they learned about different monuments, one stood out to them. The Pantheon was quite inspiring to them and Ms. Sofia and I knew how to dive in and support this clear interest.
As with any project, we always look to incorporate mathematics, science, reading/ writing, phonics, social/emotional, and artistic expression. In October, our curriculum included multiplication, skip counting by 5s, the digraph “th”, to highlight a few concepts. We held a group meeting to see what inquiries our learners had. After writing those down, we set out to find 100 rocks outside in our backyard.
Friends counted the rocks to 100 and then were invited to group them by 5s. I wrote multiplication problems on the board and friends grouped their rocks to match each problem. After that, friends were introduced to blueprints of the Pantheon and received a lesson on the architectural structure of the monument. They created their own blueprints and set out to begin construction of their own version using the 100 rocks they each collected.
As the project unfolded over the next two weeks, ideas of “grit” and what creates a strong foundation within ourselves and our community were investigated and discussed. Short stories were written to go along with each learner’s Pantheon. Phonics lessons of “th” and short vowel sounds were given. Questions continue to pour out of each child as their Pantheon was constructed. Their flame was strong, vibrant, and present during each stage and component of the project.
