Environmental Stewardship

Dhanika carefully arranges the planks side by side, transforming the space into a small garden for growing food. At first, she groups everything together. But when asked, "What if you arrange them according to the a certain pattern?"  With her open-minded nature, she embraces the suggestion and begin organizing them according to specific attributes. In doing so she creates not only a garden, but also a more harmonious system.

But when Dhanika pauses, reflects, and reorganizes with intention, she moves beyond just "doing" into understanding and caring more deeply for what she is creating.

Just as Dhanika learns to see her garden differently, the tree in The Giving Tree gives without ever stepping back to consider balance or sustainability. When the tree gives endlessly, Dhanika learns to nurture wisely. Her garden becomes not only a place of giving, but also a space of balance, where each part is considered and supported.

After hearing the story, we gather to share our thoughts. We gently ask, "What do you think it happening here between the tree and the boy?" And also a question on, If we were the boy, what are we going to do differently?"

Emily pauses for a moment after the question is asked, "What happens when you need trees to build your house?" She says slowly, "We could use bricks instead."

Early in the story, we may still be drawn to the tree's kindness. However, as we reflect more deeply through questions, our sense of awareness begins to grow. Instead of taking the apples or branches without much thought, we may pause to express gratitude or even consider what the tree needs in return. This shift in perspective transforms the relationship from one-sided to something more mutual and respectful.

Slowly, the group begins to see more than just a story. We see a relationship. Noticing that giving and receiving can be thoughtful, or unbalanced, depending on how we choose to act. In that shared conversation, a deeper learning begins: sometimes, understanding comes not only from the story alone, but from the question we care to ask about it.

With our growing sense of awareness, we encourage ourselves to explore ideas of balance, boundaries, and mutual respects through reflective, firsthand learning experiences. For example, we observe how corn and green bean seeds sprout within days when placed between moist paper towels. ​

Through this process, we come to see sprouting as part of a larger pattern of growth and change in living things, noticing how small beginnings gradually develop into new life over time. As our understanding of growth develops, it is time to take action to give back to trees by caring for them and supporting the environment that allow them to thrive.

Along the line, in a few discussions about the worm, Anthony decides to give a worm a dry surface. He has been saying the worm likes the dryness. We have been looking for worms for a few weeks. It's been couple of rainy days and sunny days. We find worms easily on the rainy days, and not so much on the sunny days.

One sunny day, Anthony and Luka are ready to find the worms, start moving the stumps. "I'm strong!" says Luka. Anthony sees Luka having a hard time moving it, and says, "I'll help you!" The boys are working together to find worms. 

All of the stumps are laid on their sides, but none of the worms are found. 
"There's no worm." says Anthony. And here's a question, "Why do you think there aren't any worms?" He answers, "Because they need the rain."
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We are learning more about worms, and find out sometimes we find a lot of worms and  sometimes we don't. This helps him to realize the worm needs the rain.

Luka and Anthony become more comfortable to find worms day by day. Our interest towards worms keeps growing. The boys catch worms with their fingers, using the right pressure to hold them and keep them in the container.

On one fine morning, we notice a worm tries to escape from the container. "Oh no! Stay inside!" says the boys. Luka's gentle finger pushes the worm back through the gaps.

We want to keep it with us, so we decide to make a house for the worms. We put the pebbles, soil, sand and, grasses in the container, making layers. "The grasses keep them warm" says Luka. We are exploring about how the worms live in the house we have made for them. 

Our inquiry then continues into a creative exploration, where we use the stem of bok choy in an art learning experience to create flowers, noticing how natural materials can be transformed and repurposed while deepening our connection to nature.

With Tiffany, we also extend our inquiry by using natural materials to create insects based on our interests, exploring how different elements from nature can be used to represent living things in creative and meaningful ways.

Luka and Anthony repeatedly return to the slides, lying on their tummies as they imagine flying through the air, exploring movement, perspective, and imaginative play.

This experience indeed captures the joy of early childhood. When everyday experiences become opportunities to imagine how things move and unfold, and when play opens up endless possibilities of 'what if'.

This sense of wonder extends into our Earth Day inquiry, where we explore the Earth as a living system through sensory and creative experiences. Using baking soda to represent the Earth, and blue and green vinegar to represent water and land, we observe how elements interact and change,

Through this process, we deepen our understanding of Earth's natural systems while engaging in playful experimentation, connecting our imaginative thinking to care and curiosity for the world around us. Happy Earth Day to all of us!

Kindest,
Children & Friends.