The older children of The Collective (4th-8th Grade), help their school community by looking after many of the animals. They feed them, spend time with them, and clear their habitats of scat (poop).
The time spent together bettering the environments for the animals builds community, teamwork and a hard work ethic.
Learning about Scat
On this particular day, the children were curious about what was in the scat of the chickens. So they put it under the microscope. They talked about what they observed and continued to ask questions.
Is the poop of the alpacas the same?
What about the pig?
The goats?
The sheep?
After a trip to the animal yards to collect the various scat, the children explored how to make wet and dry slides and smears. They worked with varying the magnifications of each of their specimens.
They discovered that you could even tell what the animals were eating by examining their scat!
This is the BEST type of Science experiment because it was led by the curiosity of the children. They worked their way through the scientific process as they asked questions, made predictions, gathered data, and drew conclusions.
The children were emotionally invested in this experiment because it was an authentic experience. That’s when REAL LEARNING takes place!
It’s the Marvelously Made Way!
Why We Write Our Own Curriculum
We often get asked about which curriculum we use. Although we do have curriculum resources that we refer to, the answer is “The Children are the Curriculum!”
Imagine if we didn’t nurture the curiosity of the children on this day because we needed to get to that day’s lesson. What if we would have just told them what was in the chicken’s scat and not let them wonder, ask questions, or talk about it?
We write our own curriculum by letting the children’s interests guide us and by providing experiences for children to explore.