Wonder and Magic in the Classroom

It’s important to encourage a child’s sense of magic and wonder. I’m not talking about Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny, I mean real magic…

The children in this picture noticed a rainbow. They were mesmerized, trying to understand how it came to be on the wall. Had it been there all this time? How had they not noticed it before? When they placed their hands on it, how did the color go onto their hands? Why was it only on this part of the wall and not everywhere else? And many more questions came from a simple rainbow on a wall.

Activities such as this, spark curiosity, which promotes higher cognitive thinking. From their interest, sparked over a month-long curriculum unit on rainbows.

I have a prism in the classroom, to promote intrigue and curiosity. I filled our glass vases with colored water in… rainbow order of course. The children had a rejuvenated interest with the wooden rainbow. (Which is one of the BEST purchases I have ever made, over 8 YEARS AGO! Link at the bottom of the page.)

As we delved deeper into the science of a rainbow, their curiosity expanded to shadows. It brought me (and the children) such joy as they experimented with light and shadow; the cause and effect of moving their bodies closer or farther away from the light source, the social interactions as they created “shadow plays.”

Their learning was authentic, they owned it. I was there to support them, scaffold upon their interests. If I had tried to push and “teach” the concept of a rainbow before this moment, I do not feel it would have been as successful. 

I urge you to look around your classroom and think about how you can incorporate more, “magic and wonder.” 

Where to Purchase Items…

Grimm’s Wooden Rainbow: https://www.amazon.com/Grimms-Large-12-Piece-Rainbow-Stacker/dp/B0089VP95S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1522985751&sr=8-4&keywords=wooden+rainbow

Prism: http://www.leapinlizards.biz/ (Local business on Forest Ave in Portland.)

Glass Vases: Goodwill 🙂