Some of the KAs are continuing to be interested in airplanes and flight. I am amazed at the vocabulary students are using based on our research in their creations. I hear words such as propeller, rudder, wings, landing gear, etc. It's a true testament to the importance of using specialized language and "fancy words" with young children. Below children used a variety of tools to construct airplanes and described them in detail to me.
A big part of inquiry is learning together - teacher with students. This certainly was the case with Captain Dave - a retired pilot of Air Canada - came to visit us. I frantically documented what he shared and tried to capture the children's questions and comments for our documentation board. The kinders worked to brainstorm and write questions ahead of time which I sent on to Captain Dave. He did science demonstrations, brought a model of the plane he flew, brought pictures of his plane (inside and out!) and photos of his travels as a pilot, and brought video of his last landing before he retired. He did more than teach us about planes and flights - he made the message clear that dreams can come true. I can't even put into words how engaged the children were, what a magical experience it was, and the impact his sharing made on all of us. A special thanks to Mr. Farnworth who heard that we were looking for a pilot and connected us.
Below, we tried on Captain Dave's headset and Captain Dave was surprised by a spontaneous sneak-attack hug. O.H. put on the headphones and immediately said "Hello, this is your captain speaking!". Captain Dave is sure we have at least a few pilots in our room and was surprised by the knowledge the children already had, too.
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