An interest that continues to emerge with the West Wing is their curiosity for trains and their components. Today when we met and I pointed out how I had noticed how much they know about trains they said:
Jacob: Bridges for trains. (Proposing an idea).
Leah: Bridges do not make any sounds.
Theo demonstrates with his hands placing one over another while keeping a space between them.
Theo: Bridges and tunnels look like this.
Teacher Flora: What do you think is different between a bridge and a tunnel?
Jacob: The bridges are going to be very long.
Theo: What if there was not a walking bridge? In case there is a river and if there is no bridge you’ll go into the river!
Jacob: I can make a bridge and the train tracks. Let’s get the animals. All the animals are going to ride the train.
Theo: This bridge is not stable at all. The animals will just fall down when they are crossing it.
I specifically brought up the train topic to these children with the idea of gathering more information from them and to confirm their curiosity about trains as it continues to be a recurrent building plan. Jacob, Leah, and Theo were definitely receptive and trains and bridges became their reference of connection as we’re seeing with more West Wingers. It is gratifying to see how the intentional placement of a variety of materials stimulates their thinking. Jacob chose the hollow blocks supported by the platform to create a tunnel and Theo used two pillar blocks to balance the double blocks for the bridge. On the other hand, Leah started discovering the connections with the recycled materials and grabbed Jacob’s and Theo’s attention to explore with her. In the end, their building was a “castle party with a bridge, tunnels, and a train with animals.” It seems like there is much to investigate about trains, tunnels, bridges, and castles and always more to learn. Teacher Flora