"What is that thing?"

One day a few weeks ago I brought in some tall leaves and plants I found outside.  We spent a few days looking at it and exploring it.  The children really enjoyed looking and talking about it.  It was a great way to use our observational skills and write about it.

This brought me to the idea of talking about our 5 senses.  We use them to explore new things and they are great strategies to help us observe.  I talked about it during our Thursday morning group time.  What can we do with our nose?  How can we use our eyes?  How do they help us think of words to describe new objects?  I brought over an osage orange often found outside during this time of year.  We talked about each sense and how we could use it for the orange (unfortunately not our mouth this time).

We had a chance to explain our thoughts with our words as well as writing/drawing.  Providing opportunities for using descriptive language is essential in order to expand our vocabulary.  

"It feels hard.  It feels rough.  It has big bumps on it."

"It feels like a ball."

"It looks like a pear."

"It feels dry."

"It's green.  It's good."

When we get the chance soon, we will open it and explore the inside to continue our observations.