An investigation is Bear Park’s way of approaching sustained learning over a period of time. Some investigations are long term, while others may only last a few days or weeks. Generally, we know when an investigation has reached a natural conclusion when our hypothesis or intent has been realised.
An idea for a mini-investigation at home could be to look at the idea of growth and transformation. Embracing the natural world and looking for ways to be actively sustainable is a part of Bear Park’s culture, the children will already be familiar with some ideas about nature and sustainability from their time in the preschool. Why not continue to foster this at home with the simple suggestion of vegetables?
Many of you will be preparing more home-cooked meals, probably with eager junior chefs to support you. Next time you are prepping your vegetables, save the offcuts and perhaps pose the question “What could we do with these instead of throwing them in the trash?”
You may be surprised at some of the suggestions. Take note of these, perhaps even create a mind map of them and then plan to test out each theory. You could also make your own suggestions. For example, many vegetable offcuts can be grown with nothing but sunlight and water. This process is fascinating to observe and offers up many pathways of discovery.
“The best and easiest vegetables to regrow are spring onion, celery, lettuces and cabbages, leeks and onions. However, you can have success with most vegetables (and even fruit) once you get the technique right! The simplest way to do this is to cut an inch or two off from the top of the vegetable, and then leave to sit in a bowl/tub of water. Once your vegetables begin to sprout, simply place them in the soil to continue growing!”
– for further information refer to www.ruralsprout.com/regrow-vegetables
A crucial part of Bear Park investigations is ensuring that our children are offered a variety of languages to express their ideas. You could draw your growing vegetables, adding details each day as you notice them, document their progress with photographs or even create a dramatic story or dance to convey how it might feel to be a new spring onion, growing from the offcuts of an old one.
If you choose to embark on a mini-investigation, please share your process with us on! The teaching teams will love to see what you’re up to and will be happy to offer tips and suggestions for how to enrich your mini-investigation!
