Going boating in November!

Going boating is something we Minnesotans cherish during those short three summer months every year. In Sotogrande, however, we’ve been “boating” for the last two weeks- in November! Allow me to explain… Libby and I have been full-time teaching for the last two weeks in Primary Years 1. As mentioned in an earlier post, our unit of inquiry is on materials. The students went on “hunts” around the school for things made from metal, glass, wood, plastic, etcetera during this unit, as well as studying the properties of these materials, such as smooth, bumpy, squashy, etc. While distinguishing between smooth and bumpy things, one of my curious students, Tom, raised his hand and asked “Miss Christa, do you have smooth things in America?” Another student replied for me by saying, “Tom, there are smooth things EVERYWHERE.” He gave her a knowing expression and said “Yes, everywhere except Africa!” Needless to say, their comments and questions have been endless free entertainment for us!
The first boat we made was out of a square piece of tinfoil. Every student got one square piece to design their boat however they wished. Miss Lin and I filled up the water tables in the courtyard outside our classroom, and the students put their boats to the test! After a few minutes, we added an extra challenge…adding toy people to the boat to see if it would still float! We had talked about floating and sinking earlier in the week, and this was a great demonstration on the difference between the two concepts.
Later in the week, we made paper boats (paper hats tipped upside down!) The students enjoyed making the boats, but the fun part was of course testing them in the water! Even with aprons on, we had a lot of wet jumpers for the rest of the day! After the project, we talked about whether or not water was a good material to use when making a boat, as well as the difference between waterproof and absorbent.
The final piece of this project was completed last week. In partners, the students made plans for making their final boat, constructed the boat, tested the boat in the swimming pool, and finally reflected on their experience. The students were so motivated to make the best boat they could and spent one morning working hard on their construction! Most of the students made the boats out of old cardboard boxes, and decorated them with flags, toilet paper rolls, etc! To say the students were excited when we finally got to bring the boats to the pool is a big understatement!
This whole experience was such a good example of the IB school philosophy. The young children worked mostly on their own, and used their imagination and prior knowledge to construct their own learning. Libby and I really enjoyed the unit, and I think the students did too! Who knows when the next time we’ll be able to go “boating” in November will be, right?!