The Trellis Project by the Tots Explorers
The trellis area is a space the Tots call their own. It is their sanctuary - listening to the wind chimes, watching the birds and even aeroplanes flying above. The idea for pursuing a project at the trellis area emerged from the educators' motivation to enhance the area and make it more cosy, inviting, and engaging for the Tots. Some of the project ideas were derived from the educators' observations and interpretation of how the children's fascination, sensory and tactile learning opportunities could be enhanced e.g. through the building of a bird feeding house so that the birds will stay long enough to satisfy the Tots' sense of wonder and curiosity.
Making Binoculars
In this part of the project, the Tots' keen interest in exploring with binoculars led to the creation of their own binoculars, which they used to explore the environment. The Tots were excited about exploring with the binoculars, looking at just about anything - trees, vehicles, people and the birds.
Constructing the Bird House
The children's active exploration with the binoculars led to the idea for constructing a house for the birds. The Tots displayed high curiosity for the birds that flew by and stopped to visit their trellis area.
Building the Bird Feeder
In order to entice more birds to come into the Bird House, the teachers decided that a Bird Feeder is esential. With the Bird Feeder installed, it attracted more birds and the Tots gleefully went outdoors to enjoy the sight and sounds of the birds!
Seeing the excitement of the children about the birds, the teachers brought a variety of materials to hang at the trellis so the children could further explore with sounds. The last part of this project engaged the children in creating wind chimes at the trellis area where they can experience a variety of sounds.
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