Discovery Time continues to be a favorite time of day for the students in my kindergarten classroom. In fact, on days when have an alternative activity, such as Folk Tale Day or Fort Friday, they still always ask, "Don't we have Discovery Time today?"
Discovery Time is a win-win-win. The students engage in activities they enjoy, they build important life skills while engaging in them, and I get uninterrupted time to meet with small groups. It doesn't get any better than that!
The biggest challenge of Discovery Time is coming up with new activities. The general discovery areas stay the same, but I change out the activities every week or two. Fortunately, I have found many great ideas for provocations on the internet, and I also have been blessed with enough materials to develop my own. Here are some things we have been doing at Discovery Time since my last Discovery Time post:
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| Honing fine motor skills and visual acuity by matching nuts and bolts |
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| Exploring how things are constructed at the take apart area |
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| Documenting what we observe at the science table |
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| Getting creative with loose parts at the light table |
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| Working with pattern blocks at the math table |
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| Making cards, pictures and letters at the writing table |
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| Playing house at the kitchen area |
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| Sculpting with wire |
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| Making letters with Play Doh |
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| Constructing with Magna Tiles at the light table |
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| Painting still life portraits at the art table |
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| Designing and creating at the makerspace area |
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| Noticing and discovering shells at the science table |
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| Using attribute blocks and numbers at the light table |
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| Constructing cities in the block area |
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| Practicing counting with loose parts at the math area |
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| Exploring lines at the art area |
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| Matching skeletons and insects at the light table |
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| Observing things in nature and comparing those observations with others |
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| Decorating gingerbread men |
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| Making gingerbread traps |
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| Exploring lines and colors at the light table |
You are creating an atmosphere that best prepares our young learners - for occupations that do not even exist yet. We must encourage flexible, discovery thinking to promote readiness for their future. Just sharing what we know is not enough. Your students are so blessed with the incredible gift you give them.
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