ANTS!!! The beginning of a project through one tiny six-legged idea

Springtime in the DC area signifies the arrival of ants: itty, bitty, creepy crawly ants. They are everywhere.  They are a perfect non-partisan pest as they creep into homes of every political persuasion within the beltway.

This ant invasion has been an opportunistic learning moment for Hannah.  In our adult minds , we as parents believe that a garden will be a wonderful learning opportunity for our children.  As my husband and I  put our new plants into new soil, Hannah found a hill.  A very tiny and special hill.  Her ant hill.  As our neighbor sat across the fence pulling weeds and planning her garden masterpiece, Hannah asserted her tiny voice in an effort to discuss her new found friends.  Thus began a conversation between child and neighbor that has since evolved into a project that she has continued to discuss with the same vigor over several weeks.

Throughout my career as an educator, I have heralded project based learning as being the quintessential method by which to engage young learners.  As I venture into a new role as educator of my children, this philosophy bleeds through. My daughter has provided such a opportunity for me to see my previous theories in action.  Ahh, I now feel first hand why Piaget studied his own children.

I have in turn shifted my focus of including my child in the cultivation of the plants that we have interred, to nurturing the idea that has sprouted from her discovery of that very important hill.  This tiny sprout has since bloomed into an idea that guides a great deal of the daily conversation.  So the project begins as Hannah hones in on what she needs to help her expand her knowledge of ants.  We are ready to map our starting point and begin our journey.