I really enjoyed watching your video.  The activity was very engaging for your students.  I also teach an early childhood class.  It is my most challenging as far as finding engineering challenges for this age group.  This would be a wonderful activity for them.  

I loved this video and the main message: to listen to what preschoolers think and what they are interested in before telling them content of what one thinks they should know. The kids are adorable and this video models Guided Play so well. Hope many educators see this! I imagine that this pedagogical stance would work well in formal environments too. 

Thanks for creating this!

I am so happy to hear that you start with thought provoking questions.  Listening to these young children explain in their own words is so powerful for teachers to identify misconceptions.

Thank you for sharing your video.  It is interesting how this concept of play and observation is lost as students get older.  For high school this especially important.  Students need to have time play and explore science and engineering content.

Thank you for sharing the video. Do you often use guided play or are there more open inquiry opportunities, as well?

Either way, this definitely promotes curiosity and engagement! Thank you so much for sharing. Your video was really well done!

Guide PRODUCTIVE play! Love this and I am inspired.

Last school year, as a STEAM enrichment educator here in central NY, I provided mystery bag materials for elmentary students to create a nest like a bird engineer would. See pics here But I am inspired your one-nest-to-rule-them-all lesson! We do have to get ont he foor with kids and PLAY with them--thank you for the great exmaple!

I wish I was on the west coast (is that where you are?) to visit you and learn more about the creative things you do.

It is wonderful for children to relate to birds, and their homes.  Then to look at how their homes are built.  

A birds' nest in an engineering mater piece,  They seem so common and simple.  Yet they must stay in a tree! And protect the birds and their family from the weather  

Seeing it from the ground in the tree is one layer, but then looking at it with a magnifing glass is another layer.  New details and layers can be seen.  

Science and understanding is layer after layer. This is a great introduction to layers upon layers.

Thank you for sharing your video! You have proven that children are never too young to learn STEM Learning. I think that guiding play is needed more from the time the children are being curious. This is an inspiring idea for me as a grandmother. :) Diana

Cassia, thank you so much for taking the time to document an example of your rich and impactful approach to supporting early childhood science learning through guided play! We at the Lawrence Hall of Science are appreciative of your leadership in this field and your incredible work in our community.

Such a beautiful video, Cassia. And a reminder that these first hand experiences with nature, especially with very young children, are so important, so formative, even transformative. I still am amazed and perplexed at how birds get those dang nests to hold together and to stay in the tree--every time I see one!! The experience you provide for those 5 year olds could keep them puzzling, wondering, investigating for the rest of their lives!

As us beetlesproject.org like to say, "Think and wonder. Wonder and think" (Dr. Seuss)

Thanks for the profoundly important work you do, Cassia, adding wonder to so many kids' lives!

Cassia, what a fantastic exploration of what these kids were thinking. It was great to hear you asking open-ended questions that really elicited their ideas. And then pushing them to explore their ideas further by trying things out and seeing what worked and what didn't. I really enjoyed watching them use the model beaks (plastic tweezers) so they could do a more honest exploration to help with their sense making. It was also great to see a quick shot of the type of observation tool we might use as educators while we're trying to track learners' ideas. Thank you for sharing all of your great work for us to learn from!

It’s amazing to see the endless possibilities with the young mind. We actually use play/explore as part of our STEAM strategic plan for grade band preK-3. 
I would be interested in learning more about the professional development for you educators. 

Thank you, Cassia, for sharing this video of young kids having such fun while learning and exploring nature. I loved watching them try things out, use models and tools, be curious, show empathy, and use their imaginations. You are such an inspiring educator! 

When you discover something it is called SCIENCE-- LOVE THIS!

This is great work, Cassia, and resonated with me as I collect abandoned Birds' Nests and use them in my lessons.  In the spring I love to do a unit on "Engineering in Nature."  The youngest students build birds' nests, the older ones explore Chipmunk Burrows, then Beaver Dams, then Spiders' Webs.  They learn to look at nature differently, not just as scientists, but as engineers who can learn from what they notice outside.  Keep up the fabulous work!

As a mother to young children (4&7), I agree that children play to learn. I especially love how you show the guided play in your video. While playing looks different as we get older, it is still just as important for learning and building creativity.

If you have a chance, check out the book Karl's New Beak. It's about an Abyssinian ground hornbill who had difficulty eating because of his broken beak. His zookeepers used 3D printing to give Karl a new beak. It reminds me of your story because students can use empathy to solve a problem.

Keep up the inspiring work, reminding us that everyone plays to learn!

Great video, Cassia! It really highlights what a wonderful job you do engaging our youngest scientists. 

We have been working really hard to restructure our Kindergarten classrooms to encourage more learning through play. We did a book study that emphasized how much we've lost by limiting opportunities for our students to play. This video was so supportive of our initiatives and helping our teachers understand how we can guide their play to ensure they have long-lasting takeaways and social development!

Hi Cassia,

What a wonderful video that really showcases the power of play, storytelling, and activity to engage young learners in the world around them. Thank you for your creative energy that continues to touch so many children when they experience the early childhood program at the Lawrence! 

Your video also brought back fond memories of working together so many years ago. Hope to see you soon, Cassia, and to meet puppet Kimi in person!