There is no doubt the amount of excitement that is coming with halloween. When a child shows extreme interest in a subject matter, creating invitations to build upon their curiosity honors their learning process by letting them be active collaborators. While it may steer away from your planned lessons, curriculum, concepts or theme, it provides for a meaningful experience to guide a child's exploration in something they are interested in or what is happening in the world around them.
A meaningful way to learn about skeletons is to explore through X-Ray images, loose parts (q-tips & bones), and skeletons on the light table. Integrating hands-on experiences with a variety of materials to explore whenever possible is an important way to reinforce new concepts, categorization of images and objects for children. It encourages children to participate in their abilities to naturally differentiate items. As they observe and explore the materials their language and understanding of bones is enhanced.
The child will categorize and repurpose the materials and when you set it on a light table it provides to be an excellent source of visual sensory input. Children are naturally drawn to the glow of the table and are often calmed by the visual stimulation as they explore a the center. “Light has a way of focusing our attention and illuminating new perspectives.”
