Inside: Each season brings new opportunities for kindergarten inquiry, projects, and STEAM work. In this post, I share links to many of the projects I’ve done with different groups of kindergartners across many school years.
Leaning Into Kindergarten Inquiry and Project Work
When I decided to try teaching in a more student-centered way, there was no teaching manual that showed me how to do it. I read lots books, took online and in-person classes, followed others on social media, and in a sense, started on my own inquiry journey.
I slowly leaned in, tried lots of new things, and documented that journey across the seasons on this blog. I share these experiences with you here, not because they are a textbook definition of kindergarten inquiry or project work, but because they show a teacher pulling back, following her children’s lead, and seeing where it took us.
In this post, I’ve gathered all of these experiences together and organized them by season, hoping that no matter when you land on this page, you’ll find something that will inspire you to begin your own inquiries and projects!
And I’ll be adding to this post, as I continue to explore this way of teaching with future kindergarten classes.
Inquiry Projects by the Season
Fall
Can We Do Whatever We Want?: Exploring Rules in Kindergarten
The Pumpkin Project
A Fall Nature Walk: Before, During, and After Activities
Our Apple Seed Inquiry: Exploring the Scientific Method in Kindergarten
Fall Inquiries and Research Groups in Kindergarten
Winter
Exploring Precipitation (and Going Deeper with Snow)
Growing Our Thinking Around Matter
Gingerbread STEM Challenge: The Toy Boat Project
Our Mystery Bulb: A Plant Inquiry
Our Bald Eagle Research Project
A Kindergarten Inquiry: Investigating Winter
The Envelope Project
Kindergarten STEAM: The Paintbrush Project
Spring
Easy Leprechaun Traps for Kindergarten
Kindergarten Plant Unit: An Inquiry Based Approach
Wind Walk Adventures and Activities
Animal Research Projects: Step-by-Step
Planting Bean Seeds to Welcome Spring
Are Trees Alive? A Mini Inquiry
Learning With Each New Kindergarten Inquiry
Each inquiry or project taught me something new about teaching in a more student-centered way and my “teacher toolbox,” began to grow with strategies that I was then able to use with each new inquiry.
For more ideas on inquiry and project work, visit the Growing with STEAM page inside the Roots & Wings Resource Library. Thanks for stopping by!
Future-Ready Skills: Preparing Kindergarteners for Tomorrow Through Play
Fall Inquiries and Research Groups in Kindergarten
Planting Bean Seeds to Welcome Spring
3 Types of Makerspace Challenges to Use Across the Kindergarten Year