The Butterfly House Project 2019-20 NIS ELC Preschool
Copyright © 2021 by Nagoya International School (NIS) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, contact the NIS Admissions & Development Office. Nagoya International School Admissions & Development Office 2686 Minamihara, Nakashidami, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Japan 463-0002 WEB: www.nis.ac.jp TEL: 052-736-2025 (+81-52-736-2025) EMAIL: development@nis.ac.jp Design and content by Chelsea Wilson Sword, Satoko Okuno and Erin Sakakibara Printed by Mojoprint
NIS - Inquire Inspire Impact
Connections The NIS ELC follows the IB Primary Years Program (PYP) curriculum and takes inspiration from the educators and researchers in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their world-renowned approach to Early Years education focuses on the children being the masters of their own learning. The Butterfly House Project sits at the intersection of these two approaches. The project began as an idea developed by a small group of children through play, followed by a simple wondering and conversation between the children. Teachers helped the children develop their ideas throughout this project by providing contexts that challenged them to think more deeply and explore a wide range of possibilities. In turn, the children guided the shape and journey of the project throughout the year, stemming from their ideas, questions, and theories. The Butterfly House Project was also framed within the Preschool’s “How The World Works” Unit of Inquiry within the PYP. Through this unit, children are encouraged to explore how humans use their understanding of scientific principles to learn about the properties of materials.
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It all started when a group of the ELC preschool children took a special interest in “the cave” in the ELC garden.
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This was a structure started by the previous kindergarten class as a part of the overall Garden Project started the year before.
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They began to make changes to “make it beautiful” and started working together to clear leaves from inside. Then they decided it needed furniture and moved different items into the cave.
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Along the way, a few children started calling it the “Butterfly House,” and the name stuck! The Butterfly House was their new project!
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The Butterfly House Project 6
Table of Contents Beginning...2 Testing: When Rain Meets Paper...11 Next Steps: What Other Materials Could We Use?...14 The Butter Test: How Bricks Stand Up to Heat...16 Visiting a Construction Site...20 The Final Test and a Storybook Ending...22 A Trip to the Home Center...24 Building the Butterfly House...26 Even a Pandemic Couldn’t Stop Them!...29 Putting on the Finishing Touches...30
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Beginning
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All of this activity inspired a few children to draw designs of how they would like to change the structure to make it stronger.
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AL: We need to use cardboard [on top] to prevent rain and thunder. YN: Cardboard is not good, because it is paper. AY: Wood is better. It’s not paper, so it’s good. AL: Wood is not good for thunder. The lightning will hit the wood (tree). I think cardboard is good...but I’m not sure. Maybe cardboard and wood! Y:
I think something hard.
HU: When a typhoon comes, it may fall down. We should put heavy rocks around the house. They discovered they needed to test some materials against heavy rain, strong wind, and hot sun.
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Testing
Testing Cardboard: Rain Meets Paper Because some students thought cardboard might be a good material to use, and others thought it wouldn’t hold up to rain, they decided to test this idea. First, they tested cardboard by simulating light rain using water in spray bottles.
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Much to the surprise of many children, the cardboard did not break after testing their first test! A few children hypothesized, “If there is a little rain, it will not break. But if there is a lot of rain, it will break.”
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The children all knew that in a typhoon, there is lots of water and wind. To simulate how the cardboard would react in that situation, they stood on the cardboard to agitate it and found that it came apart very quickly and easily!
They reflected on their cardboard tests, and everyone agreed that they should not use cardboard for the Butterfly House!
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What other materials Could we use? Next, they wanted to test whether or not certain materials will stay cool when exposed to heat. But first, they made predictions about which spoon might feel the hottest and which spoon would feel the least hot.
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After leaving the different spoons in hot water for one whole minute, they took out the spoons and tested each one. The budding scientists determined that the metal spoon was the hottest, and the wooden spoon was the least hot, testing their theories on what material is best against heat.
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The Butter Test
How Bricks Stand Up to Heat
To test whether bricks are good insulators, they set up another experiment using butter.
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The preschool scientists made very careful observations before, during, and after the experiment to develop their understanding of this material.
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They even had a visit from a real scientist to check their experiment! When the science teacher stopped by to see what the preschoolers were learning, she asked lots of questions about their tests. The children were happy to answer her questions with the data they collected!
Watch the video!
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With the butter test complete, they made observations of what happened to two butter samples and what the brick felt like, comparing the side closest to the heat with the side that was away from the heat. They determined that brick can stay cool, even when exposed to heat, and added their new information to their learning board.
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Visiting a Construction Site As the preschoolers were planning their building in the ELC garden, another building was being constructed at NIS - the new East building. The children checked in on the progress regularly, noting what materials they saw, comparing them to the materials they thought they should use, and thinking about what made the “big building” different from their butterfly house.
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A visit to the construction site was arranged so they could learn from the architects and builders themselves. They saw how construction plans are important to building a new structure, and the different materials, tools, and equipment that is used in construction.
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The Final Test And a Storybook Ending!
Inspired by the story The Three Little Pigs, the final experiment set out to test cardboard, wood, and brick in strong wind. The children set up the different tests outside and recorded their observations. They observed that cardboard would blow away in a strong wind, and brick would stay put. But the clever observers noticed something interesting about wood! When they tested a small wood block, the wood blew away, but it stayed put when they tried a large piece of wood.
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Backed by research, they decided that wood and brick were the best materials to use outside. Using the school van, they took turns going to Cainz Home Center in small groups to purchase the materials needed to build the Butterfly House.
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Center Trip Their shopping list included 60 bricks, five pieces of wood, and nails. They gave the wood measurements to the store employees and were thrilled to watch them cut it into the correct sizes. Then they helped to pay for the materials.
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Building the Butterfly House Once they returned to school with the materials, it was finally time to build the Butterfly House!
Building!
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The first job was to nail the pieces of wood to the frame. The young builders needed to use goggles, hammers, and nails to secure the wood in place.
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It was hard work! Thankfully, the NIS facilities team stepped in to help so the Butterfly House could be built safely.
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Even a Pandemic Couldn’t Stop Them! Even during online learning, the children continued to be invested in their project. Their interest encouraged NIS staff to follow through on their behalf to add bricks to the sides of the Butterfly House. The children drew designs at home and voted on different paint colors to decorate the house when they returned to campus. They never lost their passion for their project!
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Putting on the Finishing Touches! With only one week on campus at the end of the year, the preschool children made the most of their time by dedicating three full days to decorating the Butterfly House. The first day they drew with a pencil and traced with a permanent marker. Then they added paint over the course of two days. Each child contributed to painting the house.
Finishing
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Touches Thanks to their keen science skills and determination, it is now a beautiful legacy and a tribute to their hard work and creativity!
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Thank you... We would like to thank all of the people involved in the Butterfly House Project. To the children, who shared their ideas and questions, who worked together to create, and who continued to be invested in the project even as the way in which we engaged in learning had to change. To the families, who made connections to the project at home and shared in the project through school trips. To the facilities team, who supported the children to construct the Butterfly House and made sure the project could continue during online learning. To the ELC Preschool Teachers: Chelsea Wilson Sword, Chiaki Nomura, and Marimo Yagi To the ELC Kindergarten Teachers: Ginger Puffer, Zana Tolkaciova, Yoko Kamikokuryo, Yoko Watanabe, and Andrew Hardman To the ELC Coordinator and Atelierista: Jennie Mossman And finally, to Satoko Okuno, Erin Sakakibara, and Erik Olson-Kikuchi for helping to create this book!
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