So this Tuesday’s class was cancelled for the purpose of our Wednesday’s field trip to George Jay Elementary to visit Rebecca Bathhurst-Hunt and to her about her kindergarten inquiry classroom. This was an interesting take on what inquiry is considering kindergarten children are not well-versed in articulating their thoughts, especially considering it is a French immersion classroom.
One thing that was funny to me was that she co-wrote the inquiry book with Trevor MacKenzie. Trevor was a high school teacher I had back in the day, and I helped demo his kitchen before he renovated it. So super small world!
In my opinion it would be quote hard to pull off an inquiry style classroom at the kindergarten age. I wish we could have a bit more of a one-on-one conversation so I could have asked more about how she instructs students around topics that kindergartens are required to learn. I am curious to learn how she includes inquiry based studies around maths, reading, and writing which are basic requirements students have to meet. Does she abandon the inquiry style? Or does she have another method she uses when attacking these topics?
Another thing I really liked was how her classroom was laid out. It seemed in each aspect of the classroom she had exploration stations around the class to engage students in wondering, and asking questions around topics of choice. This is great way to create conversation around topic matters and learn about students likes or dislikes.
Overall, it was a great field trip and I would like to engage in more field trips in the future.
Riley
