Inquiry-Based Learning Through Creation C.A.R.E: “Kinder Gardener”

​

This year’s Creation C.A.R.E theme, “Kinder Gardener”, invited our children to slow down, notice the world around them, and discover the beauty of God’s creation through nature. More than a theme, it became a meaningful inquiry journey where children explored plants, flowers, leaves, rocks, and the environment through their own questions and observations.

 

Listening to Children’s Curiosity

When teachers first received the theme, they did not begin by simply planning activities. Instead, they intentionally observed the children across all levels to understand what naturally caught their attention.

For our younger children, especially those still developing verbal communication skills, teachers paid close attention to their actions, gestures, repeated interests, and responses during outdoor walks and daily routines.

The infants were captivated by butterflies during outdoor walks. The Playgroup children excitedly pointed out flowers around them. The Pre-Nursery children enjoyed collecting leaves during nature walks. These authentic interests became meaningful starting points for inquiry.

Through flowers and leaves, the younger children explored colours, textures, shapes, and patterns found in nature. Learning was not confined to worksheets or teacher-directed lessons. It grew naturally from what the children noticed, touched, wondered about, and returned to again and again.

From Flowers to Questions

​

The Nursery children began wondering why flowers were “so pretty”. Their curiosity led them to explore different types and colours of flowers. Teachers extended their learning by introducing shapes, allowing children to create flowers using different geometric shapes. In this way, their inquiry into flowers was meaningfully connected to curriculum goals such as colour recognition, shape awareness, creativity, and language development.

For the K1 children, their curiosity deepened into questions about how plants grow and what they need to survive. They asked questions such as:

“How do flowers grow?”
“What does a flower need to grow?”
“Why do some flowers have different colours?”
“What would happen if a flower did not get water?”
“Why do some leaves feel smooth while others feel rough?”
“Do all plants take the same time to grow?”
“How do plants eat their food?”

These questions shaped the direction of their inquiry.

To extend their learning beyond the classroom, the children participated in a guided tour, “Journey from Seed to Flower”, at Gardens by the Bay. During and after the learning journey, they were encouraged to observe carefully, ask questions, share their discoveries, and connect what they had seen to their classroom learning.

Back in school, the inquiry continued through outdoor explorations. The children observed plants, flowers, leaves, and trees within their school environment. They also created garden terrariums using natural and recycled materials and expressed their learning through drawings, paintings, and collage artworks inspired by flowers and nature.

Through these experiences, the children developed a deeper understanding of the plant life cycle. They learnt that plants need sunlight, water, air, and care to grow well. They were able to identify parts of a plant such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds, and used new vocabulary confidently in their conversations.

More importantly, they learnt that plants are living things that require care. This helped the children develop responsibility, empathy, and respect for nature.

​

Discovering the Value of Rocks

For the K2 children, the inquiry took a different direction.

During outdoor nature walks, they showed interest in flowers, sticks, and rocks. Through class discussions and voting, the children collectively decided that they wanted to learn more about rocks.

They began by making simple but thoughtful observations:

“Some rocks have holes.”
“Some are big and small.”
“Some are smooth and rough.”

They also asked meaningful questions:

“Why do people like rocks?”
“Some rocks are heavy. Why do they scratch the floor?”

As the children had limited prior knowledge about rocks, teachers introduced videos, discussions, and provocations to help them learn about different types of rocks, including igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. The children also explored how rocks are used in real life.

Their reflections showed that they were beginning to see rocks with new eyes:

“Rocks are important because we need the things it can make.”
“Can help us to make structures like bridges and statues.”
“We cannot stand on the floor if there are no rocks!”
“It will just be nothing if got no rocks.”

What began as a simple interest in rocks grew into a deeper appreciation of how rocks are part of our everyday lives, from buildings and bridges to pathways and structures.

To deepen the inquiry, teachers brought rocks from the neighbourhood into the classroom as provocations. The children observed them closely, attempted to identify the types of rocks, and represented their learning through observation drawings and illustrations.

The inquiry was further extended through a learning journey to the Rock Garden at HortPark. There, the children noticed patterns, textures, structures, straight lines on rock bridges, spots and patterns on rocks, repeated shapes on sculptures, and the use of rocks in pathways. They documented their observations through sketches and drawings.

After the visit, the children voted to recreate the rock bridge they had seen. They brainstormed possible materials and intentionally suggested using recycled materials, showing a growing awareness of sustainability and environmental responsibility.

Through this collaborative project, the children painted, constructed, waited patiently for materials to dry, assembled different parts, and worked together towards a shared goal. They demonstrated teamwork, responsibility, grit, patience, and ownership. The project was not simply something made by the teacher for the children. It was something the children owned, shaped, and contributed to together.

​​