This month on Kodo Community and on our social channels, we have been highlighting uses with our Light Innovations, which inspired our Book of the Month, GLOW by Kayla Diamond.
In this story, our characters are a group of glow sticks who are all able to glow during an event together. Unexpectedly our main character finds that he is broken and cracked, unable to create a glow. He watches other glow sticks fulfill their purpose, wondering where and how he might be able to find his glow. He takes inspiration from many spaces and ultimately finds a way to create his glow in his very own way.
Glow leaves a strong social-emotional message about where our 'glow' or self-worth comes from. As our character looks at other objects that glow we are making direct comparisons to what is the same and what is different. When I thought about how to increase opportunities to share, retell, and reimagine the story I came up with a science-based environmental provocation that would support those goals.
Environment:
In the environmental setup, I considered several pieces. I placed the Shelf Top Light Panel on a low shelf that is accessible from a seated or standing position for the children. Under the shelf are baskets with additional materials. Over the top of the setup, I hung a mirror to tie in the social message of self worth and finding the glow within. The illumination provided by the Light Panel will change what they see in their reflection.
Materials:
The material choice was inspired by the size, shape, and translucent effect of glow sticks. I intentionally picked contrasting elements that would draw children's eye to these characteristics.
When pairing these materials with the Shelf Top Light Panel, I set out different combinations to compare attributes utilizing light vocabulary.
Light Vocabulary:
-
Translucent vs. Transparent vs. Opaque
-
This might sound like "Solid vs. See Through"
-
Frosted vs. Clear
-
Illuminated vs. Dim
The beauty of open ended materials is that this example is only one way to connect to GLOW, there are many different angles that would allow for long term investigation. To build on the story's message of adding and creating things that represent your glow, we could move into the art area. To focus in on friendship and encouragement, we may move the materials into dramatic play or a small world story telling area for collaboration. Having a clear learning goal and literacy connection helps to produce new and engaging play that bring stories to life!
Get engaged in more educational conversations by joining us in Kodo Community.
Copy link to share
Share:
The Magic of Light-Based Play in Early Learning