My mantra to to early childhood educators has been to begin with the children. I’d like to share with you an example of how a teacher listened to his students and allowed their interests to lead the way to an inquiry investigation that naturally included math, science, literacy and higher order thinking.
How can the problem of a leaking sink lead to a fascinating prekindergarten investigation? Andy Yung, the prek teacher at P.S. 244 in Flushing, New York, with the support of his principal, Robert Groff, and assistant principal, Tu Harris, helped lead children into this investigation through their observations and their many wonderings.
The sink in the bathroom would not turn off and it bothered the children. Cayla announced that the sink is broken. Jonathan was worried that if the sink breaks there would be no water for the classroom and that there would be no sink. Anabel was more ecology-minded when she said, “The bathroom sink is wasting water!” Olivia seconded that thought, “The bathroom sink water keep(s) going…water (is) being wasted.”
Andy asked the children why it was important to save the water. Camilla said that we need it to wash our hands. Jonathan added, “We use to drink water. There’s water in the toilet.” Harsh was thinking beyond the classroom. “Sharks need water to live.” That made William add that all animals need water and Camilla joined in again by noting that “trees need water to grow.”
Brandon noted that the class Walking Sticks insects needed water to live. 
Harsh observed that Tails, the leopard gecko, had a water dish in her tank.
Raina noticed that the class fish lives in water and and Jonathan said the the plant-helper waters the plant every day.
When Andy began writing down what children knew about water, he realized that this was a perfect entree into a long-term investigation, the Water Project.
There was a water table that hadn’t yet been opened and Andy decided that this would be an appropriate first step in the investigation. He brought it to the class meeting area, introduced it to the children, and asked them for suggestions on how to take care of the water table section. After many children contributed their ideas, William put them all together into three important water table rules:
OnOOOOne day, Raina’s mother visited to show the class a video of Raina doing her chores at home. The children decided that they should have the chore of washing dishes too, so the water table became a place to wash the dishes from their Pretend center.
Andy is almost a poster boy for donorschoose.org, a wonderful site that encourages teachers to write small, classroom grant proposals and share these with the public so that people can make contributions to help get materials into classrooms. What fun it is to see water squeezed out as a spinner is turned around and around.
He also purchased a hand-powered washing machine!
A class trip to the laundromat it being planned.
Back to the water table, bubbles were introduced. 
For some children it was easy to blow a bubble, but for others it was a bit more difficult. But how exciting it was to finally figure it out and to shout, “I did it!.”
Bubbles were fun to blow outdoors too.
Here’s some other ways of exploring water that has been taking place.
Color mixing
Colored ice
Pouring water
Making paper by hand and with a blender
Water Music
Building bridges over water
Then the bridges moved indoors into the block center.
Andy read many books to the children and some of them inspired more inquiry into what happens when water mixes with other materials, when it freezes and when it evaporates. A lot of new vocabulary was incorporated into daily discussions.
The children conducted water experiments.
They used drawings to record the steps in their experiments.
The plumber came to fix the sink and this provoked a new interest in tools. Will this lead to a take-apart center? I’m sure that Andy, an observant and sensitive teacher, will follow the lead of his children!
Fabulous! Really nicely documented, too, by the children and by the teacher. You can see the “logic of action” in children’s encounters with water. You see how the teacher keeps the children thinking about water and its characteristics.
After the plumber’s visit, another line of inquiry might be to investigate where else water can be found in the building, how children think it gets around the building, where/how water gets INTO the building, etc.
Thank you!
Fabulous! Really nicely documented, too, by the children and by the teacher. You can see the “logic of action” in children’s encounters with water. You see how the teacher keeps the children thinking about water and its characteristics.
After the plumber’s visit, another line of inquiry might be to investigate where else water can be found in the building, how children think it gets around the building, where/how water gets INTO the building, etc.
What a meaningful and developmentally appropriate way to support and guide children’s thinking rather than “implement” an inquiry “top down”!
Thank you Claudia. To me, not only is this a developmentally appropriate approach to teaching, but it’s also an exciting way of teaching and learning for children and teachers!
What a wonderful investigation Andy! You can see the focus and engagement on every child’s face – and in every photo. Thank you for sharing Renee!
Merril, Andy is doing some wonderful work this year. Also, I’m so gratified to see Inquiry and Choice Time growing at P.S. 244. Bob Groff and Tu Harris have really supported teachers who want to work “out of the box” and you can see the joy on the faces of the children.
P.S. 244 is such a special school. Now, having worked on three continents, I can still say that school has my heart and always will. I’m happy I can take a peek at what’s happening all the way in Flushing on your website!
Merril, you are a legend there!
What an inspiring study- straight from the children’s interests and explored in so many ways through Andy’s careful, thoughtful, and creative planning. Bravo!! I’m sharing this example (and the website) with colleagues in Romania and Bulgaria!
Betsy, you should ask him to present at the Bank Street Kindergarten conference.