Inventing our way into the new year!

Happy New Year!

Let's kick off this new year with me sharing the children's inventions.  The Big Cats had a grand time working on these in November and December.

I structured this work to be over many days, with the children revisiting their invention several times to add details and elaboration.  Each preschooler worked alongside peers in small groups to complete five basic steps:

1. Make a plan - decide what the invention would be and then draw a blueprint of it.
2. Build the invention with recyclables and tape.
3. Add details to the invention using found objects and metallic paint.
4. Share the story of your invention with the teacher.
5. Study the final product and draw from observation.

This project work really stretched the children - and me!  The children returned to their work again and again, learning a good bit - I think - about editing, modifying, and persistence.  It was the first time that I had dared to go in so many different directions at once with these preschoolers, requiring different organization and planning than usual.  Student work was at various stages throughout the classroom for weeks on end; some children were building, others painting, and some sharing their stories...different days, different goals for different children.

The inventions were displayed for the children's families and our school community at our evening Learning Showcase on December 18, just before winter break.  Let me share them here as well!

I was originally going to just give you a brief description of the invention, but I can't resist sharing their entire stories.  The children told these to me while holding their final invention in their hands, with me pressing them for more information about the purpose of various parts.  The children were delighted that I was typing their exact words and then reading them back to them; with this personalized treatment, their details grew and grew.  I needed several days just to get the children's stories, as I was only able to get a few a day.  I also read these stories aloud at the end of each day to the entire class, getting everyone very excited about each other's work - and resulting in some themes being picked up by other children when it came time to share their ideas.

I love the children's voices - the way they phrase things, the vocabulary they use, the long run-on sentences.  I love their designs, the precision and artistry of their details, the variety of their ideas.  I hope you feel the same way.

Here are their final products and their fabulous stories about how the invention works:

Anya

December 2012

What did you invent?

     It is a spider and it eats real food like people, it is friendly. These are his legs. Well, it can really move in a certain way. This thing moves like if we push all of these buttons like that, two times, it can move. If you push this button, it stands up like that. If you push this [the small button], it turns over. If you push this [bread tab], it stands on that one leg. If you push this [bottle cap], it jiggles.  If you push this [the black cap], it stands like that and bends like that and turns over.   If you push that [the red one], it stands and jiggles.  If it turns over, up might get the spider on its side. 

Arlando

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A machine that goes backward and forward to escape from monster. This is the smoke hose. The blue [jack] makes it fly and the green makes it go backwards.  There are two levers. He can go forward and sideways. This one with lots of things makes it jump and that one [small black one] makes it grow hands. The green cap, that one makes it jump.

Bella

December 2012

What did you invent?

     An elevator that goes up and down, up and down, and people laugh. This elevator has two big seats so that people don’t fall.  If you press this button [cork] it goes flying. If you touch this one, you get lots of cupcakes and then you have a big party. When you press this one, it comes out with spaghetti.  The heart button comes lots of pictures.  The purple one does lots of sunglasses.  The people sit in there [the yellow cap].  And they can sit in this one [the white cap], too.  The tall part helps people hide away from big giant mean monsters.  There is a space under there where no big giant bears and mean bears come.  And that’s all my story!  And then they crawl there and a rocket comes out and they go back home.  But there is just one more thing I have to tell you.  Lots of things come out and there are lots of houses for everybody.  And if you press that button there, there comes lots of beds.  The End!

Ben

December 2012

What did you invent?

     It is a train that does not crash, it just puffs a lot. I got rolls for tracks. It runs with air, so it doesn’t crash. The yellow thing it goes around the corner and follows the train engine. The brown circle goes around the bend, and it fell down. The orange circle goes up the hill. The small green thing puffs around the bend. Here’s a giant button. The giant button tries to fire the engine. It puffs around the whistle. And it crash the whistle down!

Charlie

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A good monster that protects; a nice monster – he protects people from bad monsters. This part protects from volcanoes. They go under here and up here and the volcanoes can’t get them.  This part up here can dong, dong, jumping, people can jump up, but it is not for superheroes. This part is for superheroes to climb on with their sticky hands. This button can go around and spin people, keep from getting twisted and turned, and from getting bruised. So, right here, this button, can sing with voices and right here it can look with its eyes and get new eyes. This thing can keep you from getting hot if the sun is burning you. So, right here, it can make him fly all the way up to the air and it can smash through big, big, big, big, big spaceships that can go slower or faster.  How it gets people from the bad monsters, it runs and runs and it scares them. And the people get happy.  And then they live happily ever after all together in the monster’s house, with the Mommy monster. And you know where his shoes is? Right here, under!  He has too much shoes! 

Dillon

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A special machine that makes “M” for Miles.* The key makes it go up into the sky and to outer space and flies. Outside. These put it up into outer space up there. The pink thing makes it push up and go right here.  M-I-L-E-S, Miles, these red things make it on the table. The green things make it go under the table and on the floor and out the window and out the door.  And Miles will be tired out there. I saw Miles out there! I am done.

(*Miles is Dillon's much-loved older brother!)

Ebony

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A car, and it drives by itself.  The people just sit in the seat and it drives on the road. I need this flag and wheels for my car. This yellow button is going to drive. These are the wheels, and this is the flag. Ok, the green ones give bread and macaroni and cheese and some sandwiches to the people in the car.  And it shoots some peas! 

  

Ellington

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A robot that can cook.  No, it is a ninja ship. The circle, it pops up pencils. So the ninjas can draw. The round thing is the table.  The three levers pop out. There is a place for them to sleep. And the ninjas hop out in here and then it is sleeping time. That thing can hide. And it flies. It has a dragon’s face on it. There is one more lever that will punch people if they are bad.  The levers are also things to jump on.  Only ninjas on it, they jump.

Emma

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A special boat that doesn’t bump into rocks. These buttons, I don’t know what they do. The big button, it does bump into the rocks. The people sit here.  These are the boat sails. They are gray.  People climb on this part.  And they play with these [the buttons]. They play games.  My story is done.

Ferdinand

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A truck, it is a firetruck. There is an airplane that is not on the firetruck, it is on the airport.  This is, they got food and everything. That’s a water firetruck. The water comes out underneath here.  The green button does, when the driver pushes that button, the truck goes forward, it goes.  The driver sits on top of the button. New and fabulous is that it is a little bit painted, because the dry cleaner cleans the truck off.   To clean himself, he cleans at the drycleaner.

Harper

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A helicopter that flies to space. It can’t fly. If you push those two green buttons, they will shoot out candycanes.  If you push this button, it will shoot out mac and cheese.  And if you push this button it will shoot out grilled cheese.  And if you push this button, it will shoot out some honey.  And the other, if you push that one, then all of the stuff will ...ummmm... you can shoot out paper bag.  This hiding button, it shoots out sandwiches. The people go right here when they are ready to eat.  They sit right here. 

Jack

December 2012

What did you invent?

  

     It is a protect machine, protects people from evil villains. If the villains see this and they get close, it will scoop them up. If I put tape over it, they can’t tell what it is. It actually catches the villains first and then rockets up into outer space. See these holes right here, they are how it blasts, and the other end doesn’t let the bad guys out. And I have radio-control, it makes it up and down, back down to earth.  The lever, when you push it, it’s how you scoop the bad guys.  Actually, it just throws them. The white button makes it actually walk over to the bad guys and they don’t want to go.  The bottle cap is the button you push first to walk.

Jamie

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A machine to help doctors, and help boys feel better. The tall part shoots out cupcakes and noodle thingies. That button helps shoot more noodles for the doctor, for the boy to have.  This button makes more cupcakes and noodles.  That one can shoot breakfast. That thingie, that button, it shoots beds. That button shoots more beds.  And that’s the end.  And that button makes it fly, to put some more noodles in it.  And more beds. 

The End

Lukas

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A special tube that makes your voice louder. When you push the red stick, power rangers come out and fight the bad guys. When you pull up the blue, I don’t know. This [cotton] is so it won’t poke you.  It is soft. The blue soft stuff is so that the glue won’t burn you.  The bottle cap, when you push it, makes your voice louder and louder.  Like this, “Hello!”  See, that’s how it works. And it is bended.

Nolan

December 2012

What did you invent?

      A car that kids can drive and takes him home fast.  These go here.  I press it, I drive. It drives like this. I press this one and this one.  Because I didn’t drive that.  I paint that.  The kids sit right here [by the green button] and the kids right here [on the edge].  The door is right here and right there. The kid makes it drive over.  He presses that one [the orange one] and that one [the silver one].  That one is not broke.  Daddy got a new car!

Reia

December 2012

What did you invent?

     An airplane that can go to space and go inside of the moon. The cups for space rocks are for protection. This is how it flies. The yellow button makes it go all the way up into the moon. The green one makes it go lower and lower and lower.  The blue fish button makes it go into the ocean.  It floats into the universe.  These, the acorn, makes it and turns it into a box, because it has to do this in order to go down and then come up.   This button [large, peach-colored] on top makes it turn and twist.  This [tall white] one makes it go farther down. This [tape] makes it jump on top.  They sit right down here.

Saadiq

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A special airplane that goes through storms and lightning and keep people stay safe. The yellow part sits on top of the people, it’s not a blanket, it is a cover, and it keeps them warm.  You got to run it fast. The jet planes are bad and the button on back stops the jet planes. The button on front breaks the storm. A lot of water and orange juice comes out of it – that is so scary. The people sit down here, on the bottom.  It goes fast, like this – vroom, vroom, vroom.  The front part turns the airplane around, like this – vroom [hands move in circle] – and you have to go super fast to the airport then!

Sarah Lydia

December 2012

What did you invent?

     It is two train tracks and the train does not need a driver, it just moves itself. The front part, whenever it needs a wheel, it gives one to it and then it drives.  Over there, is a circle for everyone to sit on. It [the acorn] is for growing a lot of acorn trees, for the squirrels that live there. It [the fuzzy part] is for when someone needs to get inside and get protected from planes that are flying onto the train!  And then when the airplane lands on this, it, the train, just keeps going and lets the plane ride on it.  The people sit on the circle.  I think I need more things on here!  This lid here in front will move the wheel off the train! And it [gray lid, near the circle] makes the sun and water come squirting out onto the acorn, to make the tree for the squirrel.   It [green lid] moves the people very quickly from here to there [fuzzy part], so that they don’t need to run or walk and move quickly.  And that’s the end!

Sayid

December 2012

What did you invent?

     An airplane where people can tell the pilot where they want to go. When you push the button on top, water comes out. When you touch the little one, it sprinkles food out. And the other one [oval] sprinkles tables out for the people on the plane. The buttons on top, these are the same ones; the green one is the same one as the red one. Inside, so when he sits on it, it makes noises – funny – like “eeek!” The people sit inside of this long thing, this is the airplane.  Mine goes through rain, to take people home.

Sophia

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A machine so people don’t get rain in a storm. If you touch the yellow button, then it goes up into the rain and touches the rain clouds. It turns the rain off. The heart is just for putting on it so that the cloud and rains can go away. The little things are all together, so that the bad guys stay away when a storm comes.  The purple thing is from a bad guy, they didn’t want to stay, and it came off the bad guy.

Soren

December 2012

What did you invent?

     A zombie that protects you from volcanoes and tornadoes. People can jump inside to hide from volcano. This is how it flies.  This circle, they jump inside and then they come out. If the lava comes into there, if the lava touches the glue part, the lava is done.  The tornado, if it comes, jumps from here to here to here and then it disappears. The people jump into there, down under.  That is a hide place, too.         

Zoe

December 2012

What did you invent?

     I’m inventing it to stop my Dad from falling.  You draw little things and some big things.  They catch him.  No, I invented  a building. If you press this button, then it will turn out cupcakes everywhere for everyone, this button with the gold.  If you press this button, it will come pumpking rolls.  If you press this one, the building will look like outer space. If you push the square button, moo muffins will turn out everywhere.  To get your designs out, this is a thinking cap.  And if you press this really huge one, everything will come out water!  The triangle one helps you if you are feeling sick, or if you have a cut or a sore. This [orange] button helps if you are in trouble.  If you press some of the buttons, it will become a rainbow. And this one, a train will come. And, this or this or this or this or this, it will become a tyrannosaurus and dinosaurs. They live in it, they look at it, they get things from it, and shop in it.  They do alot of things with this building.

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Well, those are the Big Cats' inventions! Now you know what preschoolers are thinking about - airplanes, cars, outer space, bad guys, volcanoes, and cupcakes!

May your new year be filled with compassion, hope, joy, and creativity!