Bermuda’s children are capable, curious and full of wonder.

In government preschools, teachers are capturing these small wonders as photos and annotations and using these to create big learning.

Children’s interests spark conversations about what children already know, and what they are interested in learning more about. Eira’s Sea Urchin, see second picture, might motivate a further investigation into ocean life. The Inquiring Minds framework produced by the Ministry of Education for Early Childhood Education sets out how teachers will use inquiry to advance children’s learning.

The Creative Curriculum sets out the expectations for four and five-year-olds and provides teachers with daily resources and teaching tools that help them develop socially, emotionally, physically and intellectually.

Each study introduces new vocabulary, related books and activities that also develop children’s emerging literacy and mathematical skills.

Bermuda’s interesting local landscape, cultures and traditions are often the subject of children’s studies.

This year, the hurricane was an important topic, as are ongoing interests in snails and slugs, spiders, and gardening.

This year, at St David’s preschool, when one of the children found an empty snail shell outside, they wondered, where do the snails go? The teacher recorded their theories.

• He went to find another shell (D’Arni)

• He got too big for his shell (K’Shia)

• He left it and found another one (Zyah)

• He growed and growed and growed until he moved to a new one (Zariyah)

The children began collecting snails, creating habitats for them, and reading books. They did observational drawings of the snails and noticed their tentacles, the spiral shape of the shell and its slimy trail. One question naturally leads to another. The children then wondered, how do snails move?

• They move with their slime (Ka’shia)

• Cause it is sticky (Victor)

• It helps them stick to stuff (Zariyah)

• So they can go where they want to go.

An interest in spider webs at St George’s Preschool led to a project on making homes for spiders.

The flies get stuck in the spider web and then the spider can eat it off his web. Raya said: “My spider is a girl, she needs a bow.”

In Bermuda’s government preschools, children are becoming confident, critical-thinkers and problem-solvers as they inquire and follow lines of research.

The Inquiry model of teaching that encourages investigation, by encouraging children to ask questions about the real world, is engaging children in Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (Stem) as well as Literacy and Social Studies and the Arts.

During the next few weeks, leading up to registration on February 6, 7 and 8, government preschools are opening their doors to parents and guardians of children, who will turn 4 years of age between January 1 and December 31, 2017. Visit and experience the wonder of learning.