Rapia Maningi

 

“Rapia Maningi” means “very hot”…these are the words I have been hearing in the afternoon from the older children describing the slide as they are using it.  Since we used a flat piece of metal to make our slide, it is a prime suspect for heat when the sun is out.  Thankfully, we are in our winter time, so even though the slide is hot, the children are able to use it most days.  I have secretly been worryinh about what we were going to do to create shade for term 3 when our days are regularly over 120 degrees (that is a hot sun).  After coming back from the Reggio conference I was looking for ways to challenge the children and get them thinking more critically and solving problems…at the same time trying to figure out what to do about the slide problem…then it hit me…ask the children!!  And I did…  I asked both of the older classes to help me solve this problem and it has been the beginning of a wonderful study. 

How can we keep our slide from getting so hot??

For the past couple weeks the children have been thinking about ways we can “create shade”, everything from planting trees to building a house over the slide.  The more we have talked about our ideas, drawn them on paper, and even built small 3D versions of them, the more both classes have come to an agreement on how they want to create shade for our slide.  At this point they are planning on getting “poles from the bush” to “build a house” around the slide with a “roof on top”.  One class thinks they only want “four poles around the bottom” with "four poles on the top for support” and the other classes hasn’t yet discussed that part of the process, however, it should be pretty easy for them to agree on the number of poles around the bottom.  The only factor that hasn’t been completely agreed upon is what to make the roof out of…some friends want “grass”, others want “sticks”, some are saying “fibers”, and some are even thinking to put “iron sheets” on the roof to make “shade”. 

This week we are making plans to finish the layout of the “house” and then ask “dads”, “brothers”, “mothers”, and even “grandmothers" to come and help us cut down the poles at the length the children want to build their shade.  So far the children have risen wonderfully to the challenge and are having a lot of fun collaborating on this project and I know that when they finish creating their “shade”, it will be a very proud moment for each child who has participated in the process. 

 

I will be sure to post the final pictures as we move forward in the progress of the project!