“Play is the foundation of learning, creativity,self-expression,and constructive problem-solving. It’s how children wrestle with life to make it meaningful.”
– Susan Linn

Children are naturally engaged and curious when they study something they are interested in and are given the freedom to learn through play-based sustained inquiry. Sustained Inquiry is one of the main components of project based learning (PBL). An example of sustained inquiry through play in our Kindergarten classroom has been Nibbles: The Book Monster.
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‘Nibbles: The Book Monster‘ by Emma Yarlett is the story of a naughty little monster who munches and nibbles his way through any book. This book immediately became a class favorite. Their excitement grew when they received a note from Nibbles himself stating that he was going to visit our classroom library! The students drew ‘Wanted’ posters as they talked about catching Nibbles to protect our books. The driving question for this project was “How can we catch Nibbles”? The children wondered what he might eat in the classroom and if they could make a cage to prevent him from eating our library books. They sat down to discuss specific designs and materials we needed to trap Nibbles. The Kindergarteners cleverly predicted that he would Nibble right through paper. We needed something thicker like cardboard, plastic or even metal. They were so excited about catching Nibbles that they began gathering supplies the next day. 

During Inquiry Workshop, they began making plans to trap Nibbles. Some plans included luring the monster into the cage with a book made of plastic, candy, and toys. While designing, the students drew pictures with details and labeled parts of the trap. These are skills we have been practicing in Writing Workshop. The students presented their designs with each other. This provided me with the perfect opportunity to discuss the engineering design process and how to collaborate by combining their ideas into one plan. The next few days of inquiry workshop were spent building the trap. The students practiced social skills while listening to each others ideas and collaborating to create something amazing. On Thursday, we finally caught Nibbles!

With some guidance, the Kindergartners helped Nibbles understand that books are for reading and not for eating. They showed him how to hold a book, use their “linger finger” to track print across the page and even read the books! Reading standards and alphabet knowledge were naturally enforced through play. As an educator, I enjoy letting my students’ interests drive our learning, while I carefully integrate the standards that they need to know.

As we gathered to discuss what we learned from this project, I was pleased to hear my students say that their favorite part of this project was building the trap using everyone’s ideas and learning the importance of teamwork! At PNA, we work to create an environment where all students’ ideas are respected, challenged, and tested molding them into academic risk takers and independent thinkers.