One of the distinctive highlights of the Reggio Emilia approach is that in any given school year, one can never predict the topic that will ultimately steer a class's project-based learning. No two years are alike because no two classes of students are alike. The concept of Reggio Emilia allows students to develop ideas, explore, and discover based on an organically emerging interest. In this instance, the arrival of a book on sea turtles started a year-long interest throughout Mrs. Gratrix and Mrs. Bobos’ Preschool 4/5 class.

One day in October, a spark of interest began when Clark came to school eager to share his new book with Easton. Tucked in those pages were descriptions of how sea turtles hatch and how to protect the beautiful sea life. From there, students became curious about where the sea turtles live, the dangers they encounter, and any other details they could uncover. Their curiosity and exploration seeped into their morning stations, using open-ended materials like seashells to create hatchlings or tiny plastic sea turtles to lay out patterns. Clark returned to school one day with a banner he'd made at home— "We are researchers of sea turtles." The interest was off and running! 

Gaining Background Knowledge Through Read-Alouds

Sea turtle books and stories quickly became abundantly popular amongst the class, both for research and enjoyment. One book, "Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out," by April Sayre, became of particular interest after the class discovered that years ago, the author came to Stanley Clark to read the book aloud and left a signed copy. This book even brought the opportunity for a compare-and-contrast discussion, as the class found another version where the illustration had been changed.

In the Reggio philosophy, teachers are researchers who carefully observe children and listen to their ideas. Mrs. Gratrix and Mrs. Bobos identified opportunities to sustain the children's interest in sea turtles through read-alouds that would help them build upon what they were learning and continue to gain background knowledge, which they wanted to apply and process through play.

Purposeful Learning Through a Turtle Clinic

As a result of the read-alouds, a "turtle clinic" soon emerged so students could care for sick sea turtles and those affected by pollution. The clinic included play thermometers, band-aids, and stethoscopes to care for plastic turtles. Dialogue among students reflected their learning as teachers overheard phrases like, "I think we will have to do surgery to remove the plastic bag!" Some students even ran the office side of the clinic, utilizing clipboards, computer keyboards, and adding machines, allowing all to play a role.

The teachers regularly incorporate opportunities for children to practice key academic skills like number identification and building letter-sound correspondence that will support their growth in reading and writing skills, all in the context of their interests. One morning in March, when a sick turtle arrived at the turtle clinic to be "checked in" using the keyboard, Mrs. Gratrix asked the student, "Where do you see a T on the keyboard?" emphasizing that the sound T makes /t/. Several moments later, she said, "Now that you've found the T, can you write a T on the check-in slip?" On another bustling morning in the turtle clinic, Mrs. Bobos asked, "If you're checking someone out of the clinic and the cost is 10 dollars, how would you write the number 10?"

To the casual observer, children pretending in a turtle clinic seems like an activity that could happen anywhere. However, in a Reggio-inspired classroom, it is the result of a carefully designed, purposeful environment where teachers ask intentional questions that sustain new learning, meaningful collaborative dialogue, and boundless imagination.

Applying Sea Turtles to Essential Skills

This newfound interest presented the perfect platform to practice various skills essential to preschool. From counting and measuring plastic sea turtles to learning how to phonetically spell new sea-turtle-inspired vocabulary words, sea turtles spilled over into every area of learning. Students used various-sized turtles to explore weight and balance, and practiced ordinal numbers as they ranked them in order of size. A world map on the wall even invited children to mark where they had experienced turtles in their travels.

The project became cross-disciplinary when students' empathy and concern for sea turtles carried over into art class. After discovering how harmful plastic bags can be, students were passionate about designing canvas totes with imprints of sea turtle designs to use on shopping trips instead of plastic bags. They discovered the impact they can make even in their day-to-day routines.

Creating a Habitat from Recycled Cardboard

When our facilities team came across a large box from a delivery, students jumped at the opportunity to develop a huge sea turtle habitat. They practiced color mixing to paint the box for their ever-evolving habitat. Loose parts, like gems, blocks, and marbles, became water, sea turtles, and other wildlife. The availability of loose parts in our preschool classrooms year-round allows for creativity and exploration, as these open-ended items can become anything the child imagines! Students were led by wonder and, at the same time, refined fine motor skills, problem-solving, and role-playing.

Adopting a Sea Turtle

As the school year progressed, Mrs. Gratrix and Mrs. Bobos discovered the opportunity to adopt a sea turtle through Fahlo, which helps contribute to the Sea Turtle Conservancy. Through this program, the class gained access to track their sea turtle, Sparkle, an adult hawksbill sea turtle in the Caribbean Sea. The students were delighted to track Sparkle's location and began using pipe cleaners and buttons to put trackers on the sea turtles in the classroom. Students were curious to see on a map where Sparkle lives and how far it is from here, which sparked a great geography lesson.

In addition, Fahlo sent a beaded bracelet to commemorate the adoption of Sparkle. So that each student could keep a piece of this incredible project, parents were invited to campus for a special day to take part in sea turtle bracelet making. Each student received one bead from the official bracelet and filled in the rest from a choice of beads. Parents were delighted to participate in the process, as they'd heard a lot about sea turtles all school year! Several families even decided to visit sea turtle conservatories over Spring Break, building off the excitement of their preschool child.

As part of the adoption of Sparkle, the classroom received a stuffed sea turtle to keep. When gifted another stuffed turtle around the same time, they decided the two should have rhyming names. Students had to figure out how to make the two names rhyme, and after sounding out the options, they came up with the name Narkle. While many aspects of our Reggio-inspired classrooms are emergent, our teachers stay current on educational research through ongoing professional development and continually update what we do to ensure it aligns with best practices in education. Thanks to regular, direct instruction on how to recognize and manipulate sounds in words, the students were able to create the rhyming name, which research has found is critical in the early years and leads to longer-term reading success.

Sharing Knowledge with Others

The energy has even seeped into other classrooms and impacted others in our school community. After a Preschool 3s student found a sea turtle egg, their entire class visited our class of Preschool 4s and 5s researchers to learn from them and enjoy a playdate with them at the sea turtle clinic. They even jumped on board as partners in adopting Sparkle so that their class could also track her.

One of the hallmarks of a Reggio-inspired setting is children learning collaboratively, not just with but from one another. The confidence that emerges when a child speaks as an expert in front of peers is one of the reasons our weekly Tiny Tiger Tuesday Gathering is a favorite time of the week for those presenting. It's also special for the classmates who come away freshly inspired by the learning of their preschool and kindergarten peers.

Experiencing Outside Perspectives

While the children enjoyed sharing their new knowledge with peers, outside experts also continued to pique our students' curiosity. A special guest from the Potawatomi Zoo, who used to be a sea turtle researcher, came to share with the entire early childhood division so everyone could learn and participate in the research. Students experienced a live sea turtle shell, which was shockingly large, and saw some of the other turtles that the zoo houses.

In addition, 5th and 6th grade science teacher, Mr. Cobb, brought his classroom tortoise, Darwin, for a visit. While the students enjoyed watching him eat a strawberry and touching his shell, they also discovered that the calmer they behaved, the safer the tortoise felt; a good lesson in body regulation.  

The Learning Continues

The learning and discovery keep going! At the time of this publication, we are recently back from Spring Break, and with a month and a half of school to go, the topic is still alive and thriving. The class looks forward to visiting the Potawatomi Zoo to learn about other endangered turtles and bring the concept closer to home. In addition, they'll start differentiating between turtles and tortoises, comparing and contrasting to discover what sets each apart. Who else knows what may still unfold as our students continue to ask questions and be curious? Time only tells!

Andi Gratrix, Preschool 4/5 Teacher, shared, "As this sea turtle study has progressed, I have been reminded once more of why this way of teaching is so beneficial to young children. I have witnessed how the interest started, developed, and grew. As teachers, while we were able to provide tools and materials along the way, all of the ideas belong solely to the students. The ownership of learning has led them to a certain kind of excitement that is difficult to obtain in a typical classroom environment. Were things messy at times? 'Yes.' Did we break some glass jars? 'Yes.' Did we have water all over the classroom on many occasions? 'Yes.' However, all along the way, magic was happening. Students who rarely showed interest became interested, students who were unsure of working in groups collaborated with classmates, and students who were uncomfortable with their skill set emerged with ideas and concepts they never knew they possessed. This is such a valuable time in their life. I don't want them to lose their love for learning. I am the lucky one. I get to teach them when they feel limitless!" 

This blog was crafted through rich collaboration with Mrs. Andi Gratrix and Mrs. Stacie Bobos. Thank you for helping me try to capture the essence of this amazing classroom experience. Thank you to Stacie Bobos for documenting the year through her vivid photography (she had about 400 more photos of just this project!). And to Andi Gratrix, as lead teacher of this incredible group of students, we thank you for your dedication to developing young learners. 

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About the Author

Lindsey Hab

Director of Marketing and Communications

lhab@stanleyclark.org