Preschool Program

november 2024

Learning about the Edmund Fitzgerald...

At the beginning of November, M began talking to his peers about the Edmund Fitzgerald. H found some photos of different kinds of boats from when we explored boats this past summer. He brought them over and asked M if they were the Edmund Fitzgerald, but M said “no, it is way bigger than that”. The following week, the preschoolers continued their conversation about Edmund Fitzgerald. M asked if we could listen to the Edmund Fitzgerald song “Gordon Lightfoot sings it.” The preschoolers really enjoyed the song and asked to play it again! F’s mom told us that he was talking about the Edmund Fitzgerald all weekend, so he was very excited when Leila found a book all about the boat! “These are the big waves” F said, pointing to a picture of the boat riding on the waves. The next day, the children listened to the ‘Edmund’ song as they were engaged in play as captains and crew mates. The preschoolers have been using the large blocks and the climber to represent ‘Edmund’. They were pointing out different lyrics that sparked conversation and supported their play. The children noticed that in the song it says “November” “that's what it is right now!” says M. Also in the song it says “with a load of iron ore” when M and F heard this they began loading their ‘boat’ with iron ore. “There was iron ore in it. It's like metal. It's what the ships deliver” says M. When the song said “Wisconsin” F said “we have to go to Wisconsin”. H grabbed the map we printed of Lake Superior and got on the ‘boat’ with the rest of the “crew” They used the map to navigate their way through the big waves of Lake Superior. Some of the children even drew their own maps! At the big table we had a water table set up with boats. HE and S were making “huge waves” in the water with the toy boats. In one of the boats, HP put crayons in it to represent people. “These are the sailors,” she says. Throughout the month ‘Edmund’ has been the main topic of the preschooler’s play, particularly their dramatic play. Here are some more of the children’s quotes:

The children working on their Edmund Fitzgerald boat made of blocks.

“We are men aboard” - M

“I’m the watchman” - H

“Look at those big waves” - M

“It was really cold that November night when it sank” - H

“How big is the Edmund Fitzgerald? Bigger than the preschool room?” -M

“I got my diver mask on” - H

B and M are checking out the Edmund Fitzgerald projection on the wall

“Look, I can reach it!” - B

“I can reach it too” - M

“This is a letter E” - B

“Here's another one” -M

A projection of waves are placed on the wall:

“I can reach the top of the waves,” - B

“I can reach the sky,” - M

“Where's the Edmund Fitzgerald?” - F

“It's under the big waves” - M.

The preschoolers using a big box as ‘Edmund’:

“Let’s pretend this is the Edmund Fitzgerald” - H

“We need a map of Lake Superior” - H

Alesha added a blue sheet to represent the water/waves.

“The Gales of November came early” - M

“The boat is sinking!” - H

“It’s under the water!” - B

“It’s at the bottom already” - M

“My feet are on the waves!” - B

“Come in this rescue ship” M said to F

“We have to rescue those people” - F

“It’s a tug boat, tug boats are good rescue boats” - H

“This is a rescue boat to rescue the other boats” - M

M and F then started to fill their boat with ‘iron ore’, “Because Edmund had iron ore” - M

Outside on a cold windy day:

“Are these the gales of november?” - H

“West winds come from the north,” - F. We asked which way that was and all of the children pointed in the same direction. “the north pole is really cold and windy” - F

One day at lunch time, B’s grandpa came and told us more about the Edmund Fitzgerald and his adventures sailing on Lake Superior.

“Do you know papa Jim?” - H (turns out they do know each other!)

“Have you ever seen it under the water? It sunk very fast” - H

“There was water on it” - F

“Yes it did, it got a big cut, it split in half. There was water on top, water inside, it was an awful storm” - B’s grandpa


Alesha Bishop RECE, Miranda Lange RECE