INTRODUCTION

The boat project began from a school wide beach day, during the month of January.  The temperature was well below zero and snow covered the ground.  As a break from winter, the children were invited to come to school dressed in beach gear.  The day consisted of playing beach type games, singing and dancing, school assembly, story telling about children’s experiences, and activity centers.  Many of the children were interested in imaginary trips to the ocean, and they acted them out in the puppet theater, block center, and at the sand table. 

A thematic study of the ocean had been planned in collaboration with other teachers in the grade level team. The study of the ocean as a project was decided to be too broad and not part of these children's experiences or their real world, therefore we discarded the ocean as a project.  But, since many of the children had begun constructing a boat out of the large blocks in the block center and interest was shown by the children through their conversation, questions, dialogue, anecdotes, and even their disagreements of how boats are constructed; boats was chosen as a project.  As the boat was being constructed, more and more of the children joined into the role playing of a boat experience. The children were interested in sharing their personal experiences and anecdotes.  This was the birth of the boat project.  One of the children announced “We should build a boat, a real boat!”.  And so our journey began.