Some of the research has taken place in books, some on a computer, some through conversation, and some outside in our environment.
Children have thought about the difference between a street and a highway. They have learned that traffic moves faster and there are more cars on highways than on streets. And they found that highways go between towns or cities and streets are for travel within a city.
One of the new words children have learned is pedestrians. As we know from our surveys about commuting to work and school, as well as from observations, there are lots of pedestrians in our city! We went for a walk and focused on what pedestrians move on. Children have been looking at the different materials that sidewalks are made out of. Have you ever noticed these details as you walk around?
We have looked at crosswalks. Someone wondered what the place where streets cross is called, which led to a discussion about intersections.
Children were also curious about the red and yellow bumpy "mats" that we see at many sidewalk corners in Hoboken. A group of children did more research and learned that this is called tactile paving and it is there to help those who are blind or cannot see well to be safe.
The children have been showing their new knowledge through art.
They are using paint, drawing, and paper, scissors, pens and glue to demonstrate all that they are learning.
