Through a democratic vote, the children decided to change our home corner into a hospital. One of the first steps when progressing into an area of inquiry or a project is to gain an understanding of the children’s current knowledge around the area of inquiry. The children arrive at Banksia Room with pre-existing skills, knowledge and beliefs, all of which influence how they interpret and organise new information. To gain an understanding about their prior knowledge about hospitals, the children were individually asked to share this with a teacher.

“I went to the hospital when I was sick. I sat on Mummy’s knee. They looked at my eyes and ears,” remembered Patrick.

“They look after children because they are sick and hurt. And they look after babies. The doctors have to look after the children because they need help,” described Lily.

“The doctors and nurses work at the hospital. They make people better,” commented Annabel L.

“The doctors work at the hospital. They listen to your heart,” explained Millie.

“They help people. They give them a Band-Aid. I haven’t been to a hospital,” shared George.

“They take care of babies when they are born. They help people who are sick. They might need to check how fast their heart is beating. They use a stethoscope. If someone has hurt their leg, they might need a bandage. If they have split their hand open then they can stitch it back together,” explained Francesca.

During several Learning Meeting discussions, teachers then asked the children to think about what they want to find out about concerning hospitals, the people who work in hospitals and the human body.

“About people’s brains,” exclaimed James R.

“I wanna know how you make people better,” shared Stephen.

“Feeling people’s hearts, seeing if the people’s hearts go fast or slow. Our bones, seeing if it’s broken or not,” considered Annabelle Q.

“What are people going to do to fix you?” wondered James R.

“Find out helping the heart,” added George.

“Finding out what the names are and the doctor,” said James R. thinking about doctors and their varied specialities.

“I want to find out about the brain,” asserted Béatrice.

The children’s ideas in these transcripts will be utilised to foster their engagement and thinking. Additionally, these ideas assist teachers in developing a richer picture of the children’s knowledge about hospitals, the human body and the people who work in them, and will be utilised to facilitate future planning of learning opportunities.