Keep this light and short. Sit the class in a circle and model stopping still yourself, then say 'Ooh, I notice…' about one small thing you can see. This out-loud modelling is the key to the whole lesson: a 4-year-old has no anchor for the word 'wondering' until they see you do it, so make it lively and clear. Invite two or three children to point and say what they notice. Do not set up the walk yet, that comes next.

This table is teacher-facing for Junior Infants. Read each idea aloud and use the Example as your own little demonstration script, pointing at real things as you talk.

Model the wondering out loud first. Say: 'I am going to wonder. I stop. I look closely. I notice the leaves are wet and shiny. I think it must have rained!' Then the children copy this 'stop, look, notice' pattern on the walk.

Before the lesson: gather drawing paper and crayons ready for the next step. Plan a short walk route: a loop of the classroom and out to a safe spot in the yard.

Suggested timing

• Classroom loop, stopping 2 to 3 times: ~6 min
• Yard loop, stopping 3 to 4 times: ~8 min
• Regroup and recall favourites: ~4 min

Outdoor part is optional and weather-dependent. Coats and transitions in and out are slow for Junior Infants, so if the weather is poor, the yard is unusable, or transitions run long, simply stay indoors: extend the classroom loop to stop at 5 or 6 spots (the window, a plant, the book corner, under a table, near the sink) and keep the exact same 'stop, look, notice' structure. The lesson runs in full either way.

Stop at deliberate spots and prompt: 'Stop! Look closely. What do you notice?' Accept every offering warmly. Safety: stay together as a class outdoors; do not pick or taste anything; wash hands after coming back in.

Weave the 'who helps us?' thread: 'Scientists are people who stop and wonder, just like us!'

Hand out drawing paper and crayons. Before any child starts drawing, go round and ask each one quietly: 'What is the one thing you noticed?' Many 4-year-olds will freeze if left to pick from a whole walk's worth of noticings on their own, so this quick one-to-one steer is essential, not optional: it gives every child a chosen thing in mind before they put crayon to paper. If a child is stuck, offer them a simple choice of three things the class noticed together and let them point to one. The drawing IS their recording, no writing needed.

The class wonder wall is just a space on an existing wall or noticeboard, or the back of a display board, no special sheet to prepare. Pin the children's own drawings up there together; that pinned collection is the wonder wall. Praise the variety: 'Look how many different things we wondered about!'

This is a display-only, oral sharing beat, no writing or typing. Gather at the wonder wall. Invite several children to point and say 'I noticed…'. Revoice and celebrate: 'Síle noticed a busy ant, and Tomás noticed a shiny puddle!'

Close the 'who helps us?' thread: 'Scientists are people who stop and wonder. Today we were all wonderers!'

Keep this very brief and warm. Read the recap aloud, pointing back at the wonder wall. A tiny oral home task: 'Tonight, stop and notice one thing at home and tell someone what you wondered about.'