2nd Grade Reading Partners

As the children have adjusted to the new school year and we have become more connected with each other in the Cardinal classroom,  we realized that we were ready to begin to intentionally expand our sense of community with the larger AFS Lower School community.  We had been involved in conversations with the 2nd grade teachers about establishing partnerships with the older children and had wonderful discussions about the value of these connections for both age groups of children.   How could we help facilitate a meaningful connection between the 2nd graders and our Early Childhood group?  Recognizing that we have the gift of time, and know that  establishing a long-term relationship over the course of the school year will simply evolve as the children interact and spend time with each other, we still felt that establishing some sort of intentional partnership would help facilitate this goal.  An important part of the second grade program is for the students to become more comfortable and confident in reading aloud.  Second grade teachers felt that connecting with the younger children as reading partners would be a wonderful way to support confidence building , community and oral reading skills.  We loved the whole idea of having older friends as partners for our children as well.
At Morning Meeting we talked about  our visitors and discussed ways that we could be welcoming and ways we could help to get to know new friends.  Again, an incredibly sensitive, thoughtful conversation from our children.

Our partners arrived around 9:15 and after a brief group introduction, we formed small groups and clusters, with our second grade partners and found cozy spots to read aloud. It was really so very special to see the beginnings of these relationships developing. Our children were so respectful as they listened to their new friends reading their books  and seemed to really enjoy this 'big kid ' experience.

  Our partners were having such a good time that we invited them to stay longer for Choice Time if they were available.  They were able to join us for about a half hour and the children loved playing with second graders in the block area, art area, puzzles, sand table and dramatic play area.  Magna Tiles were a popular spot as well!  We enjoyed an open snack together with our new friends and especially loved hearing all about 2nd grade.  We learned that they are making teddy bears and that their bears have names, clothing and real personalities!  We are hoping that they will bring their bears on a future visit.

Acts of Kindness

Continuing our conversation from yesterday around the topic of thoughtfulness and kindness was so natural this morning when Radha  arrived at school with her mom.  A few weeks ago Subha  mentioned that she loves to sew and that if we ever needed anything in that department for the classroom that she be glad to help us out.  We talked about wanting to change the seat covers on the comfortable chairs in our Library.  Subha graciously offered to take on this project!    Today she surprised us with our new, beautiful chair covers!
After Subha left for the morning, we felt that this was a perfect opportunity to continue yesterday's discussion about kindness at Morning Meeting.  Our conversation led to thoughts of ways we can express our appreciation when we receive acts of kindness from others.    A few of the children's ideas were:

• give them a hug       
• say thank-you
• tell them you love them
• draw them a picture
• take them to Chuckie Cheese 
• write a message and put it in an envelope and put on a stamp and mail it

We decided that the idea of writing a message would be a wonderful way for us as a group to express our appreciation to Subha. We created a large Thank -You card and at Choice Time, the children had the opportunity to collage feathers, tissue paper and decorative paper on the card.  This communal, group art experience helps the children learn to work collaboratively and cooperatively with each other.     When the artistic part of the card was completed, we felt that writing a message was a meaningful way to support our Language and Literacy component of our program. Later in the day, each child had the opportunity to work with a teacher individually and think about the message they wanted to express in our class thank-you card.  The children's thoughts and feelings were recorded in the card and collectively we created a thoughtful message.  The children were so proud of their  collaborative work together and decided that they wanted to surprise Subha when she came to school to pick up Radha.

Needless to say, Subha was very touched and the children had the joy of experiencing first hand the gifts of giving...

A Day filled with Kindness

Kindness

Today, the Cardinals explored the value of kindness. First the teacher, introduced the word "kind" and even posted the question, "Is it kind?" on our question board.  We described how our bodies and minds feel when we are experiencing kindness. We began thinking about this very important question that we can ask ourselves as well.  We began discussing the different words we use with each other and gave examples of kind things we can say or do in situations with our friends. We continued to use this guiding question as we read stories throughout the day as well. One described a lady who lived in a tree (and allowed others to join her after a bad storm) and another called, Hey Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose. The children helped to determine if the characters in this story were kind and what they might do instead! 

Smoothie Making

After a peaceful Morning Meeting, and our growing sense of community, the Cardinals enjoyed Choice Time. Shannon introduced the class to one center for the day, the Smoothie Center. Shannon brought one of her favorite kitchen gadgets, a blender, in for the class to use! The fresh ingredients were set out too and included bananas, peaches and raspberries. This sparked the curiosity and hungry bellies of our class.  Many Cardinals chose to visit this center displaying cooperation, responsibility and patience as they engaged in the mixing and blending process. The Cardinals exercised their fine motor skills as they helped to slice bananas and the other fresh ingredients for our delicious drink.  Each Cardinal then participated in measuring and scooping, exploring Math concepts in a hands-on way. The end product showed us how a tool, such as the blender, can change the consistency of solid products into a liquid that is smooth enough to drink!

The Kindness Continues...

Outdoor time was full of explorations as we worked in the sand, building, and grassy areas. Then we ventured inside for a group story and were surprised by a visit from a previous AFS teacher named Meghan. She read and shared with us how she is teaching in another school. We enjoyed hearing her story and shared many of our own with her as well. Our morning was wrapping up quickly and as our day passed by, we found that we had leftover smoothies! We decided that it would be nice of us to share our drink with our neighboring teachers and helpers throughout the school. Lunch time arrived and we decided to gather together and read about the holy day, Yom Kippur, as we set the tables. We learned this is a holiday about forgiveness in Jewish Tradition and it seemed to fit so easily with the concept of kindness. The children were excited to hear what Paula might be doing on this special day and participated in many conversations with their teachers as they ate. 

Hope our families had a day filled with kindness just as the Cardinal Class did today. It would be great to further explore the concept and idea by asking your child what they can do to show kindness. We even drew pictures of this in our journals! Take a second and peek inside at your child's thoughts.

Cardinal's Day of Fun

We had a wonderful, busy day today!  The children were fully engaged with each other and the exploration at each learning area in our classroom continues to be most exciting!  We  tried to capture the day with photos of the children for you to enjoy!

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Seeds of Study

A Seed of Respect

As we began our morning together, we greeted each other and joined in a Morning Meeting, sharing a few journals, and a book about clean up brought in by Donny. We are gaining a sense of respect for each other and our classroom as we engage in group activities such as this. We are learning that we all have ideas or stories to tell and the children show their excitement as they hear one of their entries read. In addition, hearing a special book brought in from home also adds to a proud sense of self and importance as it so clearly connects the classroom to the home environment.  Times like this provide more meaning to what is going on in the classroom and help the children form a strong bond with each other and our school community.   We are learning about the idea of respect for each person as well as for our indoor and outdoor classroom space. 

A Splash of Science and Mechanics

This led to our next discovery of the morning...the beginning construction on our outdoor play structure! We are so appreciative of the space that we have been able to explore and are very excited to a have a part in watching the continuing process of it all coming together. Noticing the busyness of the outside, the Cardinals gathered by the window to watch the workers cooperating together. They identified many of the tools and trucks that they saw, showing their wide scientific knowledge and interest in how things work. To further engage the thoughts of our Cardinals, we joined in reading Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel and listened to the story as we explored the similarities to what we saw going on outside our very own classroom window. 

A Hint of Music and Art

As we have observed our children and watched them begin to form bonds over their common interests, an appreciation of music has appeared throughout the room. The Cardinals enjoy listening to music during Choice Time, Lunch Time and even during Rest Time. The children love to  put on concerts, shows, and dance parties. Artistic expression is shown through their movement and the laughter is contagious during these spontaneous happenings. Today, the Cardinals began exploring "The Commons", the area between the four classrooms. Immediately, they set off to construct a stage for a dance party platform. They displayed cooperation, teamwork and patience as they determined where each block would need to be set and then how to fix it if one had moved. The Cardinal class has also been drawn to the art studio. They are very interested in working in this area. Today, we introduced the easel and set up four areas for individuals to paint at the same time. Easel painting provides opportunity for self-expression, creativity and fine motor development.

And Off to Explore More...

The morning flowed so easily into our outdoor time, where we sat for a short time, drawn to the construction that was taking place. We enjoyed the close proximity this allowed and discussed some ways to stay safe while observing. After being engaged in our outdoor space, we headed over to the open field area for running, racing and a few short stories. The Cardinals are displaying their excitement and wonderment each and every day and we are looking forward to possible studies in Music, construction, and our outdoor space!

Celebrating International Day Of Peace

               

We decided to honor the International  Day of Peace in our classroom today in several different ways.  Our children had engaged in a sensitive conversation last week regarding peace and we felt that this would be a perfect time to revisit our thoughts and continue to delve deeper.  We decided to structure our journal experience  a little differently today. We asked each child to think about "what makes them feel peaceful "and then to draw a picture of their thoughts.  The children then dictated words and or stories about "what makes them feel peaceful." Having the opportunity to have a one-to-one conversation about such a sensitive topic  with each child was a wonderful way to become closer and more connected with each other. 

We began our Morning Meeting in a special way today.  We lit several beautiful candles as we settled together and held hands and thought of peaceful feelings as a group without using any words.   The quiet and still in the classroom was amazing and the feeling of collective calm very peaceful indeed!

We decided to go outdoors into the quiet log area in our outdoor classroom to have snack today.  We thought that reading a book about peace while outdoors on this beautiful day would be really special for the children.We read The Peace Book , by Todd Parr.  This is a beautiful book that talks about all different kinds of peace. Peace is listening to all different kinds of music...Peace is giving a hug....Peace is traveling to different places... are all examples of how this author teaches young children about peace. 

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Working collaboratively in the art studio was a wonderful way for children to have peaceful, creative experiences together.  The first few weeks of school are important times where we are getting to know each other, learning to respect  each other and building the foundation for a community.  We are starting to feel like a family.  Focusing on "peace'" clearly fits in so well with our goals for the year.
We also read  What does Peace feel like? by V. Radunsky .

This digital scrapbook made with Smilebox

ENJOY THE SCRAPBOOK OF OUR DAY OF PEACE!

HAVE A PEACEFUL, BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND WITH YOUR FAMILY!