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.