Full Circle
4/14/2018
I am enjoying all of the sweet moments with our little ones as this year draws to a close. As I watched them share their recycling project with EK this week, I couldn't help but reflect on how much they've grown this year. At closing circle that day, a few students named sharing their project with EK as the most challenging part of their day. (We sometimes answer the question, "What was something that was hard for you today, but you did it anyways?") However, they not only remembered the purpose and procedure of the project from the beginning of the year, but they shared it with EK articulately and successfully answered questions about their beloved recycling monsters. When we embarked on this recycling project early on in the year, it was one of the first instances in which our students practiced collaboration and exploring creativity. Now, through repeated, structured opportunities and guidance, both are something that occur regularly and naturally in our classroom... often as a result of this project. Creative Time, where we use the materials we've collected in our monsters during the week along with Makerspace materials, is still one of the most dearly held times in our week. Students love this uninhibited time to explore and create whatever they want. Because this has been a consistent activity, students know the boundaries and exercise their freedom within them. Sometimes they undergo projects on their own, adjusting the outcome through trial and error and teacher guidance. (Your plane didn't fly as far as you wanted it to? How could you adjust the design to make it fly farther?) Other times, they brainstorm independently with each other, collaborating to try new ideas and solve problems with their creations. Always, they enjoy exercising the creativity that they have in spades. It's nice to see how each of our kindergartners have come into their own, invested in their own learning, learned to embrace mistakes and persevere through problems, and found their place in our classroom community. What a joy it is to be on this journey of learning and exploring with them!
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Saania AliMs. Ali graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies. She specializes in Early Childhood Education, ESL, and Special Education. Her hobbies include traveling, reading, and painting! Archives
April 2021
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