Community: "a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals."
We often refer to classrooms as communities, but this is a goal to achieve, not something handed to us when entering the room. For us, creating a community is a daily task starting with a morning meeting and ending with individual goodbyes. Each child has different needs, but how are one or two teachers able to provide such treatment to an entire class? In our room, we often use the children to provide some of these adaptations.
The morning gathering provides us time to great one another, come together as a group, and set the tone for the day. Some gatherings are more silly, while some quiet. We attempt to engage the children in conversation and gage their needs/feelings. Each Friday is a share day where the children can bring in a toy. They are each given time to talk about and show the functions of this toy, and then allowed to share for an hour during open play. There are some children who are naturally comfortable speaking to the group, while others prefer not to. We have found that every child enjoys sharing their toys and this activities has given the more quiet children a great opportunity to shine in front of their peers. Share time is also a way for the children to get to know one another. Initially, the children brought toys to school that please themselves only. Over time, they began to bring toys that pertained to their play or that other children would enjoy.
When one of our children needed help to understand time and the daily routine, we introduced a physical daily schedule. Each task includes a picture and the written words. During the morning meeting we place each activity onto the schedule. Throughout the day, this specific child is to remove the completed activities. Such small tasks could be easily forgotten by the teacher(s). However, this is where the help of peers comes in handy! The other children have taken a liking to helping this child complete her task; they will remind her throughout the day without being prompted. This helps the child to feel loved and supported.
Encouraging a nurturing relationship between the children is a daily goal we work on. In our classroom, we take care of each other in place of the "sorry habit"; so many people say sorry without giving meaning to it. Our children have learned how to care for their peers when bodies or feelings are hurt. The children are now also expected to attempt problem solving and managing disagreements on their own before seeking help. They have learned to make compromises and talk out their problems. We very rarely give them the answers, we know they can work it out and they have gained enough strategies through their time with us. We trust our students and believe in them!
The morning gathering provides us time to great one another, come together as a group, and set the tone for the day. Some gatherings are more silly, while some quiet. We attempt to engage the children in conversation and gage their needs/feelings. Each Friday is a share day where the children can bring in a toy. They are each given time to talk about and show the functions of this toy, and then allowed to share for an hour during open play. There are some children who are naturally comfortable speaking to the group, while others prefer not to. We have found that every child enjoys sharing their toys and this activities has given the more quiet children a great opportunity to shine in front of their peers. Share time is also a way for the children to get to know one another. Initially, the children brought toys to school that please themselves only. Over time, they began to bring toys that pertained to their play or that other children would enjoy.
When one of our children needed help to understand time and the daily routine, we introduced a physical daily schedule. Each task includes a picture and the written words. During the morning meeting we place each activity onto the schedule. Throughout the day, this specific child is to remove the completed activities. Such small tasks could be easily forgotten by the teacher(s). However, this is where the help of peers comes in handy! The other children have taken a liking to helping this child complete her task; they will remind her throughout the day without being prompted. This helps the child to feel loved and supported.
Encouraging a nurturing relationship between the children is a daily goal we work on. In our classroom, we take care of each other in place of the "sorry habit"; so many people say sorry without giving meaning to it. Our children have learned how to care for their peers when bodies or feelings are hurt. The children are now also expected to attempt problem solving and managing disagreements on their own before seeking help. They have learned to make compromises and talk out their problems. We very rarely give them the answers, we know they can work it out and they have gained enough strategies through their time with us. We trust our students and believe in them!
Respect and boundaries is a huge focus in our classroom. We believe that each child knows their needs and owns their body. It is our job to show all the children how to respect one another; if someone says no or stop, we freeze and listen; if someone doesn't like something, we do our best to avoid that interaction with them. We show the children how to understand one another by example. Part of building a respectful relationship is by getting to know a person's likes and dislikes. Martina and I show the children through our relationship and the relationships we build with each individual child. For example, Martina and I both enjoy Sushi. We tell the children about when we go to a sushi restaurant together. One child even asked her father to make us sushi. This child has chosen to care for us in this moment because she has seen us care for one another. Many children enjoy being tickled, but some of ours do not. We listen to them when they request us to stop and know the children who never enjoy it. On the flip side, the children have also gotten to know our preferences and show us they care by providing positive experiences for US. This is a non-stop job, but we help the children learn to build positives relationships by setting a great example for them.
There are endless ways to create a community within a classroom, but it does not happen by chance.
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