2020-12-03 16:58

During their unit of inquiry, working on understanding who we are as members of a classroom, learning about personal responsibilities, self management and approaching challenges, the students in Reception (age 4-5 years) had the opportunity to participate in different learning activities that encouraged them to use discussions, planning and working as team members to work together. It is very important that at this age level the students are able to practice skills like communication, listening, empathy, respect and tolerance as these are key elements to live in a society.

In the first activity, the students in Reception had to discuss what they wanted to create as a team, using clay, and some natural materials. They engaged in conversations that demonstrated they valued their preferences but were open to agree on changing elements if that would allow them to work together effectively. One very interesting thing that happened was that not all of the students wanted to specifically use the clay but they found other ways to be active relevant parts of the team by sharing ideas, pointing to the position of a specific objects or helping coordinate ideas with their classmates.   

For the second activity, the teachers wanted to give a different learning experience that allowed students with more kinaesthetic preferences to take the lead and encouraged their team members to dance and create more awareness of their space in relation with the environment. The children formed teams that they chose and cooperatively agreed on the steps they would like to use to follow in the song. Teachers made sure to provide a variety of tools for the children to achieve balanced development.