Pre-Primary: Make New Friends
As the first weeks of school come to an end, the children are discovering not only the works on the shelves, but also each other. So much of the beginning of the year is learning how to be at school; sitting at circle, lining up, rolling up work rugs, and learning where all the works are on the shelves. As the children feel more settled, they have the time to focus on one another. Sometimes these social interactions consist of simply two children wanting to do the same work and take turns using the work. Other times, two children wanting the same work can result in a conflict. Finally, two children may find a way to work together interactively that carries into the next work and the work after that.
One boy discovered the pink cube tower was not graded from smallest to largest on its stand. He began to carefully take down all of the cubes. One cube was knocked behind the shelf. Another boy saw the cube disappear. He reached through the shelf and found the missing cube. He returned the cube to the first boy. Quietly, he joined the first boy in fixing the tower. Once the tower was in order, the first boy went to pull out legos from the sensory shelf. The second boy followed him and took out a work rug. “Lets build a fort!” said the first boy. They began to create a fort and a garage for their cars with the legos. Later on that morning, the same two boys raced around the playground together with the wheelbarrows, talking about where they should park and the best spot to find ants.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but friendships can be.