Our First Full Week With Face to Face Learning

We are so excited to be back to learning face to face, even with our COVID restrictions! You can tell the kids are so happy to be here! Even though it was the last week of October, we needed to start from the beginning as we do the last week of August. Before any academics, the kids needed to learn about our school-wide rules (1. Be safe, 2. Be respectful, 3. Be responsible), build a community together that feels safe both physically and emotionally, develop relationships and learn how to be safe, respectful, and responsible with our materials.

Our “Be safe” rule had some additions from what it was in the past! We had to learn about the importance of hand washing, sanitizing before touching any materials and mask wearing. We read these two books to get the discussion started.

They have been doing great keeping their hands sanitized and germ free and keeping their masks on. They have to wear them all day except when eating and recess. They can also take mask/drink breaks during the day. 

They started out exploring the environment, their learning tools, and getting to know each other within their Friendship Pods.  It took some practice but they have gotten very good at staying in their assigned area even though I can tell they really wish they could choose to go anywhere in the room. At first I heard a lot of, “Why can’t I go over there?” and “Why can’t I play with them too?” Hopefully this arrangement will be temporary but they are getting used to it and showing such great self control staying in their pods (To read about how our Friendship Pods work, click HERE).

You may see them exploring a lot of play items! In our classroom, they are developing very important skills as they play! As they explore through play, they are learning how to problem solve, think both creatively and critically, collaborate and work as a team, how to do hard things, deal with disappointment and problem solving social issues that rise up with their friends. They develop grit when things don’t work out yet they don’t give up! These are the life skills needed for their future careers. At this age, they already have these skills! We just have to allow them the opportunities to use them! We often feel we need to do everything for them, but then they do not have the chance to show that they do have these skills. Children are so, so capable! I feel it is my job not to squash those skills by having them just sit and do what I tell them all day long, causing these skills to diminish as the years go on. 

As I observed and documented how they play, I noticed that this group loves to create stories within their play! Story making teaches them so many literacy and language skills! They are exploring (without knowing it) and creating story sequence with a beginning, middle and end, characters, a setting, problems the characters run into , and solutions for those problems! These are skills they need to use for reading comprehension and writing! Later, they will connect these stories to our writing workshop time making it a story workshop! Here are some photos of the stories they were creating and playing:

We had a story about dragons:

We had a story about jungle animals:



Stories about a cupcake store...stories everywhere!



We also explored new tools we will use as we explore and learn! I have a mystery box that each day contained a new tool! No tools in our room can be used until they show up in the mystery box. The first was our crayons and pencil. We learned how to take care of them by keeping the points up so they don’t break and putting them away when we are done! 

As the days went on we learned how to be safe, respectful and responsible with many other tools such as scissors, glue sticks, markers, permanent markers, water colors and oil pastels! 

We practiced with scissors and glue by creating three dimensional collages! This also introduce to them the meaning of both two dimensional and three dimensional which they will need to apply to shapes later.

The kids practiced with watercolors and jars of water by using creative thinking and creating whatever art they wanted to! They were so creative! You would be amazed at how responsible kids are with real tools such as permanent markers because they know how important it is to be so! They also know they will not be allowed to use them if they are not. 

We learned about oil pastels and chalk pastels and how wonderful they show up on black paper and how great they work together with watercolors! One friend wanted to explore how they worked dipped in water and he liked the result!

I displayed their work to show what we have been working on.

Halloween was also during our first full week back! We painted our pumpkin and had a costume parade!

It was such a full, exhausting week, but I have never been more thankful for the exhaustion that I feel! Having these kids here face to face makes it all worth it!