Teachers:
Preparing for the first week of school can be both stressful and exciting. Teachers have so many things to consider in their planning, but getting to know your students is at the top of the list.
You want to develop strong, trusting relationships with your students and help them to do the same with each other. In order to create a safe, positive classroom climate, it is important to take time each day to learn about each other as unique individuals.
What are their interests, hobbies, strengths, and challenges? Helping your young learners to be aware of their own traits and communicate that to their peers will increase self-confidence, promote social awareness and encourage positive behavior toward others.
This week students will meet the Puppet Pals and learn about their interests, hobbies, strengths, and challenges. They will then get to share about themselves with their classmates. Some children might be shy about sharing right away, so come up with a “connection sign “ that they can make if they have a connection with what was said by a peer. Given time, in an environment where all ideas are embraced and honored, they will begin to open up.
Watching and learning the song, Just the Way I Am is a great way to culminate what they learned about themselves and others this week. Have fun getting to know each other!
Families:
You play such an important role in your child’s awareness of themself. A young child is discovering that they are a unique person, with interests, strengths, and challenges that might be very different from your own.
When you encourage their autonomy and provide opportunities for them to try new experiences, it broadens their world and yours as well. I learned so much about music, running, drama, and cinema from my son’s interest in those areas. He was able to build relationships with others, who had a shared interest and also learned about new ideas from peers who liked other things.
As you and your child watch this week’s videos, you can help them to find connections with the Puppet Pals and see if they would like to find out more about something new.