We all value and understand the importance of a pleasant work environment and a great team of colleagues. These are definitely some of fundamental reasons for any employee to come to work happily. There are others of course but for everyone getting along with colleagues would certainly be high on the priority list.
I was thinking about how this applies to the classroom environment and realized it is probably not much different for kids. I think for most of them coming to school happily is because they are surrounded by their friends in a safe environment. They are a part of a peer group, a team of classmates and so much is going on socially in each team. It makes sense then to try to help them connect as a team in every possible way.
In this spirit of building a strong, happy team in grade 4 we decided to have our very own class picnic. A simple act but a brilliant opportunity for kids to interact on a whole different level, free to bond in their own way. I first thought i will plan all the games, activities, the treasure hunt - browsing for the best ideas for class picnics to make sure i don't miss anything out. Then it occurred to me that kids don't want another day of instructions, no matter how fun. They just wanted to be free of all that and hang out. So, I let them be.
We ended up having a lovely morning, playing games and sharing food. Everyone doing whatever they wanted in their own way, their own pace. Precious interactions that will definitely contribute towards us being a better, happier class. That is more then any class teacher can hope for.
I was thinking about how this applies to the classroom environment and realized it is probably not much different for kids. I think for most of them coming to school happily is because they are surrounded by their friends in a safe environment. They are a part of a peer group, a team of classmates and so much is going on socially in each team. It makes sense then to try to help them connect as a team in every possible way.
In this spirit of building a strong, happy team in grade 4 we decided to have our very own class picnic. A simple act but a brilliant opportunity for kids to interact on a whole different level, free to bond in their own way. I first thought i will plan all the games, activities, the treasure hunt - browsing for the best ideas for class picnics to make sure i don't miss anything out. Then it occurred to me that kids don't want another day of instructions, no matter how fun. They just wanted to be free of all that and hang out. So, I let them be.
We ended up having a lovely morning, playing games and sharing food. Everyone doing whatever they wanted in their own way, their own pace. Precious interactions that will definitely contribute towards us being a better, happier class. That is more then any class teacher can hope for.
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