What makes me happy?
This week we reviewed the surveys that we took last week about what makes the children happy. We asked the multiage 1/2 classes four questions: What activity at recess makes you happy? What activity in the classroom makes you happy? What is your favorite fruit? What is your favorite animal?
We discovered that while children did share some favorites - many like riding the tire swing or playing Pokemon at recess, many like building Legos or working on the computer in the classroom, many like strawberries and lychee, and many like dogs and cats - no two children gave the same answers for all four questions! (Even
I wasn't sure what the outcome was going to be!) Interestingly enough, with just 72 children in the classes, 32 different animals were named as their favorite. We are all alike, yet we are all different.
The multiage 1/2 classes also used these surveys to get to know each other better. We played a game in which we had to walk around the room and ask other people questions in order to fill in all the boxes on our sheet. We asked who had the same favorite animal as ourselves, who had a different favorite animal than ourselves, who had a brother/sister/no siblings, etc. When we found someone who could fill in a box, we asked him to sign our paper.
The kindergartners and preschoolers listened to a book called I Like it When... about a penguin who shares what makes him happy. Then we answered the question "What makes me happy?" It was neat to see their pictures of all the different answers, like fireworks, nectarines, my bunny, and Nintendo DS.
A portion of our class time is spent in a circle on the rug. Before the students enter the classroom, I remind them to make wise choices when choosing whom to sit next to. A wise choice would be someone who will not distract them and someone whom they will not distract. One student finally blurted out, "But if I don't sit next to my friend, he might get mad!" I was so glad that someone shared how he felt; I didn't realize that was a heart issue that might negatively affect trying to make a wise choice on where to sit. It was a great opportunity to talk about how sometimes we need to use our words to reassure someone that even if we don't sit by them that "You are my friend. I want what is best for you and what is best for me -- I don't want either of us to get in trouble." We talked about how we can be friends yet not sit next to each other. What a great teachable moment! I shared this with every class after that.
To close, I am including below the talk that I gave at Open House this past week, as it shares what our CE program is about. It also gives the words to the old Irish blessing that I shared, which several people asked about:
Hi, I'm Lori Abe, Character Education teacher for the preschool through 2nd grade. Like several of the teachers here at MPI Elementary, I previously taught at Epiphany School. Then my family moved to California for a few years, during which time Epiphany merged with MPI. I was thankful to once again be able to join this wonderful family last year, and thankful that this year I have the privilege of teaching character education. This will be my 11th year teaching.
As we know, students do not learn in a vacuum. Children's emotions, their relationships with friends and family -- all these intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships affect how they learn in the classroom. CE is a time when they can learn more about themselves and appreciate what special creations they are, and learn how to love others, whether learning to problem solve with peers at recess or helping children in other countries by collecting money for UNICEF.
Life is hard sometimes in this imperfect world, even for children. But in Character Education, they get to talk and pray about issues that they're concerned about, whether Mom's away on a trip or Grandma's sick, and they have the opportunity to share their feelings during Ohana Time.
In CE, we also celebrate all that is good. We celebrate peace achieved through peer mediation; we thank God for the beautiful butterflies and the rainbows; we celebrate the joys of eating ice cream or getting tossed in the air by Daddy.
On the first day of faculty meetings this year, we talked about how Mid-Pac is a special place, a place like no other. There are many factors that make MPI is unique, and one of them is its Character Education program. This program shows our school's belief that helping children develop character is vital in preparing them to be citizens who will make a difference in this world.
At the end of every CE class, we sing this old Irish blessing to bless one another, and I'll sing it over you now.
"May the road rise to meet you
May the wind blow at your back
May the sun shine warmly on your face
May the rains fall softly on your field
And until we meet again
Until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of his hand."
