At the end of the day on Tuesday we showed kids the face page with photos of the kids and teachers in our 2AM class and another copy of the picture schedule on the back. They were excited to see it and, no doubt, eager to hear Katrina read their own name as she pointed to each photo and said the name of the person she was pointing to. Everyone got to bring home their own copy of the face page, and we expect kids' initial interest in the photos will be to find their own and perhaps exclaim, “That’s me!” That’s typical for this age group for they are most likely wondering where am I on this page, in this group, amid the rest of my peers? Children in preschool are primarily following their own interests – finding out what they like, what they are good at, what they find challenging.
We also expect that over time they will get to know the other members of the group and begin to find their place within the context of this group. Who else likes to paint? Who is really good at block-building or putting together puzzles? Who do I like to sit next to when it’s time for snack or the story? As teachers we encourage children to use one another as a resource. This can help raise children’s awareness of who their classmates are as well as foster connection among them. We might ask one child to show another where they found the paper or encourage children to tell or show how they worked out a problem with the magna tiles. We also sing name songs and have made a family picture book in our class to help further this process of knowing one another. It is an on-going process, to navigate the social scene at school. Children work hard to construct their knowledge about social relationships, and we take seriously our job of supporting them in their explorations.
Aside from the work we’ll be doing in school to get to know one another, the face page can facilitate some good conversations for children at home with their families. It can be a resource for figuring out who your child is talking about, especially when their description stops at “the kid in the blue shirt....” It can even serve as a literacy tool when children begin to notice the names of their classmates and think about who has similar letters to theirs or who starts with the same letter of the alphabet.
The picture schedule is also a useful tool in talking with your child about school. It can be a nice prompt for kids to talk about activities in the different parts of our day and may help them remember more details of their day by reviewing the pictures in the schedule. The picture schedule can also continue to reinforce the routine of our days at school and support the mastery kids are developing of being at school.
It was great to have kids back at school this week and wonderful to be back together again!