Building Connections Each Day

 Before we can learn and grow, we need to understand and trust one another. This is why, each morning, we begin our day with "Connection Time"! This invaluable time helps us ease into a busy day and prepare us for our best learning!

When we gather, we sit in a safely distanced circle so we can see eachother. We are lucky to have an empty classroom nearby so we can spread out. While the room isn't as fancy as our classroom, we know it's the people in the classroom who matter!

Have a peek at some highlights from our morning Connection Time meetings:

1. Prayer
God is at the center of all we do and all we are, and we always begin in prayer. "Father in Heaven, I give You today, all that I think, and do, and say. Amen". 

2. Say Hello!
We have learned the importance of eye contact when greeting our classmates. To ensure we can greet eachother while maintaining a safe distance, we have several silly ways to greet one another, too, and we are still adding to our collection of hellos!

Practicing making eye contact

3. News

This time allows the students an opportunity to share what's on their minds, thereby helping us focus on learning later in the day. News can be both good or bad, and everyone is given an opportunity to share if they wish. So far we have heard about pets, glow mini-golf, birthdays, lost teeth, jazz lessons, roadkill, and even discovered how one crafty grandma made a money birthday cake! 

4. Social Scenario Problem Solving
To help the children develop age-appropriate critical thinking skills, they are presented with a social problem to solve. In partners, they brainstorm (at a safe distance) possible ways to solve the problem and then we come together as a large group to share and discuss. 

Some of the problems we have tackled include:

• a classmate pushes ahead of you in line
• you notice a friend crying at their desk but don't know why
• someone wants to be your partner but you don't want to work with them
• someone said there is a wasp nest in the forest

It is important for the students to see that there is no one way to solve a problem and that they do not always need an adult's help. 

5. Story
We close Connection Time with a story. Each book is carefully chosen and has an important lesson. 

We come "close but far" in the middle of
 the room to enjoy the chosen story!

A few of the stories we have shared

We sprinkle other little literacy and numeracy skills throughout Connection Time, depending on the skills we are focusing on and the time of the year. We have recently been adding in the Rhyme Bag, which makes for an engaging guessing game!

Stuffy - fluffy, rock - sock, and glue - shoe!

While Connection Time seems packed, it rolls along rather quickly and sets a positive tone for our day! This is time very well-spent and thoroughly enjoyed. Connection time truly is about building relationships and seeing the masterpiece in all of us. 

Connection Time is inspired by the structure outlined in the Morning Meetings by Kriete and Davis

Good Morning Sunshine cards from Keepin Up With the Kinders

Social Scenario Problem Solving Task Cards from Pathways 2 Success