Daily Connection Time

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 circle so we can see eachother. We are lucky to have the chapel nearby so we can spread out. This is a beautiful, faith-filled place to begin our day!

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

1. Prayer and Land Acknowledgement
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". 

Actions accompany the words
 in our morning prayer

Then we say a simple land acknowledgement, showing respect and gratitude for the land we are fortunate to learn upon. 

2. Say Hello!
We have learned the importance of eye contact when greeting our classmates and have several silly ways to greet one another. This one is a favourite ... the Stinky Shoe Hello!

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 crummy, and everyone is given an opportunity to share if they wish. So far we have heard about movie nights, power skating, birthdays, lost teeth, dance lessons, and even a new puppy named Mr. Foofy!

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 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. 

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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. This week we practiced our numeracy skills while moving our bodies.

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

With our Terry Fox run this Friday, this book was one we shared:

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 Christ in one another.