We are starting something
new on Monday called YOUR TIME!
Each morning except Friday (because we
have Family Reading) students will have the opportunity to spend the first 15
minutes of their day doing whatever they choose to do. Children
like most adults like to have time to socialize and share things, ‘Your Time’ will give them an
opportunity to do this or sit with a group of friends to play a new card game
they had just learned, read a book together or show their peers a craft they
had made, etc. Students are welcome to bring in something from home but they
are responsible for it and after 15 minutes it will be put away for the day. So
yes they are allowed to bring things from home with your permission (toys,
trophies or ribbons, something they have made or just discovered). We will not be doing Show and Tell or Sharing
this year so this is a time that they can bring something in to share with some
of their peers. The children asked
about pets, if it is a pet that has a cage and you are okay with it staying the
day then that is fine or if the parent is willing (and able) to bring the pet
for that 15 minute time frame and then take it home that is also okay. No Pokemon cards or electronics are allowed out
during Your Time but our class does have access to some IPads, if they wanted
to do some research.
I got the idea of ‘Your
Time’ at the university graduate program that I am currently taking, other
teachers have found it successful both socially and academically. Even large corporate companies like Google
and Facebook have realized the importance of giving their employees time to do
what they want and by doing this, creativity and problem solving has drastically
increased.
For these reasons I was anxious
to experiment with ‘Your Time’ and see how the students in Division 7 feel and
respond to this opportunity. Thank you for your support with this!
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