PreK Room 7

Our School Garden  Every beginning of the school year we introduce the children to our school garden. This year we planted basil, squash, thyme, and other vegtables and herbs. The children love to snack on chives and look for bugs. We apply classroom agreements, ( Safe, Kind and Responsible ) to the plants and animals we find in nature.  As the seasons change we continue to visit the garden and take note of the changes year round.  

Safe, Kind and Responsible How we create a social-moral classroom         One of our goals every year is to create a social moral classroom. Part of our unique constructivist education is the teacher shares with children much of the responsibility and power to make rules. We like to refer to rules as agreements between the teachers and the children about how to organize and regulate the operation of the classroom, including interpersonal relationships. As constructivist educators, we believe rules made by the children are better accepted and more conscientiously followed than rules given ready-made by adults. This has helped foster a safe and accepting environment in the classroom.  We started to think about our agreements when we began conversations about what it means to be safe, kind, and responsible.  The children gave examples for each agreement and were written down to refer back when needed. When we see the children "breaking" an agreeme...