Kindergarten Hopes and Dreams

The beginning weeks of school have been a transition from the slower days of summer to a school day full of new expectations. After settling into new school spaces and routines, we asked the kindergarten students,  "Why do we come to school?" Answers varied, including:

·     To learn

·     To make friends

·     Because mom and dad have to work

·     To practice writing letters

·     To learn how to read

·     To play

·     To learn how to count “really big” numbers

·     To have fun

On a second day, we brainstormed a list of our hopes and dreams for the year. Each child selected one hope they had for the school year and copied a writing prompt (I hope to or I want to…). Using kid writing, the writers then stretched the words, printing the letter sounds heard and strengthening fine motor and emerging literacy skills. Hopes and dreams ranged from math and reading, field trips, growing sunflowers, art, music, to making spinning tops, and being kind to friends.

After a few mini-lessons on drawing bodies and skin shades, the artists worked hard on creating full body self-portraits to complement their kid writing using paper, crayons and markers. Planning, trial and error, flexibility, and problem solving were key components of this art project. How do you draw a nose? Does this match my skin shade? How can I draw fingers? Is there more than one way? Artistic and fine motor skills were supported and stretched as students worked hard to create individual and unique visual representations. Discussions about the importance of our similarities and differences also arose as the work to understand the importance of the individual in the collective community continues to grow. 

Asking about student hopes and dreams supports joyful learning as individual connections to the learning process are formed. Teachers also get a glimpse into student interests and the possibilities for the new school year. 

Discussions about our hopes and dreams for kindergarten also led us to a deeper understanding of our classroom community care contract and its importance. For all of us to attain our hopes and dreams in kindergarten, we need to work together to be sure that everyone feels safe, respected and valued.  Following our community care contract supports the learning community that is growing day by day within our kindergarten classroom.