With the beginning of a new school year brings the opportunity to celebrate new beginnings alongside the children. New friendships are formed within the group, while also continuing to foster the existing ones. The children are still trying to adjust to their new daily routines, along with their classrooms and their teachers. With this in mind, the educators in the School-Age Group 2 introduced an activity to the children that would enhance a sense of belonging. The children made a collage that represents ‘A Circle Friends’. The collage was made with templates of children that were decorated as each other, or themselves, then were arranged in a circle. Each child in the program was provided with a template of their choice and was able to engage their imaginative and creative expression to complete it.
This activity provided an opportunity to bring the group together and give the children an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance as they venture through the school year. Adelaide exclaimed “I want to decorate my person like my dad!” Nolan then added, “I want mine to look like Rapunzel.” Isla and Everly who were sitting nearby commented that they were decorating their templates as themselves with their favourite colours on their dresses.
The children were provided an opportunity to work independently to complete a task. They were able to develop their oral communication skills as well as express themselves freely by engaging in conversations with each other to share ideas and experiences. This helped the children to build stronger relationships by getting to know each other better as we proceed towards the rest of the school year as a group.
