Last week at Happy Bunnies, our theme was “Safe, Healthy, and Helpful Me.” Through a series of engaging and educational activities, our children learned about kindness, safety, and helpfulness, creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Unite: Singing and Calming
We started each day by uniting as a class with songs and calming exercises.
Singing “Encouraging Words” and “This Is Fanny”: These songs helped set a positive tone for the day, encouraging our children to use kind words and be supportive of one another.
Calm: Review Drain and S.T.A.R.: Our calming exercises included the Drain and S.T.A.R. techniques, which are great tools for helping children manage their emotions. Our leader for the day chose their favorite calming activity, helping everyone start the day centered and focused.
Connect: Rituals and Routines
We reinforced our sense of community through various connection rituals.
Absent Child Ritual and Welcome Back Ritual: We acknowledged any absent children and welcomed them back with warm greetings, ensuring everyone felt included and missed when not present.
Pass the Lotion Ritual: This ritual allowed children to connect with each other through a gentle, caring touch, promoting empathy and kindness.
Commit: Daily Agreements
Each day, we chose a daily agreement to keep our classroom safe. These agreements were commitments made by the children to ensure a respectful and secure environment for everyone.
Learning About Kindness
Kindness was a key focus of our week, and we incorporated it into various learning activities.
Phonological Awareness: We practiced saying words and clapping syllables, enhancing our children’s phonological skills while emphasizing words related to kindness and positive behavior.
Concepts of Print: Using our friend Space Frog, we modeled how to leave space between words and pointed out that the first word in a sentence begins with an uppercase letter. This helped children understand basic concepts of print while reinforcing the importance of kind words.
Alphabet Knowledge: We focused on the letters J, j, K, k, and W, w, integrating these into our discussions about kindness. Children practiced recognizing and writing these letters, building their alphabet knowledge.
Using Kind Words
We brainstormed kind words and phrases, encouraging children to think about how they can use language to be supportive and helpful to others. This activity fostered a sense of empathy and improved their social skills.
Highlights of the Week
Brainstorming Kind Words: The children came up with a wonderful list of kind words and phrases, which we displayed in our classroom as a reminder of how we can positively interact with each other.
Commitment to Safety: Each child’s commitment to daily agreements contributed to a safe and harmonious classroom environment.
Connection and Community: Our rituals and routines helped strengthen the sense of belonging and community among the children.
At Happy Bunnies, we are dedicated to creating a nurturing and stimulating environment where every child can explore, learn, and grow. The “Safe, Healthy, and Helpful Me” week was a fantastic journey into the importance of kindness, safety, and helpfulness, laying the foundation for lifelong positive behavior.
