Just as each child who comes through our doors is unique and filled with amazing potential, so is each day in the life of upper elementary. Yes, we have regularly scheduled activities, but within that structure, possibilities abound. What better way to spend one’s time - prepared and excited, for the unexpected.
In Maple Classroom, mentor groups take weekly turns leading morning group. They share the date and daily mood word, requesting help in writing a sentence to illustrate its meaning. They read the lunch sheet, add and “de-addify” names, and confirm attendance. To encourage exploration of the many wonderful books in our room, they choose a word of the day from one they’ve chosen and share the context in which it was written. To facilitate planning of one’s day and support the completion of follow-up, they ask for work ideas from the rest of the class and make a list on the board that others can use to plan out their day. Then the work begins . . . in the gym!
How fortunate that these growing bodies get to start their day in PE with Steve. Upon their return, they are ready to choose work or join a lesson. Some may go straight to kitchen classroom for an hour. If it’s Wednesday morning, some will join Alison for Open Art, and others will take the classroom dog, Fisher, out to romp. Some mornings, children venture down to the Thistle Primary Classroom to support their learners in a variety of ways. Small group lessons or one-on-one support occur throughout the morning. The children practice balancing their work choices and have the freedom to move around the room and work with others, provided their collaboration furthers their learning and maintains the harmonious buzz of a busy classroom.
Towards the end of the morning work cycle, a child rings the chime to announce that it’s time to clean up and have their Learning Journals checked. At this point, the adults review morning work choices and encourage correct spelling and the use of detailed sentences written in lovely penmanship. This touchpoint is sometimes followed by an all-group lesson in history, geography, or other community-building activities. Birthday celebrations happen at this time, as well, wherein two friends share an original poem about the birthday child, and classmates share compliments and well-wishes. The morning ends with sketching or handwork during group read-aloud. Read-aloud books are either chosen by the children or the adult in order to connect in some way to a curricular focus.
After lunch with friends and recess with all of elementary, the children return for the afternoon work cycle. Tuesdays and Thursdays find them honing their French skills, while Wednesdays they happily create art and music. Afternoon work cycles are often ideal for quiet research or loud, boisterous design challenges or science experiments. To end our time together, the children clean the classroom, feed Santa (our classroom leopard gecko), and prepare for the next day. Once jobs are completed, they can enjoy their quiet reading book until it’s time for us to say goodbye.
This structure allows for the freedom to pivot when necessary - to say, “Yes” to requests to pursue an interest, plan an outing, or collaborate with a classmate from another classroom. The days are varied, but our expectations for purposeful work and our enthusiasm for learning are constant.