With the new year upon us, we are excited to see all that 2022 brings. Let’s end the year with a discussion on the importance of two important topics: care of the environment and definition of one’s space. Rugs and mats provide a child with both of these vital lessons.
Care of the Environment
The dawning of a new year brings forth many resolutions that connect us to caring for ourselves and our environments. There are simple things we can do to add new routines and freshen the feel of the classroom. Plus, inviting children into the process helps make everyone’s day move more smoothly. So, begin your year by refreshing the way to take care of your lovely learning space.
Rugs are an easy way to reinforce great habits at the start of the new semester. When reentering the classroom after the winter break, spend a circle or two talking about the importance of caring about everything in the classroom from the smallest rug to the most complex work.
Invite children to join you with the process by doing a circle rug rolling session. Remind children that it is not how fast you roll it, but how well it is rolled at the end. Demonstrating standing the rug up on its edge is also a way to add excitement to this daily task. Even the smallest members of the classroom will try to balance the rug carefully on its end. Adding new rugs of varying size also help children choose a rug that properly fits the needs of the works they are using in the classroom.
Defining One’s Space
Another important concept to discuss in the classroom at this time of the year is defining one’s space. As children become closer throughout the year, they slowly learn the importance of boundaries through their friendships.
Another way to teach this important concept is through the work in the
classroom. As children learn the various lessons in the classroom, they begin to understand ways in which to define their area. They choose a table or rug for their work and set up their workspace before beginning the lesson. This also allows the child to invite other children to join their work, or gently remind them that it is their work.
Giving children this knowledge helps them not only feel confident in their space as they explore the lesson, but also the verbiage for asking other students to give them space when they need to focus on their work. Make this easier for children by providing rugs and small mats for the table for large shared spaces that make this process hard. By providing small plastic mats, bamboo mats and table rugs, even the
This week's worksheet is a fun cookie math sheet! This worksheet will help children practice their counting and symbol to quantity matching.
