Let’s begin our 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. Begin the year by refreshing the way you 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.
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.
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.
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. By providing small plastic mats, bamboo mats and table rugs, even the largest table in the classroom can be functional and allow all children to have their own perfectly defined space.
This week's worksheet is a winter pattern activity!
