VALENTINE'S DAY, WITH A METACOGNITIVE TWIST

Valentine’s Day is a very low-key affair at our school. Some years the children are oblivious to Valentine’s Day, but then after the event there is a flurry of activity making love notes.  Other years we are so engrossed in projects and investigations that this holiday is irrelevant in the classroom.  Every year is different depending on the children’s interests. 

This year an interest in hearts started in January when one of the two year olds came to our classroom with the gift of a paper heart for a friend.  

   

This friend was so pleased she immediately wanted to reciprocate the gift.  She didn’t have much experience making hearts, so a teacher helped her figure out how to draw hearts. 

Before long she was making lots of hearts and teaching other children how to draw hearts.

 We started to notice more children making hearts.

A heart made with bicycle chain

And then when a child was missing his mother he decided he wanted to make a heart for her.  He fashioned a heart out of a blue pipe cleaner (because “blue is her favorite color”).  He also showed other children his technique by making pipe cleaner hearts for them. 

 

He had such a clear idea of how to go about making these hearts that I asked him if someone had shown him how to make hearts – how did he come up with this idea?  He replied that, “I figured it out in my brain”. 

 

I then asked him if he could tell me more about how he came up with the idea – I drew a circle and said, “if this is your brain, can you show me how you figured it out?”

He started by drawing his idea for the pipe cleaner heart inside his brain.  Next he drew his mother because he was thinking about her when he had the idea.  Then he drew the process of his brain working on the idea.   

Finally he drew a picture of his mother receiving his gift – she has a big smile.

This drawing of how an idea takes shape is a compelling example of metacognition – thinking about thinking.  

It is always thrilling to observe moments of metacognition because we know that children who are aware of how their brains work are actively engaged in learning, which is a critical part of being an independent thinker.

Happy Valentine's Day!

True Valentines

At Sabot, we treat Valentines day as other holidays: the teachers do not plan activities around the holiday, but we do embrace what the children bring to us, and so card making and valentine greetings are quite often part of February for the oldest preschool classroom.

This past week happened to be “random acts of kindness week”.  I don’t know who gets to declare such things, but we thought we would share this idea with the children.

Part I

At circle the children told us some of their ideas of kindness:

     Give a present

     Make a valentine

     Give your mom some flowers

     Make cookies for someone

     Give someone a toy to play with

     Make a feel-better-card 

     Make a present

     Make a card for all your friends

     Go somewhere with your friend

     Make your mom a necklace

     Make something with your friend

     Make a bracelet for your mom

     You can give hugs

     Share

     Make cards and hide them for people to find

     Let someone play with the magna tiles if you are using them

     I could build a wooden house for my friends

     Use good manners when you eat

Part II

The children had homework to notice as much kindness as they could, in themselves or others.   Noticing kindness may not seem like a big deal, and you may wish that your child had done a nice thing instead of noticing one.  But noticing will build empathy and lead to doing.  Kindness is contagious.   noticing is required for gratitude, and gratitude is essential for happiness. 

They noticed the things that you parents do for them, and kindnesses between siblings.

Millie: “My dad sang my song to me and my mom read my book last night”

Part III

 What Robyn and I noticed:

Julianna to a teacher: “I don’t know who to play with.”

Brian, overhearing this: “I’ll play with you.”

Madeline let Dylan in front of her in the hand-washing line. (not being first is a BIG deal!)

Tavish gave up the cherished red stool at snack for Dylan who had never gotten a turn to sit there.

Caroline: “When Millie’s not here it makes my heart sad.”

Waiting for Millie

Caroline when Freddie was sad: “I can give him an act of true love, a hug.”

Miles: “Dylan gave me a kindness sign; he let my ship be in front of his.” (remember that Madeline had let Dylan be in front of him in line earlier)

Caroline: “We’re hiding, waiting for Millie.  I don’t want her to see the special valentine I’m making for her”

Miles: “can I help”  offering to help set up the clay

Kiri made a necklace for her mom

Noah to Indie: “Can I put something on your airplane?”

Indie:  “Yes, because you are my best friend.”

These are the true valentine gifts, the ones that happen everyday.  How fortunate we are.