We were ready to announce the common read, but then Michele noticed that there was a new book coming out next week, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in our All-About-Me World, which according to Michele already has rave reviews. So we are waiting until we can get it hot off the press and then will make a decision.
The children and teachers are finishing up some work with the habits that we introduced during the school year. Rocks and Rivers have been working with the habit of wonder and awe. This seems to be a natural expression of the young child. How do you sustain that sense of wonder and awe as you grow older? By looking at the process the students went through, the teachers gained some insight into this. The ability to notice - Look!, wonder - Wow!, celebrate - Yay! were expressions that the teachers started noting and highlighting. One of the natural outcomes of this was a diminishment of the terms like disgusting or yuck from the students.
The Sky and Trees team worked on organizing thoughts. As many students are heading off to kindergarten where there is more independent planning that the students will be involved in, this seemed like a good way to prepare for the next step. Some children were given clipboards so that they could make a plan and then they would check in with teachers afterwards about their plan. The teachers noticed the power of the clipboard, which seemed to make the students work seem important.
We continue to honor the children during worship and we continue to marvel at the unique qualities of each student as the teachers share stories of who they are and how they have grown. Truly, there is flourishing in The Nest.
Blessings,
Shanna
