Journal: Creating Committees

Context

The Little Garden class (3-4 year olds), teachers, and parents were considering role identification; children were figuring out what their roles were in the class and teachers and parents were figuring out how to support that process.  The following journal shows strategies the teachers implemented within the ongoing curriculum (small committee work) to support the children as they considered who they were in the classroom. 

March 28, 2014 – Creating Identities for our Committees

The members of the Fixing Committee gathered together to talk about what it means to be a member of the Fixing Committee. We are exploring this while keeping in mind the Core Concepts of sense of self / sense of community, sense of influence, and power.

Teacher Questions:

• How do we support the children in seeing themselves as powerful and influential?
• What roles do the children identify with in their committee work and in our classroom community?
• In what ways are these identifying roles impacting or adding to the children's overall sense of self within our classroom and school community? 
• In what ways will documenting and revisiting their work impact the next steps we will take in our final months of the year? 
• Will the way the children identify with their work and committee change through this process?

Process: 

Over four separate meetings the children looked at photos of the work they've done on the Fixing Committee. I (Petra) framed this as an opportunity to tell our story to our community. The children chose the photos they thought best represented their story, and the group voted on turning it into a book format (after consulting with other children in the class to see how they would best like to view the committee's work.) 

OUR IDENTITY: What is important to the Fixing Committee?

Finn: To fix things! (He does a twisty dance and motion with his hands.)
Mati: Twist! And pull hard!
Treesha: To hammer!
Petra: Why do we need to tell people about our committee?
Finn: It's important because it's screwing and and screwing is part of our committee.

Small Photos and Experiences that Stood Out (Data)

Here are some samples of the photos that were important to included, and why. I've included the children's words as they described the photos and why we should use them. 

I love the Fixing Committee! It's all of us! - Finn
I want to count us...1,2,3,4,5. - Treesha
Grace is doing some hammering, that's what the committee is working on. - Mati

I was hammering really hard and the nail fell out! I had goggles, they were really impressive. We were hammering over there (points to the woodworking porch.) - Mati
I'm putting goggles on. - Treesha

I'm banging down a nail really hard. I'm wearing a kimono. - Grace
Grace is working really hard. - Mati

Let's paint some more hearts to hang up, where the blueberries are! With 4 rings. - Treesha

We was fixing that! - Finn
My papa was not there. - Mati
But my daddy was there! - Finn

Petra and I and Treesha and Parker and Grace and Finn - because she had a kitty cat (the cashier's cat.) She was awake! I was there too. What did her name start with? - Mati

I want to go for another trip! - Treesha
We were laughing because there were all taxis going by! - Parker
3,3,3,3,3! - Grace

I went in another 3,3,3 with my mommy and daddy and sisters. - Treesha

Trevor came and he said somebody might trip on the bucket I put there. Then I said that we need a small pipe to connect it. - Finn

Teacher Reflection

The group immediately chose as one of their first photos a picture of the whole Fixing Committee together (and Petra). It stood out to me that part of the importance of these committee experiences has also been the teamwork, relationships, and sense of community within them - could the fact that we have been doing it together be just as important as the work itself?

I also noticed that many of the children commented on other children and their actions almost as much as they talked about themselves in the events they remembered from photos. This again speaks to the value of the relationships the children have within this committee.

Lastly, I found the documentation process to cause the children to create their own "Plans of Possibilities" or next steps, as we do in our co-inquiry meetings. Ideas that the group wants to move forward with - painting more hearts for the blueberries; doing more woodworking to create a wall for the blueberries, or other things out of wood for the blueberries; taking another field trip in connection to our work; continue our plans for the rain barrel water redirection. This element is a reminder of the power of revisiting documentation, and involving the children in the documentation process - children think and talk about their experiences and thought processes, and build more theories and plans together. It is an empowering and connecting experience!