Cohooperation

Early on in the morning, it was apparent that the Owls had a lot of pent up energy. This energy was too large for our modestly-sized classroom to handle, so we reverted to an inside/outside day-a day where friends choose to play outside and exert as much energy as possible, or choose to participate in quiet activities inside. 

More than half the class chose to be outside, and we brought out hula hoops for friends to be entertained with. Hula hoops, in their classic "gyrate hips to spin" fashion, are extremely difficult for younger children to use because they require a level of coordination and movement that most tiny people have not mastered. While this is true, the hoops also offer a wide array of options for possible use the use of young friends. The Owls today developed a game called "Giddy Up", where two people stand inside the hoop and one person leads and pulls the person in the back. This game looked very enticing for the Owls because it involved running around the playground in close proximity with a friend. However, disagreements did arise quickly, since the person in the front of the hoop was in total control of speed and direction, and the person in back was at their mercy.

The beauty of this game really came in the way that the Owls handled those disagreements. With very little teacher intervention, the players were able to listen to the friends with issues, and either compromised or handed off the "reins" of the hoop to the other person. In looking at a general timeline of "Giddy Up", the first two minutes in were blissful chaos, five minutes in resulted in arguments and raised voices, and eight minutes in saw friends carefully and considerately speed walking in pairs and even a group of three. The cooperation, respect, and mindfulness that emerged from this game was very impressive to see.

Inside our classroom became a beehive of paper. Friends enjoyed an exploration of water colors and focused intensely on becoming "bosses of their brushes". They worked hard to control the paint brushes, thus controlling the width of the lines created.

The Owls also ripped up the papers that had been painted on over the last several days. The pieces will be used to create communal collages later in the week. Organization was the name of this game, and friends carefully placed each ripped piece into a color-categorized bin.

Other Owlings: