It was lovely seeing the whole school dressed in pink. It provoked some really great circle time discussions. One of the things we talked about was helpful words and hurtful words. Students brainstormed helpful words, and we talked about how these words make us feel. Someone related this back to our life size Grinch from December, and how our helpful words and actions made his heart grow.
We read a fantastic story by Elizabeth Verdick called "Les mots peuvent blesser." I demonstrated for the children how hurtful words hurt us by crumpling up a paper heart. The children got the connection that our own hearts feel crumpled sometimes when someone says hurtful words. We talked about all the ways we could help heal the heart by using helpful words and saying sorry. As we named helpful words, I smoothed the heart back out. Someone pointed out how it still had wrinkles though, and we agreed that sometimes hurtful words can leave a wrinkle in our hearts. That's why it's important to think with our heads and our hearts before we say hurtful words.
In the afternoon, children were asked to draw a line down the middle of the page. On one side, they drew a picture with pencil and on the other side, they tried to draw the same picture using crayons. We talked about what a difference the colour made to the picture. Children shared their favourite colours, and we agreed that it was okay for boys to like pink. Colours are for everyone, just like toys are for everyone.
I read the children a poem called "The Crayon Box That Talked" about how all the crayons learn to appreciate one another because they are each special and add something unique to the picture. It says: "We are a box of crayons each one of us unique. But when we get together the picture is more complete." As an art extension, students drew self-portraits on crayons. I love how colourful and unique their crayon portraits are! Please come by and check out our bulletin board at drop off or pick up.
We finished the day by singing "Je suis unique" and sharing all the wonderful ways in which we are unique!