Doing Good: Little Buddies

Our school is fortunate to host StrongStart, a preschool parent and child early learning program, lead by the amazing Maureen Wagner. Our class has the privilege  of being buddies with StrongStart and we look forward to our bi-weekly visits.

Supporting a young person in their learning, helping them to build confidence and trust in new experiences is a great way to Do Good.

This time our buddies came to our room to make and read a booklet about Gingerbread Kids. The buddies had made Gingerbread Kids who have left on an adventure.

For the books we created, we pretended to eat gingerbread cookies by tearing and gluing the parts of the cutout body into each page. So, while playing, we were working on fine motor and language skills.

Helping a buddy tear and glue

Then we read the books with our buddies.

Face to face or side by side

I especially love watching parents and grandparents enjoying the interactions between their children and these lovely 12 and 13 year old students. It’s like watching a community knit itself together.

Students, children and grandparents enjoying each other’s company.

We like to finish off with a song that makes everyone smile: Icky Sticky Bubble Gum:

11 comments

  1. Thank you big buddies for a wonderful creative and language full experience. The children look forward to getting together with you, as we saw as some families rushed in so not to miss their Buddy time.

    1. Hi Maureen, thank you for arranging everything so our time with our buddies is so productive. What a treat it is to spend time with them!

  2. Hello!

    I am from Mrs. Donofrio’s Hey Kids blog. I must say this is a wonderful program you are doing for the preschoolers. The projects seem cool for your students and the little ones, and it looks from the picture that the preschoolers are very into it! This is also a very nice way to “Do Good” for the little ones. I really enjoyed the song too, and from what you said, it made me smile too. Hope you update again on this program.

    -Josh

    1. Hi Josh, I know from Mrs. Donofrio that you do similar fun, bonding activities with the young people in your school. We are starting a clay project with them soon and I will up date that for sure.
      ~Ms. Smith

    1. What a good deed to help the Prep children feel comfortable as they begin school! Prep is like our Kindergarten. I bet you enjoy that connection as much as we do here. Thanks for visiting, Chaira
      Keep blogging,
      ~Ms. Smith

  3. Dearest Huzzahnians,
    What a wonderful idea to read with buddies. It looks like you had a great day together and that you did a lot of good for people of all ages. I am also enjoying your photos. After visiting your blog a number of times, I feel as though I am getting to know you. I saw one boy in the background of a photo and thought, “Oh, that’s the boy who took Epona and Stephano to the wedding!”

    We have a Jammytime in December that is similar to your reading day. It is similar because our middle school students read stories to our smaller students. We also do some sort of craft and enjoy milk and cookies at the end. (Perhaps we’ll have gingerbread cookies this year!) It is different because we do it in the evening, and all the students, big and little, wear their pajamas! This year we are adding a movie to our Jammytime as well, The Muppets Visit Santa (I think that’s the title.) Anyway, it’s about the muppets delivering letters to Santa. After we read stories together, the big kids will also help the little kids write their own letters to Santa. We’ll use lots of stickers and crayons, too! Sometimes the moms and dads stay and watch, as yours did; sometimes they go out for dinner or do some Christmas shopping. It is a fun night. We hold it in our classroom, and the little kids like being upstairs in the big kids’ room. We put blankets on the floor and everyone snuggles up for a good story. Sometimes we even have a sing-a-long to the 12 Days of Christmas by John Denver and the Muppets. Have you heard of the Muppets in Canada?

    Thanks for sharing your photos and your good deed in action. Way to go!
    ~Mrs. Donofrio

    1. I like the idea of Jammytime and we may just copy that. Sounds like a wonderful bonding time. Yes, we have definitely heard of the Muppets. It was part of my growing up–every Sunday night we watched that show. I still see people who like like Muppets all the time.
      Thanks for sharing your great ideas.
      ~Ms. Smith

  4. Dear Huzzahnians,
    This day sure seemed like fun for your students as well as the younger kids! The bubble gum video made me laugh out loud. Our school does similar activities with younger students such as our pajama night where we read books to the younger students and our annual Buddy Day where we meet up with our class buddies, we read, and do arts and crafts like you guys did with the gingerbread men. It’s so much fun to see the little kids so happy and not want us to leave. I don’t want to leave them either! My class is so glad that we can be in contact with your class though this blog and we can’t wait to see what else we can achieve through the wonders of blogging with your class. Keep in touch!
    From your friend, Mac

    1. Hi Mac,
      I love the idea of pajama night–what a great opportunity to get together. We are so pleased to be connecting with you. I love this line: “can’t wait to see what else we can achieve through the wonders of blogging”! Yes, blogging really does help people get to know each other, right around the world.
      Cheers, your friend, Ms. Smith

  5. Hi, Huzzahnians
    I am in grade 6 in Mrs.Braidwoods 6-7 class. I think that it is a good idea to read with the little buddies because then they get some help with their reading education. They will be more ready when they get into the grades when they have to read. I like to read with my little buddies.

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