January 16, 2015 at 5:25 p.m.
Classmates get to know each other better during Crescent's Kindergarten Family Night
Classmates get to know each other better during Crescent's Kindergarten Family Night
The school has a long history of building a sense of family within its walls, but Thursday's event was a bit different than normal. This time around, it was all about the kindergarteners.
This year, Crescent has five kindergarten sections. The kids are encouraged to socialize with the other sections as much as possible, but during a busy school day, that's not always possible. Kindergarten Family Night was created to help students socialize with their classmates.
"Kindergarten Family Night is a way for families to get know the other kindergarteners and their families, and for the kindergarteners to get to know each other," event organizer and kindergarten teacher Julie Gerth said.
In order to achieve that goal, each student created a visual biography explaining who they are and what they like to do in and out of school.
"In the past, we did this in the classroom and we had a 'Kid of the Week,' but we thought something different would be fun and would allow us to open it up so everyone could mingle. We've got five sections, so this is a nice way to get to know each other.," Gerth said.
"We sent home a few labels titled 'I am...' "I can...' 'We are...' and 'We like...' that the kids used to create their posters. The students made them at home with their families and brought them back to school."
The posters will be displayed throughout the year.
"Our goal is to celebrate each student in the classroom and spend more time going through each poster and talking a little bit more about each student," Gerth said.
As with any Crescent event, fun has to be involved in addition to learning. To that end, children's librarian Tom Hurlburt was on hand to entertain the kids and there were refreshments available. The school's Parent Advisory Council also set up a raffle.
For learning opportunities, other than the biographies, there was a reading station set up to help parents better understand what their kids are doing in school in terms of reading and literacy.
"We've got reading resources and a slideshow showing what reading lessons now look like in the current kindergarten classroom," Gerth said.
"It's a lot different now than in the old days. We're teaching reading and vowels and spelling, so we wanted to be able to show the families what the kids are learning," she added.
Creating that sense of family within the school's walls was the main goal and the reason why the school is hoping to make the Kindergarten Family Night an annual event.
"We just wanted to give our families a fun night out and a chance to meet everyone and build on that spirit of the Crescent family," Gerth said.
"We think this concept is a good idea because we can get the families in to visit and socialize, to relax a little bit, and to get to know everyone. Plus, it's gives everyone a chance to take advantage of the reading tricks and trips we're highlighting. So, we're very excited to make it a yearly thing."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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