Kindergarten

The kindergartners spent a portion of the year learning about one another’s life story and developing their own narratives.  Early in the year, the focus was on thinking about who we are as individuals and who we are as a collective within this bigger school community.  As we learned more about Packer, it’s values, the instruction, the learning, community members and outreach, the kindergartners were introduced to the Ndonyo Wasin Primary School.  Teachers and students shared what they knew about the NW school. Teachers spoke of their own pen-pals and shared pictures from the many visits connected to this partnership.  Overall, Ndonyo Wasin was acknowledged as a partner in our learning and meaningful experience in the world beyond our four walls.

As we began our mid-year unit on writing “All About” Books, we read a variety of books created by Ndonyo Wasin students.  The essential questions leading our work, were ‘How is the Packer community similar or different from the Ndonyo Wasin school community?’ ‘How would you describe the life of a Ndonyo Wasin student?,’ and ‘How would you describe your own experience?’  Using facts about both schools, children developed a general narrative for students in both communities.  Children noticed the differences in student demographics, skin color, clothing, and boarding versus day schools. They also noticed the similar games, TV programs and general instruction enjoyed in both spaces.  All would agree, here or there, Kindergarten is fun!