Over the last couple of weeks we have been enriching our learning experiences by working in whānau groups across the school. We have been focusing in on our teamwork and collaboration skills through the arts. Our Tautoru kids are part of a whānau group. These are special groups where siblings get to work together in different ways. On the odd occasion we have even been able to have cousins working together too !!
Our whānau days have a cross curricular focus and lots of Positive Accomplishments occur during these magical times. Children are able to express themselves creatively, thinking outside the box and developing innovative problem-solving skills.
Through collaborative art projects kids dial up their teamwork, communication, negotiation and compromise. A lot of negotiation and compromise happens when teams have to decide who is going to paint, who will assemble and most importantly, what is going to be painted or created. They have to get their messages across to one another and work out how to best express what they have learnt. They learn to share ideas, give and receive feedback, and work towards a common goal. It is fascinating to see our Tautoru kids dialing up the strengths to work together, encouraging, helping and supporting each other. This is a chance to see them putting their positive Education learning into action.
Seeing the finished products at the end of a rotation provides a sense of Positive Accomplishment for everyone that was involved. It’s a calm and beautiful time of the term that provides a natural opportunity for students to work with different teaching combinations and best of all Teachers connect with all kids across the school !! It is a living example of team teaching in action and a real sense of ‘our kids’. By the end of a full whānau group rotation all kids have had a chance to work with the whole teaching team and they will have experienced working in every space in the school too !
“He aha te mea nui o te ao ? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata !”
