Children are working and learning in many different combinations already.
We are engaging in whole class meetings and small group work, and we find ourselves in partnerships for many things, including walking in the line to and from the park.
Each day when we arrive at the park, children are asked by a teacher, "Who is your partner?"
In part, this question helps children to remember who they should line up with at the end of park time. It also gives them a chance to really learn one another's names. When children don't know, they are learning to ask, "What's your name?" It is a name game with a real function!
We are seeing relationships develop in many places. We see old relationships continuing and new ones developing. Some line partners have begun to make plans to play with one another at the park.
We see some children working with a new friend when they choose to go to an activity they enjoy and wind up there with someone they've never played with before. Teachers are inviting different groups of children to work together and that too helps children get to know one another.
Some children are inviting friends to join them for various activities: "Would you like to work with me at the light table?" "Would you like to sit here next to me during snack?"
We are already really hearing and seeing children come together in this community in so many ways!
Children are getting to know one another, developing new relationships, and helping to create our classroom communities. It is lovely work indeed!
