Where is Mimi?
The story of Jonathan developing a sense of self and recognizing his presence in the classroom.
Sense of Self
During their early years, children begin to develop a sense of self as an individual. This is the time when they begin to do things independently, start displaying individual preferences and begin to understand that somethings belong to them, somethings are shared and that somethings belong to others. This is also the time when they begin recognizing themselves in the mirror and in their own photographs and start associating meaning with those images, just like Jonathan does in these learning stories
The morning routine
Jonathan spent the first week of school running around and exploring different parts of our classroom. Our classrooms are well-labelled where the place for every material is clearly marked and we also had photographs of children labeling things or tasks assigned to them, for example their food mats, hand towels, etc. We also have a morning routine in place, where children come and sign-in in a designated pocket, then place their water bottles and snack boxes in designated boxes and place their bags in their cubbies.
After a week of modelling the morning routine for Jonathan and taking him through the tasks, we are happy to share that he has now started completing the tasks himself. He picks up his own sign-in card and places it in the correct pocket every time. In fact, he can now sign-in for all of his classmates. He puts his bag in his own cubby and places his water bottle and lunch box in the correct boxes when someone hands it to them. He recognizes himself and calls out ‘Mimi Mimi’ with sheer joy. We thought it would be a good idea to share some of these stories from his time with us through photographs. So here goes.
The snack time
The snack time involves another routine where children wash their hands and then wipe them using their own hand towels. Jonathan now insists on using his own hand towel and never wipes it with anyone else’s.
Next, children take their own food mats and sit on the spot marked using that food mats. Presently, Jonathan is able to identify his food mat among all other food mats. He picks it up from a group of 8 other food mats, takes it to the table, neatly places his snack box on the mat and eats with delight. A funny incident was when he took a biscuit and tried to feed his photo on the mat and smiled out of joy.
Another interesting day was when we had taken him to the washroom for cleanup. His face was visible in the mirror as he was washing his hand and out of curiosity we said ‘Lets say hi to Mimi.’ His face lit-up with joy as he recognized himself in the mirror and started waving to his reflection.
What this means
These stories show how Jonathan has begun to develop a sense of identity and is recognizing that his things are marked with his photograph.
This sense of identity helps us shape his journey of becoming independent, something we already see emerging in the class. Now, he walks to the towel stand himself and cleans his hands whenever the need arises. Not only that, he knows where the dustbin is kept and that the trash goes in there and makes sure he throws it in there.
This sense of identity is also translating into him respecting other children. As he has begun to recognize himself, he has also started recognizing other children. He hands out their food mats to them, and is able to sign-in for all of them himself and he is also able to point out some of their faces when asked by name.
Opportunities and Possibilities
Our next efforts on this front are to enlist Jonathan’s help in cleaning up the class after play. This will help further his identity as a contributing member of our classroom and help instill in him a sense of responsibility and respect towards his surroundings.
We are also planning to give him more opportunities to match and pair objects beginning with games where he has to group photographs of his classmates together. Then building on it we will progress towards more classic matching puzzles. This will enable him to develop this skill further and act as the foundation for mathematical learning.
As children develop their sense of self, they continue to see themselves through our eyes and think about themselves in our words. At home and at school we need to provide them with positive feedback about their abilities and attempts to succeed so that they also develop a positive vocabulary to think about themselves.
Thank you
