Morning Meetings

Te Kakano always starts their day with a morning meeting.  This is a very important part of our day as it builds a feeling of 'community' in our classroom.  It is a way for our learners to know each other better, make connections, establish relationships and it supports them in becoming kind, caring and empathetic citizens.


We sit together in a circle.  This is very important as we need to all see each other and that everyone is included.  We can choose to sit mountain pose, criss cross or mermaid.  In this photo William is sitting criss cross, Aayla and Trish have chosen to sit mermaid and Lily is sitting mountain.



We start our morning meeting with a greeting which is chosen by the superhero of the day.  We are beginning to learn lots of different greeting songs.





After each learner has been greeted it is our sharing time.  Sharing is a time when each learner gets a chance to be heard.  This is the time when the learners truely get to know each other and practice careful listening.  So far this year we have usually asked getting to know you questions.  Such as "what is your favourite ice cream?" or "do you have a pet?"  The learners are reminded to listen and to look at the person that is sharing and to try not to interrupt.  This can be a little challenging when someone wants to share that their answer is the same.  So we have a special hand signal that shows they have the same response or idea.


Our morning meeting is concluded with our morning message.The morning message is written by one of the teachers and it reinforces skills we are learning such as letters, sight words, days of the week etc. 

 The teachers know if the children would like to share and contribute by putting their hand on their chest.

We love our morning meetings!