The Big Birds Learn Their Trade

The first weeks of school look a little different for the 4/5s than they do for the rest of the school. After the first week, our older students choose an area in which to specialize and lead the rest of the school. Each group participates in three training sessions.

Those who have chosen to be game leaders work to learn how to lead games effectively including sharing rules, solving problems and celebrating fun play. They consider which games are good choices for different age groups and situations and they think about how to help all children succeed in game playing.

Woods leaders develop a clear set of safety guidelines to teach all students about the woods. They prepare the woods for play by clearing it of garbage and old forts. They also practice leading discussions at the end of play so that younger students. They support younger students' exploration of woods play by sharing ideas, teaching fort building basics and modeling conflict mediation.

"Bird Watchers" specialize in building connections with younger students. They learn about how to help students who are having a hard time participating in recess activities. They also learn about common friendship conflicts, woods conflicts and game conflicts and steps they can take to help younger students resolve these conflicts. Bird Watchers are assigned a class to shepherd through the rest of the guided recess experience and some establish bonds with younger classes that last throughout the year.

For the final weeks of guided recess, the teachers step back and the 4/5s step forward to lead the recess activities. Even after one session of student led recess, I noticed that the 4/5s were reaching out to younger students during our afternoon free play. A game of freeze tag that had been K/1s only became a K-5 game. Another student took time out of his game to check in on a little one who was sad. A kindergartener who had been watching a game of football was invited to join in.

We hope that by explicitly teaching these leadership roles, the older students will create a caring culture for the school, one that extends far beyond the first six weeks and far beyond recess.