We had another amazing morning with our second parent co-op in the classroom: Eri, Myles’s mom! Myles is a bit of a lunch time superstar around here because he has a very special lunch: unigiri, made special by his mom! With that in mind, the children were so excited to welcome Eri into the classroom.
The children had a wonderful morning playing and showering Eri around the classroom. Their favorite part of the day, however, was lunch time, although not for the expected reasons. Eri brought in a very special book to share with us today and she read it at lunch time. The book is Japanese, and I do not have the English title, but the book can be found here. In the book, a series of animals (even one of our favorite animals, a monster!) visits a little girl. They arrive, knock on the door, and say “Konnichiwa,” which means “Hello” in Japanese. The pages are designed with a fold-down element, so each character bows as they greet the main character. This book was a huge hit! Myles loved sharing one of his favorite books with his friends, and they were all eager to interact with the pages and make the characters bow. The text is very rhythmic and repetitive, so the children were able to catch on and follow along as Eri read, even joining in on the “Konnichiwa!”
Eri’s experience is another fantastic example of why the co-op model is so valuable in early education. Not only did the children practice words in a new language, but they also got to see a glimpse of Myles’s life at home with his family. Myles was proud to introduce this part of his life to his friends, which will positively contribute to his self esteem.
I’m so excited for each of our students to have similar experiences on their co-op days!