Today’s theme has been circles, the shape of the letter O.  All of our table activities during free play were selected for their roundness.  During project time, the Tugboats had a scavenger hunt to find even more O-shaped objects!  Each child was given an index card with his or her name written at the top, while Peter, Carissa, and Tina (our fabulous parent teacher for the day!) each had a page of circle-shaped stickers.  As the children sought circular toys, round objects, or simply the location of the letter O in the classroom, grown-ups checked on their work and discussed it with them.  For each accurate circle or O, they got a sticker on their cards!

The Tugboats took this project in even more directions than I had anticipated.  We had hoped that the stickers would serve as a motivator, as they typically do, but also as an indicator of who was successful at the challenge.  We wanted them to work together, if independent work was too difficult, and seek the guidance of their peers.  They used this strategy without our even suggesting it!  The children paid attention to where their friends were finding Os and following their lead.  As teachers noticed this behavior, we made sure to have slightly more in-depth conversations with the “followers” to be sure that they were grasping the concept, rather than simply following the leader.  Many of them began to find more independent success with the task after some strong modeling from their classmates.  They always remind me never to underestimate the power of peer support in the classroom!