Introduction
I have often heard that managing a carpet of five and six year-old kindergarten students is like “herding wild cats”. There is some truth to this idea. Students beginning their public education voyage can have a feral look to their eyes and bodies that want to move and dart about. If we consider kindergarteners as “wild cats” herding them is one way to go. The herding of wild cats fits nicely in the pioneer viewpoint of dominating “nature” (or five year-olds). But to look from many indigenous viewpoints or through the lens of biomimicry, perhaps we can study what nature has been steadily improving upon since it began between 3 or 4 billions of years ago. For example, a wolf pack is a very orderly community. Could we learn from the wolves to better succeed in kindergarten? What about elephants? Five year-olds (and maybe even teachers in their 50s) love elephants. Can we learn anything from elephants that would improve our classroom culture? Surely a flamboyance of flamingos would have nothing to do with a classroom culture. Would it?
Half of my students’ short lives have been impacted by the pandemic. Some come to kindergarten lacking the tools to meet the social-emotional challenges of formal schooling. Some enter the class with mental health issues. This unit will utilize examples from nature as models for creating a successful classroom culture which in turn could bolster mental health. All students, but especially young ones, love nature. They love plants and they love animals. I will be leveraging this love to inspire students to come together in class and develop an orderly community in which learning will be achieved at a high level and to improve the mental health of the class through communication, cooperation, and connection within our community.
My ‘wild cats” attend school at Kathleen Wilbur Elementary School in New Castle, Delaware. Oddly enough the mascot of our school is (you guessed it) the wild cat. Wilbur is a large school of almost 1,200 students, which represent diverse backgrounds. They come from mansions, motels, and everywhere in between. I teach in one of the eight kindergarten classes found at the school. In each of these eight rooms you will find students of varying skill levels. Some will have grown as they attended years of preschool. Some will have learned much from Sesame Street, an older sibling, or an inspired parent. Other students may never have held a book before. Typically, my class ranges between 20 and 22 students. As last year closed, I had 22 students on my roll. I had an even split between male and female students (though this is atypical). My class was predominantly (55%) of African-American descent. The rest (45%) of my class was pretty evenly split between Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian backgrounds. Seven of my students were pulled out during the day to receive English Language support. Throughout the school year three of my students were regularly pulled from class to receive additional academic support. I also had one student who would go out weekly to receive behavioral intervention support. One student had an Individualized Education Plan put in place in her preschool setting. These numbers are pretty common among kindergarten classes at Wilbur and I anticipate a similar class makeup in future years.
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