>At Little Ivy Learning Center Preschoolers: Lessons in Caring: It’s “In the Bag”
At Little Ivy Learning Center Preschoolers, Kindergarteners Drive Thanksgiving Food Donations
Sometimes it’s the simplest thing that inspires acts of caring and sharing. . . even something as simple as an empty, brown paper shopping bag.
While meeting to discuss their Thanksgiving season lesson plans earlier this month, teachers at Ridgewood’s Little Ivy Learning Center began brainstorming how they could provide each of their students with a unique, personal experience in caring for others through sharing with others.
Amidst talk of Pilgrims and Native Americans, hands-on lessons about the fall harvest, plans for the annual, school-wide Thanksgiving feast and the parent-led food drive, Miss Dee, the Senior Nursery program head teacher had an idea.
“Instead of asking our parents to contribute to the annual food drive, what if we give each of our students an empty, brown paper shopping bag to decorate, bring home, and take responsibility for working with their parents to fill with food for neighbors in need,” Miss Dee said.
“It will be their (each student’s) bag, so they’ll have real ownership for it and getting it filled,” she said.
Miss Dee’s idea immediately sparked several other lesson possibilities. Junior Nursery II teacher Miss Heather thought the “Fill Your Bag” lesson could also provide her older two-year-old students with a lesson in the food groups and nutrition. She would have her students decorate their bags, donated by the Whole Foods supermarket in Ridgewood, with photo cutouts of various foods.
Miss Stephanie, one of Little Ivy’s AM & PM Kindergarten Enrichment teachers volunteered her students for sorting the contents of the food bags and making signs for the boxes used to transport the food to the Social Service Agency of Ridgewood & Vicinity (SSA).
“Not only is ‘Fill Your Bag’ a great lesson in caring through sharing, but the sorting will provide a hands-on opportunity for my students to practice pattern recognition, and a meaningful opportunity to practice spelling and penmanship by making the signs for the boxes,” Miss Stephanie said.
Miss Rachel & Miss Mary Kate, Pre-Kindergarten and PM Kindergarten Enrichment teacher at the school agreed, and their students joined in with sorting and sign-making.
The overwhelming success of the “Fill Your Bag” lesson quickly became obvious as overstuffed bags began filling the office and long, central hallway at Little Ivy, overflowing into several classrooms.
Several students in Miss Kristen and Miss Melissa’s Pre-Kindergarten class included their favorite cereals and snacks in their bags. Overfilled bags rolled in from Miss Laura’s Beginnings Toddler Nursery class and Miss Dawn’s Junior Nursery I class, as well.
In a typical story, often repeated, one mom told Little Ivy’s director, Stephanie Bassler, that after partially filling her daughter’s bag, her daughter dragged it to the pantry and insisted on filling it to the brim. It was simple, her daughter told her. . .this was her homework, people really needed the food, and her bag had to be filled to the top.
“We’ve always been thankful for the annual contributions our families make during the Thanksgiving Food Drive for SSA, but this year with our children driving the effort, they really put it over-the top” Ms. Bassler said. “More than 100 bags of food and related items were donated. Awesome.”
Additional Information:
The Social Service Association of Ridgewood & Vicinity, provides a full range of services throughout the year for local individuals and families in need, including its food pantry, clothing and food vouchers, housing assistance, various scholarships and senior citizen case management. To learn more, visit www.ssa6.org.
Little Ivy Learning Center and its experienced teachers provide thoughtfully crafted childcare, pre-school and kindergarten programs for children ages 12-months through 6 with an emphasis on personalized learning and small classes in bright, cozy classrooms. Little Ivy provides its students and their parents with a range of flexible, full-day, AM or PM programs, including PreschoolPlus and KindergartenPlus (12-month childcare, plus academic pre-school/kindergarten and summer camp); Preschool (toddler/junior/senior nursery school and academic pre-K); AM & PM Kindergarten Enrichment (with transportation from select local schools); Transitional Kindergarten; Kindergarten and Summer Camp.
Little Ivy Learning Center is an independent, private school located in the Education Building on the historic campus of the Old Paramus Reformed Church, 660 East Glen Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. For more information contact us at info@mylittleivy.com, visit our website at www.mylittleivy.com, or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mylittleivy.