Independent work. Meaningful contributions. Hands on learning. Critical thinking skills. Science, social studies, math, and language skills are all developed as kindergarten students work together each day to learn to read a recipe, practice measuring, combine, stir and create their morning snack. Here’s what a recent morning looked like in the classroom…

Step 1: Go to an independent station until it is your turn for snack. Choose between science, building, kitchen, books, arts, crafts and the sensory table, inside or out!

Step 2: When Ms. Williams invites you to the supervised table, scrape baked pumpkin (today’s project) from the rind of the pumpkin you worked with yesterday to remove seeds (which you will see again in Step 4).

Step 3: Or, when Ms. Mast calls you to the reading table outside, join her to review familiar text. You might track words, identify sight words, look for initial consonant sounds, or find rhyming words in the poem about the baking and snack lesson for the week.

Step 4: When your classmate who has the clipboard calls you, and checks off your name, go to the snack table. Choose a bowl and scoop the cereal, raisins, sunflower seeds, nuts and pumpkin seeds (See Step #2) of your liking into your bowl. Stir.

Step 5. Take your snack as directed by today’s student helper to your yoga mat and outdoor table. Enjoy in the fresh air and sunshine.

Step 6. Encourage prospective parents of kindergarten students to sign up for next Thursday’s (Nov. 12) 9 a.m. “Coffee Chat” with admissions counselor, Marsha Thomas, to learn more about kindergarten at EMES! Register and receive a gift card to Merge Coffee or Starbucks along with the Zoom link. Additional chats for kindergarten on Jan. 14 and Feb. 18; middle and high school chats are scheduled too! All the info at easternmennonite.org/visit