Strengthening Relationships

In the classroom:
To build respect, community, and
relationships in my classroom environment and
to help strengthen the class before relationship
issues arise I use the Morning Meeting program
which is outlined in The Morning Meeting book
written by Roxanne Kriete and Carol Davis.

Morning Meeting is a time where we come

together to meet as a class and we focus on
creating a positive classroom community and
where we work on building our communication
and cooperation skills. In my classroom we sit in a
circle at the carpet for our Morning Meeting. This
is an important part of our daily routine. I make
sure we do at least part of the Morning Meeting
every day.

There are four components to the Morning

Meeting Program. I will outline how each of these
components helps builds respect, community, and relationships.

Component 1: Greeting
Each meeting is stared with a greeting. We make sure to greet each and every member of
our class. This ensures that everyone feels welcome and “seen”. This builds community as in
promotes a sense that we are all important members of the community. Greetings can be done in
many ways. For Kindergartens I suggest a simple “look and your neighbour and say hello”. We
make sure that we look our neighbour in the eye and sound excited. You can also include a high
five or a hand shake with this greeting. Greeting also helps the students learn each other’s names.
At the very beginning of the year I start by greeting all members myself to model how it is done.

Component 2: Sharing
This can be done in a few different ways but all focus on teaching how the students to
share their ideas with the whole class. With kindergartens it’s a good idea to start small. We start
by going around the circle and take turns sharing our favourite colours, foods or animals. Then
we move on to sharing about what happened on our weekends, or talking about objects that we
have brought from home. During this time we learn to actively listen to all members of the class.
For Kindergarten students this is a great opportunity to build pair-share skills. We start with
something simple like telling your partner what your favourite colour is. Then the partner tells
the class what the others favourite colour is. The students are given the opportunity to ask
question and make comments or connections on what their classmates have shared. This helps
the students build their conversation skills. I find that it is in Morning Meeting that my students
truly learn to listen to what their classmates are saying. This proactively teaches them the
communication skills they need to solve conflicts on their own. This can also be a time to discuss
as a class any conflicts that you have noticed. We can discuss ways to solve these conflicts in a
positive way. Sharing allows the students to get to know each other better which helps build
relationships. We learn to show respect by waiting for our turns to talk and making sure to listen
to one another.

Component 3: Activity
Next we all work together to complete an activity as a group. This is the fun part! WE
can sing songs, recite poems or dance together. We can also do an activity that requires team
work. During a team work activity I model ways we can support one another to reach a common
goal. We start with a whole-group activity where I take the lead and show what good team work
should look like. I support the students to build cooperative skills of their own. Once we are
ready I take a step back and let the students lead. This can also be done with pairs or small
groups. Our group activity in morning meeting allows the students the opportunity to relate to
one another is a positive and supportive way. The group could also role play during this time,
they could role play how to resolve a conflict situation in a positive way. With kindergartens this
will take some modeling and scaffolding.

Component 4: Morning Message

During the morning message we discuss special things that may be happening in our day.
At this time we discuss what will happen during our day. This makes sure that all students know
what to expect during our day. The review of our routine provides comfort for young leaners.
This helps create a safe environment for the students. The message also contains a question
which can spark more conversations. We also use this time to practice our phonics and math
skills as we fill in missing letters and add to find the number of students at school each day.

In the school:

To build respect, community, and relationships in school environment and to help

strengthen the school before relationship issues arise I would attempt to get the whole school
to use Morning Meeting. To do this I would start a book club for a few eager staff members. I
would create a short presentation to outline Morning Meeting at a staff meeting. I would plan
to meet once a month. At each meeting we would focus on one component of the program.
That would be one chapter per month. Once we meet we can discuss the chapter and talk
about what worked and did not work for our classes. Hopefully after the first book club was
over more staff member would be willing to start to learn more about Morning meeting and
start using it in their classrooms.