In the Classroom: The Grasshoppers
Parent Participation Matters
It's not always easy to find the time for PPP (Parent Participation Program) hours. You know you have to do it, but what you might not know is how important your participation is to the teachers, the children, and fellow families.
Believe it or not, magical (yes, magical) things happen when you become a part of our learning! The Grasshoppers recently experienced this as we studied art.
We strive to create opportunities for families to be a part of our classroom culture. Some ways to participate are super simple, while others allow you to get more involved!
While the Grasshoppers began to learn about art, a few of our families saw an opportunity to share art books from their own collections. This created a lot of interest in the classroom. Not only were children really excited to bring something from home, these books also generated lots of interest from their friends.
Even better is being able to read the book to us! One such book on mural art in Philadelphia helped us plan walks in our own neighborhood to see life-size murals!
As we explored artists, it became clear that our Grasshoppers were fascinated with Frida Kahlo. A family emailed pictures to us from a trip they took to Mexico where they visited the artist's house. That child was able to show the pictures and tell the story of her parents being there!
We also had the pleasure of a parent arranging a trip for us to visit an art gallery downtown. A real art expert told us about the art we saw. We also had a chance to tell this expert all the things we knew about art.
All of these experiences together created an engaged exploration into art that would not have been the same without these families becoming involved.
No matter how big or small, simple or involved, participation matters.
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