Giulia has a dog named Bentley.
Jacob loves to read with his grandma.
Ariel likes the Beatles and vanilla ice cream.
Regan loves Oreos and carrots.
Meadow Pond’ s cafeteria was full of love this morning. Kindergarteners and family members sat down together to create identity webs—drawings that show what makes each student special.
The kindergarten teachers Christina D'Ambrosio, Marisa Donaghy, Lina Foncello and Jackie Kovatch introduced the project, projecting its goal on the big screen. “I know and like who I am. I can talk about different parts of myself and my family.”
The room held dozens of quiet conversations at once as family members prompted, then listened to their kindergartener name what was important to them. Some children drew hearts and put their family’s names in it. Some, with their parent’s help, lined the top with flags representing all their different heritages. Many were sprinkled with drawings of pets, playgrounds and people.
The only element that was required was that students draw a picture of themselves in the center of the page. While some looked like robots and others like princesses, what they all had in common was a smiling, happy face!
At the end of the session, students each brought their identity web back to their classroom. The work would be used in many ways, including in the social studies unit All About Me.
Donaghy gave students time to turn and talk about their identity webs. “I love the Yankees,” said one student. “Look—I have a Columbian flag, too!” said another.
“I see a few different flags in our class’s identity webs,” said Donaghy. “And pizza! A lot of students love pizza!”