Prior to Covid we used to always start our days the same way with a shared greeting. Each child had the chance to choose, from four different choices, how they would like to greet and be greeted by their teacher. Sometimes they would even choose a couple of different ways on the same day! The great thing about these greetings was that each child was greeted individually and was able to have their own connected moment with their teacher and quite often a bit of fun which often included laughing or the giggles. This is really important for building connection and positive relationships but also helps to build community through a shared experience.
The four different choices were picked by the class through an idea sharing and voting system and these were the four they decided to have.
- A wee hug
- A high five
- To shake hands
- A wee dance
Unfortunately when we came back from lockdown after the summer we had to stop doing it as we were no longer allowed to have physical contact needed to greet using a high five, hand shake or hug. We still said good morning but it wasn’t the same.
After a few weeks Millie (P3) was looking at the pictures hanging outside the classroom and asked ‘Why don’t we do this anymore? Can we do it again?’ I explained that we couldn’t do it anymore due to covid. ‘Could we do different ones?’ she asked. I thought this was a great idea so we redesigned it to be covid safe.
Again the class shared ideas and voted for the ones they liked and our new covid safe morning greetings were created.
These are the four they choose.
- Do a salute
- Show me the love
- Jazz hands
- A wee dance
Now we are able to greet each other and have that time to properly connect with one another every morning. Surprisingly quite a lot of the class are loving a salute right now!
Well done Millie! What a great idea!
Mrs Short 😀
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