This past week we had Brittany Johnson in to talk about her career, experience with technology, and how she manages in current kindergarten classroom. I really liked that we got to discuss the importance of implementing inquiry in early education. I was definitely sceptical at first because its hard to ask much of anything from a kindergarten student when it comes to being independent, but in the end it seems like common sense how Brittany has adapted it for early primary. Students at that age are living sponges. In the end, asking kids to go outside and write or draw what they see, what they think about it, and what it makes them wonder about, is not too much to ask. I also really enjoyed our discussion about the tools that Brittany uses to connect with her students.

To begin a relationship with each student, Brittany has the parents of each student fill out a “Get to Know Me” sheet. Each sheet gives Brittany some insight on student interests and potential tools to help with teaching that specific child. On top of that, every morning Brittany has her students place their hand on a colour chart indicating how they are feeling. I think that utilizing these kind of connection tools is awesome! I might not use the exact same system, but this will no doubt be inspiration for something in my own class.

One thing I have to talk about is the hug machine. At Brittany’s school, they have a small roller apparatus that uses pressure to imitate a hug. Besides the extremely unrealistic price, I think this is a really interesting concept. I personally don’t know how I feel about the hug machine specifically, but it’s very cool that people are thinking about these innovative ways to support students.