Sharing at Byers School

"Take the exit right after 85, it's LaSalle St.," a voice chimed in from the back seat. "Then you need to take a left at the end of the ramp." Morgan and Regan were providing excellent directions as we made our way to visit the Kindergarten class of Ms. Schmid at Walter G. Byers Elementary School. "What direction will we be traveling when we turn left?" I asked. "East!" answered the back seat navigators.

Once we arrived and signed in, we made our way to the classroom. We were greeted by an ocean of smiling faces. During our visit we received a tour of the classroom, and then we went to lunch with our new friends. After lunch we shared our alphabet and number games that we had created, and then played "Hot Pumpkin." The students loved our games and did a wonderful job matching upper and lowercase letters and numerals with the correct word. As Demetric, Alex, Jasmine and Isaiha lined up to go to art, we said our goodbyes and thanked them for their hospitality. Interacting with and teaching younger students from another school was an experience we looked forward to repeating later this year.

On a Friday in January, the students returned to Byers Elementary School in Charlotte to visit their friends in Ms. Schmid's class. The kindergartners were very excited to see us. The Woodlawn School students helped their friends make "Snazzy Snowmen" out of food. One student reflected on the exercise: "First they lined up three crackers and covered them in cream cheese. Then they used pretzels for the arms and most used Cheerios for the eyes and raisins for the buttons. After we made them, we ate them. Two kids gave me parts of their snowmen, including the arms and a head." The students accompanied them to lunch and then presented them with a few learning games that they had brought with them.