Leveraging the “Heart Stuff” to Build Classroom Community

A good teacher friend of mine, Ashlea Oaks, recently said “heart stuff over fluff stuff” and I can’t think of a more fitting school year for that to be true. The return to the kindergarten classroom is always a time of excitement, some butterflies, and a whole lot of anxiety for my students, their parents, and myself. This is the moment parents and care-givers drop their pride and joy off to a complete stranger and I, that complete stranger, ask them to trust me with their most valuable possession. As I embark on a yearlong journey to educate and mold these tiny humans into kind, empathetic, courageous, inquisitive, compassionate members of our community, their trust is what I need most! I usually do this with a big smile, holding their child’s hand to help them find a place to begin their investigations, a reassuring arm squeeze to their grown up who’s eyes are filled with tears, and a carpet full of 25 kindergartners who are hanging on every word of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! 

But not this year. 

This year is different for everyone. We are all embarking on a journey into the unknown. It feels like my seven years of teaching are out the window because this Day One seems like my first Day One. It feels like I, along with every educator I have spoken with, am trying to answer the same question: How do I create a classroom community when my students can’t even sit together at the carpet? Or for others: How do I create a classroom community when my students are only together on a computer screen? I have never done online teaching before. Last spring was my first endeavor and I would say it went decent at best. We made it to June and I commend all of us for even doing that! This summer however, I have spent some time pondering how I will create the warm, inclusive, inquisitive classroom community that I have grown accustomed to without being able to do many of the things I have done in the past.

Here are my thoughts, ideas, the ideas of my colleagues, hopes, and potentially unrealistic dreams, but nevertheless I am going to try with all I am to do this because my students deserve it, their grown-ups deserve it, and I am committing to cutting out the “fluff stuff” to focus on the “heart stuff:” 

Family Connection: Every year, as soon as I get my class list I call all my families. Every single one. Does it take an entire day? Yes, but it leaves a lasting impact. In previous years this call was to let them know I was their teacher, and to remind them to come to the open house. This year those calls will be different, but they will be more important than ever. Connecting with families prior to the start of the year helps establish a positive home to school relationship and line of communication. These early connections help to commit their names to memory prior to the first day of school. When that child walks in and tells you his or her name for the first time, you are already a step ahead. When you then immediately remember their name the next time you interact with them, without asking again or using a name tag, it makes students feel seen, heard, and valued. You have prioritized the “heart stuff.”  That is the first step in building the trust needed to establish a safe classroom community. 

Prepared Environment: This is one of my top priorities and helps establish a space for a community to be built before students walk through my door. Everyone who teaches alongside me knows I like a clean and tidy space. There is “a place for everything and everything in its place” as Dr. Maria Montessori would say. I make sure that I walk through my classroom in the shoes of my kindergartners to see what they see, navigate the different pathways, and check the accessibility of materials. I also make sure the space is inviting, calming, and clutter/excess free. This year I will be doing this not only in our physical classroom space, but I will also be doing this in our online classroom space. Is it easy to navigate? Can parents find what they need without having to email me for it? Will the students know where to click to access materials? How can I make our online space just as inviting and accessible as our brick and mortar space? I’ll give you my most valuable tip: less is more. Cut the fluff. 

Creating Community: How do I create a community without being able to do all the things we know and love that build community? This year I still plan on introducing a “share circle” on day one. No matter how we are meeting, I will invite all members of our classroom family to share the answer to one or more of the questions below. This will take place over several days, both in person and virtually, as we begin to get to know one another, share some laughs, build trust, and become a family.  (Questions provided generously by our school counselor, Megan Franklin): 

• What do you love learning about? 

• What do you most look forward to this school year?

• What are three awesome things about yourself?

• What is one thing you want us all to know about you?

• What is something new you would like to make, create, try, build, or learn about? 

These questions are thought provoking, requiring students to say more than one word, go deeper than “what is your name and favorite color?” (which we’ll totally still do because there's nothing that gets a five year old talking more than sharing their favorite color, pizza topping, and tv show!), and also give me insight into their uniqueness and ideas to prompt investigations. During this share time I will also be jotting down little notes and observations so I can mail a postcard to my students that first weekend telling them how excited I am to have them in my class and acknowledging one of the tidbits they shared. This tells them that they are valued, heard, have a place in our new community, and that I am eager to see them again next week. These little moves make the most lasting impact! Every day that we share together is an opportunity to build deeper and more authentic relationships with one another. By asking questions that help students see the similarities and differences they have with each other and celebrating those things, you will inevitably create a community brimming with empathy, respect, compassion, and kindness. Yes my job description says to teach them to read, write, and do math, but my number one priority is to cultivate kindness in our classroom community, both in-person and online. 

While this year is not what any of us envisioned, I am going to do my very best to create normalcy for my students. I am going to walk into my teaching space, wherever that may be, and remember that the heart stuff is what matters. I am going to provide a space that is consistent and safe so they can have a place to just be a kid. I believe it is my job to focus on the heart stuff-- to show up for those children, to maintain a positive attitude, and to be the anchor for our learning community. I want that anchor to be one that gives children the best opportunity to begin their educational journey alongside one another. 

Mikaela Martinez is a kindergarten teacher at Northwest Expedition Academy, a public Project-Based Learning school, in Hayden, Idaho. Her passion in education is to work with the youngest learners and help them become inquisitive, independent, and compassionate leaders of their community. With a Montessori and inquiry-based focus, her classroom is always buzzing with children authoring their own books, creating scientific diagrams, or reading to one another. Outside of teaching Mikaela authors @raisinglittlegoose on Instagram, mentoring parents and primary teachers. She lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and their three dogs.