The Colours Of Us!

During first term as our students are getting to know one another, we like to read texts that foster a sense of community in the classroom. Some of our favorite titles are: Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud, The Colours of Us by Karen Katz, Whoever You Are by Mem Fox and Shades of People by Sheila M. Kelly and Shelley Rotner. Throughout these stories is the recurrent theme that each person is a unique and valuable human being. However, with that being said, there are many similarities that we each experience simply because we are all human.
Many people think that these concepts are much too complex for our young students to grasp, but through the observations we have made, we disagree. As we read, students recognize the importance of getting to know a person beyond his/her outer appearance. Our students are quite matter of fact about noticing the different shades of skin that are represented in our classroom and we promote the idea that they be proud of their particular colours. We encourage them to form strong identities about who they are, what special gifts they contribute to our class and also to recognize how their family units are unique.
As an art extension, students are invited to explore colour, specifically how to mix a variety of colours that will enable them to create their own skin tone to paint a paper plate that represents their face. Each year the children embrace this challenge and enjoy choosing and mixing colours that match their individual features, all in the way that they see themselves. This activity also gives us so much information about the students' developmental phase, which allows us to target specific skills in follow-up lessons. Identity exploration and creativity set the stage for the creation of a collection of their faces for us to post around the room, further sending a message that this space belongs to all of us. We are a community of friends and learners!