The children were excited to be paired up with Kindergarten partners last week. They enjoyed a special playtime and snack with partners on Thursday afternoon, sat with their partners during our All School Meeting on Friday, and read with partners in the Kindergarten room at the end of the day on Friday. This week they will swim with partners for the first time on Thursday!

Older Group-Kindergarten partnering is a long time tradition at the Antioch School. Many of the Older Group children have strong memories of the OG partners they had as Kindergarteners and are excited to now be on the other end, as the older child, of the partnership. Partnerships connect the two ends of our hallway together. The younger children have someone who knows-the-ropes, someone  big who can touch the bottom of the pool, a big friend who checks in with them and reads with them. But the benefits to the older child are just as substantial. Older Group children are developing the ability to view situations, events, and information from the perspective of others. Developmentally, Kindergarten children are still quite egocentric. And so, even in the most ordinary of interactions with partners, Older Group children are strengthening their use of perspective; they are becoming more empathetic communicators. Plus, it just feels good sometimes to be the big kid! This is a new hat for many children who do not have siblings, or who only have older siblings. But even children who are the oldest in a family grouping find being the older child in a partnership to be a different and unique experience.