Day End Reflections- Grade 1Q

Through the course of the day, we sometimes tend to get so entangled in the daily rigmarole that we often forget to stop and take a stock of the things that we do on a daily basis. Sometimes, there are things beyond the work at hand that escape our attention or tending. That is the time to pause and reflect on your course. No matter how much we plan to revise, recapture or recapitulate the lessons there are things beyond the text that must be reflected on a daily basis as well. For the holistic growth of a child, as much as we must focus on their IQ we must also tend to their EQ. For the purpose, we devised a smart way to reflect on the day gone by. 

One of my favourite activity to do in the class is "Reflection Pops"- as we call them. Sometimes, my students help me revise the day in a totally different light than I have had the fortune of experiencing it. This is when I pause and take a stock of my emotional investment in their growth story as well.

What is the trick:

Not a trick really, it is more like a message. We prepared some reflection pops with certain questions as simple as "What made you smile today?" or "How did you help someone today?" to recap the day as it was. Not just questions but statements like "Give one describing word for how you feel today" or "Tell us one good thing that you noticed outside your class" are also included for them to reflect on. As if that would not have sufficed, we added "Give a compliment to the person sitting next to you" or "Tell us about ways you would make tomorrow better". There are many more on the same lines that help exercise our minds in a way that we don't practice often.

What do we do:

At the end of the day, we gather around in a circle passing these reflection pops one by one and listen to responses to what is being asked on the card from our friends. Since the pops are drawn randomly, the students get a different selection points every time they participate. As we go around the whole circle, all of us have had a chance to reflect on the day in their own special way.

How does it help:

Reflecting on our day has been a tried and tested way of finding a closure to the day. Hence, this activity is undertaken at the end of the day, so that the students find at least one (or more) take away from their time spent in school. Their school day should not only be sprinkled with colours of the literary words but also their own personal lessons. Not only their own reflections, but the reflections of others also helps them be mindful of the various ways they can help understand their time spent together in school as well as ways they can make their school/class days better in the future. 

Believe me this tiny 15 minute exercise a day makes for a fruitful investment. And my students are so excited to participate in the session that their electric energy is guaranteed to bring a satisfied smile on my face, at the end of the day.

- Kajal