Glen Education Caulfield South

Joy in WOW Moments

As our GM, Operations, Education and Pedagogy, Melissa MacMaster often says, "look for the ‘wow moments’ in each day".  This refers to those moments when children acquire a new skill, overcome a challenge, or make a significant achievement.  It is these 'moments' that bring joy to both the child and us as teachers and educators.  

A recent example of this is occurred when a child, who had always asked a teacher to help her remove the casing of a cheese wrapper (which can be quite a challenge!).  One morning, the child beamed and called out excitedly to the teacher, holding up the round cheese in her hand, "I did it!"  She didn’t need to explain, the teacher understood instantly what she had done.  The moment of immense joy experienced by the child was shared with the teacher, who responded by matching her level of excitement.  These small but significant moments enrich the relationship we share with children, and joy is at the core of this.   

This week we asked the children what brought them joy at kindergarten.  Here are some of their responses:

"When I am finding treasure and doing craft." 

"When we are playing outside."

"When I am playing in the sandpit."

"When I am playing with my friends and having fun."

"When I am looking at books."

"When I am looking at my portfolio with my friends."

It's important as educators, to engage children in conversations about feelings, so they can learn to distinguish the myriad of emotions and to make the time to experience genuine joy.