Roots of Empathy

On Wednesday, October 9th, we had our first visit from our Roots of Empathy instructor.
Roots of Empathy is a program that teaches children about feelings, their own feelings and the feelings of others. Once very 3 weeks, baby Alexander and his mom will be visiting our classroom. Our ROE instructor (Deidre Sagert) will gather the students around a blanket and together we watch the baby grow over the course of 8 months. The children will predict and cheer when their baby reaches the 'developmental milestones' of the first year. "He can roll over!" "He got his first tooth!" "He can sit up!"
The ROE instructor also coaches the children in observing the baby and reading the cues the baby gives his mom/us as to how he is feeling. We will use these discussions to talk about our own emotions and to understand how our classmates feel. Being able to understand how other people are feeling is called empathy. The ROE instructor will also be visiting our classroom before and after each baby visit to prepare and reinforce teachings using a specialized lesson plan for each visit. There will be a total of 27 visits (9 visits with the baby).
We are excited to be chosen to participate in Roots of Empathy (we are also the only class in the school participating) and we hope you are too! If you have any questions or would like more information, please let me know.

Mme Chapdelaine