Ask any parent, faculty member, or alum to describe BFS, and they are sure to mention the strong feeling of community they feel at Brooklyn Friends. Certainly, this sense of community is felt in many ways—both tangible and not—but one way in which we continue to appreciate the richness of our own community and others is to actually study it.

In our kindergarten classrooms (Ellen Conroy and Christine Gabel; Jane Morrissey and Regina Kleynbok), community is the overarching theme of the year. Community is defined as a group of people who have something in common or who have common interests. Classes KA and KB began their study of community with a focus on families. Each family (teachers included!) began their work by completing a “Family Bio Sheet” with names, ages, and hobbies of each family member, and a description of the important things the family shares with one another—the traditions, the stories, the recipes, the routines, the silly songs, and the games that connect one another and identify the group as a family.

A “Going Home Bear and Notebook” also works its way through each family. The bear and notebook spend a couple of nights at each child’s home, and the family records in the notebook what the bear observes—everyday routines, stories read and games played, what the family ate for dinner, etc. Through these projects, activities, and discussions the children have explored similarities and differences between families in ways that go beyond physical attributes.

Families also have been invited to come to the classrooms to share something about their family. We’ve had parents bake cookies and make ice cream, French toast, and other family treats. Favorite stories have been shared, one family taught the class a folk dance, another father played the banjo and sang a song, and several families made holiday crafts with the children.

Through all of these activities, the kindergartners have had the opportunity to ask questions and make many associations such as “My family does that too” and “That’s my favorite story!” The classmates have learned much about each other, about what makes a family, and about our school community as well.

The family study has led to rich connections with other studies. In mathematics, the children have been graphing information about their families—skin color, eye color, number of siblings, etc. In literature, the class has been reading family stories by Vera B. Williams, making puppets, and writing and performing in their own puppet shows. The family study will lead into another aspect of community later this year when the kindergarten classes study our school. They will learn about the building, its façade and structure, the many jobs that are held at BFS—receptionist, school nurse, admissions director, elevator operator, librarian, division head, facilities manager and more! Trips throughout the building are an important part of this study, highlighted visits to the basement boiler room and elevator room.

—Jackie Condie, Lower School Head, with Ellen Conroy, Kindergarten Teacher
photos by Jane Morrissey and Christine Gabel