Buddy Classes

In the last week of the term Room 4 and 7 joined together as Buddy Classes to enjoy a sausage sizzle lunch.  It was an overcast day but that did not detract from the enjoyment the children had from a special lunch with a difference.  We sat with our buddies and chatted while we ate.  Then after that we had another treat.. a movie to watch.  It was a perfect end to a great term.

There is a lot of research that supports age mixed interactions.  Peter Gray an educationalist and a firm supporter of Play Based Learning says:

   ..that age-mixed play offers opportunities for learning and development not present in play among those close in age, permitting younger children to learn more from older playmates than they could from playing with only their peers. In age-mixed play, the more sophisticated behaviour of older children offers role models for younger children, who also typically receive more emotional support from older kids than from those near their own age. Age-mixed play also permits older children to learn by teaching and to practice nurturance and leadership; and they are often inspired by the imagination and creativity of their younger playmates.

We are still getting to know our buddies.  Our weekly buddy-reading sessions on Friday afternoons are a great way to regularly catch up, but we will be looking for more opportunities next term to ‘mix things up’ abit and have fun with our buddies. 

Thanks to those parents who not only donated the sausages, but also those that came to cook them. 

Here are afew pictures of everyone enjoying our end of term ‘get-together’.