Come to Our Popsicle Social, by Leslie Dearmin

Here's a great way for students to get back into the swing of things, with their parents there for support…and before the school year starts

Thinking back to my own childhood years, one of my fondest memories is sitting on my front steps eating ice pops with my friends during the summer. This is where we shared secrets, looked for bugs and had some of our best conversations. At the school where I now teach, we feel it's important for children to make these same types of connections with their peers and teachers in a school setting. That's why we begin our school year by having a Popsicle social before the first day of school.

Over the summer, each class has parents, teachers and students come together in a community park to socialize, make new friends and of course, eat ice pops! This time together is the first step in building a sense of community that will eventually be the foundation of a family/school relationship that maximizes student success.

Get comfortable.
For many children, their first experience with school is being thrown into an unfamiliar environment with strange faces and without their basic family unit. The Popsicle social offers an alternative experience that helps children become acclimated in a comfortable setting with their parents still there for support. It doesn't get any better than that for a child.

Parents and kids get head to head, elbow to elbow, knee to knee, toe to toe during a game of "People to People" at last summer's Popsicle social.

How it works.
Late in the summer we send home packets with information regarding the upcoming year. In this packet, we include a letter to the parents that states the date and time of our social. Each class is assigned an hour at the park so the teachers, students and parents can have plenty of time to get to know one another. Once the hour is up, that class will leave and the next class comes in for their hour of reconnecting.

For our kindergarten students, we play a "getting to know you" activity called "People to People." A leader (usually one of our teachers) will call out, "Elbow to elbow!" and the kids, parents and teachers run to find someone to get elbow to elbow with. Next, the leader will call out "Toe to toe!" and while still elbow to elbow, the partners will get toe to toe. This continues until the leader calls out, "People to people!" and everyone runs to find another partner. This activity is a great way to get the kids and adults to interact with one another and meet new friends.

Our Popsicle social is a wonderful bonding experience. The beginning of our school year becomes a celebration of parents, teachers and children as they begin the journey to a very solid partnership between school and family.

Leslie Dearmin teaches second grade at Children's Community School in Huntersville, NC.