As of Thursday, March 21, 2013
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Gwinnett Daily Post
Staff Photo: Brendan Sullivan Kindergarten student Lukas Ortiz holding the letter "t" escorts Andrea Marrroquin holding the letter "h" walk down the isle while participating in the 6th annual marriage ceremony uniting the blends, diagraphs and combinations at Woodward Mill Elementary School in Lawrenceville Thursday.
Video
Kindergartners Learn During Wedding of the Blends
Kindergarten students took part in the 6th annual marriage ceremony uniting the blends, diagraphs and combinations at Woodward Mill Elementary School in Lawrenceville Thursday. Kindergarten teachers use this unique event to teach the students how to blend letters such as "sh" when reading.
LAWRENCEVILLE -- The letters Q and U, C and H, and P and R were united in holy matrimony during a wedding of the blends on Thursday at Woodward Mill Elementary School.
Those combinations, among others, were part ofkindergarten teacher Laura Baynard's lesson to her students as they learned to blend letters together to form words. The culmination of the lesson was a wedding-like ceremony where the students dressed up in wedding attire and joined their letters in matrimony.
"The kids have fun with it," Baynard said. "And they learn something in the process."
Baynard's class has been doing the ceremony for four years and includes Woodward Mill's assistant principal Brian Walker as the officiant to the ceremony.
"Do you take the letter 'H' through spelling and reading. In crying times, showing times, whining times, thinking times and whispering times? What say ye?" Walker asked the students.
As part of the event, four separate ceremonies were held. The letter L was joined with letters like C, S and B, while the letter H was joined to letters like T, W and P.
The third ceremony featured the R blends which joined letters like F, P and G.
The final ceremony was specifically for Q and U to spell words like quarter, queen, quick and quest.
"Whatever it takes, that's what I'm willing to do," Baynard said. "Even during rehearsals the kids were practicing."
For Talia Camp, who represented the letter C, listening to Walker was the best part of the event.
"He was funny," she said.
Students Jayden Nguyen and Aaron Foster said they enjoyed the dance part at the end of the ceremony, where they got to dance down the aisle to the song "Celebration."
"It was all fun," Foster said.
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Comments
mickey 2 months ago
This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. How about teaching them to tell time without a digital clock. How about teaching them how to count out change.
danielsobczak 2 months ago
Mickey - they're five. Take a class on cognitive development. They'll learn the analog clock and American currency soon enough. Besides, those are math skills, not English language skills which are just as important.
AuburnJenn 1 month ago
I've been in her classroom observing, and Mrs. Baynard is a great teacher! Her students do know how to tell time on a hands clock as well as counting coins. As these children sing about the days of the week and money, they are also singing it in sign language. This is a very sweet and smart kindergarten class and it was a joy spending time with them!
rnu30043 2 months ago
This was a well thought out ceremony. The children had a great time as well as the parent's. Well done! Thank you Miss Baynard, the Woodward Mill Elementary School and all that made this happen.
thedasher 1 month, 3 weeks ago
What a far-thinking idea! These children are being educated while being allowed to participate in the learning. We need more of this. Reminds me of the things my daughter told me she enjoyed while attending school in Japan as a foreign exchange student. When properly motivated, our children can enjoy the learning experience. Let's have more activities like this. Of course, educators have to be willing to extend themselves like this teacher apparently has done.
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