Artifact Analysis- Morning Ritual
*names throughout the paper have been changed
Its 9am in the morning, the sun begins to rise, the snow is melting away, and all the young children and their mommies or daddies are arriving at La Petite Academy. The morning ritual at La Petite Academy is considered one of the most important parts of the day for many of the children in the pre-k class. After the backpacks and coats are shoved recklessly into the cubbies dedicated to each child, the children’s ears fill with the sounds of fun and exciting dance music to begin their days. That exact moment the children hear the music, their bodies furiously move to the carpet in the center of the room. The carpet is characterized with a huge map of the United States, each state consisting of a specific animal, utilizing the carpet as a learning tool for the children. With their legs crossed and smiles filled with joy, the children anxiously wait for the teacher to begin the morning activities. The music is silenced, the children are arguing about who wants which chore for the morning, and the teachers call attention to the children by banging the class tambourine against their thighs. The room fills with hushed movements and raised hands, begging to be called on for the opportunity to choose the first chore of the day. The laminated colorful and bright dry-erase poster is hung up on the dry erase board in perfect reach for the children. Throughout the community, the poster is used as an organizational method for assigning a “chore of the day” to each child in the room. Many of the children scream in excitement as the chores such as; line leader, weather, and fish feeding are chosen, for they are considered the most enjoyable chores. The teacher begins to meander around the circle of children holding a medium sized plastic bucket filled with a selection of laminated pieces of paper. Each piece of paper consists of one chore written in permanent marker. On the back of each rectangular piece of paper is a small square piece of Velcro in order to attach the chore to the correct name written on the poster. Each child’s name is alphabetically listed in a vertical line on the left hand side of the poster. As soon as the first child reaches into the bucket and pulls out a chore, she bursts into the air like a rocket launching into space. Continuing around the circle, each child does the same thing, due to the excitement of receiving a fun chore of the day. Ending with the very last child in the circle, he seems to be a bit upset. This child receives the last chore left in the bucket, which typically tends to account to the “dirty chore.” Most of the kids dislike being the last kid to pick from the bucket, which creates a very upset and unhappy camper. Even though by having the children randomly pick a chore from the bucket, not knowing which child will get which chore; it allows the kids to learn the lesson of sharing and
