A hui hou kakou (until we meet again)

On Tuesday, our keiki held their final conversation with Mrs. Poulin and our Skype pals from Massachusetts.  Seeing the students' faces beam as we established the connection was priceless. Mrs. Poulin's Kindergarten class started by sharing an energetic song and dance routine, 'Knees Stop, Mother Brown'. After watching a short demonstration, Austin led a single file of our children as they hopped, pranced, and twirled around the room. After a brief rest, our students enthusiastically sang one of their favorite songs, 'I Come a Zimba, Zimba Zio' with hand motions.  Once again, they used their beautiful voices to perform 'May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii'. Later, while our students spoke individually of their summer plans in front of our webcam, their Massachusetts pal stood in front of their webcam so there was a 1-1 connection.  Besides Skyping, our students have partnered with their 'pal' through exchanges of winter and summer adventures stories and illustrations.

Our final 'Aloha' was a long one.  Neither group wanted to end their connection and friendship.  Needless to say, both classes have always  done an awesome job in terms of listening and speaking with confidence to  each other.

We have been fortunate to take advantage of the power of Skype in our classroom for the entire Kindergarten year.  Skype has brought a new dimension in learning.  We had the opportunity to chat and open up our class with 5-6 year old students to a state way beyond our campus.  They learned from their pals, connected with different cultures, and expanded their knowledge in many ways.  This kind of experience is unforgettable. Mrs. Poulin and I will continue making connections with new Kindergarteners next year.  We want them to enjoy the adventures too.

Seeing our students in action proved how important it is to bring the real world into our classroom.  Amazing things can happen when we make global connections with students' learning. This tool (Skype)  helped them break down the classroom walls and become a global learner.

To Mrs. Poulin and her keikikanes and kaikamahines - Mahalo, a hui hou malama pono (thank you, take care until we meet again)