Community Circles

On Monday, Mrs. OBrien visited our classroom to lead a 'Community Circle.' While we do 'Sharing Circle/Community Circle' on a regular basis in our grade 4 classroom, it was wonderful to have Mrs. O'Brien teach us about the First Nations tradition of the 'Community Circle' and lead one with our class. We learned that sitting together in a circle symbolizes unity and togetherness and that no one person in the circle is considered more important than the other. By using the 'talking stick' (our grade four talking stick is a turkey feather) each member of the circle has an equal opportunity to speak and be heard.  We also learned that 'Community Circles' have traditionally been used solve problems within First Nations communities, arrive at decisions that effect the community as a whole, solve conflicts that have arisen within community, etc. In our classroom, we use the 'Community Circle' to share about our daily lives, debate ideas and questions as well as solve problems that arise within our classroom community. Thank you to Mrs. OBrien for teaching us about the 'First Nations Community Circles' and building our understanding of this wonderful tradition.