There are so many benefits to having an older buddy class. Younger children,
like our Kindergartners, especially enjoy the one-to-one attention they receive
from their older buddy. They make comments such as, "He
makes me feel special; he says nice things to me!" and"We
do lots of fun things together. She`s my friend." Participation with an older buddy class enhances
children`s cooperative learning behaviors such as
taking turns, listening, sharing knowledge, praising
another`s effort, helping one another, and completing
a task. With the extra attention and assistance,
the younger children work harder and want to make their older buddy proud. As the
older students assume the role of the teacher, they
are motivated to do their best. They also experience
pride in their ability to be helpful. The younger
children bond with the older buddy and friendships
flourish as the year progresses.
We met with our buddies for about 45 minutes. Our buddies came into our
classroom and first performed a Reader's Theater for us! Then our
students mingled and met their buddy. After getting situated buddies
played a dice game called "Horse Race." Each buddy got a tray of dice:
 |
| Box Cars and One-Eyed Jacks |
The clear tray is called the "race track" and that's where all the dice start. The black tray is called the "barn" and that is where your "horse" (die) goes when it wins. One buddy was white and the other blue. At the same time, each buddy rolled their die and whoever rolled the greater number got to place their die in the "barn." The first buddy to put all their "horses" in the "barn" wins!
