Classroom and Curriculum
Buddy Class
Our "Buddy Class" program is a year-long collaborative project involving the children, families and teachers of the TEDCC and the Kennedy School in Medford. The goal of this program is to benefit all participants by establishing substantial relationships based on mutual interests, shared curriculum ideas, understanding of others, and caring for others.
Currently our Blue Group participates in this project.The "Buddy Class" at the Kennedy School is actually made up of two classrooms. Combined, they consist of nine children, who have various special needs.The children range from three to eight years of age.
Throughout the year, the children benefit through rich experiences interacting with and connecting with children from the same general community who have different skills and abilities, and use different means of communication. We help children recognize differences and feel comfortable with them. Teachers encourage children to ask questions and talk about our similarities and differences as we learn about others and ourselves.
We meet our Buddies twice every month throughout the school year. Each class takes turns traveling by bus to visit each other's classroom. Each visit lasts about an hour and entails a community meeting in which we sing songs and get acquainted/reacquainted. We then enjoy a playtime together where children are able to play with their Buddies. We end each visit with a closing meeting, where we say "goodbye" until we meet again. In between visits, we stay in touch by writing letters, drawing pictures and exchanging photographs.