Everyone needs a buddy sometimes. Here, at Wiggin Street Elementary School, each of our 35 kindergarten students is assigned a third grader to serve as their buddy. The third graders take their responsibility seriously. They have explained the proper use of playground equipment and lunchroom procedures. They showed the kindergartners where the restrooms were and waited outside to escort them back to their classrooms. Buddies don’t always have to play together. As the year progresses, kindergarten students will become more independent, but they will always have a buddy to turn to when needed. This year, the buddy program has evolved into a two-way street, where third graders and kindergarten students teach lessons to each other every Friday under the supervision of our teachers. The Second Step SEL lessons enhance social/emotional learning. Research shows that students retain 90 percent of what they learn when they teach someone else. 

Recently, third graders used puppets to teach kindergartners a lesson about being assertive and how to ask a friend, their buddy, or a teacher if they don’t understand something. Kindergarten students taught third graders about following directions and the body parts you use to do so. They danced without hearing music and then danced without seeing a video. Then, they talked about how to use your brain to compensate for being unable to see or hear something. They had to describe which was harder. The buddy program builds relationships while strengthening the sense of our school family. This year, it has expanded to weekly collaborations that teach valuable lessons while enhancing the learning opportunities of all students.