In a class of 15 four year olds,
things can
get noisy during talking time. We sit in a
circle on the rug,
crosslegged. The children
share their thoughts with us.
The Talking Stick is a sparkly baton that
must be held in order to speak. If you have
posession of the Stick, you are free to share.
Once the stick gets passed on, you relinquish
your platform and listen to others.
This works pretty well, the children often
passing on the stick when someone else seems
bursting with an urgent tidbit. Sometimes
holding on to it while they think of what
to say. Silent, gripping it, hemming and hawing
so as not to lose out in case something new
develops. They learn the dynamics of conversation,
of respect.
Hell, they mostly learn how to
listen.