| The Roots of Empathy program was established in 1996 and it is
an award-winning, evidence based classroom program that has shown
dramatic effect in raising social/emotional competence, increasing
empathy and reducing levels of aggression, including bullying in
schools Mrs. Oldford’s Grade 8B class has been invited to participate in the Roots of Empathy Program. This program fosters the development of empathy through discussion and activities in subjects including literature, math, music, art and science. Once a month, baby Logan and his mom Mrs. McCulloch, will join the Grade 8B class. Under the facilitation of the Roots of Empathy Instructor and Student Support Worker, Mrs. Laura Tingley, the students will watch the baby’s growth and development and predict what he will be able to do by the next visit. The students will measure, weigh, and observe the many developmental milestones such as reaching for a toy, rolling over, sitting up, and perhaps crawling. The students will be learning child development in a very concrete way as it unfolds in front of them and as they share observations of “their baby” at play. For more than ten years across Canada and internationally, thousands of children are learning respect and care for one another with the lessons started through their Roots of Empathy baby. |
Visit #1
Theme: Meeting the baby
Our first visit with Mrs. McCulloch and Baby Logan was on November 12, 2009, in which he turned 3 months old. Prior to the visit we made some predictions as to what he might be doing and most of our predictions were right. He can gurgle, pass gas, sleep, stand with support, sneeze, laugh, smile, and cry, soil his diaper and drink breast milk.
Logan disliked lying on his back. He responded well to our voices, especially when we sang to him. To soothe Logan, he likes to be bounced and enjoys his Mom’s voice.
Logan is learning how to hold things in his hands. He reached for the many toys we offered him. It was exciting to meet Logan and Mrs. McCulloch.
Visit #2
Theme: Crying
Our second visit with Baby took place on December 14, 2009. Logan was all smiles and made a lot of babbling noises. He has grown bigger, has more hair and can really grip things with his hands. We put him on his belly and he was able to “scoot” and grab a toy. Logan can sit up with support and Mrs. McCulloch reports that Logan has discovered his feet and loves to put his toes in his mouth.
We presented Logan with a Pattern Book that we made. Each page had a bright coloured pattern on them. He immediately grabbed at them and seemed to really like the pictures.
Mrs. McCulloch shared ways she helps soothe Baby Logan such as singing his favourite song, “You are my Sunshine”. We also discussed how parents can be frustrated with a crying baby and suggested rocking the baby, taking a walk and having someone else hold the baby. Mrs. McCulloch shared that she was a large family to help her with Baby Logan.
#3 Visit
Theme: Caring and Planning for Baby
On January 12, 2010, Baby Logan and Mrs. McCulloch had their third visit with us. Logan was dressed in jeans, shirt and vest with cute white running shoes. He loves to stand up and hold on to his Mom’s hands. He looks like he will be walking soon, even though he is only 5 months old.
We learned that he is rolling on to his back and on to his front but was not ready to share that with us yet. However, he did show off his first teeth. He has 2!
He loves to grab his feet when he has his diaper changed and he does not seem to mind being changed at all. He loves to grab for toys and can maneuver himself and turn around on his tummy to get at the toys. Prior to the visit, we learned his favourite song, “You are my sunshine” which we sang to him.
#4 Visit
Theme: Emotions
Baby Logan and Mrs. McCulloch had their fourth visit with us on February 8th. Logan is almost 6 months old. We noticed right away that he is growing so quickly. He can sit up on his own, reach and grab at the toys and even push himself up with his hands while lying on the green blanket. Logan had lots of smiles and giggles for us. He loves it when his Mom tickles him and when we sing to him. Logan grabbed at his toes and played with his feet. To our surprise, and his Mom’s, Logan crawled for the very first time! He pulled himself along the blanket to get at a toy. We talked about how we will have to make our classroom safe when he starts to roam around. We all clapped for him.
This month our theme is called Emotions. We talked with Mrs. McCulloch and she shared when she sees Logan show happy, sad, scared and angry feelings. We are looking forward to our next visit.
Visit # 5
Theme: Sleep
On March 3rd, we had our 5th visit with Baby Logan. He now weighs 8.6kg and he is 65 cm tall. He has grown a lot! He has more hair and the colour is red. He loves to cuddle with his Mom. He was non-stop giggling and smiling. He seems to enjoy our visits.
We discussed sleep and how this is an important issue for parents. Mrs. McCulloch shared that Logan will sleep a few naps during the day and he is not quite sleeping through the whole night yet. Most nights he will sleep for about 5 hours, wake up to be fed, then back to sleep. Logan can sit up all on his own. He can crawl and easily could grasp toys and change them between his hands.
Visit # 6
Theme: Safety
Our 6th visit with Baby Logan and Ms. McCulloch took place on April 8th. What a visit! Logan was crawling on his hands and knees all over the green blanket. He has two more teeth making it a grand total of four. He can now lift himself up to a standing position when he holds on to his Mom. Logan can go from sitting to crawling very easily and quickly. He could pull out some fish toys out of an aquarium, and loves the Roots of Empathy doll. We also danced with Logan. He seems to enjoy the bouncing movement and watching all of us dance with him.
Our topic this month is about safety and Ms. McCulloch shared how she is worried about Logan’s safety especially now that he is crawling, standing and even cruising at home. She is very watchful of his environment. We made ourselves aware of the dangers in our own classroom and will keep him safe. We made sure that there were no small objects on the floor and he cannot get by us as we sit around the green blanket.
Visit # 7
Theme: Communicating
On April 26th, we had our 7th visit with Baby Logan and Ms. McCulloch. Our theme this month is about “Communicating”. We learned that babies will communicate with sounds, movement and facial expressions to name a few. Baby Logan is always smiling and is very calm when he visits us, thus telling us he enjoys our visits. Babies also learn by being sung or read to in order to develop language skills. So, we learned 5 new Nursery Rhymes to help Logan’s development. He loved being tickled by Theresa and Mathieu when we sand “All around the Garden”. The hit rhyme was our “Humpty Dumpty Rap” that had him smiling.
Logan can take small steps when he is holding on to Ms. McCulloch’s hands. He can also stand without any support for about 1 second. He appears to be very strong and loves to play with his toy garage that he brought with him. This month, he seems to be teething and at one point he began to cry. Ms. McCulloch recognized he was communicating that he wanted to be comforted and to have his soother. Baby Logan is also eating finger food like cooked carrots and cheerios.
Visit # 8
Theme: Who am I?
Our 8th visit with Baby Logan and Ms. McCulloch took place on May 10th. Our theme this month is entitled, “Who am I?” We discussed how we are named by our parents and Ms. McCulloch shared that her and her husband really liked the name Logan. His middle name is James, after a relative. Some of the students shared how they were named too.
Logan is eating a number of different solid foods. He was very “vocal” when Ms. McCulloch fed him some rice cereal and apple sauce. He was wiggling his legs and moving his arms. He was even babbling with delight. He loved to eat his food and seems to have a good appetite. When he does not want to eat, he will move his head back and forth as If to say “no” or he will but his head down and look directly at Ms. McCulloch.
Logan continues to grow as he nears almost 9 months of age. Our final visit is next month when we will have a celebration.
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