 When I looked for a picture of the Valentine cards I remember giving when I was in elementary school I had to use the search term "vintage". Boy am I dating myself! Every card was printed on sturdy thin cardboard and no two were the same. They all had to be cut out by hand and one had to be very selective who received which card lest the message conveyed something unintentional. I remember spending hours cutting, choosing the perfect beneficiary, and laboriously printing names the night before Valentine's Day. No fancy stickers, toys, lollipops or candies involved, just homemade chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles to share with the class.
For most of Team Awesome this will be their first experience with Valentine's Day and cards and the children will only have a vague idea what its all about. We will be doing some activities like crafts with hearts throughout the week but of course will go all-out on Thursday. Goodies to share with the class are most welcome and fruits and veggies always go over well with the children. Please make sure the 'From' part on Valentine cards are filled in before coming to class as we will not have time on Thursday to do that. Please leave off the 'To' as it makes the cards easier to hand out. Have your child bring them in a bag and then put the whole bag in the Home Box or on my desk so they don't get lost/ crunched- we will hand them out after lunch. I will try (for purely selfish reasons) to dissuade the children from eating the candies that are attached to many cards and encourage them to eat them at home. Happy Valentine's Day!
Have you seen the new Canada Food Guide? For the past four decades, Health Canada has instructed Canadians that a healthy diet consists of specific servings across four food groups but the new guide not only does away with the four groups, it eliminates serving numbers and sizes and replaces the “rainbow” with a new icon: A plate. Some of the biggest changes from the new food guide are: no more 4 food groups, no specific recommendations to eat a specific number of serving sizes across each of the groups, drink water, eat fewer processed foods and a new emphasis on food behaviours. The revamped guide has both supporters and critics but if we are being honest it doesn't tell us anything we don't already know. What do you think about the new guide?
An order form enabling you to order clothing with the BEST logo on it came home today but was missing some crucial information.
1) The due date for the swag is Feb. 22nd. No late orders will be allowed due to time restrictions. 2) The option for a student's last name to be written on the back of a clothing item is NOT an option this time around. If they really want their names printed on the clothing items they can take the clothing in to Picket Fence Graphics and have it added for $8.00. 3) Any size inquiries can be directed to the office. 4) There are additional items such as a golf tee, zip up hoodie and hat. Yearbook order forms also came home. 1) There are only 10 left for purchase so get your order forms in ASAP if you would like one! 2) Wait list: any orders after that will be put on a wait list to be added to the order if allowed by the printing company. 3) Wait listed orders must be paid. If the order can not be filled, payment will be returned. 4) Extra order forms are at the office. I know that many people believe that primary students often do nothing but play all day. Especially in Kindergarten. And while it is true that we have some time set aside every day to have unstructured play time- where the children decide which activities they will engage in and how that will look- sometimes I have to actively fight to keep that time unstructured as the demands and expectations of what we should be doing instead increases. On top of that, the time allotted to courses like art, music, and physical education is being whittled away to make more room for reading, math, and traditionally 'heavier' courses, so kids in general are spending less time moving, less time being creative, and more time preparing for tests. Play has been gradually taken away from children and replaced with structured activities, academic work, and digital experiences to the point where they hardly ever “play” at all. As this trend has continued, there has been a rise in childhood anxiety, childhood suicide, and a growing number of kids who simply don’t know how to play. Three California educators—Eric Saibel, Scott Bedley, and Tim Bedley— along with a group of other educators, launched Global School Play Day, a full day in February set aside to just let students play. All day long. No screens, no structure, no adult interference. Now in its fifth year, Global School Play Day has spread across the world. Although one day out of the year isn’t nearly enough, they are hoping that the day will inspire schools to build more time for unstructured play into every school day. And so some of the BEST classes will be participating for some part, if not all, of the play day on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Our students need play and all the rich learning that comes from play in their lives, even if for just one day.
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