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On Tuesday or Wednesday we will have a discussion about what Team Awesome can expect on Thursday, Oct. 31 and we had better share the details with you before you get a 5 year old's version (which we are sure would include tons of treats in their lunch and a new puppy each). The children are welcome to wear their costumes throughout the day (or not) but no weapons, masks or gore are allowed. Please note that if your child wears their costume all day it probably will not come home in the same shape it came to school in. Please label all costume pieces with names and refrain from sending little bits and pieces/ accessories as they are difficult to keep track of and often end up lost. Various Halloween activities will take place throughout the day, including a Halloween safety review discussion, some fun stations and a dance towards the end of the afternoon. Unfortunately we can not share food/ treats. Fun fun fun!! Please refrain from sending more than 1 Halloween treat to school each day with your child. They will be encouraged to eat their healthy food (ie sandwich) before having the treat at lunch. The school is required to conduct two lock down practices during the year and our first one will be Thursday of this week. During the procedure an announcement will be made over the PA system that just says, "Lock down." Because our classroom doors are locked at all times in case this procedure needs to happen for real, all that needs to be done is closing the doors, turning out the overhead lights and keeping the children as quiet as possible (we usually whisper-read a book). We will be explaining to the children that we need to practice in case there is an emergency in the school that requires us to stay inside our classrooms. Because they are four and five year olds who have active imaginations they will inevitably come up with all sorts of situations in which this procedure might happen. Please rest assured that at no time will we be elaborating on reasons for which we might have to activate the lock down procedure. Mostly the children see it as an adventure but sometimes they become anxious or scared, especially when the door is rattled from the outside to see if it is locked. We try to answer any questions and relieve their fears before/during/after the activity but some extra hugs and explanations might be needed at home. If you have any questions please contact Ms. Edstrom at the school.
A few of the team members and I had a very good conversation about 'baginas' this week. You read that right. A child brought an anatomically correct doll over to a few of us at the table and, as these things sometimes go, and because the doll was naked from the waist down, as is often the case (although I've given up trying to figure out why and just go with it), it was mentioned that it was a boy doll and the doll was flipped over to show everyone its bottom side. "No. It is a girl doll. It has a bagina," another student corrected. And then we proceeded to talk about all things bagina- including the fact that if moms are having a baby they sometimes have to have doctors look at their bagina (complete with hand motions that indicated something being opened and looked into). And no matter how often I overemphasized the correct pronunciation of the word, it remained 'bagina' throughout. Last week as part of our Kids In The Know lessons we had discussed proper names for our body parts, including those covered with our bathing suits but because of the depth of knowledge these children had, I know that this was learned at home. And I would like to thank you, Parents, for arming your children with knowledge. Because as we all know, there is safety and power in knowledge and by forsaking pet names for body parts and teaching them how their bodies work, you are also normalizing what is sometimes taught to be shameful. Thank you for making your children powerful while also enhancing their body image, confidence, and openness; all things that will benefit them during their life journeys.
In case you missed it, here is BEST's big moment on TV.
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Mrs. Bowden &
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