 Did your child come home and tell you they had germs? More specifically, did they tell you they were covered in Mrs. Bowden's cooties (which Team Awesome heard as 'cuties')? If so, they weren't far off the mark. For children germs are invisible things that cause them to get sick. Remembering to do things like washing their hands or covering a cough may not come easily. With the sneezing and sniffles that seem rampant in our classroom throughout the year, using a visual tool that demonstrates how germs spread and the effectiveness of different hand washing and cleaning methods early in the year seemed like a smart idea. Enter the Glo Germ Classroom Kit! This morning I applied the 'fake germ' powder, which is difficult to see, from the kit to my hands without telling Team Awesome. I followed our normal routine, handled the usual things in the classroom (including hugging the children), and then after reading the book 'Germs Make Me Sick' we used the black light, which causes the powder to glow, to track where the 'germs' had dispersed. We were amazed at how many things we touch in our classroom and how far the germs had spread! A few children even had some in their hair. I then washed my hands and we looked at them under the black light again. Unfortunately, I did not wash my hands well enough to get rid of most of the germs and they were still visible. So we watched a video on how to wash our hands properly and another one on how germs are spread through sneezing. Although we will need to revisit hand washing often, I know Team Awesome now has a better understanding of how illnesses are spread.  I've been thinking that if the trade-off for a mediocre summer is a long, mild, lovely fall I'll take it. While I heard many complaints about the cooler, cloudy weather over the summer months, I have yet to hear any about the autumn weather. You have to admit it has been gorgeous! And as far as I am concerned it could stay exactly like it is until next spring and we could skip all the frost and snow and slush and ice and mud and boots and snow gear and all that jazz. Realistically, I know that's not going to happen so I'm going to enjoy the last of the mild weather while its still here and pine for spring.
 Presented by Western Canada Theatre at the Sagebrush Theatre. 12 Dates · Nov 29 - Dec 12. Buy your tickets online here.
I have had a few responses returned for this district sponsored event. It is Friday, Nov. 23 from 8:30-10:00 am. You will learn ways to support your child in math, be given some materials and then do some activities with your child that you can then do at home. If you are not able to come we will make arrangements for an adult to play the games with your child but we need a count for how many extra adults are needed. If you need a new form please let me know. Mrs. Leonard read us the book "The Sharing Circle" this week. When two red foxes have an argument which breaks apart their community, a gentle buffalo decides to take a braid of sweetgrass to a local elder and asks her to help with a sharing circle for all the animals. We then had our own sharing circle after we discussed the practice of using a Talking Stick as a way of taking turns. Before she left for her next class Mrs. Leonard had us each choose a bead that would be put on a Talking Stick for our classroom. The story reminded our friend Darious of a chicken dance he does at powwows and he taught us how to do it. Thank you Mrs. Leonard and Darious!  Having a day at home next Monday will be lovely but I find Nov. 11 often produces some sober musings, and well it should. I will spend most of the day doing the usual must-be-done things but I will also take a few moments to remember why I am home and not at work. Our Remembrance Day assembly today was very well done and I was happy to see many parents join us. The children were so well behaved at the assembly- I was so proud of them! At the end of the assembly, after we had watched two children from every class lay a wreath underneath a cross with the words 'We will remember', some of the children were feeling sad. Truth to tell, I always feel emotional at the Remembrance assembly too. And I couldn't help but wonder what must have been going through the minds of the veterans sitting in our gym this morning. So while I am thankful to have a day at home next week, it seems ungracious to revel in it as the cost for it was so high.
Please refrain from sending more than 1 Halloween treat to school each day with your child in November. They will be encouraged to eat their healthy food (ie sandwich) before having the treat at lunch.
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