Two weeks ago Team Awesome took a walk outside to look for signs of winter. We used our senses to see, hear, smell and feel signs of winter and then compared them to the signs of fall we had seen. We consider ourselves lucky to be reminded by the children on a daily basis how much joy there is in little things. They were all so thrilled to look at snow and describe how it sparkled, to stomp on the ice and think about whether it was soft or hard, to run their hands over the ice and snow and to hold still for a minute to listen to what winter sounds like. They were enthusiastic to be outside and breathing the cool air into their lungs and looking to see if it made clouds as we breathed it out. Unfortunately due to the very small amount of snow the children were unable to taste it but many have eaten a bellyful on previous occasions. The next time you're outside, just for a second, appreciate some signs of winter and capture a bit of the pleasure we felt just being outdoors.
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![]() 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 the 14th. Please make sure the 'From' part on Valentine cards are filled in before coming to class as we will not have time on Valentine's Day to do that. Please leave off the name beside 'To' as it makes the cards easier to hand out. We have 37 children in our class this year. Have your child bring their valentines in their zipper bag and then put the zipper bag in its usual box in the morning so they don't get lost/ crunched- we will hand them out before or after lunch. Unfortunately there are still rules around what is allowed to be given out in our learning spaces. Individual exchange or communal sharing of homemade or unpackaged food items is discouraged. Treats that come with Valentine’s day cards, treats that are prepackaged and/ or are individually wrapped will go home. If you have any questions, please contact us. As you know, learning to read is fundamental to your child's success in school and in life. But becoming a strong reader is challenging: it takes patience and perseverance- both by the parent and the young reader. And practicing reading sight words will help. Sight words are high-frequency words that are often difficult to sound out or illustrate so its important for emerging readers to master them "on sight". Being able to read these words automatically is the first step to reading fluently. It allows young readers to focus on more challenging words and understanding the text.
Try these things as you read books together:
We 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 we 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 ninth 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. 7. Our students need play and all the rich learning that comes from play in their lives, even if for just one day.
Have you ever seen such a great display of grit, determination and perseverance?! Team Awesome was awesome at skating! If there was a gold medal given for perseverance and sheer grit, every member of Team Awesome would have received one. It made our hearts sing to see the sheer determination from those new skaters on the ice. It also made us a little ashamed of our own lack of similar joyful determination when learning something new and difficult. Many of the children had never been on skates (as evidenced from the spaghetti legs and slapstick falls) and spent more time getting up than they did actually staying up. And some of those falls were hard- there might have been bruises. But not one single child asked to have their skates taken off early. Not one of them complained or cried or whined. And every face had a beaming smile despite the difficulties some of them were having staying on their feet, much less actually moving. And a big thank you to those parents and family members who were able to come with us. It makes activities like this so much easier when there are extra adults to help out. We are so proud of Team Awesome!
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From an early age, a child’s search for independence is fueled by the desire to make things happen and to feel competent. A child’s opinion about her capabilities is, to a large extent, based on her parent’s or caregiver’s response to her. As an adult, our role in fostering independence is to provide love and support, encourage exploration and curiosity, teach skills, and allow the child to make appropriate choices within a safe environment. Our enthusiasm for a child’s independent exploration sends a message that these activities are valued by us. In our classrooms, we never do for the children what they can do for themselves. That includes such mundane things as writing their name, sweeping the floor, opening food packages (we use scissors), stacking chairs and putting on outside clothes. Partly it is a matter of survival- there are thirty-some of them and two of us and having them depend on us for every little thing all day every day would be crazy-making. But mostly it is a matter of providing them with a sense of achievement and success. Giving the children as many opportunities to exercise their quickly developing decision-making muscles helps them gain control over their world and prepares them for a healthy, independent life. And though it may take them longer to do a task that we could do in seconds or minutes, once they realize that the task is their responsibility and they have done it a few times, the fussing stops and they manage to complete it in a reasonably little amount of time thereafter. Promoting the development of independence, alongside inter-dependence, enables children to become active participants in their own learning as well as active and valued members of a group. Such experiences form the foundation for long-term successful learning, positive self-esteem and future success. |
Mrs. Bowden &
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