It was wonderful to see so many of you at Back to School Night this week! I love having families back in the building with children. It's so exciting for kids to be getting back to a typical school year. Our home and school connections are stronger than ever and that is so very important as we work to help your children love school and learn as much as possible. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to attend. I know it's not always easy or even possible to attend school events, but when we can, it makes such a difference in our children's lives.
We have another opportunity to build those relationships coming up this week! Our Grandparents and Special People Event will be on Tuesday, September 20. I have seen all the forms coming in and I am so excited that our class will have so many special people coming to join them that day! Our event will take place for 30 minutes that day, from 10:20-10:50. I recommend you plan to leave a little on the early side so you can get checked in, and please bring a driver's license or state ID so that you can be badged in. Doors will open 5 minutes before the event time, at 10:15am. Preschool families will be using Door 3 for arrival and check in. This is the door by the preschool playground, and is the same door you entered for the Preschool Meet and Greet before our school year began. These connections between school and home are such special times for the children! I am really looking forward to having families and/or friends joining us! Our special people will be joining us for center time. This is a free choice time of our day when children can play and interact with other children in an interest area of their choice. Grandparents and special people can join them in their play, talk with them and their friends, and see which places to play are their favorites! A few additional reminders for this special day:
*No parking in front of the building because of bus arrival, or the west side of the building because of recess. Parking is available on the east side of the building, the back of the building, and the church parking lot.
*Doors will open only 5 minutes before each event listed. We will use Door 3 for preschool families.
*After our 30 minute event we will say goodbye to the grandparents & special people because students will be continuing a regular school day. Thank you for understanding.
On Thursday will also be our Pre-K concert! It will take place in the gym after school hours, at 6pm. We will have a children's singer there performing and leading children in singing and dancing. It's sure to be a fun event! I hope you can make it!
This week we determined our rules for the classroom, together as a class. We chose what rules are most important as a collaborative group. I am sharing the rules here, and you can share them at home with children, using similar language. Consistency between home and school is key to helping children be successful! Here are the rules we all agreed on together:
*Be safe (Safe for ourselves and others- This includes hitting, kicking, pushing, but also things like playground safety such as waiting for a teacher before climbing.)
*Share the toys (This also includes taking turns, and asking for a turn, and waiting for the other student to hand you the toy.)
*Listen to teachers and each other (We all know we are supposed to listen to the teacher, but sometimes forget to listen to each other. You can reinforce at home that if a friend says stop, it's important to listen.)
*Take care of our things (This includes cleaning up toys, being gentle with toys, as well as putting caps on markers and play dough.)
These are rules that are consistent with the school and district rules, and will help all children enjoy school and our classroom community. My hope is that you will reinforce these rules at home too. If they aren't following one of these rules, remind them why it's important and use this same language. For example, if your child hits their brother, you could remind them that this isn't safe, and alternatively they could use words to tell their brother if they are mad about something he did or want a toy that he is using.
We read a great story this week called Sometimes I'm Bombaloo. This story is all about a little girl who is a great kid that wants to follow rules and get things right, but sometimes loses control of her emotions and her body. One of the important take-aways from this story is that it doesn't feel good to be bombaloo. It means that your body is not in control, and that feels scary for the child who "is bombaloo" and for the others that are around the bombaloo. Once Katie, the girl from the story, is no longer bombaloo, she cleans up the mess that bombaloo made and said she was sorry, and her mom helped because her mom knows that it doesn't feel good to be bombaloo. We talked about how a teacher is there to help us if we feel bombaloo at school. We also talked about how it's best to let the teacher help and kids can give some space to someone who is feeling that way.
Please remember the school dress code for school.
- Shirts: must be free of any statements, no sleeveless shirts (tank tops)
- Footwear: shoes must fully enclose the foot with socks on, no flip flops, no Crocs, and must be safe for outdoor play
- No jewelry: not safe for active play
- No belts: to make bathroom use easier
- Please send your child to school in clothing that is appropriate for the weather.
- If you are in need of cooler weather outerwear, please let me know. We have resources to support you with that!
- We go outside every day, as long as it is not raining and the weather feels like it’s between 25 and 90 degrees.
- Don’t forget coat, hat and mittens on cold days!