Greetings~
It looks like the groundhog was partially right and partially not. There is a lot of spring showing up out there, but the weather is sticking with the groundhog. Daylight savings will make it easier for all of us to go out and take in all of those signs of spring. Get out! Enjoy the daffodils, Indian plum, cherry blossoms and crocuses. It is really a lovely time to get outside.
This month is a short one and almost always taken up with assessments and Mother's Day gifts. We try to have lots of things the children can do outside of the assessments and so far it seems as though the children are not complaining about the fun times in the classroom. I will be starting assessments as conferences are coming in April. You will see me asking lots of questions and having the children show me all their skills. It is a great way to let them show off a little.
I had a great time at the PCPO conference earlier this month and it was fun to see some familiar faces there. Thank you to all of you that attended. While there, I attended a workshop that addressed screen time and media use. It reminded me that I have a policy in the classroom of no cell phones or electronic devices, but that I have been lax in enforcing it. I am not usually one to get on a person's case about something, especially since we are all adults and we can usually conduct ourselves in that manner, but I realize that can sometimes come across as being compliant. I would really like our classroom to be more analog so to speak. Less media. So many of you are bringing in cell phones and taking pictures, texting, and even calling or taking calls to and from people. We need to show our children that we have restraint in this area or we will lose the battle with them being beholden to these devices. The workshop really made me think about media use and how we use it. Is it intentional, or is it passive? Are we just using our devices (and staring at a screen) because it is there and has a strong hold on us, or is it a valid use? It is time for us as adults to think about it. Either way-cell phones, etc. will no longer be allowed in the classroom in a passive capacity. If you have some sort of emergency need you can keep your device on the file cabinet in the classroom and if you need to use it you can leave the classroom, preferably to a location that the children cannot see or hear your usage. There may be a time when I will bring in a tablet or laptop to show the children a video of something we are researching. I assure you it will be for an intentional use, not a casual way to show off technology that isn't really needed. Please don't think of this message and policy as a form of reprimand. We are going to start anew and look forward to the future...not think about the past. Thank you for your cooperation with this policy. I appreciate it and the children will too.
Below you will see a schedule of events for the month. Spring break is the last full week of March. Hopefully you will have a chance to have fun with your family in some manner that week. Take a day to just snuggle and read. Take a day to go for a hike somewhere you've never been. Take a day to do something nice for someone you know and don't expect anything in return. Have fun and relax. It isn't call a "break" for nothing. :)
Monday, Mar. 10: Today we will start assessments. This week and the next our main project will consist of me gaining knowledge of what the children know and what they can improve on. It is kind of like playing school. The children will have fun while getting a chance to crow a little about all the skills they have gained. We will also be talking about rain this week and our assessments will include that. We will make a picture that will include many of the skills that I am watching.
Wednesday, Mar. 12: 3s~We will start our assessments today. We will be working on them all of this week and possibly a little next week. We will be talking about rain as well and will make a picture that coincides with assessments. 4s~We'll continue to work on assessments. We will use scissors to continue our exploration of rain and discover skills.
Friday, Mar. 14: 3s~UMBRELLA DAY!! Please send your child to school with an umbrella and rain boots. We will talk about rain, puddles and sing about umbrellas. The children will cut out shapes to make a picture about rain. We're continuing to work on assessments. 4s~UMBRELLA DAY!! Children should come to school with an umbrella and rain boots. We will go out searching for puddles and read and sing about umbrellas. We will continue our assessments. The children will tell me a story about their umbrella.
Monday, Mar. 17: MAKE UP DAY FOR 3S CLASS! This is a make up day for the 3s class as we WILL NOT HAVE CLASS ON FRIDAY. We will celebrate St. Patrick's Day and look for leprechauns. We will make a magic leprechaun cake and have fun searching for pots of gold and leprechauns. We'll also talk about race cars and make a "steering wheel." 4s~Happy St. Patrick's Day! We will search for leprechauns and make traps to try and catch them. We will make a magic cake and continue with assessments.
Wednesday, Mar. 19: 3s~We will talk about race cars today and make cars race down a track while making a fun pattern on sheets of paper. The children will lace the steering wheel they made on Monday and we will race around a track while outside. Fun! 4s~Today we will try to finish up with assessments and make a race car. We'll paint the car today and assemble it on Fri.
Friday, Mar. 21: 3s~NO CLASS TODAY FOR 3S CLASS. 4s~Today we will play and enjoy our race cars. We will race ourselves around a track and just have fun together. School will not be in session again until March 31. Enjoy your breakj!
Monday, Mar 24-Friday, Mar.28: NO SCHOOL. SPRING BREAK. ENJOY SOME TIME OUTSIDE.
Monday, Mar. 31: Today we will start our unit on gardening and seeds and planting. We will read a story about a little bunny, a little girl, and some little peas. We will make a story box to go along with this story and perform it for our grandfriends on Grandfriend's Day (April 4). If you can, please send a shoe box for your child to use for this project. We will need a shoe box for every child in the class so if you have extras they will be appreciated.
Thank you for all your hard work and extra effort for our school. I am so appreciative of all you do! Please remember to send a snack with your child each day that is small and nutritious and contains only water for drink. Also, please be on time for your parent help days. 3s class parent help arrival time is 8:30 a.m. and 4s class parent help arrival time is 12:45 p.m. If you are even 5 minutes late it makes it very hard for the day to run smoothly and only the children suffer from that. Thanks for your effort! ~Anne.
