COMMUNICATION
Every week, I send home notes to keep you informed about our planned activities. Often, children say they did ‘nothing’ at school; I want to get past that hurdle by giving you information about what we do, so you can ask your child to teach you what we did in class. Watch "CBS (Crestview Broadcasting System) News" together (link on our website). Talking about what they learned is important and helps them put their knowledge to long-term memory more firmly. For instance, when we talk about safety at school, you can discuss your safety rules at home. When we learn about families at school, you can talk about what makes your family special. This will help your child process all that information in a personal, relevant way. You the parent are their first and life-long important teacher, so I want you to be informed of your child's learning activities and that week's schedule and goals.
|
THE HOME-SCHOOL CONNECTIONAs you know, learning does not take place only at school. The conversations you have with your child, the responsibilities you give your child, the examples you set for your child are all crucial means of learning. The book bags and the "my math" pages you do together will help your child learn. These two things are to be done by your child with you at their side for guidance and help. Children learn really well (while reviewing a skill they were taught and exposed to at school) at home with your support. Because they love you and feel a connection, they will learn faster with your encouragement and support. Sometimes, the slightly different way you say it, or the good examples you provide from the child's own life will make a real difference and they will master that concept more quickly---it will be relevant to their own life and experience, so it makes more sense to them. I go a little overboard, sending you a note every week about last week's activities and about this week's goals because you are an important part of our teaching team. I will post the weekly note on [email protected].
|
WHAT TO
|
WHAT NOT
|
Your child should come to school after a good night’s sleep, having eaten a meal, dressed for the weather, ready to explore, discover, and learn! Everyday, send their backpack, their purple folder, and a labeled water bottle already filled with cold water from home. We just have one water fountain in our classroom, so the line is very long. If your child has his own water bottle from home (already filled with cold water, no punch or juice or milk), there is no wasted time in line for a drink or to fill up their bottle.
|
Never allow your child to bring toys, devices, and other precious things to school; not only can they be lost or confiscated, they can be a big source of conflict and are unnecessary. I love you to have art supplies (such as markers, crayons, glittery glue, etc.) but they should all be used and kept AT HOME. At school, we will have enough supplies for art and writing so your child should not bring in additional things from home. About once a month, we will have a “Show and Tell” but in the interest of real learning, there will be a theme and only something fitting the theme should be brought to school. Please help your child participate in all of these; it fosters a sense of belonging, and often I have them do a classroom journal page or take a photo of what they do so I want to equally record everybody's efforts.
|
BIRTHDAY TREATS
You could choose to contribute a book to the library to celebrate your child’s birthday in the PTA-sponsored Birthday Book Program. If you would like to, you can send a small non-edible birthday treat (such as a pencil) or a snack (no huge cupcakes, please, "mini" cupcakes are big enough for kindergarten, and the food should not need any cutting, plates or forks); any food needs to be commercially prepared, and please, of course, no nuts and no drinks are allowed. We do a simple birthday crowning and singing in class to celebrate all birthdays whether the child brings a treat or not. If you want to, you can choose to mark your child’s summer birthday any time you like and don’t have to wait for 6 months to have it be exactly a half-birthday unless that works out for you. In May, I throw a class mini-party to celebrate every child’s birthday all on one day, so everyone gets at least one celebration (the timing is flexible because I choose a day in May when nobody is absent).