The children have continued to gain concentration and independence through daily maintenance and care of our classroom environment. Although we have gone through a lot of soap, (and are looking for any donations of soft hand soap in the bar form), we gain awareness of our abilities and we continue to exercise these abilities until they continue to perfect themselves through daily practice. This practice makes us greater masters of our work and allows us to approach new materials confidently and carefully.
Of course, we still benefit greatly from the support of you at home by giving your child daily tasks which support the home environment. Here are a few recommendations:
-Ask your child to undress and dress all by his/herself, (avoid shoes with ties unless they are in the process of learning or they are able to tie their shoes).
-Practice opening and closing lunch containers
-Practice picking up water with a sponge and squeezing it into a bucket or sink when there is a spill.
-Have a brush and dustpan available sweeping up after eating
-Use one activity or 'work', (as we call it), at a time
-Prepare foods with child sized tools, (graters, peelers, and slicers)
-Fold and sort clothes, (it helps if the drawers or containers are low enough for them to reach)
On Tuesday we will resume school and start a new month. We will continue looking at the planets and stars in our solar system throughout the month of September. On Tuesday September 30th Tommie De Paolo will be visiting Miami at Books and Books in Coral Gables. Although the event will be in the evening, I look forward to meeting this celebrated children's book author and recommend that you come to see him as well. We will look at many of his stories throughout the month.
The children have enjoyed hearing the stories of "The Rainbow Fish", "Dear Mr. Blueberry", and "Ella, the Elegant Elephant" in the past week. Although they are fictional stories, they share great themes of bravery, sharing, and being honest even in difficult situations. We will look at more fictional and non-fictional stories every afternoon and begin inviting parents to read a story starting in October.
Our list for rug cleaning and pencil sharpening is on our door and we hope you will sign up to help our classroom in addition to earning service hours. Our garden beds are much more full of dirt thanks to a volunteering parent this afternoon. If you would like to volunteer in our garden please send me an e-mail.
Have a safe and restful long weekend!
Ms. Joanna Boone