Dear Parents,
Thank you to all those who came to this week’s Parent Evening. I hope it was fun and informative! And a special thank you to anyone who brought snacks, washed dishes, or tidied up. Notes from the evening will be sent out.
Please note that Senor Flannery, our favorite Spanish teacher, is expecting a baby any day now. Grade 1 is currently in a Spanish block. Sr Flannery will be out on paternity leave for about a week whenever the baby should arrive. Grade 1 will not be getting a Spanish substitute, but instead will be having extra Star Class with me. I decided that it was important for me to work on some of the health-building activities we often don’t have time for, like folding, modeling, form drawing, and jump roping.
UPCOMING EVENTS
- Experience UP, Sat, Feb 6. Be a kid again, but this time in a Waldorf classroom! Experience the curriculum first-hand as only Urban Prairie teachers can deliver it. Sign up today!
- All-School Assembly, Fri, Feb 12, 2:00pm. Come celebrate love and peace! Classes will share some of their recent work, including first grade.
- Mid-winter Break. NO SCHOOL. Feb 15-19.
WEEK 18 HIGHLIGHTS
We ended our numbers block with a Czech story about two sisters (one good, one evil, of course) called The Twelve Months. Our heroine is forced to do impossible deeds, but she is able to complete them with the help of twelve men, each older than the last, sitting around a fire. The story creates a nice image of the number 12 as a rhythm of the year. We also laid some nice foundations for future work with the concept of time.
I’m sad to see our number block go. I personally prefer the large number of movement games we use to teach math over the beautiful, detail-oriented book work done when focusing on letters. However, now that the students have had a proper introduction to numbers, we can continue to work with them. During our next block, we will spend a few minutes in morning lesson and also time in star class later in the day practicing what we have learned. It’s a fine line of letting numbers rest for a bit but, in the guise of games, sneakily solidifying these concepts so we’ll be more than ready when the next math block comes around.
On Monday we’ll begin a new block – Little Letters and Form Drawing. More on that next week!
CHILDREN IN FOCUS
At the Parent Evening, I shared with you another teacher’s idea of giving each of you a photo of a student that is not your child. We are often so wrapped up in the chaos of our own lives, that we focus only on our own children. Holding an awareness for a child not your own can help build a more open and connected community.
Your idea was to send out photos of 3 children each week with this weekly update. Please email me a recent photo of your child or family.
Perhaps you just look at the photos. Maybe you picture these children before you go to bed, or when you’re saying your bedtime prayer with your child. The more we each carry every child, the healthier they will become!
Warmly,
Hannah