Hi, Folks,
Pssssst. I have a secret. Don't you dare tell any of the other Hirsch parents this... but I am pretty certain that I lucked out with the cutest class this year. Yes, I know this building is overflowing with absolute adorable-ness, but have you seen my class???? Extraordinary.
In order, from top to bottom:
Aidan, Annabella, Bo, Jakob, Tani, Oliver, and Paul
See what I'm saying?
But as my Dad always says, "Beauty don't pay the bills".
Fortunately, this crew lucked out in the smarts department, too! Getting used to new people and routines can be tricky at first, but these kids seem to be catching on quickly. From new rules (What??? I can chew gum in class?) to new language, your child has had a lot to swallow this week. What do I mean by new language? We use some terms around here to help the students become more aware of their thinking and behavior. You may or may not already be familiar with these:
high, low, just right engines, engine helpers
body mistakes
Glassman
comfortable/uncomfortable thoughts
expected/unexpected behaviors
sticky thought/Rock Brain
Superflex and the Unthinkables
See how many of these your child can explain to you. Ask them to give examples of what a "body mistake" might look like and what we should do instead. Ask them what they can do in and out of class to help them keep a "just right engine". Who is Superflex and what does he help us do?
From the first day it was obvious that read aloud was regulating (just right engines!) and engaging for almost all of this crew. This thrills me to no end. Read aloud is my absolute favorite time of the day, and has been since I was a child. We kicked of the week with "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon" by Mike Thaler. Note the striking resemblance between Mrs. Green, the teacher from the story, and myself.
"Portside Pirates" by Oscar Seaworthy (really??) has also been a much requested read aloud. Or should I say sing aloud. Surely your l'il swashbuckler been coming home singing this song?
http://www.schooltube.com/video/6ba0951bba0630db0451/
Thanks to the brown bag activity, we quickly realized that we have more in common than just a love of fiction and sing-alongs. We are already seeing new connections and friendships being formed. Some of my favorite bonding moments this week:
*Aidan and Jakob bonding over the periodic table of elements
*Paul and I learning of a shared adoration of Bill Murray (!) and Ghostbusters
*Annabella and Tani playing grocery store
*Oliver and Bo working together to build a Lego pirate ship
A little housekeeping before I go...
1. I would love to do some cooking in class. I already know some students have very specific diets. If there is anything you would prefer that your child not eat, let me know. Once we get started, I will ask for some (small) donations to our cooking fund. Also--any tried and true recipes are welcome, as are any parent chefs. We'd love to have any of you come by to help prepare a snack!
2. I like to get messy. Kids like to get messy. Messy is good...when you have a change of clothes. If you have not done so already, please send in some clothes to keep at school.
3. Speaking of messy...I'd like to do some paper mache next week. Any extra newspaper is appreciated.
Have a great weekend!
Amanda and Erin
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