We would like to inform you or remind you of some things that may need your attention:
1. We have discovered that many of the students either do not have their extra set of clothes at school or some things were used and are now missing from the bag.
Extra clothes bag should have:
- one pair of pants
- one top
- one pair of underwear
- one pair of socks
Please send in necessary items as soon as possible.
2. SHOES / BOOTS:
Please note that we expect your child to use ONE PAIR of outdoor footwear to come to school and ONE PAIR of indoor shoes to stay at school to wear in the classroom. Some children are accumulating several pairs of indoor and outdoor footwear in their cubby or backpacks, so please monitor your child to avoid this situation. (*Keep in mind that each class has up to 60 pairs of shoes, both coming and going, and only a small cubby area to track them all!) Please LABEL your child's shoes.3. MAILBAGS:
Please do NOT REMOVE MAILBAGS from your child's backpack! We ask students to deliver the "mail" to you by ONLY removing the PAPERWORK from the plastic bag and NOT the bag! We collect these bags every morning for communication purposes between home and school, so please help guide your child in carrying out this responsibility.
4. STAR of the DAY: Each day we select a child to be the "Star of the Day", which means they can be:
- leader in line
- teacher helper
- delivery person
* NO MORE SHOW & TELL:
We have decided to no longer engage in the classic concept of "Show & Tell" because we have found that this generally turned into a "Bring & Brag" - mostly about commercial toys. So instead we have opted for "Discovery Journals" and "Sharing Time" to allow children to 'teach' their peers about whatever learning occurred throughout the day. This is a time to share their discoveries, or generate questions about their inquiries, or to simply share and be appreciated for their various accomplishments. Therefore, once again, we ask parents to enforce the "NO TOYS at school" policy. Thank you for your support in this regard.
5. WINTER DRESS:
- snow pants
- boots
- jacket
- hat
- mittens
are absolutely essential winter items! Please choose items that your child can easily and independently use. We request your child wear MITTENS* instead of gloves for this reason. (*Preferably waterproof too)
We recommend testing out new items WITH your child before buying if possible. For example, if in the store your child can put on and off their new boots by themselves, then they should also be able to do it at school. (This is an example of a common problem we have that often leads to tears of frustration.)
We play outside at least an hour per day (- unless temperatures or weather conditions are too severe). Usually 45 minutes before lunch (11:00 to 11:45 am) and then 20 to 30 minutes at the end of the day (2:15/25 - 2:45 pm). Taking this part of our daily routine into consideration, please ALWAYS DRESS your child appropriately for outdoor play!
We have been teaching children to dress in the following sequence: 1. Pants 2. Boots 3. Jacket 4. Hat (& scarf or neckwarmer - if you have one) 5. LAST comes mittens!
The reason we insist mittens go on last is to promote dressing independently! Putting on all these items can be challenging for children 3-5 years old but the fine motor skills do develop with practice, so we expect every child to dress with little to no assistance by January and (eventually) do up their own zipper by February. We ask that you please help them practice these skills at home too. The more often they attempt to do it on their own the more proficient and confident they become! Thanks so much for all your support!
