Today marks the end of the Normalization period!  I feel like we have come a long way in these first six weeks of school.  Today we had an amazing work cycle.  The children were so productive and got so much done!  I was so proud of them!  I love seeing how anxious they are to get to work in the mornings.  They are asking for lessons and ready to challenge themselves and move forward.  It is a beautiful thing.  With Normalization being over, you are now free to come and observe in our classroom.  If this is something you would like to do, please let me know and we will set up a time.

Our topic of discussion and writing this week had to do with secrets.  This is a common issue that we deal with in a class full of children in this age group.  We talked about the difference between good and bad secrets, the etiquette of secrets, and the difference between something that is secret and something that is private.  The students got in groups and wrote a story/skit about secrets and shared it with the class this afternoon.  They did a great job!

I had many children ask me today if they could bring their pets in to share with the class.  I am fine with it, as long as you schedule it with me ahead of time so that I can make sure we have time for it in our day.  Also, dogs must be in a kennel or have a muzzle, according to the school rules.

I am working on getting some field trips planned for our class.  If you would like to help be a driver, you must get a background check and be fingerprinted.  If you still need to do this, please contact the front office and they will help you get that arranged.  I believe the cost is around $60, so it is a little pricey.  It would really help us be able to go on more outings, though, so please consider it.

Thank you to all of you who have been providing snack so far.  The children have been well fed!  I have Austin signed up for snack next week.  If you would like to sign up for snack, please see the We Join In link on the right side of the blog.

There are still many children in the class without slippers.  Please try to make sure they have slippers or some kind of soft soled shoe as soon as possible.  This is for their own safety.  Also, there is a continuing problem of girls wearing leggings as pants.  This is against our school dress code policy.  Leggings may be worn under skirts or dresses, but not by themselves.

Also, it is time to start thinking about the science fair!  The science fair is mandatory for all Upper El students.  I would like the children to come up with a topic that they would like to study by the end of next week.  There are tons of ideas at www.sciencebuddies.org.  Check them out!  We will start talking about it in class on Monday.

I know this is a lot of random information!  Hopefully it isn’t too overwhelming.

I love your children!  They are amazing people.  Thank you for sharing them with me!