Dear Parents,
Peace
We will spend the first 6 weeks or so focusing on our peace curriculum. These lessons come from the book Honoring the Light of the Child by Sonnie McFarland. This week the lessons will focus on our love lights. A Love Light is the feeling you get when you do something that makes you feel good inside, it is also that place inside you that tells you right from wrong. You may refer to love lights as a gut feeling, the Holy Spirit, your conscience, intuition, inner voice, etc.. At school we will call them Love Lights, but this would be a great conversation to have with your child to help them tie this vocabulary with whatever vocabulary you use at home.
We will also have our first opportunity to make silence. This is a very common activity in an Early Childhood classroom, but it is also very misunderstood. We are not forcing the children to be quite. This exercise helps them become more aware and sensitive to the sounds around them. It also helps develop willpower and self control over their bodies. Finally this activity shows children that we must work together to achieve a collective goal. In the beginning of the year our silence may only last a few seconds but by the end of the year we may be able to be silent for several minutes. It is beautiful to see the joy that making silence can bring the children.
SNACK SIGN-UPS
Many of you have been asking about snack sign-ups. I finally got access to ‘trackitforward’ and will be happy to accept snack donations. We have a snack available each day for our students. We ask families to sign up for and provide snacks for 2 weeks during the year. The sign up sheets can also be found on the track it forward website. https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events
PICK-UP AND DROP-OFF PROCEDURES
These first two weeks are the most difficult time for us during drop off and pick up. Our students do not know the procedures nor do parents. We find that no amount of talking about what to do at pick up/drop off will prevent every student from wandering off or running toward a moving vehicle. That is why as teachers we must have constant vigilance. It is not that we don’t want to talk to you, or tell you the amazing things your children did today, or reassure you that they will be ok, it is just that we are trying to keep the children safe. May I request that pictures with teachers be done a few weeks from now when things have mellowed out, and that if you need to have an at length conversation that you schedule time before or after school.
Here are some things you can do to make drop off/ pick-up bearable:
Pull forward (it is rule #1)
Pull forward (and rule #2 just to make it stick.)
Pay attention to teachers and volunteers directing traffic (it’s a dirty job!)
Stay in your car if you are using the pick-up lanes.
Ask for help (if you pulled forward and your student was not paying attention ask a teacher to assist you)
If your child needs help getting into or out of the vehicle, park in the parking lot. North Shore parking lot will be available after Labor day.
Use the cross walk (it teaches children to use it too, and we always want children to use the cross walk).
Come get your child, do not call for them to run across the parking lot to you.
Wait your turn.
Speak to teachers before or after pick up.
Be nice. I know it’s frustrating, but try to imagine your happy place.
Pay attention. Stay off your phone, students will step in front of cars.
Prepare other relatives/friends that may pick up, by explaining these rules.
For the first week or so we will be outside assisting students at drop off. You can help by encouraging their independence, try not to carry them, make goodbyes short and sweet, if you must cry try to do it when they are not looking.
A.M. pick-up will be done at the front doors. Please pull all the way forward to utilize all the space at the front of the school. We will walk children to the cars and will encourage them to use walking feet and to stay as far away from the curb as possible. If they need help buckling up you can either park or pull all the way forward to assist them.
P.M. Pick-up will be done at the South end of the pick-up lane please follow the flow of traffic. Early childhood students must stay with their teachers. We will not let our students cross the cross walk to North Shore by themselves or with a sibling unless you send us an email explaining that this is what you prefer.
Have a great day!
Ms. Martha & Ms. Valerie