Check Your Child's Backpack

Please check your child's backpack today. She/He will have a note that tells you how to access Seesaw online. Each child in the class has a few items in her/his private folder.  I will be moving all online communication to Seesaw at this point.

Moving to Seesaw SOON

I mentioned to most of you at conferences, we will be moving the blog and other online information to Seesaw in the coming weeks.  Seesaw allows me to have blog, and private folders for your child.  It will also allow those folders to follow your child through their studies in the Lower School to create a total digital portfolio. As your child ages, she/he will be able to create many of the items in the folder. 

I anticipate being setup and ready to fully move to Seesaw next week. I will continue to create updates on this blog until that time. When Seesaw is ready, you will get a letter from me with information on how to register and access your child's folders. 

Conferences

Ms. Carter and I are looking forward to meeting with you tomorrow and Friday.  We appreciate the time you are taking to come and meet with us.  Preschool has three scheduled conferences, each with a slightly different focus.

Our October conference is an initial check in with one another. This is an opportunity for you to share how the start of the year is going for your family, for us to share initial observations, and all of us to establish a goal or two for your child.

December is a time that our assessments are typically a better reflection of how your child presents at school.  This is a time to reflect on the goal and see if we need to make any modifications. We will also share your child's winter progress report. The whole Lower School at Breck uses a developmental comment card, so this is a nice chance to answer any questions you have about how to read the format.

March is our final official meeting. It is a time to discuss next year in a more final sense and to once again modify the goals if needed.  At the end of the year there is another comment card sent home.

We can always arrange additional meetings if you need them.

See you tomorrow/Friday!

Happy Birthday, Paige

Paige was able to have her birthday celebrated yesterday on her actual birthday!

Perfect Day for the Apple Orchard

We had the perfect weather for our trip to Minnetonka Orchard this morning. It was warm enough that we could be comfortable, but cool enough that the bees were docile.  The class was very excited to start the trip with a hayride. 

We also got to learn why bees are so important to apples and how apples are picked from a tree without damaging it for the next year.

After our long bus ride a tasty apple treat was appreciated (as were the apple donuts we got to take back to school).

One of the highlights was seeing the machine that washes and sorts all the apples.

Thank you very much to the parents who came to help today. Field trips are truly only possible with your help.

Field Trip Reminder

We have our make up field trip to Minnetonka Orchards tomorrow morning.  The weather looks cool, so please help your child dress for an OUTDOOR field trip.  We would appreciate if your child wore her/his yellow field trip shirt. 

Jackets ... I CAN do IT!

With the arrival of more seasonal weather jackets and other gear will become increasingly a common fixture of our day.  Getting ready is an important self-help skill for young children, but challenging at the same time.  It is always fun to see how the children work together to teach one another strategies on how to get dressed efficiently. These videos are examples of how young children are able to get jackets on with no adult help. 

Tess demonstrated the "head at your feet and flip it over" strategy.

Hazel showed how a hood can be used to facilitate getting your arms in the sleeves.

Vivian demonstrated how to make sure your fingers do not get caught in the sleeve.

Zach has been helping others learn to zip their jackets.

The better children get with putting on jackets now, the easier winter will be!

The children will often help those that are learning how to get dressed independently.  We do ask that everyone tries (since this is the only way they will get to be independent), and of course help is available.  After a few tries, then help can be sought out.

The key to getting help is to vocalize and ask.  Simply holding out a jacket and looking at a person is not enough to get help. "Would you be willing to teach me how to put on my jacket/zip my jacket?" is the direction we are working on encouraging those that are learning how to get ready.