HAPPY    &     HEALTHY

NEW   YEAR

TO   YOU

&

YOUR    FAMILY

CHILDREN  OVER  

HOLIDAY   BREAK

When children are home over holiday break they have a tendency to want to go and be busy every single day.  Even though they have just been showered with an abundance of toys that they have wished and perhaps begged for.  You would naturally sit back and assume those toys should consume every wakening minute of their whole entire break.  They might say we didn't go and do anything today, or perhaps if you did it wasn't special enough for them.  Then it is a good time to remind them to find something good in everyday and to have a nice conversation about it.  So they realize that you can find something "good" in everyday no matter how hard it might seem to be.

ENJOY  YOUR  CELEBRATION

HAPPY   HOLIDAYS

Have a wonderful HOLIDAY SEASON!!!  Find the time to spend with your child reading some good books together.  Make it extra special with some hot chocolate and some special conversations about what both of you are reading.

HOLIDAY   THOUGHTS

I am always giving you some advice or subject material on dealing with your child so I decided to soften the mood and give you something to read and delve your own meaning out of this beautiful written article.  Maybe you have similar feelings or while you are contemplating the reading some of your own to add to it.  ENJOY!!!

KINDNESS

If the world was made of KINDNESS what a wonderful world it would be.  KINDNESS has to be modeled and taught in the classroom and on the playground.  We see and read about so many unkind events happening in the world on a daily basis. We can start instilling in our students ways to take those negative thoughts and make them positive ones.  Talking and reading about events and figuring out how to handle the problems in them in a kind and fair way so that know one gets hurt physically or emotionally.  This can help prepare our students to be KIND.

PRECIOUS   CHILDREN

A scary thought of putting your child out into society or even some parents letting them go outside to play in their neighborhoods in the "heartless" time and surroundings we read about on a daily basis.  We want to teach our students how to get along, express their feelings verbally, and learn ways to deal with them that are healthy.  They need to have guidance at school, to know that it is healthy to be able to have adults that want to listen to them and guide them in how to deal with issues that are bothering them.  How easy is it for Teachers to provide stories and reading materials that they can openly discuss with the students to help them understand different experiences that could arise.  All Teachers need to make this a priority when making lesson plans and include something weekly that has to do with this topic so we can help stop this awful epidemic that is happening.

GREAT  TEACHERS

When a parent entrusts you with their pride and joy (their child) they want the best education possible for them.  They want understanding, compassion, and a true interest in the best opportunities for that individual child.  Be the GREAT TEACHER that all students deserve....

B E L I E V I N G

When a Teacher takes a TRUE invested interest in EVERYONE of her students it makes each one of them SHINE.  There is nothing sadder then being a student that DOESN'T feel that their Teacher is willing and available for them to come up to them personally and say, "I don't understand this, would you please help me with it?"   In a classroom where a student feels comfortable enough with a Teacher they will be able to have this kind of repoire.  Please for every students' benefit be the Teacher that will make every Student Shine because you made them Believe in Themselves!!!!

WHAT  ARE  YOU

THANKFUL  FOR ? ? ? ?

Every year the Teacher poses the question, "What are you thanful for."  Some students will say, "I don't know", (love that one!!!),  others will come up with a couple ideas, and then others will get so invested in the question that you wonder if they are really trying to win brownie points for the gift buying holiday season.  No, I truly love the insight some students put into their writing when they have a topic, that they take the time to seriously reflect upon and understand the meaning perfectly to how it fits purposely into their lives.  They show not only who they are thankful for but why that person or thing is so meaningful to them.  Be THANKFUL for what you have.....

STUDENTS   ARE

SO

IMPORTANT

As Teachers, we need to show our students how important they are.  They shouldn't be treated as just another number in the classroom BUT as an important member of the classroom.  The more a student feels welcomed and comfortable with a Teacher the better they will perform.  They will be relaxed and feel comfortable enough to ask questions because they find the Teacher relatable to them.  They will find that the Teacher will be willing to interact with them  often.    Inquiring and helping them individually with skills that they pay attention to and notice right away that they need extra help with.  Ask your child often, if you find that they seem to be confused with skills and see if their Teacher is interacting and helping them often or not.  If the answer is "NO" you need to set up a conference immediately, for the benefit of your child.  If this Teacher is going to take the time to work individually with your child fine.  If NOT seek alternative measures, which could be requesting a change of Teacher.  Your CHILD is the NUMBER ONE CONCERN so always remember that when making a decision.

LIFE  LESSONS

FROM

A CHILD'S

PERSPECTIVE....

When a student brought this paper up to me and said, "do you like this, Ms. Sharon?"  I read it and was imediately blown away with the words and the meaning.  The child was giving it to me more so for me to see the lettering and the coloring.  I said, "I LOVE how thoughtful your words are and what a meaningful message you have written."  We mounted it on a big piece of colorful tag board and put it ouside on our bulletin board with her name attached to it.  She got so much recognition from the message. It set a positive tone to the other students in the class that we started sending a thoughtful message to a student whose name you drew out of a jar each Friday.  I continued this practice each year and have given the idea to many Teachers.

SO  PROUD  OF  OUR

VETERANS...

VETERAN'S    DAY

We celebrate and honor

America's veterans

for their patriotism,

love of country,

and

willingness to serve

and sacrifice

for the common good.

BEING     DIFFERENT

IS

OKAY

When your child was a baby and toddler you worried if they were achieving the correct skills and milestones that experts in the books had specifically specified that your child should have accomplished.  You breathed a sigh of relief or cringed in despair according to what your reaction was.  You looked at your CHILD and wondered should I worry or just wait.  Some turned towards their Pediatricians for advice, books, or others.  Waited, wondered, and then realized it is OKAY TO BE DIFFERENT.  Some children just want to do things differently and there is NOTHING wrong with that.   They are SPECIAL in their own unique way.  That is why everyone has their one thumbprint in this world to make their on imprint no matter what that might be!!!!

HAVE  A  SPOOKY

GREAT

HALLOWEEN

FULL OF

MANY

TRICK

OR

TREATS !!!!

THE   SPOOKIEST  DAY  &   NIGHT

Let your students have a fun-filled day on HALLOWEEN.  They will be so filled with excitement so go with the flow.  There are so many academic and non-academic Halloween activities to do with them.  If you want a well organized enjoyable day for both you and the students it is doable.  Be the Teacher that the students say, "that was the best Halloween day I ever had at school!!!" 

HALLOWEEN   STICKERS

Your students are soooo hyped up this upcoming week for HALLOWEEN so why frazzle yourself just play into it.  I like to have everything I give my students have a Halloween theme.  Even though it is covering the same skills we are currently doing in the classroom. The words HALLOWEEN or pictures of HALLOWEEN items takes on a whole different meaning for the students.  It makes them soooo motivated and the excitement in the air is "creepy" and soooo delightful to a Teacher or Ghost's ear (whomever it may be)?????

YOU   ARE    SPECIAL !!!!

Who doesn't like to be treated like they are a STAR!?!?!  On the contrary, how many times has that really happened to you????  It is sooo special that we acknowledge it on at least a weekly basis make each student in our classrooms feel SPECIAL  about something that they have done.  It makes them feel soooo good, it gives you the same feeling, plus it makes a more meaningful connection between you and your students.  In turn it provides a more positive vibe to your whole classroom.  You will find that your students will get along better.  The negative thoughts turn into more positive thoughts because you are instilling that on a daily basis and the students are picking up on it.  It becomes a win/win situation all around.

H  A  L  L  O  W  E  E  N

A great time of year for Teachers to take advantage of incorporating so many academic skills into this holiday.  The students love doing ALL of them because of the nature of the mention of HALLOWEEN words and they are hooked. Alphabetize the words, find your nouns and verbs, great stories to read about the holiday and they even get to answer questions about them.  Write about a spooky story or one of your experiences in a haunted house and you can get even your most reluctant writers to write a little bit on those topics.  Then have them make that visual, a great picture, to go with the story and you have a great bulletin board to show off.  Awesome problem solving math questions that you can make up about all of the candy, they perhaps will be getting.  Let them in on the fun, also, and have them make up some problem solving questions to have their classmates see if they can answer them.  ENJOY!!!!

MOTIVATING   YOUR

RELUCTANT   STUDENTS

That can be such a difficult job on the student and the teacher both at the same time.  Your student has been given instructions that you know they understand, especially with this particular individual because you know you have restated the instructions individually to them and perhaps even helped them get started.  Though as soon as you leave their space they quit working.  That lack of will-power, motivation, willingness to put forth effort by themself is so lacking.  You have to work on that motivation so hard with these students and when you can break that barrier it is such a welcoming sigh of success for you and the child.  It is time for a "happy dance".

THE  BOOK  CHAIR

How clever to whomever designed this chair.  Could be every Teacher's answer to where can I put all of my extra books I received this year--I have no room left on any of my bookshelves.  Then what Teacher or student(s) wouldn't love to sit in that mighty chair and read away in sheer delight.  

THE   GRAMMAR  VOCABULARY

First and second grade you drill to your students nouns and verbs and that job is really fun and quite easy.  Third grade you start to throw in adjectives and pronouns.  Then the sentence confusion begins to happen. A noun becomes an adjective a verb becomes a noun and you have your work cut out for you and yes you DO work on it ALL year.  Some get it quickly and some not so....  Then 4th grade you introduce conjunction, preposition, and interjection--the mouthful words--which some barely can get the words out of their mouths correctly let alone tell you what they stand for in a definition.  Then if you thought some were confused before, wait.  You have that patience of a saint, that is why you are a TEACHER and you will dissect and teach and reteach it all year and hopefully by the end of the year almost all of your students will be Grammar Ready for 5th Grade. 

HAPPY  DAY!!!

No better way to start the day with a great big smile and hopefully end it the same way.  Think "happy thoughts" all day!!!

W E L C O M E

O C T O B E R

Time for cooler weather(??), leaves changing colors(??), football games, hot chocolate, AND the only thing children associate with October--HALLOWEEN.  Come on now how many of you adults love HALLOWEEN just as much as your children do?????

PART  OF  YOUR  CHILD'S 

READING  HOMEWORK!!!

When your child starts school and you start receiving their homework assignments and all of a sudden you start seeing all of these new approaches to learning you say to yourself (really how OLD AM I???).  You read it once (perhaps in sheer disbelief), and then again NO this is for real (my child is telling me about this partially, and right now needs a little assistance with it.  So I am delving into this and making sure that I am a diligent parent and fully understand this.  So by the time we are done with this assignment I can assure you I will be a PRO on this particular skill.  Then I will be building up endurance for the next one.  Good luck, parents we are here for you and your children.

A U T U M N   T I M E

The four seasons of the year summer, fall, winter, and spring.  Living in sunny Florida  the subject of seasons is hard for our students to comprehend.  They associate the seasons more with holidays.  Their fall is Halloween, winter is Christmas or Hanukah, Spring is Easter or Passover, and summer is 4th of July or just plain summer vacation time or possibly camp.  We can talk about the leaves changing or the flowers blooming,  how it snows and people making snowmen but really does that happen or is it all "make-believe."

H A P P Y    T H O U G H T S

It is up to the Teacher to make their classroom a happy place where their students feel comfortable and want to come to class everyday.    I always like to put a happy thought or quote on the board each morning and have one of the students read it and we discuss what it means to us.  I suggest that it would be nice to say the comment to someone and watch how they react to it.  That it always makes people feel good when you say good things to them.  Good thoughts and feelings talked about in many different ways daily can really help any students that have that negative approach towards everything.

                    T H O U G H T S
So many students utter these words, "I can't do this,  this is too hard, I don't know how to do this, I was never taught this before" etc....  They receive the instructions, either they listened or didn't bother to listen and now they have the paper of the assignment in front of them and they "freeze".  They see that their classmates are diligently working away and they have NOT even attempted to do anything.  They have these negative thoughts going on in their heads that are preventing them from doing their work.  The more negative their thoughts the harder it becomes for the thought process to work.  They become frustrated, their thoughts do not flow out freely, and that causes more mistakes.  I like to try to erase the negativity as much as possible and just do as much praising as possible and stay away with criticizing remarks.

9/11  REMEMBRANCE DAY

A day that has had a major impact on so many of us.  When we tell our students about the events of the day and what actually happened.  The poor innocent students are in awe with questions of disbelief. "Why would they do that???"  "That is such a mean thing to do."  I had a question from one, aren't they being bullies to us???  What happened to our school classroom rules about treating everyone like you would want to be treated???  Gets rather confusing for a "young mind."

E M O T I O N S

We all have them BUT we have to teach our students how to manage their emotions.  Just like teaching them how to read and their math facts it is important that they learn how to control their emotions.  A  few important steps taught in the classroom can make a huge carry over to the rest of their lives.    They must never hurt someone else  or themselves for that matter.  When they are upset they should take deep breaths and count to 10.   Always use their voice to express their feelings or write them down and tell what they wish would happen.   Ask for help from a teacher, parent, friend, or counselor.  Take time to do another activity or walk away from what they are doing.  

A M A Z I N G

Instilling in your child how special and individual they are is very important.  Every child has AMAZING qualities and they might be completely different then the child they are friendly with or sit next to in school.  One might be friendlier or smarter.  The other might be taller or a better reader.  Children at a very young age become aware of these differences and some children it doesn't phase them at all and others it has a huge impact on them.  Students that are very  competitive or want to always be the one who is the best at everything have a hard time excepting that it doesn't work that way.  So it is important for Teachers to stress how AMAZING they are at what they do so well at.

MY  TEACHER

DOESN'T

LIKE ME!!!!

If your child hits you with, "my teacher doesn't like me," empathize with your child and their frustrations.  Don't jump on the I hate the teacher bandwagon.  Doing so will just cloud the situation and you won't be able to think rationally about it.  Instead talk about the situation and perhaps your child is misinterpreting the situation.  Is the teacher "mean" or just demanding excellence from the students?  The teacher is not mean for having you rewrite a messy paper.  If you had written it neatly you wouldn't have had to rewrite it.  The teacher isn't mean for having you miss recess because you were busy socializing and didn't finish your assignments.  A teacher isn't mean for having you sit in the front of the room next to her because you were being disruptive and she couldn't get through the lesson she had planned.  So help your child to see these things through their teacher's eyes.  Though if things continue and it is a constant conversation set up a conference with the teacher to have a deep conversation about the concerns.

I  CAN'T  DO  MY  HOMEWORK !!!!

How many parents, truthfully, hear that contstantly from their child.  Sometimes it can be true BUT most of the times they are just using it as a crutch.  Why not???  They have Mom or Dad's full attention for a long length of time and that is a pretty high priority to a young child especially if there are siblings involved. Personally and professionally, I feel academically, it is much more beneficial for the child to open up their agenda and start doing their work all by themselves.  Nine times out of ten their teacher has already gone over the directions and might have already done some examples for them or they might have had a similar sheet they did earlier in the day in the classroom.  I always liked when they were all finished if they had any questions to ask me if they thought this was the correct answer or not or if they did such and such question correctly.  Then I always enjoyed going over the work with them but not doing it with them unless they needed me to show them how to do an example of a problem.  Studying for a test I was always open to helping them whenever they needed me.

DOES  YOUR  CHILD  

ENJOY   GOING  TO   SCHOOL ? ? ?

Schools can't be expected to do all the work engaging students.  The more parents get involved with their kids and their children's schools, the more likely their child will feel that their school is a place to belong.  That what they do matters not just for themselves, but for their parents and teachers.  A teacher that provides plenty of positive motivation in the classroom makes for a great feeling for their students.  It makes the students feel more engaged and that carries over to having your students wanting to go to school.  Which in turn should give your students a positive attitude when it comes to learning.  With a positive attitude the learning part is easier when you get them to say, "I can and will learn this."

O P E N H O U S E

This is just an example of an invitation you might have received to your child's OPEN HOUSE for this year.  So excited to get into your child's classroom to get a look at the textbooks, get to listen to what the curriculum is going to entail, find out some things that are to be followed exactly by the rules and then some.  Then the hardest thing for every parent there is wanting to talk just about their own child but unfortunately that is always "one" thing that is not permitted at OPEN HOUSE.  Then you get to go home and your child is "nervously" awaiting you to see what their Teacher said about them.  Needless do they know that does NOT happen and this time every child is on the good list!!!

HOMEWORK  TIME

Be consistent when your child does their HOMEWORK now that they have a nice supply of all the things at their disposal that they will need while doing their HOMEWORK.  They should do their HOMEWORK in a designated spot that has good lighting, a comfortable seat at the right height for the table they are using, there should be little or no distractions, and quiet if at all possible.  If you can make it as enjoyable for them as possible and get them to smile like the children in the above picture (at least some of the time) your HOMEWORK "fears" will disappear!!!

H O M E WO R K

Start the year off on the '"right" foot when it comes to HOMEWORK it is done at a certain time and place everyday that is the same.  Have all supplies that are needed at the HOMEWORK spot.  That way when your child goes to do their HOMEWORK everything is there ready for them to begin.  To make life easier, periodically, check the work station to see if anything might need replenished.  You are your child's HOMEWORK monitor, offer guidance when needed, DON'T EVER do their HOMEWORK for them.  

S C H O O L T I M E

All of those supplies bought, new uniforms and shoes, school haircuts, whoa--we did it!!!  Chose those new backpacks and lunch  boxes (please last all year).  They are all set out and ready to go bright and early in the morning.  Since, if you are heading out to Elementary School you are probably leaving no later then 7:45 AM (there will be plenty of traffic).  You did get lucky tonight early school bedtime started.  Though EARLY does it in the morning so you might have a grumpy one waking up.  Anyhow, best wishes for a GREAT SCHOOL YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR CHILD OR CHILDREN!!!!

S C H O O L   S U P P L I E S

Oh my goodness, the amount of choices and decisions you and your kiddos get to make BEWARE!!! Choosing from the mounds of school supplies that are awaiting you!!!  If you are lucky to have the child that says, "I don't care what I get,"--lucky you.  On the other hand if you have the child that goes into the store and flips out and says, "I have to have this one, no maybe this one, or then this could just be the best of all of them,"--BUT???? You might be making many trips to the stores.  Just remember the night before SCHOOL starts that everyone goes to bed early and the alarms are set for early in the morning so everyone can leave with their NEW SUPPLIES....

F R I E N D S

LOVE everything about this ALPHABET saying. So clever and full of such meaningful thoughts. Everyone should take it and make it their daily "MOTTO" of how to treat everyone no matter if it is a friend, family member, or someone new they are meeting for the first time. Cherish and think about everything it is portraying to you.

ENJOYING  NATURE

That wonderful time when you are alone with your child sharing nothing more then the shear joy of  "free" pure nature. The bounding between grown-up and child that requires just relaxation and discovering the beauty of how perfect untouched nature can be and the beauty we can experience from it. Both of you will appreciate this and make it a special time that you will cherish and hopefully do as often as you can.

P L A Y T I M E

Playtime is a crucial part of a child's development.  It teaches them socialization skills, learning to share, having conversations with other playmates, learning to wait until it is ther turn, and I am sure you can think of a couple more skills.  It is something in their lives that is not structured so they have the freedom to make the game or the play their rules and it is magical to watch. You can see how free, relaxed, and how much enjoyment they are getting out of their experience. PLAYTIME IS FUN!! 

EACH & EVERY STUDENT IS LOVED

Every student in your class needs to know that they are just as important as the next student.  It doesn't matter if they sit in the front of the class or the back, if they are the smartest or the one that needs the most help, if they are a girl or a boy or what the difference may be.  I have heard so often from a child but my Teacher just doesn't like me, or she picks on me, she likes Jimmy better.  A student picks up on those vibes very quickly,  they bother them, and it affects their daily performance.  A Teacher should NOT indirectly have this affect on a student's performance.  They need to react and treat each student equally when it comes to respect and attitude so that they don't hurt the other feelings of the students in their class.

S U M M E R T I M E

Oh, good old fashion summertime when we forget schedules and let our children relax and soak up the sun (with plenty of sun block).  Enjoy the same things we did when we were young way back then.  More time to reconnect and even spend more time together.  Make it a great summer for you and your child.  ENJOY!!!

C E L E B R A T E !!!

Have a great time celebrating and watching the sky illuminate with spectacular fireworks.

J  U  L  Y

A new month when we became a new country filled with a great celebration breathing new life and hope into us in 1776.  We could use some more of that resurgence as we approach another 4th of July with some needed positive outcomes of some important political measures that are facing us daily.  Hopefully some big decisions will begin to make sense and make drastic improvements in the areas that they are needed the most.  Meantime lets not take away from letting us partake in the importance of why we celebrate the 4TH OF JULY!!!!!  ENJOY!!! 

WHAT  IS  IMPORTANT

Learning to count and our ABC's are important but life lessons are something that need to be addressed in every classroom as part of each student's curriculum starting at the beginning grades.  The Teacher needs to spend time demonstrating generosity, politeness, integrity, effort, courage, resiliance, gratitude, faith, and kindess in the classroom.  Discuss the meanings of the words, she needs to have the students role play activities using the words correctly.  The Teacher needs to recognize when children are displaying these roles and praise them.  

S U M M E R  F U N

So many fun different ways your child can enjoy playing outside using water in a variety of ways. They can stay cool by the pool or they don't even need a pool to play these games. Children need to stay active during the summer and not be tied to the TV or computer all day. So having a list of some creative outdoor and indoor activities to give to your children every once in awhile is eciting for them.  It is something new and exciting for them.  Who doesn't like to have something like that to look forward to.  Make sure your children have a great enjoyable SUMMER!!!