Tuesday, October 29, 2013

November 2013 Newsletter

Klahanie School
November 2013 Newsletter
October Reflection
Happy autumn to all!  We are in full swing of school routine and inside/outside class exploration with materials, selves, friends and environments.  As the school routine and new season of Autumn have officially set-in, some children have shown and even shared during circle time (our “group”) that transition to school has felt uncomfortable some days.  This is very normal.  Sometimes putting our parent investigation hat on and observing what is a current trigger for our child during a transition (the moment(s) when the anxiety emotion occurs) and if there have been changes in the family can be very helpful in finding creative ways to assist gently alleviating the angst.   A wonderful parent support website, if you have not already stumbled upon is www.handinhandparenting.org.  A great write-up on this site that offers gentle reminders and ideas is “Embracing Transitions.”
During school hours we are using our class puppets to tell the story how Mouse recognizes her own uncertainties and feelings of discomfort during transition from home to school.  Using clear examples in the story, the children hear too how Mouse finds the safety in her routine to move with a transition and who can help her while she transitions.  Please feel free to continue to do a brief check-ins at drop-off or phone message before class (call backs will most likely occur after the end of the school day—3:30pm, unless emergency) if you need some extra help during transitions or have insight why transitions are a little more challenging during that particular day.  Please hold in your hearts, you all are doing a wonderful job and transitions to any new experience can be nerve-wracking for many, no matter our age! 

November Topics
November is the month we begin our Peace Studies.  Our Klahanie Peace Studies is woven throughout our school year and like the other important subjects in class; Peace Studies is integrated throughout our classroom all year long.  We open our Peace work with the idea of offering thanks to all the wonderments we hold in our lives, beginning with nature.  A book we begin with every November is Jonathan London’s beautiful work, “Giving Thanks.” 
To me, it’s a little
embarrassing
to say thanks
to trees and things.
But Dad says it becomes a habit;
It makes you feel good.
‘Thank you, stars,’ I say
as we near home.
And the stars come out, one by one, as if from hiding.
·       Giving Thanks: What are we thankful for and how do we show we are thankful.  Using many Practical Life and Language activities, we will work together to create and serve an end of the month meal to celebrate our class communities.  This will happen on Thursday November 21: corn bread, applesauce, and smoked salmon.  We will also be sharing thanks for having food to eat.  Please consider accompanying your child to drop-off Thanksgiving food items to our local Vashon food bank.
·      Salmon: the Life Cycle, Parts of a Salmon and Salmon habitats
·      Turkeys: Parts of a Turkey and many fun songs about these interesting fowl
·      Class Specialists!

Reminder/Thank Yous & Save The Date
Thank you Ginger Hamilton for all the October cutouts, Anna Pekoz for the play dough and Kelly Reese for the Apple Butter for our Practical Life food preparation in class!   And thank you Maria Metler for our first class specialist visit for the school year!

·      November Tuition due before or by Tuesday November 5th, thank you

·      Parent Social—Saturday November 9th 5pm-7pm
Please come to relax, have a glass of wine/appetizer, have time to meet other Klahanie parents and ideas how to implement Practical Life and Peace work within your home. 

·       Classroom Parent Conferences—Monday Nov.18th  Sign-up sheet is posted on the school board and will be available at the Parent Social.

We are always looking for book donations, play-dough making and additional help with monthly cut-outs—please let a teacher know if you would like to contribute and thank you!

Wishing you and family a wonderful November, full of joy and gratitude.




























September and October 2013 Newsletter

Klahanie School
October 2013 Newsletter
September Reflection
Congratulations completing the first month of school!  What a wonderfully fun time getting to know your darling children, thank you for the honor to work with them.  The classes are becoming more and more excited about knowing the school environment and feeling the safety to explore all areas of the classrooms (the inside space, deck/lanai and gardenJ).   We have begun to introduce more involved Practical Life works such as water pouring in small ceramic pitchers setup in a left-to-right approach and cleanup tools to introduce self and environment care.  And Art with paints, glues, collage materials and small brushes (to assist in strengthening the pincer grip: thumb, index and middle fingers for easier transition to writing) has been introduced and what a joy to observe your children’s expression through his/her artwork.  Amazing!  The children have found great joy in learning about each other, the school and autumn themes through our daily songs, poems and finger plays.  Having two babies in class two different days in the week, we are observing such tenderness and empathy growths while in the presence of the babies.  Thank you Stanley and Kasson!

October Themes
Our monthly themes are sprinkled throughout the classroom environment and works.
·       Apples: parts of an apple and Practical Life food preparation activity with this juicy fruit!
·       Spiders/Arachnids: the life cycle of spiders, what is an arachnid and reasons why spiders are important for our earth.
·       Pumpkins and Gourds: the life cycle of pumpkins
·       Deciduous Trees: what is a deciduous tree
·       Bats: the life cycle of bats, more about our earth’s flying mammal and why bats are important for our earth and how we can help them.

Starting this October we are thrilled to add a once-a-month specialty theme to our classroom curriculum with the generous help from Maria Metler for our AM class (Plants—plant themed crafts, foods and gardening) and Alejandra Tres (Spanish introduction & Argentina) and Jeff Adams (Marine Life) for our PM class.  Both classes will benefit from the three specialists, as we will continue to implement what they introduce during their visit throughout the month in both classes.   Please refer to our school blog for their incredible bios—lucky us!  Thank you Maria, Alejandra and Jeff! (http://klahanienurseryschool.blogspot.com/)

Important Info, Reminders and Thank Yous
·       October Tuition Due Today
·       Thank you Ginger Hamilton for helping cut out poster pieces for class!
·       Thank you Tavi Black for volunteering to help make our PM self-portraits.
·       Seeking helper in AM class to help make the self-portraits.
·       Anyone interested in helping make play-dough once a month?  Please call if interested