Dear Parents,
In separate emails, I will send along a birthday list, rhythm of the day, and class meeting schedule for the year.
I thank parents for their generous laughter, willingness to try new things, and their questions that help me clarify what information is needed sooner than later. I enjoyed the meeting and your participation.
Here, not in order of the meeting, are some answers or thoughts about your questions.
How will we handle the children's sense of the transition from Kim to me as teacher? (Some still assume Kim will be there teacher. Some assume Kim is never coming back). I have begun working on this. Kim will be present on Tuesday the 4th at 8:30am to help guide her risers from last year across the rainbow bridge into first grade. I am working with Kim, Dyanne, and Maureen to creat a brief and symbolic gesture before or after this time. Something as simple as Kim gives me a hug welcoming me as the new Golden Forest teacher, to something big that she transfers to me. It will have to be brief and mainly visual, but will plant a seed. I encourage you to bring your children to witness the ceremony at 8:30am.
I can pick up on this seed of a story briefly during cubby time with the children. I am gathering information about Kim's story she told at her departure.
Likely on the 10th, when our full class is together, I will pick up on Kim's story to help connect my presence to hers, with intimations of my little one to come (he may come sooner).
Will there be Spanish on Fridays? Yes
What can I do to support my child who looks upon the school year/being away from mom or dad with trepidation? While I have sent articles in the past, I feel the time has come for me to create a new image, a new picture of what might be helpful. Let me sleep on this and strive to deliver something satisfying to you in the days ahead.
When we parents email the group (about festivals, classroom help, Holiday Workshop, and soforth), it can be easy to leave a name off the email list, especially the names of families joining mid year. I propose we form a google group for parents in the Golden Forest class as an experiment. This is like an email contact group that is held centrally, so you know if you want to write the whole class about a festival or fun experience, you can write one address (that of the group), and all parents will receive it. The messages will also be archived at the group, so a new family joining the class could, once they join the group, look back over old messages very easily.
The challenge of this method is that each of you need to accept an invitation to join the group. I'll start the invitation, but the email you receive will be from google; some of your email programs may drop it into spam. So I'll email you directly to tell you to look for the group invitation in your inbox or spam folder.
Once it is all a go, I'll let you know that it's ready to use. I'll make you all owners of the group once we are in, so you can refine and tinker.
To keep things clear, I won't use this google group for my emails to the class, so you can keep parent fun and work separate from my discursive ramblings (I will be on the group, so it is not a great way to plan hoaxes or surprises for me).
I am copying this note, and all future notes, to what was my nursery blog, which I will endeavor to rename something more generic (William'spontifications.com or something like that). This way, too, a new parent joining the class could rather easily read all communication from me in one place.
Where will drop off and pickup be? We are always starting outside on the playground. As you will read in the rhythm of the day and week, we will end outside in the fall and late spring and inside in colder weather. After the meeting, I spoke to Dyanne and Cordula. While this may or may not work, my intention for foul weather is to have children who do not stay for lunch carry coats and boots through the Golden Forest Room, and we will get dressed right by that door and join Dyanne's class for dismissal at 12:25pm. This will help extended care have a quiet space for lunch. This lets us continue the nice tradition of bringing both classes together at dismissal time (we are working on a closing song together). And it means parents always go to the same place to pick up children (the playground). You may still have to come in to fetch treasures and wet clothes from their cubbies (if it is manageable, I'll transport those to the playground as well), but still this will hopefully make life easier.
Do we sign up to bring specific foods? For now, I'd love to try having you bring what is abundant, letting our soup reflect the seasons. Plan on bringing 1 crunchy fruit or vegetable, and 1 soup vegetable each week. Bring more if you want. Forget if it pleases you. All will be well and fun. Plan to bring them Monday so I have time to send reminders or procure added fruits and vegetables. We are starting the year with an apple sauce and hard boiled egg day on Thursdays to reflect the bounty. Please bring plenty of apples if you have an abundance. It is great if egg donors contact me so we don't get a superabundance of eggs.
What's up with the clay? No one really asked this, but this seems like a nice way to end this note. I would have liked to have shared a metaphor or analogy or story about the clay. When we work with clay, the process is part of the delight, a Big part of the deliciousness. We don't take a lump of clay and expect it to be finished by one throw on the table. The molding and shifting and modifying are part of the joyful process of growth. I see this too in the way each child has her or his own path of development through childhood, in the way every social situation--from friendship to conflict--has a gradual way of growing into something more, something rich, something satisfying. When Kim Payne speaks to us in October, he will encourage us to enjoy conflict, to enjoy the sifting and sorting and working things out. I find great joy in doing that myself.
With great appreciation,
William
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