Download Your Child’s Seesaw Portfolio

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Just one more day of TK! Now that is hard to believe. But the calendar is correct.

So here is a final assignment for you. Follow the link below to learn how to save your child’s Seesaw Portfolio from this year. The steps are laid out very clearly at help.seesaw.me. I don’t want you to miss taking ownership of your child’s work. It will be their digital yearbook from TK.

I have fallen behind in posting photos, so don’t download before July! I don’t want the students to be shortchanged on the memories. https://help.seesaw.me/hc/en-us/articles/208754866-How-do-families-download-an-archive-of-their-child-s-work-

Open House

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Dear TK Families,
We had a wonderful turn out at our TK Open House. I loved witnessing the leadership skills as each student gave instructions to their families tonight. They have all had a very successful year developing academically and socially. I am blown away by how many of my students are reading! Even more importantly, it is touching to see them filled with confidence and kindness. Thank you for allowing me to partner with you this year.
Joyfully,
Mrs. P

Beauty and the Beast

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Shout out to Aahana’s mom, Cruz’s dad, Emme’s dad, Savannah’s mom, LaDerick’s dad, Victoria’s mom, and Leah’s mom. Thank you chaperoning our walk to see the play at Franklin High School. I am glad you got to witness the high quality production that these teens present. The students were amazed at the experience of live theater. I am certain they’ll love seeing another play anytime.

Time Flies…

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As the saying goes, time flies when you’re having fun! We have been honing our skills and exploring new opportunities.

The students were introduced to Zoo-Phonics in April. It was familiar to just a handful. But it only took a couple of days before everyone had caught on to the letter sounds. I have used this program for many years and it never fails to give every student a deeper understanding of the letter and sound relationships. I will try my best to make our own Zoo-Phonics video. In the meantime, check out the one made by a previous class on the Class Video tab.

We have also worked diligently on letter formation. I use a program called Handwriting Without Tears. It is wonderful! With this program I can explicitly teach students how to write every letter. It unlocks the mystery of how to make all though “squiggles” so others can read them. The name says it all! No tears here!

There are many parent resources at lwtears.com.

Social Emotional Learning

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Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is the foundation of the TK curriculum. SEL is at the heart of everything we do in my classroom. When students develop confidence in themselves and empathy for others, they’ll be ready to explore the world, absorb what they discover along the way, and tackle tough problems with creativity and tenacity.

According to Edmodo.com, “There is a growing body of research that provides evidence that emotional regulation is critical to academic success.” Regurgitating facts and formulas can be impressive, but are not effective job skills. Employers need workers who can think creatively and collaborate with others for a common purpose. Those are the skills that take time (years!) to develop and sharpen, but we rarely allow all the practice needed to become proficient.

Here is a link to that body of research. You can read the data for yourself. Let’s rethink education and focus on developing the whole child.

ARTSbeat Expo in March

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Speaking of art, I just learned about The Arts Advocacy Project (TAAP).

TAAP is a task force of leaders from our community who recognize the cultural, educational and economic benefits of the arts. Musical and dramatic stage performances, dance, music concerts, art shows, literary arts, arts appreciation and teaching sessions, interactive workshops, demos and more will be featured in the month-long ARTSbeat Expo. I hope to see you at one of these events.

Click here to view the flyer.

Click here to view a busy calendar of art related experiences to showcase of the best of Elk Grove arts and creative industries.

Did You Know?

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Art in public spaces makes our community a more beautiful place to live. You may have noticed a few pieces around town, but do you know how to find more?

The Committee for the Arts created a virtual Citywide Art Guide for the benefit of residents and visitors that includes a comprehensive inventory of art pieces and art events in Elk Grove.
> Click here to access an interactive map.

I know I feel happier when I see beautiful artwork around me. I bet you may have the same experience. I hope you can get your family out and about to share the happiness.

Thought for the day: Those who appreciate the effort and beauty of creating something, are much less likely to destroy it.

Where Did January Go?

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I knew we had lots of action in January, but I am still surprised at how fast the month flew by.
We had a week dedicated to “The Great Kindness Challenge”. I love seeing the fluttering heart decorating the campus. It felt like we were surrounded by love. We had a tremendously positive response from everyone at school.
Can you believe that school-wide, there was only one behavior referral that entire week? Practically heaven on earth! When we focus on the social-emotional needs of ourselves and those around us, we can all be more productive at school. The staff is looking into ways to make it even better next year.

Our Student Leadership Team kicked off our annual Pennies for Patients fundraiser. Our school has participated for the last six years, each time topping the previous donation total. We have been the #2 fundraising school in the nation for the last two years. I don’t the total of our fundraising for this worthy cause, but last year alone we raised $11,531.94. I’m impressed and you should be, too! We have a very generous and caring school community.

We also had a wonderful visit from Coach Greatness and Coach Kindness. We thoroughly enjoyed his positive and empowering message embedded in songs, chants, and cheers. “I’m cool! I’m kind! I’ve got greatness on my mind!” I hope to have a short video of that experience post on Seesaw soon.

We closed out the month with a trip to Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. I think we had the most beautiful day possible for that event. We certainly got a spectacular show from all those migrating snow geese! Thanks to all 13 chaperones who joined us. I hope you all will take your families for an outing while the birds are populating the Pacific Flyway. It’s so close, I bet you could ride your bikes!

Enjoy the month off! See you on March 5th.