With the new month came mother nature’s reminder that it is, indeed, Autumn, and cooler weather is upon us! It was a definite transition for the children’s mindset to remember that cooler temperatures mean dressing appropriately for the weather… not ONLY because of Covid measures (keeping doors and windows open for better circulation) but also because we are the Davidson Green School, and we do go outdoors pretty much regardless of the weather. I shared with children the lesson I learned from commuting by bicycle in all temperatures (and of course Mary Poppins herself: “there is no bad weather… only inappropriate clothing”. We talked about layering, using wool, the importance of keeping your head, hands and feet warm, and staying dry. Of course, we also had the occasional child who wanted to insist they were not cold when they were in fact shivering. Ha! I’m pretty sure I remember insisting to my mother that I was n-n-n-n-nOT cold even though my teeth were chattering, and my lips were blue…
Early in the week, I heard a few “all the boys are wearing shorts” comments, and in the past, I’ve heard children use clothing choice of one kind or another to exclude/include, so this was a perfect opportunity to discuss how what others are wearing (or not) was really none of our business, and that aside from compliments, we really need to refrain from commenting on how others are dressed. After that, and a day or two for the children to individually figure out what they needed or did not need in order to be comfortable, things settled in and we forgot about the cold.
There were some additions to the classroom this week. I have changed out the spelling words to make a little more sense in terms of where the children are with the progression of reading and spelling concepts. I also added some fun options for spelling practice like using American Sign Language and drawing a picture of your spelling words.
We got a new shelf to sort paper in the art room, which the children helped me with.
The children learned more in depth about the Noun Family (the Article, the Noun, and the Adjective). Ask your child about the Noun Family!
The middle schoolers are accepting donations for the Ada Jenkins center every day this week. If you have non-perishable food items or gift cards to donate, please send them in. You can find is a specific list of their greatest needs here: https://www.adajenkins.org/impact/our-greatest-needs/