Sister Sledge, We Are Family

All of the people around us they say, “Can they be that close?”
Just let me state for the record, we’re giving love in a family dose!

Setting up the classroom takes me days. I pace back and forth, moving things until they’re just right. I put things up, and then take them down. I spend quite a bit of time sitting on top of my desk and staring out into empty space, imagining all the kids in the room, seeing how it will all work. There’s one ritual I have, though, that brings magic to the room for me. That step is taking out the pictures of my family and placing them on the windowsill. I spend countless hours in this room, sharing my gifts, planting seeds, and witnessing small miracles. To be a part of something that huge, you need to see the smiling faces of your family nearby.

As the year goes on, those people who enter this room become like family. As the song says, we give love “in a family dose.” Your children become my children, and we become partners in helping them to exceed the limitations life puts on them. In turn, your family becomes my family. I’ve often seen the faces of my students light up when their parents walk in the room. Just your presence makes them light up.

While you’re running around gathering school supplies, buying new clothes, and packing the backpack, take a minute to snap a family photo. Print it out to send in on the first day, so that your child can enjoy the same excitement that I have of gazing on my loved ones throughout the day. If you have no way of printing a picture, email it to me and I’ll handle it. If you are without a camera, let me know and we can arrange a time with your family. It’s important for your child to have this symbol in our classroom. Please help me to put the finishing touches on our classroom by adding your smiling faces.

Did you know that I’m secretly a bibliophile? When I was young, my mom would gather me into her lap and open up a book each and every night. She’d read stories from our Fairy Tale Treasury, perhaps Dr. Seuss’ Oh Say Can You Say?, or my personal favorite, one of Mercer Mayer’s Little Critter books. Listening to her voice read the words as she pointed to them on the page left me with memories that I smile about today.

Throughout my school years, I always had a book that I couldn’t put down. I would hold my book with one hand and my spoon with the other as I ate cereal before school. I would walk around the playground reading at lunchtime, and quite often I’d sneak a flashlight under the covers and read well into the night before my parents discovered me.

Then, in my late teen years, I worked at a small bookstore that received weekly shipments of assorted books. Books that would sell at Barnes & Noble for $19.99, we’d get for $2.99. Plus, as an associate, we received 33% off any book we wanted to buy. Who could resist diving into boxes of exciting new books and then stacking a “hold pile” so high that our manager would laugh? My closest friends knew me well enough to know that rides in my car often meant re-arranging the bags of books I was hiding in the backseat of my Thunderbird.

As an adult, not much has changed. My book hoarding habit has slowed down– even so,  I have two bags of books from the Scholastic Book Fair in the back of my car as I type this. I’ve parted ways with books that I no longer have a need for, though, and I have really zoned in on the genres of books that are useful to me– mainly children’s books, books about teaching, behaviors, and oddly enough, parenting. I read books on parenting because I find that they help provide me with ideas to use in the classroom. I would like to extend an invitation to you, to come browse my parenting library. Perhaps you’ll find a few new ideas, too. I have a few books on specific learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and parenting. You can email me, call me, or stop by to borrow a book. I’ll also have them out during Curriculum Night for you. Here are my two newest titles:

Raising Happy Kids, by Elizabeth Hartley-Brewer

The Best Things Parents Do, by Susan Isaacs Kohl

“Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” Remember, you are your child’s first teacher. Happy reading!

The teachers are busy getting classrooms and lessons ready. The parents are hustling around trying to find school supplies and fit in last-minute vacations. The kids are going crazy with excitement thinking about seeing their friends in just a few short weeks! The end of summer is bittersweet, as we all prepare for the start of this school year.

You should have already received the following list, but I thought I’d post it here for those of you who haven’t.  The following items should be brought with you on Tuesday, September 7th. Shop the sales!!

Backpack
Scissors
No. 2 Pencils (endless supply*, not mechanical)
Crayons
Pencil Sharpener (with shaving catch)
Thin Markers
Blue, Black, & Red Pens (for writing)
Thick Markers
3 Packs Wide-Rule Looseleaf**
2 Pink Pearl Erasers
Glue Sticks (endless supply*)
3 Thin Dry Erase Markers
2 Highlighters
1” 3-Ring Binder
Ruler (inches & cm)
Ziplock Bags** (quart & gallon)
5 Tabbed Dividers
Pencil Case
2 Boxes Kleenex**
Hand Sanitizer**
Band-Aids**
3 Packs Index Cards
Healthy Snack (daily)
Water Bottle (to re-fill daily)
Motivational Calendar & Summer Packet (completed)

*Endless Supply: your child will need these re-stocked constantly.
**These items will be stored in our closet for classroom use as needed.

I can’t wait to see you all very soon! Stay cool until then…

Don Ball will be available on Thursday, May 13^th from 2-7 in the Whitmore-Bolles auditorium to continue fingerprinting.  Please call Julie for an appointment at 827-6800. All parent volunteers, drivers for field trips, and chaperones must have their prints on file. Please schedule an appointment!

On April 19th, Whitmore-Bolles will participate in a “Give Back Night” at On the Border in Allen Park. We will earn 10% of the profits for that night. Please consider eating out and bringing this coupon with you. Green coupons will also be sent home with your child. I will see you there!!

Click, print, and take this with you!