September is in full swing and another amazing week has come and gone. Our short week was packed with amazing adventures. The highlight of our week was definitely our midweek school wide field trip to Kent Park. We learned so much and had an amazing time. A big thank you goes out to Naturalist Brad who is a prairie professional! The Cottontails are excited to mail our thank you letter and drawings to our new friend, Brad. Please look to our updated September newsletter for more information regarding our recent trip to Kent Park. Here you will also find a link to updated photos and a wonderful blog posting regarding our trip from our dear friend Ms. Brooke.
New friends are being made all around! Our recent Partner Reveal has created some amazing multiage friendships. It has been fun to watch these partnerships quickly grow. Our multiage Movement time has also fostered many new friendships. On Friday, one Cottontail came back excited that she made a new friend in the Prairie Racerunner room. She was eager to see this new friend at lunch, recess, and GD. This excitement for new friends is a wonderful demonstration of perfectly understanding the "Willowwind Way".
On Tuesday, the Cottontails were introduced to our classroom's iPad. Two or three times throughout the week students will be able to spend time exploring educational apps on the iPad. Take a look at our updated Technology page for more information. The iPad apps sub page will give you a comprehensive list of apps found on our classroom iPad.
On Friday, students participated in a somber discussion regarding the recent 9.11 anniversary. During GD, Ms. Brooke read Fireboat and book detailing the John J. Harvey's call to duty and how this fireboat sprang into action providing countless hours of aid amongst the tragedy at Ground Zero. Our school wide discussion was truly amazing. Students shared what the knew and their own recollections, we made text to text connections as we compared Fireboat to the book The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, a Willowwind favorite, and many students asked the all important question, why did this happen? As a school, we understood the importance of always remembering what had happened that day and how we can use this tragic day to become a stronger country, unified together.
As GD ended, the Cottontails wanted to know more about 9.11. We used our classroom map to locate New York City and the Twin Towers location in NYC. One student asked an incredible question: "Ms. Michelle? If 9.11 happened before we were born, and New York is so far away, why is important for us talk about it here in Iowa?" With tears in my eyes, this was a question I was proud to answer. The insight our young friends brought to our conversations was simply amazing. Through our discussions, the Cottontails begin to understand, at their own level, the importance of what had happened on this day. They wanted to know where I was on 9.11…a Sophomore in college just waking up hearing the tragic headlines come across my alarm clock's radio. They wanted to know what I did that day….a Sophomore in college glued to the coverage on TV who made time to break away from the TV to travel the nine miles home to hug my family and eat dinner together in my childhood home. They wanted to know if it will happen again, and most importantly, they wanted to know what they could do to remember. I was happy to foster their need for discussions regarding September 11th. I encourage you to further any 9.11 discussions that may continue at home in the coming days.
Thank you for allowing me to share these moments, big and small, with your child!
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