Happy November

Wow! The last two weeks have been oh so busy! WIth a trip to the library, Halloween, Day of the Dead, and a few bumps and bruises on my end, October came to a quick end and November is off to a crazy start! First off, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who sent such kind emails and cards as I was home nursing my wounds at the start of the week. Upon my return, your child's smiling face and warm embrace was the best medicine of all. The love I received from each Cottontail and their family was truly remarkable. Our Cottontails sure have a natural understanding of compassion, one of Willowwind's seven Core Virtues. At Thursday's Morning Meeting we spent a lot of our time swapping stories of accidents we have all experienced. It was nice to know that my klutziness ranks right up there with that of five year old! :) The Cottontails could truly empathize with my injuries and with me. Thank you for the love your child shares with me!

Fall conferences are just around the corner. Conferences will take place THIS Monday and Tuesday afternoon as well as the afternoon of Thursday, November 17th. Using the link below or on the right side of the Welcome page, please sign up for a conferences if you have yet to do so.
Fall Conference Sign Up

With Fall conferences approaching, it presents a natural time to reflect on and document the progress in our year. The Cottontails have recently completed a variety of reading, spelling and math assessments to highlight their progress. I am amazed at our growth in 55 short days and I am eager to share this growth with you. You will be so proud of your Kindergartener!

Math time is one area of wonderful growth. The Cottontails recently finished Chapter 2 in our Math in Focus curriculum. Throughout Chapter 2, the class learned a few new math songs and math games. It brings me great joy to listen to the class as they sing these songs at snack, recess, and free choice time. They are catchy numbers that help your child further develop their number sense. In addition, our two new math games have become wonderful activities that the Cottontails often choose to play with at Center time. What I love most about Math in Focus's math games is the simplicity in the game. There are no complex rules or "record" sheets, rather there is a simple game board with simple instructions - ones that your Cottontail can understand right away. It is fun to watch the class choose to play the games when the choice of activities is completely theirs. Upon conference time, I will send home the two game boards with you. Have your child become the teacher and teach you how to play these games at home! In addition, I will give you your child's first (of four) completed Math workbook. The class is so excited to share their workbooks with you. It is such a proud feeling to have a workbook full of our work and activities. Enjoy!

We continue to bring math concepts into our everyday world as we recently spent time cooking with Chef Gaby (Prairie Racerunner, Erika's mom). She is a personal chef here in Iowa City who has a passion to share her love for cooking with healthy foods with children. We worked with Gaby to make a Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Apple Crisp. We shared our Apple Crisp with the rest of the Willowwind community at Monday's Halloween celebration. Ms. Brooke has graciously posted the recipe on her class's website. Use the link below to find the recipe and share it with your family at home.
Ms. Brooke's Website - Apple Crisp Recipe

This week, Willowwind friends began a new writing project. The K-6 students are eager to start our annual Partner Book project. Look to our November newsletter for more information on this wonderful tradition. The books the children create are truly magical. I am excited to see them take life. Writing is new for our Kindergarten friends. Because of this, I am in need of parent volunteers to help with the writing process. I am looking for parents to come in during the school day to provide one-on-one help with writing. The writing process can't be done without your help and support. Please let me know if you can help out. Our schedule is flexible so let me know what times you are available and we'll work with your schedule. After school help is needed, too. This is a great activity you can work on while some of our friends focus on their school work during ASP time. Thank you in advance.

November brings shorter hours of daylight. Today Daylight Savings Time comes to an end. Did you "Fall Back" this morning? It was nice waking up a bit "earlier" as it gave me more time to work on the coming week's activities. Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour. Our Fire Safety unit taught us that this is a great time to check our smoke detectors' batteries, too. I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. It was nice to be a part of the Hawks' win yesterday, albeit a very close win and a very windy Saturday. The sun sure is shining today, but the wind continues to whip, so Brian, Lambeau, and I are enjoying our time inside. Brian and Lambeau are cheering for their Packers as I write conference reports. A warm pot of coffee is on as I dive into the joy of reflecting and documenting the progress of your child. See you Monday.