Scholastic Book Order Due Fri 02.06

Orders Due:  Friday, February 6                           First Order Activation Code:  NCNYY

 Log In To Order at:  scholastic.com/readingclub

Valentine’s Day is near!  Buy books and support reading for the ones you love!

Our Winter Book Order is here and we are gearing up for Willowwind’s annual Book Fair.  Take a sneak peek at some of the titles that may be available at this year’s Book Fair and get a jump on ordering.  Browse the catalog and order in your PJs from the comfort of your home.  See below for ordering details.

Encouraging reading is one of the most important things we can do to help children succeed.  Sometimes the right book is all it takes to nurture a child's love of reading.  During the school year, your family will have the chance to order inexpensive books for home.  Doing so, our class is able to earn points to enhance our class library.

With Scholastic Reading Club:

•  every book you buy earns FREE books for our classroom library

•  you can choose from grade- AND reading-level specific books

•  find the best values on a variety of formats, including eBooks

To shop online:

1)  VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub

2)  Here it will ask you to set up an account for your profile for your family.

To do so, ENTER the one-time Class Activation Code (NCNYY)

3)  SHOP from a variety of inexpensive books.  Online ordering allows you to order books for any age infant to middle school.  Looking for gifts for family, friends or all those birthday parties?  Shop here!

4)  SUBMIT your order online by Feb 6th to earn FREE books for our class.

To shop via flyer:

1)  SELECT books to order from each flyer.

2)  FILL OUT each flyer's order form.

3)  MAKE check payable to Scholastic Reading Club

4)  TURN IN order form(s) & payment by Nov 12th to earn FREE class books.

When the ordering deadline (February 6) has passed all classroom orders will be collated, gathered, and shipped directly to our classroom where we can continue to celebrate the joy of reading together!  Have a special gift that your ordering for your child?  Let me know and I'll be sure to stow this book away from their excited attention.

In our classroom's online shop, you will also find book recommendations that I have personally selected for the classroom.   I have also recommended some great books that revolve around our curricular focuses  You will also find a classroom wish list in our online shop where your family can select special gifts to help our classroom library grow.

The Book Fair is here!  The book fair will run Tuesday-Friday, February 3-6, and Monday-Wednesday, February 9-11. Volunteers are needed to help with this event.  If you can volunteer, click here to sign up on Sign-up Genius. 

For more information and to access Willowwind's online fair, visit our Book Fair home page. The on-line fair will be open through February 18 and is a great way for friends and family outside of Iowa City to support our school. You can also download a Book Fair app from the home page.

While at the fair, be sure to check out our teacher wish lists. Your child can buy a book for a teacher and personalize it with a book plate. You'll receive a receipt for tax purposes.

Questions? E-mail Katherine House, Book Fair Chairperson.

Enjoy and have fun shopping!  Thank you for your support!

Paying it Forward

Willowwind students' receipt of the Charlotte Bacon Acts of Kindness (CBAof K) award is a wonderful acknowledgment of the joy our children are bringing to our community. This recognition was inspiring to a community business, Hills Bank and Trust.  They feel that our students' actions align with a corporate initiative they have to identify and celebrate people in our community who go above and beyond to serve others.   As part of their own pay it forward campaign, representatives from Hills Bank will be visiting Willowwind on Monday, February 2 to provide a pizza party lunch for all PK - 6 students to recognize the CBAoK Award and to say, "Thank you!" for making Iowa City a wonderful place to live.

Please plan to send a drink and any fruit or vegetable sides that you would like your child to have for lunch that day. Your K-6 child will also need to bring his or her regular morning and afternoon snack items. Of course, should prefer that your child not participate, please send him or her with the lunch of your choice. 

In addition, your child and their Kindergarten classmates have presented their desire to spread the love at home, school, and in the community.  We have set a goal to achieve 300 RAKs (Random Acts of Kindness) in 30 DAYS!  Help your child spread the love.  With each act of kindness they complete have them fill out a flashcard (paper from home or flashcards are available at school), snap a picture of the act and share them with Stacia or me.  We want to create a school wide displays that highlights all of our acts.  With each act turned in, we also hope to share our kind acts on Facebook.  Please help your child with their excitement to make a difference with small acts.  Let us know if you have any questions.

Willowwind Programming

The school day doesn't stop at 3:15 or when the school year comes to a close in May!  Take a look at the fun program offerings.  Willowwind is offering after school classes, Spring Break classes, and Summer Camp programming.  Have questions?  Ask Katherine, our program director.  She can be reached via email at katherinea@willowwind.org.

Spring Enrichment Classes
Time is running out!  The first session of enrichment classes begins one week from today, on February 2nd.  We are proud to offer a wide range of classes for preschool-6th grade students, including Music of the Ages, Art Studio, First Aid, Zumba for Kids and Tae Kwon Do!  Open your eyes to a brand new world and gain new skills in these engaging classes. Register now to secure your child's place in a class before classes begin!

Click here to meet the enrichment teachers and register for classes! 

Click here to sign in to our online registration and view spring classes.

New to Willowwind programs?  Click here to create an account and register your child for classes. 

Enrollment is first-come, first-serve. Registration begins immediately.

Spring Break Classes

In addition, take time, too, to register for Willowwind's Spring Break Program!  Your child can enroll in Outdoor Adventures (K-6) or Storybook Theater (Preschool).  We are excited to have former Willowwind teacher, Virginia Dreier, back teaching the K-6th grade camp this year! 

Click here to meet the spring break teachers and register for classes!  
Click here to register your child for classes online.
New to Willowwind's Spring Break Program?  Click here to create an account and register your child for classes!

Paper registration forms are also available at the front office.  Registration begins immediately and ends Friday, March 6th.

Summer Camp Programming

Summer registration is in full swing!  2015 brings a variety of new classes for all grade levels including, but not limited to, Computer Programming, Poet's Tree, Coding 101, Camping, Service Expedition, and Blast Off!  Another new feature to the program is a hands-on, engineering class for 6-8th grade students. 

Registration for returning campers is available through the Parent Dashboard.  Log in to your account by clicking here, and go to the "Enrollment" tab to register for classes.  Feel free to also go to Willowwind's website at www.willowwind.org to view the summer brochure and register online.
 New to Willowwind's Summer Program?  Click here to create an account and register your child for classes!

Complete the enrollment form by January 30 to have your registration fee waived as part of our early enrollment discount. 

Specials Newsletter - Dec / Jan

Music, Spanish, and Art updates coming soon.

Physical Education w/ Ms. Karen:

January 2015:

The month of January can often be a season of setting new resolutions in the area of personal fitness and health.  I’d like to take advance of this health-conscious season of the year to write about healthy eating and physical activity in our children.  My year-long emphasis in PE is to BE ACTIVE and EAT SMART.  Need more motivation than the New Year’s resolutions to BE ACTIVE and EAT SMART?  Check this out!  It’s also good for the brain.  There is new evidence that supports healthy eating and being active are specifically good for students in the classroom.  Research supports the following:  students that eat healthy and are physically active will be better learners in the classroom.  We, as parents and teachers, share the same goal of supporting the link between healthy eating, physical activity and improved academic achievement of our children at Willowwind.  Let’s all BE ACTIVE and EAT SMART.

Willowwind students are learning how to EAT SMART.  Evidence shows that the healthy eating is linked to their academic achievement.  It has been noted that student diet deficiencies in food groups and vitamins are linked with low grades.  By working together, we can ensure that Willowwind students are making healthy food choices and ready to learn.  In PE, we have discussed the importance of eating healthy.  EATING SMART includes daily choosing balanced diet from all of the food groups.  I have introduced Choose MyPlate as one way for students to learn how to make decisions regarding the foods they eat.  Together, we can encourage students to eat a variety of food every day knowing that it will benefit their physical health and their academic performance in the classroom.

Willowwind students are learning to BE ACTIVE every day.  Check out some of the evidence the CDC has compiled that links physical activity to academic achievement:

Students who are physically active tend to have better grades, school attendance, cognitive performance (e.g., memory), and classroom behaviors (e.g., on-task behavior).

Higher physical activity and physical fitness levels are associated with improved cognitive performance (e.g., concentration, memory) among students.

More participation in physical education class has been associated with better grades, standardized test scores, and classroom behavior among students.

Increased time spent for physical education does not negatively affect students’ academic achievement.

The entire list of evidence can be found HERE.

You can help your child value activity in their lives by BEING ACTIVE at home.  Our bodies were made for movement.  Whether you take a family walk for an hour after dinner each evening, start the day with a morning yoga session, or even include some active playtime with your kids after school, just get moving.  Park your car away from the crowds and put in a few extra steps when running errands.  Try a friendly family football game each Sunday and teach the little ones how to throw a perfect spiral.  Throw a dance party or involve the family in acting out a scene from a book you are reading.  If the winter season seems too cold or too hectic to fit in a workout, don’t give up! Movement in your everyday life at home makes a big difference.

I am committed to training our students in their early years how to EAT SMART and BE ACTIVE.  I can empower them with the knowledge that living healthy improves their physical health and their academic performance in their classroom.  Most New Year’s diet and exercise resolutions from January rarely last beyond February.  However, I am optimistic and hopeful that Willowwind students will go beyond and choose to EAT healthy and stay ACTIVE daily throughout their lives.

Cheers to a Happy and Healthy New Year!  Questions about this or what activities we are doing in PE, contact me.  Karen Robbins at karenr@willowwind.org.

December 2014:

In PE class, we have discussed the importance of healthy eating and staying physically active every day. Without having a school routine full of physical activity, PE, and recess, students have an opportunity to practice making their own healthy lifestyle decisions. In class, I challenged students to make physical activity and good healthy eating choices over their Winter Break. I have included a fun, fitness “gift” from me to encourage them to stay active. 

On the first day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me one minute of wall sits.

On the second day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me two burpies with a push up.

On the third day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me three power jumps.

On the fourth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me four toe touches.

On the fifth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me five high fives with friends.

On the sixth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me six minutes of jump rope.

On the seventh day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me seven minutes of dancing.

On the eighth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me eight windmills.

On the ninth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me nine minutes of active play.

On the tenth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me ten jumping jacks.

On the eleventh day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me eleven sit ups.

On the twelfth day of Winter break my PE teacher gave to me twelve minutes of jogging.

Check out the following websites for more information.

Physical Activity Guidelines: http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/

Nutrition Guidelines: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/physical-activity.html

January Curricular Update

2015 is here and we are settling back into our Kindergarten routine.  Winter Break was a wonderful time for all and our little brains often need a number of school days (often a week or two) to get back into routine.  This year, we have tested our flexibility with weather delays, a snow day, teacher transitions and stomach bugs, and our wonderful Day of Service.  We work together to strengthen our regular routines and begin to add new routines as make our way into the second half of our school year.  PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION (and subsequent blog posts) CAREFULLY as they highlight many new routines.

Reading
Each year, Kindergarteners take a break from our traditional Guided Reading groups in January to build new reading routines into our school day.  This allows the students opportunities to further enhance their reading time at school, giving them time and space to solidify new routines before combining them with old routines.  In January, students watched as their afternoon Rest Time transformed into a Quiet Reading Time (QRT).  During this time, students pick books from the library and from leveled sets to encourage personalized reading success.  It is a time to build reading stamina.  Our 2nd semester goal is to work towards 20 minutes of uninterrupted, focused reading time.  In January, we started with just ONE minute of uninterrupted reading time (followed by a relaxed QRT where students could read or rest) and have already moved towards FOUR minutes of uninterrupted reading time.  This is done purposefully and allows students to slowly build their ability to focus solely on reading and interacting with books.

With this new routine strongly in place, we are excited to add back in Guided Reading groups while still using QRT to grow our reading brains.  Look for your child to have new black and white books in their canvas Book Bags this week.  In addition, TODAY, your child took home a plastic Ziploc bag of books to share with you at home.  Your child self-selected these books from an identified set of readers that are geared for your child's appropriate reading level.  This new plastic bag and the books inside should stay at home throughout the week (the canvas Book Bag still returns to school daily).  Encourage your child to read these books to you - the may need a bit of help initially.  Each Monday, please return this plastic bag, and its books, to school where your child will check these books back in and "check out" new books for the new week.

Math
Our Math time continues to be a highlight of our day.  Students enjoy working with their classmates as they investigate numbers through hands-on activities, games, partner work, and workbook pages.  Please note that due to Kindergarten staffing transitions our math groups have merged back into classroom math classes.  Even with this grouping change, both Kindergarten classes receive 45-60 minutes of math time per day.  With the welcoming of Ms. Megan (the Cottontail Kindergarten Assistant) her time will be utilized to further enhance math skills in our students who show a need for further support.

Both Kindergarten classes are finishing up our Math in Focus's Chapter 6 study of ordinal numbers.  Children integrate their understanding of spatial relationships in the real world and the concept of order and position.  They use ordinal numbers in their full (first, second, etc) and abbreviated forms (1st, 2nd, etc).  Relevant vocabulary that is essential for understanding relative positions include left, right, in front, behind.  Children also use position words such as just before, just after, or between to indicate the position of something relative to another.

Social Studies
Much of our January Kindergarten focus has been centered around our Winter unit - Random Acts of Kindness (RAK).  Please encourage your child and family to complete acts of kindness.  We ask that they at least turn in their initial RAK homework to share with classmates and schoolmates.  Please be sure to have your child turn in their yellow RAK flash card.  Also, snap a picture of them completing their RAK and print or email the picture to me to put on display with their flash card.  If your child is eager to complete more please have them journal on the "Family RAK" page sent home last week or on an additional flash card.  We want to display ALL of our RAKs big or small to show others how easy it is to complete act of kindness at school, home, or in our community.  Today at GD, we presented the idea to our older friends of completing 300 RAKs in 30 days.  Your child is thrilled to take a leadership role in this school wide project.  Encourage their desire to lead by example.  In the meantime, take a look at THIS great NY Times article on Paying it Forward.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement.

100th Day Homework & Snack (Volunteers Needed)

Our 100th Day of School Celebration is fast approaching!  On Friday, your child brought home a letter about our upcoming 100th Day of School and a small homework assignment.  Please take a look at the letter sent home and the information below for more information.

As part of our festivities, I am asking each student to count and collect 100 small objects, and to place those objects in the attached plastic bag labeled “_____’s 100th Day Collection”.  All the objects in your child’s collection bag should be the same.  After all students have returned the bags to class, we will use the collections to conduct fun-filled classroom learning activities.  The bagged collections will then be returned to the students to bring home.  It is important that each bag close securely over the 100 objects, so please help your child count and choose 100 objects small enough to fit in the bag.

Here are some collection ideas:
• 100 pieces of popcorn
• 100 paper clips
• 100 stickers
• 100 metal washers
• 100 hair elastics
• 100 rubber bands
• 100 toothpicks
• 100 pennies
• 100 pieces of cereal
• 100 beans
• 100 pictures of toys (or 100 pictures of animals, etc.) cut from magazines

Please consider the items on this list to be suggestions only.  Feel free to help your child collect any objects that will fit into his or her bag.  I only ask that you avoid objects that are sharp (such as tacks).  Your child’s 100th Day of School Collection is due back to school on our 100th day, THIS THURSDAY, JANUARY 29.

Also, we are in need of snacks for our 100-item snack. Please use the “100th Day Snack Sign Up” link to volunteer to bring in a snack.  When signing up, please include the type of snack you are providing. Snacks should be items where students can easily take 10 pieces from each provided snack. Examples may include small crackers, pretzels, cereal, dried fruit.  There are 29 students in our Kindergarten program so please be sure your provided snack has at least 290 items in the box.   Please bring the snack on or before THURSDAY, JANUARY 29.

Thank you in advance for helping to make our 100th Day of School a complete success.  Please let me know if you have questions.

January Reminders

Please read carefully as we have lots of reminders as we make our way through the first month of 2015.

Homework Routines
Please be sure to continue to establish strong routines between home and school.  Your help in homework completion is essential.  Each week night your child should be reading to you and/ or with you, completing one double-sided homework page, and working with their spelling sort cards.  Click HERE to access our Spelling Sort Homework Routine.

Canvas Book Bags
As the second half of our school year gears up we will be filling our canvas Book Bags with LOTS of new books and new supplies (Literacy Tool Kit, Weekly Word flashcards, and even math flashcards, too).  We also use them at school to collect books for our Quiet Reading Time and Guided Reading Time.  Please be sure your child brings their Book Bag to school daily.  We use them everyday!

January Library Field Trip
Wednesday, January 28th   9:30 - 12:30
We will be traveling to this library THIS Wednesday, January 28th.  Please be sure your child has their library card.

Winter Gear
Snow pants and boots are needed daily.  Even when the snow has melted it is important that your child has all of their winter gear.  Our outdoor grounds get incredibly muddy during the Winter and early Spring seasons and our snow pants and boots are worn daily to help protect our clothing from both the snow and mud.  Please be sure your child is prepared for daily outdoor play.  If they don't have their snow pants and boots they will have to remain on the sidewalks.

Re-enrollment Deadline
Re-enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year is underway.  The re-enrollment deadline has come and gone, so if you have not done so already please be sure to complete and return the re-enrollment form asap to secure your child's spot in class for the 2015-2016 Academic Year.  Classes are filling fast, and we are anticipating that limited space will be available in classes next year.

Welcome Ms. Megan!

Today was a very exciting day for our class.  We welcomed a new friend - Ms. Megan Sanchez - to our class.  Megan is a sophomore at the University of Iowa where she is studying Journalism, Mass Communication, and Non-Profit Organization.  She is actively involved with UIHC where she volunteers and is gearing up to participate in Dance Marathon.  She has a strong passion to help children grow.  She is eager to help our classmates become strong leaders in class, at school, and within the community.

Megan will be in the Cottontails' classroom on Mondays and Wednesdays and until 1:30 on Fridays.  During her time at Willowwind, she will be primarily working with individual students and in small reading and math groups.  She will also be an active part of our Morning Meeting time.

Please be sure to give Megan a warm Willowwind welcome.  If you have any questions directly for Ms. Megan she is available via email at megans@willowwind.org.

Welcome, Megan, we are SOOOOO happy to have you as a part of our Cottontail family.