Mark Your CalendarThrough a grant awarded to me by the Branson Education Foundation and in partnership with Grand Country I am able to gift each child with a box of goodies! I am so thankful for the community partnership Branson Schools has with area businesses. I felt like Santa packing these! Your child's box will be ready for them when you arrive to pick up their personal items. Final Class MeetingOur final class meeting will be held THURSDAY, MAY 14th @ 1:00. One memory making opportunity we missed due to Covid 19 was the 1st Grade Camp Out. Boo! So instead of making blanket forts in our classroom, we will be ending this year by camping out at home. Have fun making your own blanket fort, and don't forget to bring your flashlight if you have one!
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It's hard to believe that if it had not been for Covid-19, we would be celebrating the last day of school together as a class next Friday. This is not how I wished for the school year to end. So many thoughts and feelings swirl around in my head, it's hard to find the words.
Jenine Conway, Shayla's mom shared these pictures on our classroom Facebook page of their walk at the Branson Landing. I thought staying home would get easier the longer we practiced it, but it has only got harder. I feel like my son knows something is up- and while he may only be four, he has developed some advanced arguing skills. Something, that does not help the atmosphere at home. I have found the more we get OUT the better our day goes and the less arguing ensues.
Some days we skip "school" all together and in its place take our learning outdoors. These types of learning opportunities are hard to plan. I never know in advance what Archer is going to find interesting. I have to be more aware of my surroundings- and be intentional about pointing out things that might interest him. It's the art of slowing down that allows me to really take in a space and look for the opportunity around me. If you're experiencing something similar in your own home, you might try "skipping" school for the day and getting outside. Find something interesting, observe and watch. Ask questions, look for answers- AND then when you get home, check out Epic (There are a ton of great books there!) peruse through Pinterest for fun activities that match your child's interest. You've got this! The idea of using something your child finds interesting is called inquiry learning and researchers have proven children who are motivated by their own inquiry are more likely to be internally motivated to learn AND retain learned information. You don't have to be skilled in lesson-planning to construct a meaningful learning experience for your child at home. Just sprinkle in a little bit of it literacy, math, and science and you'll be set. If you need help with ideas, send me a message. I'd be happy to help you. If you choose to give this approach a try, please share your pictures with me, and I'll post them to our classroom Facebook page. Many of you have already done this in various forms- from observing new baby birds, to visiting local greenhouses learning abounds all around us! Have fun learning! I wish you well! Tori We are now entering our FIFTH week at home. My family chose to stay at home during our spring-break, which means we are beginning our SIXTH week at home. I know many of you chose to do the same, so I'm guessing we are all experiencing the same feelings. We've only left the house for essentials, and a Home-Depot run here and there for gardening/home improvement essentials. We are trying to be as vigilant as possible to ensure we are doing our part to keep everyone healthy. My son tells me on a daily basis how sad he is and how he just can't wait for Silver Dollar City to open. He's made detailed lists of all the places he plans to go as soon as the sickness is over. He cried and cried when I told him he couldn't go into the gas station to get a snack. He said, "BUT MOMMY I PROMISE TO WEAR MY MASK THE WHOLE TIME!" ... We try not to talk about Covid-19 or play the news in front of him, but he still gets the idea. His questions and feelings have made me think a lot about the children in our classroom. Counselor Cody has created amazing lessons to connect with students and families and offer encouragement and support for maintaining a healthy mindset. Please check those out HERE. Our first grade team is working together to create wonderful resources for families. Those will be linked on our webpage, but you can check out Miss Wilson's Rock Study HERE. I think the kids will have a blast with it! I've been in constant communication with each family, and it's interesting how each family needs something different. I want to be supportive as possible, while ensuring I am not adding to the stress. I will no longer be hosting small-group meetings. It was a great idea, but the timing doesn't work out for many families. Instead, I will be offering an optional "Book Club" immediately following our daily classroom meetings. I thought this would make transitions easier. Parents will only need to help their child connect to one Google Meet a day. I'll be sending more information out later this week for parents who are interested. I have posted an updated schedule. I intend to continue to make weekly contact via video-chat for those who are unable to join our classroom meetings. You can view that schedule HERE I will continue to post an optional Flexible Instruction Calendar weekly for those who have requested it. Please know that each activity is an OPTION. It is not a requirement. Please pick and choose from the activities provided. Dr. Collins sent out an email to parents last week suggesting only spending an hour on home-schooling each day. I understand that each family is different and I want to support you in whatever way I can. I will continue to link those activities in Google Classroom for those who choose to use Google Classroom. You can find this week's calendar HERE. Staying connected has been my biggest concern, but as we move into week five at home I want to add supporting mental health to the forefront. In an effort to be completely transparent- there are days I'm struggling. These are weird times, but one thing is certain, we can all rally together and support one another. If your child is feeling down- let me know, I'd love to send a message, card, schedule a video-chat whatever I can to help. If you need support, please reach out to myself or Counselor Cody. We can connect you to available resources. I wish you all well, Tori Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate learning from home. I planned to continue meeting with families individually next week, but as I learned this week, it's just not sustainable. As many of you already know, I have Archer at home with me and no other options for childcare. Asking a four year old to entertain himself with little interaction from me for a big part of the day just isn't reasonable.
We know the quality of Google Meets has been less than ideal. We are working through the challenges- and I thank you for still attending when possible. It's in no way required or expected- but I think it adds something special to the day- and a bit of routine. I have found Google Meet works best in smaller groups. I have made the decision to do away with individual meets and instead facilitate small group Google Meets from 11:00-11:30 Monday-Thursday for those who are interested in participating. I have attached the schedule and have posted it on this website. I grouped children by what resources they are using at home to further their learning. This will ensure that I'm able remain in contact with families, and address curricular questions asked by families. Again, these meetings are optional, but my hope is they would help you! :) If logging in is too stressful- or managing a single device among multiple children is challenging- please do not feel guilty about letting this go to focus your time and energy elsewhere. Right now, I have several children who are not able to use Google Meet because it is not compatible with their device. I am considering doing Facebook Live classroom meetings on our class Facebook page instead of a whole-class Google Meet daily. Please let me know your thoughts/feelings on this, as I haven't made the decision to do away with whole-class Google Meets yet. I hate that there are some who are not able to join. :( The Flexible Learning Calendar will be posted Sunday night, just in time for next week's learning! :) Have a wonderful Easter weekend! I wish you all well! -Tori This is not good-bye. As many of you know Governor Parson made the difficult decision to close all Missouri schools in his address Thursday afternoon. While this decision wasn't entirely unexpected, it is no less heart-breaking. I'm still searching for the words... What you should know... nutritional services AND home-learning opportunities will continue until our scheduled last day of school May 15th. As of right now, summer school WILL be in session and is set to begin June 1st. If you have not done so already, you can read Dr. Swofford's letter to the community here. I remain committed to the students in my class and plan to continue to host class-meetings, small-group conferences and prepare home-learning materials for parents to use as they wish. Until I see you again, I love you all and wish you well! -Tori To say these times are weird, uncertain and trying wouldn't even begin to describe it. We are entering into our third week under "stay at home" orders and I'm beginning to get my footing--- I think! I created this website with you in mind. I wanted to bring order and organization to our communication. Throughout this site you'll find information for supporting your child from home. Links to resources, videos, ideas, etc. Please check out the Learning From Home page within this website for more information about digital learning opportunities.
Staying connected to students and families has been and remains my number one priority. Teachers have been encouraged to provide resources for families, but we have not been asked to create lesson plans or online assignments. The last thing we want to do is add to the over-whelm and anxiety every family is currently facing. Our school has decided to send out OPTIONAL packets of worksheets to EVERY PK-6 grade student. You will receive one packet each week. These do not have to be turned in. They are simply a resource. I encourage you to support your child academically at home in whatever way you can. If that's sitting down at the table for 15 minutes a day and doing a page from the packet great! If it's having your child read a recipe, great! If it's having your child help you measure out ingredients, plant seeds in a garden- great! There are many things that can be done throughout your day at home, that may not seem like teaching moments- but when done with intention, can be more fruitful than any worksheet. When teaching your child at home, take a moment to explain the task, model the task, do the task together, and then have your child do the task independently. Teachers refer to this as the "I-Do, We-Do, You-Do" model. While teachers have not been asked to hold daily video-conferences or create special online assignments, I have chosen to provide these extra opportunities for connection and learning because I want to support you and your child as we go through the weeks ahead. I have received several parent requests regarding online assignments, and its from those requests that I created a "Flexible Learning Day" schedule. This is NOT a requirement. It's simply an extra resource for you. If you have access to the internet and can navigate Google Classroom, I encourage you to give the activities a try. Please let me know how the activities work for you. The feedback I receive from you is important as it helps me to know what works and what doesn't. If a link doesn't work, or your can't figure something out, please DO NOT stress about it! We're all new to this- and as I said at the beginning of this post, I feel like I've found my footing-- maybe. LOL |
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