Are you wondering what happened to the happy-go-lucky child who used to live in your home? Adjusting to kindergarten is exciting, exhausting and (sometimes) downright ugly. The children are doing REALLY well at school. Often times, it is so tiring for them to hold it together at school that they fall apart once they return to the relaxing comfort of home. I'm sorry but it might get trickier before it gets easier. Being at school for full days (starting Wednesday) is more draining, even for children who are used to full days at daycare. (No naps in kindergarten.) There is a light at the end of the tunnel, however, as most children will adjust within a month.
In the meantime, here are a few hints:
1. Bedtime may need to be even earlier for a while. Luckily, it's getting dark earlier so that may make it easier for you.
2. Make sure your child is eating a well balanced breakfast and dinner. When my own children experienced the "Kindergarten Uglies", I would save out a plate of dinner each night. I would keep it for the next day and serve it to my kindergarten student as an after school snack. If my five-year old fell asleep early (which was often the case), I knew he had eaten a good meal. If he stayed awake for dinner, he could eat a small serving with the rest of the family. It eliminated dinner battles and made for a more relaxing evening.
3. Reduce or eliminate TV after dinner. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics determined that all TV watching before bed (especially violent TV--including such shows as "SpongeBob") made it harder for children ages 3 to 5 to fall asleep and to sleep fitfully. "'Even shows with really good content can still be a problem for sleep', said the researcher. 'When kids are reading a book or playing with toys before bed, they control the pace. But TV ramps their brains up when they're trying to slow down.' Another expert agreed. 'Electronic stimulation at bedtime can affect your child's sleep and affect their thinking process,' she said. 'It's best to avoid exposure altogether at least an hour before bedtime. But if your children are watching something before bed, make sure it's age appropriate.'"
3. Reduce or eliminate TV after dinner. A recent study in the journal Pediatrics determined that all TV watching before bed (especially violent TV--including such shows as "SpongeBob") made it harder for children ages 3 to 5 to fall asleep and to sleep fitfully. "'Even shows with really good content can still be a problem for sleep', said the researcher. 'When kids are reading a book or playing with toys before bed, they control the pace. But TV ramps their brains up when they're trying to slow down.' Another expert agreed. 'Electronic stimulation at bedtime can affect your child's sleep and affect their thinking process,' she said. 'It's best to avoid exposure altogether at least an hour before bedtime. But if your children are watching something before bed, make sure it's age appropriate.'"
4. If your child is hesitant to talk about school as soon as you see her, try waiting for a bit. Share something about your day. Read a story or play a game to reconnect, then ask some simple questions about your child's day. What happened in the story Mrs. Maurer read today? What's new with the caterpillars? Do you like playing inside or outside?
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| It's a boy! Male Monarch butterflies have a black dot on each of their lower wings. Here is Mrs. Harding setting this little guy free on Friday. |
Unified Arts: Here is the daily schedule for our class. We will start having Unified Arts on Wednesday, our first full day of kindergarten.
Mondays: Library (Children must bring their book back each week before they can sign out a new one.)
Tuesdays: Art (Children should keep an old, baggy tee shirt in their backpacks to use as an art shirt.)
Wednesdays: PE (Sneakers MUST be worn.)
Thursdays: Music
Fridays: PE (Sneakers MUST be worn.)
Morning Snack: Starting on Wednesday, we will take a morning snack break. The children will have a few minutes to eat a snack from home. Please send one healthy snack for your child to eat each morning. This will tide your child over until we eat lunch at 12:15.
Paperwork for School/Classroom Volunteers: The paperwork required for volunteering in our school has been updated. If you still have the forms I gave you during orientation, please discard them. I will be sending home new forms this week. Adults must complete this paperwork before being allowed to volunteer in our school or to chaperone field trips. Policy changes require that this paperwork be filled out each year. If you filed paperwork last year, it must be filled out and updated again this year. Thank you for being so understanding.
Scholastic Book Club: An order form for Scholastic Books will be going home on Tuesday. This is an optional way to purchase books for your home. It is not required and I keep it very low-key so that children don't realize who buys books and who doesn't. If you are interested in purchasing books, please return the order form with a check payable to Scholastic Books by Monday, September 10.
UVM Intern: Our class will be welcoming a UVM intern this week. Ms. Rapke is a junior majoring in elementary education. She will be joining us on most Tuesday and Thursday mornings through mid-November. She will be working with all of the students and will be responsible for teaching some upcoming math and social studies lessons.
Math: Ms. Kittell, our kindergarten special educator, will begin co-teaching math with me this week. She will be in our classroom on a daily basis during our afternoon math time. Many of the children who attended our preschool program know "Stacie" but now that we are in Kindergarten, she is known as Ms. Kittell.
Apple Picking: Information will be coming home this week regarding our apple picking field trip later in September. A limited number of parent chaperones will be needed. I will share the date, time and cost once that information is finalized.
This Week: We will be introducing our "Science Notebooks" as well as the "Three Ways to Read a Book". On Wednesday, we will begin introducing a "letter a day" starting with the letter a.
Coming Events...
Monday, September 3: No school.
Tuesday, September 4: Kindergarten will be dismissed at 11:30am.
Wednesday, September 5: Our first FULL day of Kindergarten. PE today. Please wear sneakers. Letter of the Day "A"
Thursday, September 6: Music today. Letter of the Day "B"
Friday, September 7: PE today. Please wear sneakers. PBIS assembly for students and staff. Letter of the Day "C".
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