New friends and learning about the "zones"!

This is our fairy door. We were surprised to find a wagon full of fall leaves there one morning. Another morning we found a little fairy garden that we are taking care of. Sometimes we find little notes, and sometimes children leave little notes or even beautiful work there for them to see!
Friday was picture day at Loon Lake and we also had a new student join our classroom! Now our classroom has 9 wonderful children in it!

We have learned a new yoga position...elephant breathing.We refer to our coping skill photos a lot!
 Some of the students are beginning to use deep breathing to self calm when they feel upset. In our social skills lessons, we began to talk about some of the Zones of Regulation (or zones that describe how we are feeling). We are learning that the green zone is like a green light - you are "good to go." We are in the green zone when we feel calm and focused. We also talked about the yellow zone - when we start to lose control and feel silly or excited or maybe even frustrated. The red zone is for big anger or upset yelling. We will keep working on learning about each zone and talking about our own feelings. This will take time and a lot of practice - it is a new concept for our class. Eventually, we will be able to think about the zone we are in and about a coping skill that will help us get back to green!

Our first Parent Support Group meeting will be on Tuesday, October 28 from 6-7;00 in our classroom. All parents, grandparents and caregivers are invited! We will talk about coping skills, and of course, any other topics that are on your minds! 

Parent Teacher Conferences are on Thursday, November 13 from 8:00 to 8:00. If you haven't already signed up for a time, please jot me a note about what time is best for you, and I will put you on the schedule.
Thank you again for sharing your children with me - I don't know when I have had such a wonderful group of children to begin the fall with!

Fall Fun!

This week we read books about fall leaves and we created beautiful tissue paper leaf art. Our classroom looks wonderfully filled with seasonal art created by your children! Each art lesson is designed to develop focus (watching and listening as I model the steps), memory skills (remembering the steps, getting the proper materials), fine motor skills, and the possible use of front loaded coping skills (we discuss which coping skills to use when frustrated, when you need help etc.) Of course, art is also a wonderful outlet for creativity and and expression, a great way to improve self confidence and it just makes you feel good!

Miss Marlowe came on Thursday morning to do music therapy with us. We had a wonderful time!

As we continue to work on coping skills, we've added some yoga exercises to help us feel calmer. Ask your child to show you bear breathing, down dog, gorilla or tree poses.

 We also practiced self-talk to focus on our work and how to raise our hand and ask for help if we don't know what to do.
On Friday morning we read a recipe for applesauce together and took turns grinding up cooked apples for our own yummy applesauce.

Apples, books and friends...

We read many books about apples and Johnny Appleseed this week and had fun with some apple art. We plan to make our own applesauce next week.
We spent time each day enjoying books from our book bags and book boxes -we learned that we can enjoy all kinds of books. We are practicing reading quietly and enjoying one book at a time, while we stretch the time we are able to read/look at books. This class LOVES to hear books read aloud!

At Group Time we continue to work on focus -eyes watching, ears listening, quiet mouths, bodies still.  We are ready to learn when we do these things!

The older children practiced addition using a number line this week and played partner games  - I heard a lot of friendly talk and saw great turn taking from everyone!

Mrs. Schnieders, our social worker, worked with all of the children this week at the social work table.

We have been practicing 4 coping skills and have photos of kids in our classroom demonstrating these coping skills. We are working on: deep breathing, asking for help, move away/ignore and self talk. We always prompt our students to try one of these coping skills when they are feeling frustrated or upset...little by little, they are beginning to do this with more and more success. We also practice saying, "OK" when a direction is given or a request is made. It is really important for all of us to encourage these things, and to provide lot's of praise for the attempts children make. Coping skills and saying "OK " are replacement behaviors for screaming, crying, and refusal -it is hard work to learn a new skill like this, so we practice a lot!
Thank you for coming to Curriculum Night -it was wonderful to see you. You all have children who are really fun to work with -this class is truly a joy!

Our First Week of School

What an exciting first few days of school -we have been busy learning classroom rules and routines, practicing good work habits, and having fun together! Our days are very busy, so don't be surprised if your child comes home a little tired.
We began learning about how we can look and listen at group and how we can focus our bodies and brains so that we are ready to learn new things. In our Skills for Learning Lessons, we learned that we have 4 Listening Rules: *eyes watching, *ears listening, *voice quiet and *body still. These skills are linked to better academic and social achievement, so we work hard on them throughout the day.

    We also explored our box of "calming tools" and learned how and when they can help us with strong feelings of frustration or anger.

We were able to try partner Centers and it was a big success! This is a great way for us to practice our social skills. 

Next Tuesday is Curriculum Night for our classroom. We will begin in our room at 5:30, and at 6:00 we will move to the Media Center together to hear from our principal, Miss Qonja. I hope to see you at Curriculum Night -it is going to be a wonderful year together!

Our First Day was Great!

We had a wonderful first day! We worked...

 and we played....