Our Valentine's Day party was a lot of fun. We loved opening all of the nice cards and treats that were in our mailboxes! Thanks to so many parents who sent in nice treats for us - we'll be eating them all week I think!

We've continued to work on our United States symbols unit. A favorite this week was learning about the Statue of Liberty. We were amazed to find out how big she is, where she came from and how she got to the United States! It prompted a nice discussion about our ancestors and how some of them may have traveled here from other countries long ago.

Our Skills for Learning lessons were about naming a feeling we might be having. This is tricky - sometimes we think and act like we are angry, but we might really be feeling frustration, anxiety, jealousy or sadness. Mrs. Schnieders also works with each student on coping skills that they might use once they identify a feeling. All of the children have become better at naming coping skills and using them. Lately, I've even seen some children suggest a coping skill for an upset classmate to use! We talk a lot about how Level 4 on our Coping Skill Rubric requires a student to accept help and use a coping skill instead of demonstrating a behavioral outburst. Level 4 is a big deal for our students, so we're really focusing on this skill.

One of the books we read this week was called "Peace Week in Miss Fox's Class". We loved it so much that we've decided to make a book about our class with our students in it! We're having a lot of fun taking photos for it and deciding how our room can be peaceful too.

On Friday, we'll have been in school for 100 days! It is hard to believe that some of our students are the same ones who began here in the fall. All of our little guys are able to read and write, add and subtract, sit and listen at group, and complete many tasks independently! All of our big guys are able to participate in a lengthy social work lesson with peers and have been able to use coping skills in our classroom and in general ed. classrooms! Friendships have been formed and new skills have been gained. I have greatly appreciated the help and support of all of the parents in this program. This was a challenging 100 days - we are so focused on changing behavior in a program like this, that it can often feel like a lot of work for students, parents and staff. On Friday, our students will be excited to see the number 100, and we'll do many activities about that number. But I will also spend a moment feeling amazed - amazed at the changes your efforts, your trust and your teamwork have helped create in your children.

A New Classmate and Learning about Worries...

This week we talked about feeling worried. We reviewed different coping skills that would be good to use when a worry becomes really big. These coping skills would include: talk to a friend or teacher, use "self talk" to reassure yourself, do some deep breathing or resting, or bump out the worry/upset thought and bump in a happy thought. We also talked about how a worried person might look and why a big worry can cause problems for us. Sometimes worrying makes us feel sick or unable to learn, and sometimes worries that get too big cause us to hit or scream or throw things. We call this a "Red Alert!!!" and we need to be willing to try a coping skill or accept help when we feel that upset. We have noticed that our students know more coping skills now, are more able and willing to use them, and use them more frequently when frustrated rather than other more disruptive behaviors. Several children have moved up a level on our Coping Skills Rubric! Encourage your child to use coping skills at home too - they need many opportunities to practice using them.

We have also been working hard on saying "OK" to directions or when we hear "no" so that we can earn our gold stars. I see that many children are beginning to do this more often and more easily. I also have noticed many children showing empathy and compassion towards classmates! This makes me feel really proud of them!

We have been working on learning about the symbols of the United States of America and what they stand for. We have read about Abraham Lincoln and know that his face is on the penny. We'll learn about George Washington tomorrow, and talk about quarters. We've also practiced counting nickels and dimes. I will send a little money sheet home with pictures and poems about these coins. For extra practice at home, you can have your child count out your extra change. Counting by fives and tens is also helpful practice.

We were so happy to have a new student join our classroom this week! Our new first grade boy is a wonderful friend and has been welcomed by all of us!

This week several children earned their gold stars for the Say "YES" to "No" club! We have been practicing saying "OK" when a direction is given or when we hear "no" from a teacher. We understand that we need to not only say "OK", but show "OK" by following the direction. This is such an important skill for our students - when children are compliant they are able to learn new things and have improved social interactions with peers. Saying "OK" has greatly reduced power struggles in our classroom. You can help give your child practice with this at home to help encourage cooperative behavior.

In our Skills for Learning lessons this week we talked about and practiced compassionate behavior and ways to help friends who might be sad. We role played different ways to help someone when they are sad. I notice that many children are really beginning to think about how the other person is feeling, and show a much more appropriate response. The Home Link pages were WONDERFUL this week!

We've been outside for some very muddy, spring like recesses. We love this mild weather, but boots and spare pairs of dry socks are needed for all the puddles!

We talked a lot about the ground hog and whether spring will be early or late this year, and about friendship as we begin the month of February. We'll make valentine mailboxes next Tuesday. Your child may bring in his/her valentines any day after that. We are gaining a new student next week, so we will have 12 students. Your child does not need to write the other students' names on their cards, but should sign their own name on each valentine they will be passing out. It looks like we have plenty of snacks and things coming in for our party - thanks everyone! In all of my years of teaching, it always seem that opening up those valentine cards is one of the happiest events of the year!

Classroom Friends

Miss Qonja, our principal came in and read a great book to us today. She read "Goldi-socks and the Three Libearians". We loved the book and we were a good listening audience! Thank you, Miss Qonja!

Another friend we have is Mrs. Nancy. Mrs. Nancy is a retired second grade teacher who comes and works in our room one morning each week. Mrs. Nancy listens to us read, helps us complete our work and joins in with us at Center Time. We love to have Mrs. Nancy visit and are so appreciative of her help!

This week in our Skills for Living Lesson we learned that some actions are mistakes. We talked about what to do when we do something by accident. We looked at photographs of children and practiced saying, "I'm sorry. It was an accident. Are you OK?" We will continue to work on understanding that some things are NOT done on purpose and we do not need to become overly upset.

We read a great book today called "I Just Don't Like the Sound of No". We learned how to accept "NO" for an answer. We need to: *Look at the person, *Say "okay", *Stay calm, and *Ask why later. We will be practicing this at school and earning gold stars by our name when we demonstrate that we can safely accept "no". Please let us know if your child is accepting "no" at home too. It is actually good practice for your child to hear you say "no" and will help him acquire this important life skill. Children who are able to accept "no" appropriately at school have more positive peer interactions and increased learning opportunities.

People can have different feelings about the same things.... and penguins too!

Today in our Skills for Learning lesson we learned that sometimes two people do not feel or think the same way about something. In this photo, two friends are showing us how they each feel about a situation. We learned that these two friends felt the same way about some things (riding on a crowded bus, swimming in a lake), but they did NOT feel the same way about holding a pet mouse! Understanding that there are different perspectives, other than our own, helps us with our peer interactions.

We have been learning all about penguins and other polar animals. We did an experiment today with a blubber glove! First we put our bare hand in the icy water - it was so cold! Then we put our hand in the blubber glove and put it back into the ice water - no problem! We understand that penguins and polar bears are able to swim in the icy water because they have a thick layer of blubber to insulate them.

Angry feelings, empathy and being a peace keeper

This week our Sills for Learning lessons are about angry feelings. We've looked at pictures of angry faces and we've talked about times when we've felt angry ourselves. It is normal to feel angry sometimes, but feeling angry is uncomfortable, so we want to use our coping skills to help us calm down and solve problems. We also learned about the word "empathy". Empathy means we understand what someone else is feeling. We are going to practice identifying our own feelings and "reading" the feelings of others - this skill is especially helpful for children who act in an aggressive manner. When your child is able to name an angry feeling at home, REINFORCE their behavior with feedback such as : "I noticed you saying out loud that you are angry. You are really paying attention to how you feel."

We've had several discussions about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and today we made a chart of things that peace keepers do. Our list included: share, talk things out, have safe hands, use coping skills and save negative comments. We're working on more peace keeper activities this week and next in honor of Dr. King. The children all understand that he worked hard to solve problems peacefully, and we want to learn how to do that too.

The Loon Lake Student Council will continue the Pennies for Pasta fundraiser to help children with Leukemia. Children may bring in pennies, or other change, any day this week or next - the fund raiser ends on Jan. 20.

There is no school for students on Friday or Monday. I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend!

Snow Crystals and Feelings

Today we did a really neat experiment to help us learn about snow crystals. We used Borax soap and hot water to mix a saturated solution. We immersed pipe cleaner snowflakes in this solution and waited and watched. After awhile, crystals began to form on our pipe cleaners! They were so beautiful and so amazing. Right now we've voted to hang them up in our room - later on, we'll send one home with each student.
We also continued our Empathy Unit and looked at photographs of children who looked "interested" or "scared". We learned that good friends try to look interested when someone is speaking to us. We are getting better at identifying emotions based on visual cues, and we are beginning to understand that feelings are caused by different things. There is a Home Link for this lesson to work on over the next week at home.