Thank you for attending!! We are grateful for your participation. Please find a full recap here; peruse any section of our Back-to-School Night information below:

A Taste of Green — Hopes and Dreams for the Green Room

1) Where we are now…“Everyone In” — Inclusion and Independence

2) Where we are going… Skills ( Academic and Social); introduction to Handwriting Without Tears®️ and embedded academics. Ex. “Marlene Research”

3) Emergent Curriculum — Going Deep — diving into different  real-time inquiries (a) party/celebration theme; (b) tape “revolution” (c) animal/zoo theme

1) Where we are now…

Way back at the end of August and the very beginning of September we started the school year with some  Hopes and Dreams .

“Everyone In”

Building a strong classroom environment, where the children feel safe and secure with us and supported by one another.

Think Circle Time– a time where we practice greeting each other,  which welcomes all children into the circle. But circle time is also a time for discussions and especially practice  listening to each other and taking turns talking.

Building an “Everyone In” environment also includes a lot of modeling and mitigation from from teachers that give clear examples and expectations about how to be a welcoming and considerate member of the classroom for example.

A friend wants to only play with another preferred friend. So you might hear, ”No, you can’t play with us!” In a situation like that we let the children know you can play alone but if you choose to play with friend then other people may want to join in and that’s ok.

Routine building examples:

– Snack time independence (water cups) (practice pouring) (family-style portion awareness)

– Clean up

– Participating in Circle Time (How to be a good participant)

– Community building

Expectations: listening to others, how to have a dialogue (ex: journey of our “Together-Name”) expressive language learning, how to talk, how to listen effectively, how to gather and transmit meaning, how to tell jokes, etc.

2) Where we are going…

We experienced a sampling of the Handwriting Without Tears®️ program, ex. wooden pieces (big line and little line, big curve and little curve) out of which all the letters in the English alphabet can be formed.

Two important considerations:

(a) keeping the work fun and low pressure – to prevent children from developing an aversion to handwriting;

(b) embedding skill-work with meaningful real-life child-generated aims like the “We Love Marlene Book”.

Interview questions included: “Where is Marlene when she is not in Green?” “What does Marlene like to eat?” “Does Marlene have a pet?”

3) Emergent Curriculum

Taking nomination ideas for our “Together Name” vote is an example of teacher-generated curriculum (with opportunities for kids to have choices and making individual decisions).

Mastering the use colored masking tape as a 3D drawing material, and creating a classroom-sized environment with it is an example of a child-generated “emergent curriculum” thread.

Creating a “Happy Birthday” experience for their peers, wrapping presents…

…wrapping more presents, tying entry-to-the-party bracelets, taking food deliveries (with embedded math)…

…writing party menus, mixing strawberry drinks, coffee, wine, baking cakes…

…creating party decor and making Halloween treats, these are examples of passionate child-generated curriculum threads, too.

Writing Sonia to order an intensely desired book about animal facts, building zoos are examples of child-generated curriculum threads, too.

Real-time, purposeful math, pre-writing, fine-motor planning, vocabulary building, strategic thinking skills are all embedded in these actions.

Let’s see where the children will take these studies!