Good afternoon on this toasty December day,
First of all, just wanted to happily send the news out again that Erik is back home and on the mend. Hooray! Thank you for the quick responses to sending a meal to his family today.
Kind Language
With the holidays approaching and what with the added excitement and energy that comes with it, I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the importance of the community and how we try to nurture it in LEW. At the core of community is how we relate and communicate with one another. The students themselves declared that our community should sound..
"Considerate, Peaceful, No Harmful Words, and that we All Do Our Part"
Recently, we've noticed that we need to refer back to these beliefs. On the one hand, the students are truly bonding with one another - even across grade levels. On the other hand, since they are more comfortable with one another, we tend to forget our grace and courtesy and talk more forcibly with one another when there are disagreements. Even so, saying things like "shut up" or calling people names is not only unacceptable, but it completely goes against what the students believe our community should sound like. Language that is harmful or intended to hurt is not what we want the students to fall back on. Instead we coach them to use "I language." For instance, "I felt frustrated when you kept interrupting my work and I need to you wait for me to be available." It's inevitable that we will disagree with one another once in a while, but we can still problem solve respectfully.
One way we intend to help the students feel more comfortable using this language is to model some scenarios in meeting where we use "I felt..because...and I need..." language to solve our problems. Also, if we notice that a student is using harmful language, we help them take a moment to calm down. Then, we go over what happened and practice using the appropriate language the second time through. The goal is that the harmful language is addressed as soon as possible, but if for some reason we are not able to walk through the problem that day (because it's the end of the day or what not), then I will send a note home to the students' families so that they can practice at home. Then the next day the students will make things right with one another - i.e. restitution.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the use of kind language, I would be more than happy to talk with you.
What we're working on
We're winding down, but we're still working!
First years are studying the story behind the months of the year, working with money quantities, and learning about how we can help conserve water.
Second years are finishing up the fundamental needs, creating physical maps of north america, and brushing up on subtraction with borrowing.
Third years are continuing their study of the Timeline of Humans and writing fascinating origin stories - like the first fire, the first boat, or the first piece of art. They are also continuing their practice with 4-digit subtraction with borrowing and checking with addition. They are also practicing their x facts - see if they can do the multiples of 3, 6, 7, 8, or 9 up to times 10.
Gex needs a home for the holidays!
Unfortunately, I am somewhat late with this request. Gex, our beloved Bearded Dragon, needs a home for the holidays. He is extremely docile and very easy to care for. The students are professional caretakers at this point! If you would be interested in housing a bearded dragon from December 18-January 2, please let me know.
Book Drive
Thanks so much to all of you for your book drive donations. There is still time to donate! Please bring any gently used books to school by Dec. 18. The Minnesota Literacy Council and the children they serve would be incredibly grateful.
Clara's Dream and Winter Solstice Celebration
Thursday and Friday will be special days in lower el. We will have the chance to have a little winter solstice party planned by the students and a chance to take a trip and see the ballet, Clara's Dream at Macalaster College. What a great way to send off 2015!
I hope all of you are finding time to enjoy the season ... and also finding time to relax :)
All the best,
Jessy Eaton Fabel
Lower Elementary Guide"Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core." ~ Maria Montessori
