Welcome Back Steele Families–
Being back in our little school this week was so sweet. Thank you to Helen and Bryan Fields and our Cleaning Committee and Matt and Jenny Lewandowski and our Building and Grounds Committee for organizing our Mid Year Clean and getting our school sparkling and ready. As we greeted the kids on our first days back, they didn’t seem to skip a beat and came in ready to see their friends and continue with the learning and fun we had our first semester. You could see their smiles…even with masks on.
For these first couple of weeks, we will be learning and talking about Winter and Snow as we recognize our change of season over the holiday. You will find lots of evidence of winter (snowflakes, wintery scenes, and snowmen) in the classroom when you aide or even if you sneak a peak when class is not inside. Next, we will move back into Fairy Tales. Although Fairy Tales may seem irrelevant to today’s life and culture, there are still many things we can learn from Fairy Tales. They have a clear structure (beginning, middle, and end), enchant the imagination and provide moral lessons through their characters. These are just a few of the benefits. Here are a few resources if you would like to learn more about the continued importance of reading fairy tales in today’s day and age. http://blog.sgws.org/the-importance-of-fairy-tales/ and https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/family-time/benefits-of-reading-fairy-tales/
Although at school we will be introducing your children mostly to the original versions of the fairy tales, there are so many adaptations of the fairy tales that you could get from the library and read at home. We will do our best to keep you updated on which fairy tales we will be doing so that you can extend your child’s learning at home if you would like.
We also have a few reminders as we get back into the swing of things. Please try to take your child’s temperature at home before you come to school. Although we have thermometers at school, they are not as reliable as your home thermometer that you are used to. Also, you may want to update your child’s extra set of clothes to winter clothing just in case they are needed in the next few months. During our Parent Meeting this Thursday, we will also review the Covid information that we sent out last week. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about this information.Thank you for continuing to share your children with us this year. They are why we love what we do.