Hello families, this week we continued our Circles Program by discussing more about our blue circle. Second graders started the green circle, but not the younger kiddos. We reviewed personal information at the beginning of the week and continued to talk about the importance of learning and memorizing a parent phone number as well. THANK YOU to those parents who have practiced with your child. It is such a scary thing to think about, but being prepared is so important. There is a video on Facebook under the name "Now I've Seen Everything" called Child Abduction Social Experiment. I know, it sounds horrific. It happened to come up in my feed. It's not horrific, but it is a representation of how quickly children will go with a stranger who has a puppy. This young guy walks right up (gets permission from the parent first which you see) and talks to the child with his dog. All of the children go with him to see more puppies. Now, children are innocent. They should be innocent. They really are acting their age developmentally, but we unfortunately have to teach them never to go with anyone without getting their caregiver. I guess it's not a new concept. I had a safe word with my parents. My brother and I were coached and had plans in case different scenarios occurred, but it still is sad we have to do that. I digress. The important part is being prepared and introducing our kids to these scenarios in a safe and serious (but not too adult-like) manner. That is why we roll out circles each and every year. Students with special needs unfortunately are more likely to be taken advantage of. And again, it's sad and wrong, but a fact we have to be prepared to address both in the home and at school. While you do your part at home working on phone numbers, address, and parents names (they should be able to tell adults who their parents are--like an officer or store associate in the event they are lost), I will continue to introduce the circles. The blue circle outlines our family, who we trust with our personal information and have total trust in. We talk about how no secrets are kept from our families. Then we get into green. More info to come about that color.
We also talked about spring and the changes occurring and the first graders practiced verbs, blends, and learned about magnets! We went on a magnet hunt around the school to see what stuck. We talked about how opposite poles stick together while same repel. I used the sign for same and different during a mini lesson. We also watched a kids video showing students learning about magnets. It went into further detail about the poles and magnetic field than we needed, but it was still useful. :) And, Mrs. Szalay worked with the kids for game day. Our recess buddies met and completed a making thinking visible chart about recess buddies. I used the CSI--color, symbol, image to have them choose a color that they associate with being a buddy and then draw/illustrate a picture to go along with their experience this year of being a recess buddy. They chose a variety of experiences with the kids and even some other symbols that made them think of being a buddy. These are hung outside our classroom if you are in during the week and want to check them out! Next month will be our last job meeting and Mrs. Szalay and I have a small gift for each child as well as a certificate I created. I will take a picture and post it so you can see what the kids will get on behalf of our program.
Monday I will not be at school. I will be attending the annual START (statewide autism and resources training) in Lansing with Mrs. Szalay.
Make it a great week!
We also talked about spring and the changes occurring and the first graders practiced verbs, blends, and learned about magnets! We went on a magnet hunt around the school to see what stuck. We talked about how opposite poles stick together while same repel. I used the sign for same and different during a mini lesson. We also watched a kids video showing students learning about magnets. It went into further detail about the poles and magnetic field than we needed, but it was still useful. :) And, Mrs. Szalay worked with the kids for game day. Our recess buddies met and completed a making thinking visible chart about recess buddies. I used the CSI--color, symbol, image to have them choose a color that they associate with being a buddy and then draw/illustrate a picture to go along with their experience this year of being a recess buddy. They chose a variety of experiences with the kids and even some other symbols that made them think of being a buddy. These are hung outside our classroom if you are in during the week and want to check them out! Next month will be our last job meeting and Mrs. Szalay and I have a small gift for each child as well as a certificate I created. I will take a picture and post it so you can see what the kids will get on behalf of our program.
Monday I will not be at school. I will be attending the annual START (statewide autism and resources training) in Lansing with Mrs. Szalay.
Make it a great week!