The Garden School Tattler

It was nice to hear from Mekhi's mom. Mekhi was one of the most interesting children we ever had at the Garden School. Love to have him back this summer. Mekhi has a splendid ability to find humor in nearly anything. Tell a joke in class and among the straight faces, there is beaming Mekhi. He's a heart warmer.

Yesterday Miss Kelly and I blended classes so the big kids could show the little kids how to.

We had a big sheet of 1=100 and played bingo. It was probably one of the best group activities we've had in a long time. Some of the little kids took right to the game with the older kids and did a presentable job. They seem to catch on with much quicker with another child showing them. That's why student tutorials are so important. If it's something a child has never done, and then sees another child do, you get not only incentive, but you get ways to do. What makes sense to me from years of experience does not always meet the minds of those just learning. It's an interesting concept.

The question is not, "Then why don't you just let the kids teach the kids?"

The teacher has the whole picture. She understands the whole concept, but there are short cuts that wily children will deduce and show the next kid if he's allowed to. That's why a more open atmosphere is a good thing in early childhood. When a child who knows is able to teach another, the teaching child learns as well. If you can teach something, you really know it. And by the way, mom and dad, Abby is teaching math for me.

We also made words yesterday as a combined group. We took purple domino plus sized paper with consonants or mouth sounds and we used vowel or air sounds in other colors to make words. The color coding was supposed to help, and for some children it did. The children liked the game a lot, and the younger kids did as well as the older children. When a child made a word, he raised his hand and told a teacher and we gave him a penny. He took home his pennies in a stapled Dixie cup.

Winners: Yuta, Austin, Jack, Madison, Peyton, Ty, Hadley. They all got a big candy bar from the kitchen.

We had homemade deep fried chicken nuggets and shrimp nuggets, chocolate chip homemade muffins, oranges, apples, noodles, and milk for lunch yesterday. The kids really liked this and asked for more.

This summer will be a lark as far as new fruits and vegetables. Today is a pizza day. We also stocked up on Popsicles.

Bathroom help: Please help your child learn the GS way of washing. You know how dirty our playground is. When we come in, we wash. We apply soap to our hands and arms clear to the elbows. Then we approach the running water and wash it all off. Then we wash our face with our wet hands. Then we wash off our hands again.

When children approach a running sink, and just stand in front of it, or apply soap and let the soap glob run down the sink, they are not washing. They are wasting time. Dry hands and soap make a child work at this, and that's what they need to do.

Bathrooms are not places to mingle and socialize. Talking in the bathroom will result in a blue face.

I sent home three pages for some children of songs. Please help the children with the words. It's for the Spring Sing. The psalm is from Daniel.

We are off on Friday. Please take note.

Please pick up a copy of the new magazine Evansville Parent. It looks like a winner.