The Garden School Tattler

The days at school have been in the adjustment stage. Children moving from the expectations of one teachers' class to another, parents enrolling new children, new meals, new games, new toys, new, new, new. New is a good thing as long as it means growth, and we're growing, and we're learning.

It's always tough to find out exactly where a child is academically, because at this age, they remember sometimes and not other - depends on whether they are ready or not.

We've been starting Circle Time or Town Meeting with a big Q and A. Yesterday we asked, "If God made the universe and everything in it, how big do you suppose God is if those are his toys?"

Today we're doing science, and the big Q and A for science will have to do with the universe. And we will start space study. I have my own star, and if I can find the papers and the map, I'm going to share it with the children. My daughter Katy bought it for me for Christmas, and yes, you can buy a star. It's a great gift.

We are also asking the kids what's new at home. We hear a lot of stuff!

We're doing yoga again in the morning. It's a bending and stretching exercise. It increases balance and stamina.

This week we are doing handwriting papers as a whole school. If your child has brought home candy stapled to his work, he's in the handwriting club. In order to make the cut, the child has to write his name using the spaces, the lines, getting the letters right, and without erasure or extra lines. It's about scraping the summer rust of the letters and remembering what we're supposed to do.

We have two new students, Eli and Emma. These wonderful children couldn't be cuter.

In my class, my kids are learning to follow directions. It's a big lesson. Listening is the one MOST important thing little ones need to do to to make a big splash in big school. Any teacher divides her students into the children she can depend on to do it right every time with little help, and the ones who just can't, can't can't. Then, helping the kids who rarely need help becomes a joy. Yesterday, Miss Independence (Hadley) wanted to make a pretty card with the new scissors and punches. It was after school, so when she asked me to help, it was my pleasure; I couldn't do enough.

When some of the other truly independent children came over for help, it became a party of card making. I enjoyed helping Abby, Faith, and Aidan. I'll help any child, but those who don't listen or ask you to "do" it rather than wanting to learn so they can do it themselves are not learning, and I've made cards before I don't need to do it again for myself. So I tell them, "It's your card. If you want to do this, do it, if you want me to do it, just leave it on the table." It's all new and exciting when they discover that they can do it all by themselves.

We are doing a lot of flash card words for memory sake. We are learning to recognize all the names in the school as well as all the first grade spelling words. It's exciting to hear a very young child read words from memory. David got 18 words yesterday.

We looked at patterns. If parents look, the worlds of science, economy, domestication, language, and recreation are all filled with repetition and patterns. Yesterday we did a one/one pattern. Some of the children did well, and some didn't. We strung beads. We will be doing this for September. Patterns are important. We will eventually go to paper patterns.

Since we will be working with numbers to 100, it's important to just begin. Children this age don't need introductions - they are more comfortable with just jumping in. I will be sending home paperwork with a block of numbers to 100 colored in various ways. It's a community effort; I don't mind if they copy. School work is new to some of them, and the amount they understand is less important than doing it right now.

Reading sounds are the height of our reading adventure this year. If you are working with your child, ask about beginning sounds like T t-t-t and table. Consonant or mouth sounds are first and then we do vowel sounds or air sounds. Then we make words.

Well, that's a preview. More later. It's been fun and most of the kids are enjoying the day. Oh, just a bit more - we're learning to play the flute - 30 flutes all playing can't be a bad thing. Everyone has their own, and we're learning fingering. It's hilarious.