Butterflies and The Big 4

Hey Everyone,

It was such an exciting week. We were lucky enough to see a monarch hatch and as you can see in the pictures, it was quite the event. Lots of excitement! We also go to release a couple of the butterflies that hatched, as well. As we looked for new milkweed for our last couple of caterpillars, we found another, which we donated to the kindergarten. Thank you to Katy, Brian, Anna and Ben for giving us the opportunity to share this amazing experience!

We did some great reading, too. We read a book called To Be A Kid, a book full of pictures and parts of being a kid. The kids wrote about What it means to be a kid to them in their new writing journals for their first writing assignment of the year. We have emphasized doing your best writing and including as many sounds as you can when writing words you don't know how to spell rather than an emphasis on correct spelling. They did a great job! I don't know about you all, but I know that sleepovers after school on a Friday always felt special... The bus note, the planning, English muffin pizzas and the falling asleep way before I wanted to.

We did some great work around "The Big 4", the expectations we are learning about and building with the students in our school. You can see the start of ours in the picture. We have been talking about each one of the rules and adding to them as we go. Ask your child about it.

As part of our butterfly releasing, we got to start our science journals as well. The kids were given a question, "Do you think the butterfly will fly away (instead of being place on a flower)?" They made a prediction and then did some observations. Considering that it is only day 9 and they were doing something totally new, we were so pleased with their effort.

The kids have been getting better and better at their morning routines. Please make sure your child is clear about their breakfast, snack and lunch plans as to avoid tears and confusion for us and the kitchen. By and large the kids have been doing a great job at this, so thanks. Along these lines, also try to be clear about after school plans with your kiddo(s). There is a big effort in our school right now, trying to tighten up this process. We appreciate all of your help and flexibility.


I have sent you all a sharing schedule as well. I've included a reminder in the email about sharing guidelines but please help your children remember the sharing rules:

1. It can be from nature
2. It can be something they made
3. It can be a story, with or without pictures/artifacts (no toys, please)

As a reminder, we will be offering a parent forum here at Rumney on September 20th from 5:30-7:00. Christine and I will be talking about our 1/2 programs for the first two blocks (there will be 3 total, 30 minutes each) and we will be free for the third block (6:30-7:00) for some light checking-in. No impromptu conferences, please! If you'd ever like to set up a time to chat in more detail, I am more than happy to meet before school most any day. Just let me know when.

As always, let us know if you have questions, comments or concerns.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ben and Tammy