WOW...What a week!

Dear Families:
We have been having such a wonderful time doing our family interviews. The children's questions are amazing and some of them really stump the interviewees. The children are so comfortable asking their questions to our parents and as I look at the children during the process, I cannot believe that they are only five and six years old. It is so amazing!

I enjoyed meeting most of you during the parent teacher conferences on Thursday. I always have so much to tell you about your wonderful children and enjoyed doing so. I never think that 10 minutes is enough time but I think that I kept on schedule (give or take 5 minutes). As always, my door is always open. If you need to speak to me further, just let me know.

The culmination of our week was our Grandparent's Day on Friday. I cannot tell you how much fun and interesting this day was. The Grandparents who came were Grandparents to all the children. They talked with them. They read with them. They loved them like they were their own. It was such a wonderful sight. We had each Grandparent (and Godfather) talk about their school experiences and I asked the question - "Do you remember your Kindergarten teacher's name?) Unfortunately, only one did... Yet when I asked "Did you have a teacher who made a difference in your life?" I was so impressed and touched with their responses. I was only sorry that I did not have a video to capture the moment. It was so touching. The morning ended with Jack Bowen's grandfather - who came in from New Jersey - read the book "Grandfather and I" to the entire class. It was a real special moment. I wish you were all there to have seen it.

I want to let you know that on Tuesday I will not be in class but will be at Teacher's College to attend a Workshop entitled - Getting Kids to Grow Ideas As They Read and As They Think Across Books. For most of us, reading a book is all about coming to care for a character. Once we've finished the novel, what remains in our minds are the characters. For Kindergarten children, stories people their lives. Your children come to us already caring for and identifying with characters. The characters may come from a cartoon on television, from read-aloud books, or from pop cultures, but one way or another most children already know what it is to care about a character. From this workshop, I will be able to really teach your children to develop close relationships with more characters, and show the children that caring about characters can change the way they read, think, talk and write about books. One of comments from our Grandparents that I heard over and over again was that they could not believe that Kindergarten children were reading!! It is truly amazing how well your children are reading and as a teacher it is a joy to teach them. These workshops help me, and all our teachers, become better teachers to your children.

On Wednesday, March 25th...we are going Bowling! This trip is the culmination of our Family Study. We are going to Maple Lanes in Bay Ridge. This will be a great opportunity for all kindergarteners to play, and learn together - about bowling and each other! Bowling is a great sport to build coordination, upper body strength, patience and learn spirit. We will be leaving at 9:30 a.m. from School. We will take a school bus to arrive at Maple Lanes (1570 - 60th Street) at 10 a.m. We will play up to two games and have a pizza lunch at the alley! If you have not returned your authorization and money for the trip ($12.00), please do so immediately.

Coming up....

Trip on Friday, May 15th, to Tribeca Performing Arts Center to see The Paper Bag Players perform in the show "Make A Little Room For Me!" If you have not returned the permission slip and money for the trip ($9.00), please do so immediately. The money is due to the performers on April 3rd.

New Social Studies Unit... Playgrounds. We will be working with a Social Studies Staff Developer - Renee Dinnerstein - on this inquiry-based children-centered project. Renee was a former teacher at PS 321 and was, in fact, my daughter, Alexandra's Kindergarten teacher. She worked with the Kindergarten teachers last year on our Social Studies Unit and is a wonderful asset to P.S. 154. We will be having many trips to various playgrounds around Brooklyn...so get ready!

I think that is enough for now. As always, I love working with your children and am getting a little sad that the time seems to be going very fast.

Fondly,
Ms. Graham