Kreft Family Newsletter - December 18, 2009
December 19, 2009
Principal's News - Barbara Grell
Holiday Sing-Along
On Dec. 22 our students will be treated to a holiday sing-along. Mrs. Geib, Kreft music specialist, will lead the children in many fun holiday songs. Mrs. Spangenberg, Kreft's instructional strategist, and the band members she plays with will provide added enjoyment to the afternoon festivities.
Winter Reading
We hope that our students will read over winter break and continue to become better and better readers. Please encourage your child to spend a few minutes each day reading while they are away from school. This extra reading does make a difference.
Weather and Recess
Winter weather has arrived! We have a lot of snow on the playground. Make sure your child wears their boots and snowpants each day. Most students have fun playing in the snow. If they don't have boots and snowpants, they can only play on the blacktop.
Lost and Found Items
We have many items in our lost and found box. Remind your child to look for any lost items. At conferences in January we will display the items and whatever is left will be given to charity.
Happy Holidays.
Mrs. Grell
Upcoming Events
Dec. 23 No School - Winter Break Begins
Jan. 04 Classes Resume
Snow Make Up Days
Dec. 8 will be made up on Feb. 15
Dec. 9 will be made up on May 27
Dec. 10 will be made up on May 28
Dec. 14 will be made up on June 1
Lifeskill of the Week
Courage - To act according to one's beliefs
Counselor News - Marcia Raymer
Don't let Divorce cause Holiday Stress
The holiday season can be a stressful time for families who are going through or have gone through the difficult experience of divorce. Therefore, I'm including in this month's parent newsletter some solid advice on how to best help your child/children. If you have any questions or would like me to speak with your child please feel free to contact me at 366-8290.
Post-Divorce Parenting Mistakes and Strategies by Dr. Phil
Here is a list of the most frequent mistakes made by parents.
- Sabotaging your child's relationship with the other parent.
- Using your child as a pawn to "get back at" or hurt your ex.
- Using your child to gain information or to manipulate and influence your ex.
- Forcing your child to choose sides when in a conflict of scheduling visitation.
- Turning family events attended by both parents into pressure cookers.
- Depending too much on your child for companionship and support because you're hurt and lonely.
- Treating your child like an adult because you're lonely or just want help.
- Becoming so emotionally needy that your child develops feelings of guilt when they spend time away from you.
- Converting guilt over the divorce into overindulgence when it comes to giving material things.
Here is a list of strategies in overcoming these mistakes.
- Commit to avoiding the mistakes listed above.
- Make an affirmative plan that you can both agree on to set your differences aside for the benefit of your children.
Negotiate visitation, holidays and events for the peace and security of your children.
- Agree on boundaries and behavioral guidelines for raising your children to provide consistency.
- Consider the role of extended family members.
- Communicate maturely and actively with your ex about all the aspects of your child's development.
- Recognize that children are prone to testing and manipulating boundaries and guidelines. Compare notes before jumping to conclusions.
- Although it may be emotionally painful, make sure you keep each other informed about changes in your life.
- Remember you cannot control your ex. It may mean taking the "high road."
Instructional Strategist News - Rosie Spangenberg
Do you need something for your children to do on a day over the holidays? Use a snack to work on math facts!
Have children spread a graham cracker with peanut butter and make "dominoes" with different numbers of raisins pressed into each end of the graham cracker. Before they start this activity, have them predict how many raisins are in an individual box. Open each box and count the raisins to see how close the predictions were to the actual number. Then use the "dominoes" to practice addition facts to find out how many raisins are on the graham cracker in all, and subtraction by eating one side of the cracker and determining how many raisins are left. Write out the math problems on paper. Make up stories to go with the problems, too. You could also use frosting and chocolate chips or M & M's instead of raisins.
Another quick and easy way to practice math (place value) involves a deck of cards with the tens and face cards taken out. Put the deck face down on the table. Players take turns drawing a card and placing it in front of them to try to make the biggest number. You can start with a two digit number, then try a three digit one, and go even higher. 5 or 5
The player that gets all places filled with the highest number gets a point. Practice writing and reading the numbers that were made. Keep track of the points by using tally marks. As the players gain experience with the game, they will learn to put smaller numbers in the "ones" and "tens" places, higher numbers in the "hundreds" and "tens" places. They will soon learn the value of numbers, and greater than and less than.
Happy Holidays!
