Willow Parent Bulletin # 11

November 13, 2020

Kindness, Wildcat Style

It seems like there are celebratory days for just about everything now...Donut Day, Junk Food Day, and Post a Picture of Your Pet Day, to name a few. (And yes, I have participated in a couple of those) On the 13th of November, it's World Kindness Day, which to me, seems like a great one for all of us to celebrate given our tumultuous 2020. In a time when we could all use a little extra kindness and grace, it's the perfect day to do a little more.

The students have been working on the Kindness Coloring Challenge all month. We would love for you to share a picture of your child and his/her picture on our Padlet: https://padlet.com/melissalawson2/3esc6kfbv7dtg0k3

World Kindness Day has also been associated with Mr. Rogers and the lessons he taught many a generation. On Friday, maybe you dig out that comfy cardigan and some gym shoes in his honor or dress your little wildcat in his likeness when taking a picture for the Padlet. Either way, we would love to see all the kindness in which our wildcats participated!

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announcements

This week, our EL teachers, Mrs. Mlot and Mrs. Woodbury, have done the morning announcements. Listen carefully and see if you learn a few new words in Spanish, too!

https://www.loom.com/share/fa2e27cd83b44285b786bc7a9772af99?sharedAppSource=personal_library

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Wildcat Book Brief- "All Because You Matter"

This week's Scholastic grant highlight is All Because You Matter. This is a stunning book written by Tami Charles and illustrated by award winning illustrator Bryan Collier. The story is a journey that reminds the reader, no matter where you came from, you matter. It also includes personal notes from both the author and illustrator about their feelings while working on this book. All Because You Matter is not currently available at the Homewood Public Library, but is available by request from other libraries in the system. Scholastic has a video of the book available on YouTube.

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Social Emotional Learning - Understanding Stereotypes About Objects, Activities, and Roles

Children are quick to recognize associations (such as long hair is for moms, but not dads) and they form explanations, expectations, and predictions based on this information. These associations often reflect their continual observations of the world (Mom drives the car when she is by herself, but when she is with Dad, he always drives) as well as the many direct and indirect messages they receive regarding how males and females should look, dress, and behave. They form ideas about what "men" and "women" should be like and what activities are assumed to be appropriate for each gender (for example, I only see boys in the toy commercials that are loud and flashy).

These repeated “associations” are the foundations for gender schema—cognitive representations of what it means to be male or female—and are the source of stereotypes (cognitive schema form in the same way about what it means to be a parent versus child, teacher versus student, etc.).

Once stereotypes form, young children can be very rigid in applying them to people and things in their world. In fact, as early as preschool, some begin to act as “gender police”—enforcing gender-based stereotypes regarding toys, clothing, and roles within the classroom. These messages are limiting for children and can make them feel uncomfortable or ashamed of their own individual interests and preferences.

Children often claim to like or dislike things based on whether they think they are “for” their own gender—regardless of whether or not they actually choose to play them.