First Grade Adventures at Navarro Farm
In October the first graders at Grand Prairie were very excited to go on their first field trip to Navarro Farm. This farm is almost right in our back yard here in Frankfort. The Navarro family 5-acre farm has the purpose to create a place for individuals with special needs to participate in an agricultural experience – with the hopes of increasing their social skills and independence. Hence, a place for all to grow.
The first graders had “farmers” show them around the farm and talked about the care of the animals and told us some interesting facts too. They also talked about the various plants on the farm. We were able to go into the pumpkin patch and find pumpkins at various stages of growth. They learned about the lifecycle of a pumpkin. The first graders were able to eat their lunch on the farm. Mrs. Bertucci’s class ate lunch on the Navarro Wagon. How wonderful is that! Finally, when we were saying goodbye to our new farmer friends and animals, each student picked out a pumpkin to take home. Life is good!
There is a lot to be THANKFUL for in Kindergarten! We are thankful for so many friendships we have started to form and all of the amazing learning that is taking place! In math, Kindergarten is learning about 2D and 3D shapes. In writing, we are moving into our “Show and Tell” unit, where students are working on labeling a picture and telling more about it in our stories. In reading, we are discovering that we have “Super Reading Powers,” such as pointer power, picture power, and more! We are learning about topics such as Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving! We will also be celebrating our 50th day of school with a sock hop!
When children are learning to self-regulate, one of the most important steps is recognizing and understanding what they are feeling. If they can’t recognize an emotion, they can’t deal with it appropriately. Another phrase commonly said is, "Name it to Tame it.” In the first several weeks of school, preschool students have been learning a lot about their emotions. They’ve been learning to recognize pictures of feelings, drawing them, singing about them, and stating what makes them have different feelings. As part of the Conscious Discipline Curriculum, our preschoolers have been introduced to four of the eight Feeling Buddies- HAPPY, SAD, SCARED, AND ANGRY. When our students are having an emotion, we help them name their feelings by stating them (” I feel sad.”), pointing to a visual like the one above, or finding the appropriate Feeling Buddy. Conscious Discipline also has a lot of free resources for the home environment to support parents in teaching their children how to self-regulate when they are upset. Parents, you can check them out at Free and Premium Resources - Conscious Discipline!
As the school year progresses, please remember how important good sleep is for overall health. Creating a bedtime routine and sticking to it makes the difference!
Healthy Sleeping Habits
* Make sufficient sleep a family priority
* Be a role model of sleeping habits
* Keep a regular daily routine
* Wake up and go to bed at the same time
* Be active during the day
* Monitor screen time
* Turn off all screen 1 hour prior to bed
* Create a sleep supportive environment
* Dim to the lights and control the room temperature
* Avoid over scheduling
* Allow for time to wind down
* Learn to recognize sleep problems
FSD 157-C: Coming Together to Support Our Troops
Dear 157-C Families,
During the month of November, our student body will join forces to honor our heroes, our veterans and current service members. We welcome you to join our efforts!
Grand Prairie will be collecting items for packages for current service men and women. Collections will start on November 4th and will end on November 15. The items we are collecting are listed on the back of this sheet. Donations can be sent to school with your child or dropped off at the main office. These boxes will arrive in time for the holidays. Let’s come together and see how many packages we can send this holiday season! Please contact Lori McCurdy lmccurdy@fsd157c.org or Lori Stanevicius lstanevicius@fsd157c.org at Grand Prairie (815-469-3366) with any questions.
All FSD 157-C schools will be hosting Veterans Day assemblies on Monday, November 11th to show their appreciation to Veterans. Assemblies will be at the following times.
Hickory Creek – 8:00am
Grand Prairie – 9:15am
Chelsea – 10:30am
In the weeks leading up to Veterans Day, all Hickory Creek students will be raising money for Honor Flight Chicago through a donation competition as well as participating in mini lessons about the meaning of Veterans Day and what it means to sacrifice. We are excited to see how many veterans’ lives we can change with our donation to Honor Flight Chicago!
To support the above efforts, popsicle sales will take place in the months of October and November. Thank you for your generous donations during these sales and thank you in advance for the donations of items that will be coming in soon. Together we will make the day of many veterans as well as active service members who will not be able to be home with their families during the holidays.
From November 4th through November 15th, Grand Prairie will be collecting and organizing gift packages for the men and women who are serving in the armed forces. Students will be able to write thank you cards to show our appreciation to men and women serving our country. We will also be collecting the items for holiday packages. We encourage you to participate and send in any of the following items with your child to school. You may also drop them off at the school’s front office.
If you know of anyone who is serving in the armed forces and would like a gift package to be sent to them, please e-mail his/her name and address to: Lori Stanevicius at Grand Prairie (lstanevicius@fsd157c.org). These packages, which will be sent out in November, are our way of showing support to all those brave men and women.
Items needed for our troops:
- Christmas candy/candy canes, stockings, small decorations (please do not send Halloween candy or fall items)
- Individually wrapped snacks: granola bars, protein bars, peanuts, fruit snacks, trail mix, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, beef jerky, Slim Jims, cookies, oatmeal packets, individual cereal cups; instant soup
- Tic-Tacs, lifesavers, mints, hard candies, gum
- Individual cold drink mix, instant breakfast, coffee, and/or tea packets, powdered cream packets
- Peanut butter, jelly, marshmallow cream, nutella – small plastic jars (28 ounces or less)
- Small cans of fruit (no plastic; it could break open); dried fruit chips
- Lip balm (I.e. Chapstick, Carmax, etc)
- Toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, dental floss/floss picks
- Travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion
- Foot powder
- Small packs of Kleenex, Q-tips, razors, shaving cream (no aerosol)
- Puzzle books, decks of cards, small games
- White or black socks (must pass the ankle and have NO Logos)