Third and 4th grade students are practicing good citizenship in Kids' Club this week by creating patriotic cards and notes for the school's Shoe Box for Soldiers Campaign. We are writing notes to thank the soldiers for their service to our country. We have learned that good citizens thank the men and women who have fought and continue to fight to keep our country safe and free. We will include our notes in the shoe boxes to the soldiers.
Elementary students had the opportunity to view pumpkins carved by high school math students. This event is a tradition at our school. Pumpkins carved up scary to just plain pretty were all there for our viewing enjoyment. Every year students have the opportunity to view pumpkins that have been carved by the high school math students. The viewing room is eerily dark and the music scary to set the mood! BOO! Coming soon the annual costume parade.
Fair Grove Elementary is continuing to celebrate Red Ribbon Week. A little internet research gleaned some information about RRW that I had not previously known. This is the 25th year of Red Ribbon Week celebrations. The first Red Ribbon Clubs were started to honor of the death of Enrique "KiKi" Camarena an officer with the DEA who was killed in Mexico in 1985 while investigating a Mexican drug cartel. Kiki's goal was to do something that made the world a better place! His hometown friends started clubs where members pledged to stay drug free in honor of his sacrifice. Members wore red ribbons to honor his memory. We are also honoring KiKi's memory by making red hands saying "No to Drugs" and hanging them up in the hallway. We are hoping to have red hands stretch from outside the counselor's office all the way down to the cafeteria! We have made it past the Lego display case at th
During Kids' Club we have been talking about Kiki's sacrifice and how important it is to stay drug free. We have also learned that drugs change the way we THINK, FEEL OR ACT. Some drugs are called medicine because they help us feel better when we are sick and should be taken exactly as the directions say. Unfortunately, there are other drugs that are often illegal and are not healthy for us to use. I subscribe to a newsletter from the Love and Logic Institute, Inc. and recently Dr. Charles Fay (pictured on the left) posted an article titled Are Kids Growing Up Too Fast...or Are Too Many Adults Failing To Grow Up?. Educators often remark how much kids have change, how they seem to be more "adult" like than they use to be with the clothes they wear, the things they say and the things they know about. This very morning I noticed a second grade student in the bathroom removing her lipstick!? I told her she was beautiful without it and did not need it and she just looked at me kind of quizzically. Dr. Fay says it may be that so many adults are reluctant to act like mature adult role models? It made think about all the "adult" role models kids are exposed to through the media and realized it has to be tough for parents to combat those influences in our children's lives.
It's tough to learn maturity in a pervasively immature culture. Listed below are four encouragements Dr. Fay gives for parents who are raising kids in a pervasively immature culture:
Dr. Fay says there is hope for our world, as long as enough parents are brave enough to show kids what it looks like to be men and women of honor. To learn more about Becoming a Love and Logic Parent visit: www.loveandlogic.com You will find a wealth of information and tips on parenting the love and logic way. If you are interested in attending parenting classes please let me know, I am a registered facilitator for Love and Logic! Welcome to Blog Wisdom! My hopes and plans are to update weekly so parents and community members know what is going on with Kids' Club. Kids' Club is for all students in grades PK to 4th grade. Lessons are designed to be just right for each grade level, although they all may have the same common theme. This month in Kids' Club we will be talking about standing up against bullies since October is Bully Prevention Month. The program I am using was designed by a retired Missouri school counselor and here at school it is affectionately referred to as "Bug School". We use puppets, songs and role playing to help us learn to stand up against bullies. So be sure to ask your student about Ms. Grasshopper, Brenda Bee, Anthony Ant and Big Beetle. By the time students complete "Bug School" they are equipped with several strategies they can use to be bully proof. We will continue to practice those strategies all the way through 4th grade.
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