Hello Dragonfly Families, It has been such a joy to work with your children this past six months! As some of you may know, my prior experience in education was in elementary music education. I received two undergraduate degrees from California Baptist University in Vocal Performance and Music Education in April of 2016. The following August, I began teaching at the first five elementary schools in the Bay Area. I taught ages Kindergarten – Eighth Grade until May of 2018, and over those two years, I had 2,000 students in nine schools! It was a joy and a challenge, but I have refocused my education career to the Early Childhood range, so I was excited to begin this job in December of 2018. My goal is to make sure that I am intentional with the way that I teach your children, understanding who they are as individuals and what they need in the classroom. As a result, I will need to “study” my students and understand who they are, continually developing insights about them throughout the year. This means I will do my best to greet the students when they enter the door, supporting them through their separations from family members as they gradually gain confidence to handle that daily separation on their own. I will study the cultures, languages, and experiences that each child comes from, and any help you can give me to better understand their experiences at home would be greatly appreciated. This help can be given through a simple conversation with me, or a book you enjoy reading to your child, or links emailed to me regarding the cultural experiences you would like your child to be able to embrace at home and/or at school. However, I will also attempt to make sure I offer nonstereotyped materials, activities, and role models so your child can develop a well-rounded view of the world they live in. If there is an extracurricular event that you and your child would like me to be a part of (dance recitals, soccer games, church choir events, birthday parties), please let me know and I will do my best to be there. Being intentional encompasses understanding the students in all aspects of their life so I can better teach them in the classroom. Once we have instructional time in the classroom, I will make sure that my instruction can be understood by each and every child in the room in their own way. This means I will be blending multiple content areas, using music to teach math, books and literacy to teach science, and games to teach history (and then I might mix it up every week!). If you ever come in for visit (which I would welcome whole-heartedly), you might see a bit of chaos in the room. I want to open up multiple learning centers in my classroom so the children can choose the way they learn, making sure the content is the most interesting to each child. Research has shown that children at this age learn best when they are playing and having conversations about the topic in the ways they are interested. Therefore, a teacher will supervise these learning centers, opening up opportunities for conversations about the content area so the child can have fun while learning. This will promote the ability each child has to help themselves with the appropriate amount of time to experience each activity, but will also allow the teacher to help the children that require more guidance. I am sure you are concerned about your child’s readiness levels for kindergarten; I am, too! In the late summer to the early fall weeks, we will work to assess where each child is in their ability to determine basic shapes, colors, letters, and numbers. We will assess their ability to perform basic math problems and write their names. Then, when we have a clear idea of where each child is in their ability, we will incorporate what we know about them into fun games and activities that allows the children to learn all day long! However, at this developmental stage, they still need to play! Research has shown that children learn best when they play outside for three to four hours a day, allowing themselves to experience the world around them and freeing their mind to learn new academic concepts. We want to help make sure that your child is not only ready for kindergarten on an academic level, but also on the social and emotional levels. The outside area is an extension of the classroom, and playing outside with other children allows them to work on the areas in ways that are fun but crucial for their development. During outdoor play time, the children will have time to experience gardening, allowing teachers to discuss photosynthesis and decomposition with the students, both areas of physical science. They will be able to play on the play structure, which is consistently supervised and has two levels, where they will get to experience the theory of gravity as they climb up and slide down. They will have the chance to run, ride tricycles, and hop through obstacle courses, which are all tenants of physical education that help boost the ability to learn through exercise. Many teachers bring out different bins to allow the children to play with different toys, and these items change daily. Legos or magnetic tiles might be placed on the grass, allowing the children to experiment with geometry and architecture. Kinetic sand or water bins with matching toys might be brought out, allowing the children to experience kinetic energy and observe how different materials flow through the world around them. However, playtime is not just about toys and how teachers communicate with students; it is also about how they communicate with each other. We work on social skills with the students, helping them interact with others, taking in another’s perspective and empathizing with children in their vicinity. These are just some examples of how we as a teaching unit and I as an individual teacher intend to teach your child with intentionality. I am confident that I can understand your children’s individuality and embrace it. With your partnership, we will discover the learning needs, levels, and styles that your child possesses, and make sure we can teach them in their learning style. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this letter, and I look forward to seeing you in school! Kind Regards, Michelle McDaniel Dragonfly Assistant Teacher