THANK YOU

Dear Parents:

I want to thank you for coming to today's Spring Celebration. The children did an amazing job with their poems and songs. I really loved it and hope that you did as well. They were the cutiest Sunflowers that I have ever seen.

I know that you also will be happy reading your children's poems in the P.S. 154's Poetry Extravaganza Book of Poetry which will be going home today in your child's backpack. The kids in K-207 picked out their favorite poem to get published in this book and the poems are really adorable. Our own books of poetry are on the bulletin board outside our classroom. When I was putting the poems in the book, I could not believe how many poems they had written. The poems the children recited today were poems from our Shared Reading for the several weeks before the celebration. They love reciting them. Copies of the poems are now in their Shared Reading notebooks. Have the children recite them to you again while they point to each word. It is amazing how well they are reading.

The children just loved writing their poems. The writing unit of study on Poetry teaches children to explore, and savor language, valuing voice and repetition, sounds and onomatopoeia (even if they never heard any of these terms before). The children in Class K-207 learned to read and write with an ear, appreciating and revising the pace and rhythm of words, and they learned to care not only about their topics, but also about how they write about those topics. Poetry can teach children to deliberately craft their language, trying things on the page on purpose, hoping to create special effects.

Poetry can also encourage young children to see the world with fresh eyes. They write what the see. Children can learn to see with their hearts, to show their feelings by pretending and imagining with language. The children in Class K-207 learned to have fun with words…to be daredevils and gymnasts with language.

For any parent who was not able to come to the spring celebration, please take time to look at their book of poems on display outside our classroom.

Thank you to for all the snacks and supplies that we have received. The Children were so happy to see so many of you today. Also...thank you for all your support. I know that on any occasion I could call any number of you to come by and help me. You are a great group of parents! I will miss you next year.

Fondly,
Mrs. Graham

PS: Kindergarten Graduation - June 23rd in the MultiMedia Room.... More to follow!