Reflections

As I’ve been reflecting over this past week I think a good place to start this letter is  2 Corinthians 12:10, “Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake:for when I am weak, then am I strong.”  Sometimes I believe we need to walk through difficult times, as the ZCS community has done this past week, to experience the amazing strength that God provides.  I want you to know that although this situation is not ideal I am so happy to be able to have the opportunity to step in and teach your children for the rest of the year.  I believe God in his providence led me here for this moment.  A little background for those of you who don’t know me well; 10 years ago my husband and I had our fourth child, shortly after his birth we found out he was born with a form of Down syndrome.  So to make a long story short we ended up finding this beautiful community known as ZCS.

I have been involved with the school as a substitute teacher, a long-term sub, and an aide in this classroom.  I absolutely love your children and will do everything in my power to make sure that they don’t miss a beat and this transition goes as smoothly as possible.  I ask for your prayers and support as these first few weeks will be a lot of learning and adapting until we settle into our new “normal.”

Introduction

I would like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about who I am. I grew up in Hudsonville, MI, which is where I currently live and earned my degree in education from Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.  I have been married 25 years to my high school sweetheart (a child bride🙂) and have four children.  We attend Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville.  Our oldest daughter, Bailey, is a senior at MSU majoring in dietetics. Our second daughter, Taylor, is a sophomore at MSU and majoring in special education as well as a part of the MSU swim team.  Our third daughter, Lindyn, is in eighth grade at Jenison Jr. High and is involved in choir, orchestra and play productions. Our fourth child, Treyton, is in third grade here at ZCS and has his three sisters wrapped around his little finger! My hobbies include running, sometimes marathons, and I am an avid sports fan.  My favorite teams are the Denver Broncos, the Detroit Tigers and MSU everything.  If there is an MSU football or basketball game you will usually find me there with my girls, as well as, of course, watching Taylor and the MSU swim team!  I also love to shop and bake; with three girls there a lot of opportunities for both!!! I hope this helps you feel like you know me a bit better and please ask me any questions, I love to talk!

Important Dates

• November 20: All school chapel (9am)
• November 20: Friends-giving Celebration (see below)
• November 21-23: Thanksgiving Vacation

Thoughts for Today

• I know that Kaleigh had volunteers sign up for things through December and I am thinking I will probably be able to use most of you.  For this coming week however I will NOT need any of the volunteers.  Thank you for your understanding with this as I’m working to get the curriculum flowing again and working through some minor kinks.  Please do not hesitate to email me if you have any questions. My new email is larnold@zcs.org  Please email me at this address from now on as this is what I will be checking! Thank you!
• One change this week….we will be having library in the afternoon on Wednesday instead of the morning due to a scheduling conflict.
• I would like you to know in advance that I will be gone on Friday November 16.  This is something that has been on my schedule since August.  Taylor has two big swim meets that I have been planning on attending. One such meet is this weekend at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL and the other key meet I plan on attending is the B1G Championships in February at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. I already have a substitute for Friday and I will talk to your kids about it this week.  Please make sure they understand that I am not leaving. I will only be gone for one day.  My heart is torn on this one but I know the college years are fleeting for my daughter.  Thank you so much for your understanding on this.
• On November 20 we are going to have a Friends-giving celebration together. I would love for you to send in 20 BITE SIZE PIECES of your child’s favorite food. We will then each get to try and enjoy your classmates very favorite food. I welcome you to be as creative or simple as you wish. Please send the food in pre-cut and ready to eat. If it’s a food that should be eaten warm you could send it in a thermos or glass container. Thanks for helping us celebrate Thanksgiving together.
• PLEASE continue to check your child’s hair for lice. Also, continue to put your child’s coats, sweatshirts, hats, and gloves in the dryer for 30 minutes on high to help prevent the spread of lice. I sent home the towels again today for a 30 minute dryer ride. 🙂 If you notice lice on your child, please contact me or the school office immediately. I know it’s not fun and sometimes embarrassing, but we are here to help and support you!
• 🙂Many of your parents turned in their Gifts of Being Grand pages during Grandparents Day. If you need another copy of the form please click here.  I would love these by the end of November. Thank you for helping to create a lifetime memory for your child.

Curriculum

I will normally go through and tell you subject by subject exactly what we did but with the craziness of this week I am going to condense it a bit.

We were able to get in Daily 5, math-practicing counting and writing numbers, writing workshop which included labeling, we also learned about the first Thanksgiving and why we celebrate it along with making Oreo turkeys. Our word wall word this week was we. Finally in handwriting we did the letters X and Y.

Weather

Please do your best to follow these guidelines as it makes our transition to going outside much easier!

Ready or not (I’m never fully ready) I think that time of the year is quickly approaching! A few notes about snow gear that will make things run a lot smoother in our classroom:

• Please clearly label all of your child’s gear- this includes boots! A tip- sometimes hand-me-downs have a label with a different name. Please cross it out and write your child’s name. 🙂
• Please send the gear in a reusable bag like the ones we use for towels.
• I will work hard to make sure the bag goes home every night. Please check to make sure gear is dry by the morning. This might mean throwing it in the dryer. (Hey, it’s good lice prevention too!)
• We do our best to keep our wet/dirty boots outside of our classroom where we often sit on the floor. (Wet buns are not fun!) I will mark a place in the hallway– one for each child- where your child may take off and neatly place his/her boots.
• Before school students may go outside without snow pants- it really isn’t that long of a recess. Snow pants are required for all other recesses. 
• I will take your lead on what you would like your child to wear on the bus ride home. Just let me know!
• It is SO helpful if you encourage your child to at least try to independently take their gear on and off. Practice, practice, practice! I love to help kindergartners zip their coats, but our goal is to encourage independence by the end of the first few weeks.

Thank you for your help as we make the transition to colder weather together!

Thank You!

I appreciate all of the love and support you have already shown to me this week (and treats!). I am looking forward to the remainder of this school year.