Planting Seeds

Spring Book Fair

TMA’s annual spring book fair is practically on campus—opening day is Monday, May 6, 2013. Excitement is building! Many of us are fondly remembering book fairs from the past. Here are photos from those past book fairs, along with quotes from current TMA students on some of their favorite things about our fairs.

 

 

 

 

I like…

“…the craziness of the first day!”  Leila (Upper El)

“…that there are lots of books and that you can look through them and

actually buy them.”  Kate (Upper El)

“…that there’s a lot of books.” Gatti (Lower El)

“…the Junior High room [at the Book Fair]!”  Jesse (Junior High)

“…that I get to look at books I’ve never seen before.”  Charlotte (Lower El)

“…the bookcase that has sports and science.”   Elliott (Upper El)

“…that there’s a different variety of books; every year something new

comes up.”   Brenden (Junior High)

“…the older chapter books like The Candymaker.”  Sydney (Upper El)

“…finding all the books I want to read and I get to read them all

without returning them.”  Bridget  (Upper El)

“…the books with kits, like the Klutz kits.”  Mia (Lower El)

“…that the decorations are so cool.”  Sophia (Upper El)

“…how they have pencils and erasers we can purchase. Also, I like that

there are so many books, because I love reading books and so does my sister.” Chase (Lower El)

 “…that some of the books from the fair go to the school. Then you can check them out for free.”   Gavin (Upper El)

Lower Elementary student Dylan’s quote sums it up: “I like everything!” 

 

Plan to come to our Book Fair to see what the buzz is about!

 

Book Fair hours are 8:20 am to 5:00 pm,

 Monday, May 6, through Friday, May 10.

 

Hours on Saturday, May 11, are from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

 

 

 Submitted by: Lin Brooks, Librarian

El Día Del Niño

In Mexico, Children's Day is celebrated on April 30. It is also known as "El Día Del Niño". On this day teachers in schools organize the day for their children. Lessons are suspended for the day. They organize games, music, and the children bring in their favorite foods to share with others. Some families also have a day out with their children. There are special activities for the children in parks and sports centers. Sometimes, also, the children will be given presents by their families. This is the day when children are really honored in Mexico.

Submittd by: Senora Aida, description by Wikipedia

Earth Day 2013

In celebration of Earth Day, the teachers spent some time today reading books about our earth and how to care for it.  Some children had "Earth Muffins" for snack.

 

 

 

 

 

5 Ways in which you can help care for the earth:

 

1.)  Turn off the lights when you leave a room.

 

2.)  Turn off the water when brushing teeth.

 

3.)  Use lunch containers that go home each night to wash and refill.

 

4.)  Walk to the park when possible.

 

5.)  Buy local fruits and vegetables.



Visiting the Center

Family Games

In anticipation of the Family Game Night next week, I thought I would update families on some fun games we have discovered with our family in the past few years.  The girls are getting older, so our game playing is evolving. The concept of playing a game is something that children understand at different stages.

A few things to remember:
1.) It's important to model patience
2.) Taking turns is not inherent, it takes practice and explaination.
3.) It's important to model playing a game from beginning to end, even if your child is done--if there are at least 2 other people playing, take turns until the game is complete.

Classic game to work on taking turns.

 

Great for gross motor movement!

 

Great for a little older child, and when working on refinement of fine motor skills.

 

Fun, family game working on taking turns and memory.

 

Great for working on spacial awareness and also available in a 2 person version.

 

Great game for working on cooperation!

 

Fun for beginning to advanced readers, perhaps allow for phonetic spelling when introducing young children.

 

Great for fine motor development.

 

 

Great for working on spatial awareness, we introduced this as a game in turns rather than speed.

Submitted by: Julie Gabrielse

Family Game Night