Clara Byrd Baker: Ms.

Burfords Kindergarten Class

Baker Bear Bulletin

Hello! from Miss Taylor

Hello! For those of you I have not had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Meagan Taylor. I have been working with Mrs. Burford, Mrs. Sams, and your wonderful children since the beginning of the school year as a student teacher. I am currently completing my Masters degree in Elementary Education at the College of William & Mary. It has been such a delight getting to know and work with your children in the past five months! The time I spend with them is truly the highlight of every week. I am looking forward to sharing many more great learning experiences with them in the next ten weeks as I begin the full-time student teaching part of my program. Before coming to Clara Byrd Baker, I graduated from William and Mary with a degree in American Studies. I spent much of my time at William and Mary volunteering as an English as a Second Language tutor and assisting in Head Start classrooms. During my summers, I worked as a camp counselor, an environmental educator, and an English teacher in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am so excited for all of the learning your children and I will be doing over the next ten weeks, including exploring famous Americans, Spring, plants and animals, community jobs, and more! I also look forward to meeting and working with all of you during this learning journey! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. You can contact me by sending a note with your child or by emailing me at mltaylor01@email.wm.edu. I look forward to hearing from you!

Inside this issue:

Fun ways to continue celebrating Black History Month in your home p. 2 Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! p. 3 A Special Invitation: Join us for Community Helpers Week p. 4

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Fun ideas for continuing the celebration of Black History Month in your home
This week, weve been celebrating Black History Month at school by learning about the triumphs and struggles of some famous African Americans. Here are great some books, movies, and activities you can share with your child to continue the celebration of Black History Month at home Picture Books Bright Eyes, Brown Skin by Cheryll Willis Hudson: A poem celebrating African American children Activities Cooking- Try cooking up some dishes that celebrate African and African- American culture! Peanut Stew, grilled Moroccan chicken, and injera (Ethiopian flat-bread) are just a few to try! Recipes available at food.com Music- Check out some of these websites to explore African and African American music with your child! Mama Lisas Wor;ld http://www.mamalisa.com/ Choose an African Country to hear childrens songs and rhymes from that country http://pbskids.org/jazz/ Explore this website with your child to learn about famous Jazz musicians and help your child create his or her own music as a jazz bandleader! Volunteer- Martin Luther King, Jr. once said Lifes most persistent and urgent question is What are you doing for others? In honor of this great leader, try participating in a community volunteer project with your child! I would be happy to help you arrange a project or William and Marys Volunteer Directory has a lot of great local organizations that would love your help! http://web.wm.edu/oces/directory.php

The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Cole: The story of six year old Ruby Bridges, the first African American to girl to integrate Frantz Elementary School in 1960

Freedom on the Menu by Carol Boston Weatherford: The story of the four courageous black teens who started the student sit-in movement by sitting at a segregated lunch counter A Family Movie Akeelah and the Bee: An 11year-old African-American girl from an inner-city school in Los Angeles works to make it to the National Spelling Bee

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

March 2 is a very special day! Its beloved children author Dr. Seuss birthday and Read Across America Day! Read Across America is a national initiative to get every child excited about reading. We will be celebrating in class by reading some of our favorite Dr. Seuss books, but here are some ways you can celebrate at home too!

Read a Dr. Seuss book with your child!

Let your child choose their favorite Dr. Suess book and read it with them! A great way to get your child excited about reading is engaging them in a conversation about the books the enjoy. Great questions to ask when reading with your child: Before readingCan you look at the pictures and predict what will happen in this book? What characters do you think might be in the story? Do you think there will be a problem in the story? Why or why not? While readingWhat do you think will happen next? Why do you think the character did that? How would you have felt if you were the character? After readingWere your predictions about the story correct? What was your favorite part of the story? Is there a character in the story like you? How are you alike? Do you like this book? Why or why not?

Play online reading games

There are lots of great Dr. Seuss games available online at http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays /dr-seuss-birthday/games/index2.html You can practice rhyming, test your knowledge of Dr. Seuss quotes, and even create your own Dr. Seuss book!

Listen to Dr. Seuss read by celebrities

Audible.com has lots of free audio recordings of Dr. Seuss books by celebrities including Dustin Hoffman, Billy Crystal, Joan Cusack and Neil Patrick Harris. Simply search for Dr. Seuss. They are great way for your child to practice reading along!

Visit the Library

A visit to the Williamsburg Regional Library is always a learning adventure! They have a great selection of Dr. Seuss books and a lot of computers you and your child can use to explore the websites above!

Join us for Community Helpers Week!

From March 12 to March 16, we will be learning all about different jobs in our community including doctors, dentists, builders, cooks, fire fighters, and more. We would love for you to come in and tell us about what you do in our community! If you are interested in being a guest speaker during community helpers week, please fill out the bottom of this page and send it back with your child by March 5. We will contact you shortly after that to arrange the best time for you to come share with us!

_________________________________________________ Yes, I would like to be a guest speaker!

Preferred day: Please rank your top two choices Monday, March 12 Tuesday, March 13 Wednesday, March 14 Thursday, March 15 Friday, March 16 Preferred time frames: Please rank your top 3 choices 9:30-10:00 am 10:00- 10:30 am 10:30-11:00 am 11:00-11:30 am 11:30 am- 12 pm 1 pm- 1:30 pm 2 pm- 2:30 pm 2:30 pm- 3 pm

I would like to speak about ________________________________________________________________ Please contact me about this by Phone Email A note home