Blakely Parents' Written Responses
Dear Pearl,
When you hop on the bus each morning, I know you are going to spend your day at the best place for kids ...school! School is fun and the things you learn in school make your life more fun.
In school, you'll learn to read. Reading will take you on many great adventures with the characters in your books ... like James, who discovers a GIANT magical peach, or Harry Potter who goes to a school of witchcraft, or Laura Ingalls who lives in a little cabin in the woods (without electricity!!). These are a few of my favorites. I can't wait to read the books you discover.
In school, you'll learn to write. You can take all of your great ideas and write them into a story, a poem, a song, or even the dance steps to a ballet. Then you can share your ideas with the world!
In school, you'll create , and those creations will help you create more! A homemade tutu, a kid-size rocking chair, a chalk road, a fairy village, who knows what you'll create next?!
Most importantly, in school you'll be part of a very special family, made up of kids and teachers. This is YOUR community, and I love hearing about it the moment you bounce off the bus in the afternoon. You are an awesome kindergartner!
I love you, Mama
When you hop on the bus each morning, I know you are going to spend your day at the best place for kids ...school! School is fun and the things you learn in school make your life more fun.
In school, you'll learn to read. Reading will take you on many great adventures with the characters in your books ... like James, who discovers a GIANT magical peach, or Harry Potter who goes to a school of witchcraft, or Laura Ingalls who lives in a little cabin in the woods (without electricity!!). These are a few of my favorites. I can't wait to read the books you discover.
In school, you'll learn to write. You can take all of your great ideas and write them into a story, a poem, a song, or even the dance steps to a ballet. Then you can share your ideas with the world!
In school, you'll create , and those creations will help you create more! A homemade tutu, a kid-size rocking chair, a chalk road, a fairy village, who knows what you'll create next?!
Most importantly, in school you'll be part of a very special family, made up of kids and teachers. This is YOUR community, and I love hearing about it the moment you bounce off the bus in the afternoon. You are an awesome kindergartner!
I love you, Mama
|
|
Why Do Children Go To School?
Children go to school to learn what they do not know
To make lifelong friends who will help them grow
To experience challenges they must learn to solve
To work alongside teachers who encourage them to evolve
To accept that there are differences and that everyone is unique
To understand that school means more than recess or a game of hide and seek
To build a solid foundation on what passions to pursue
To use education as a tool that will stick like paper does to glue
To learn music, math, and science, and even have time for play
To fill the halls with laughter and learn to enjoy life each and every day
Jessica Davis
To make lifelong friends who will help them grow
To experience challenges they must learn to solve
To work alongside teachers who encourage them to evolve
To accept that there are differences and that everyone is unique
To understand that school means more than recess or a game of hide and seek
To build a solid foundation on what passions to pursue
To use education as a tool that will stick like paper does to glue
To learn music, math, and science, and even have time for play
To fill the halls with laughter and learn to enjoy life each and every day
Jessica Davis
We go to school to learn how to make the world around us a better place than when we arrived. We learn math
to discover the order, logic, and beauty of the universe.
We learn to read to become thinkers, seekers of truth, and love ideas that expand thought.
We learn to speak and write, so we may communicate uplifting thoughts to those in need.
We study history to remember the sacrifices that others have made to prepare the way for us; to avoid pitfalls;
and to inspire us to give of ourselves for future generations yet unborn.
Brandon Jones
to discover the order, logic, and beauty of the universe.
We learn to read to become thinkers, seekers of truth, and love ideas that expand thought.
We learn to speak and write, so we may communicate uplifting thoughts to those in need.
We study history to remember the sacrifices that others have made to prepare the way for us; to avoid pitfalls;
and to inspire us to give of ourselves for future generations yet unborn.
Brandon Jones
|
|
Why Should Children Go To School? By Janene Dutt
Dear Ava,
I've been asked to write to you about why I think you should go to school. My first thought was, "Well, if you didn't go to school, what else would you possibly do?" I mean, would you just sit around your whole childhood marathoning Netflix shows and snacking all day long? Like one endless summer? As appealing as that might sound to a 7 year old, I'm here to convince you otherwise. I think that is maybe the best way to answer the question is to tell you what I think are a few of the most important things I learned in school when I was your age.
HOW TO READ
I'm lucky because reading has never been a chore for me ... I've loved it since I was introduced to Dr. Seuss. In fact, I loved it since I was introduced to Dr. Seuss. In fact, I loved reading so much when I was your age that I actually used to get in trouble for it. Your grandmother would scold me, "get your nose out of that book!" when I would bring it to the dinner table or stay up way past my bedtime reading by flashlight under my covers. Now, I will tell you a little secret. There are lots of books out there that are pretty bad ...boring, confusing or just plain dumb. Sometimes you get those, and that's no fun. But if you choose one if the good ones, I promise you, it can be as entertaining as anything you watch on television. And if you choose one of the great ones, it can be magical. You can travel to Paris on a rainy day or a space station on Mars or go back in time to the dinosaur age, right from the comfort of your bedroom. Sometimes I hear kids say, "but I don't like to read", which makes me sad. I don't believe there is a child out there who doesn't like to read, I only think that maybe they have not yet found the right book.
And besides, what if I never learned to read, and we were driving along the highway one day and there was a sign that said, "CARNIVAL TODAY! FREE ICE CREAM AND CANDY! FREE PUPPIES TOO! TURN RIGHT HERE." Would you really want to miss out on all that because you never learned to read? I think not.
HOW TO DO MATH
I will tell you another secret now, about the math I learned in high school and college. I have forgotten it all, every single thing - which is why Dad has to help your sister with her math homework. But the math I learned in elementary school? Well, I remember and use that every single day of my life. What if you really wanted to buy some shiny purple boots but didn't know if you had enough money because you didn't know if you had enough money because you didn't know how to count your dollars and coins? What if you won a trip to Hawaii in a pie eating contest but you missed your flight because you didn't know how to tell time? What if there were 8 people at your birthday party and everyone wanted the same size piece of chocolate cake? Trust me, you don't want to mess that up ... you'd better know fractions. Math is how I calculate when to pick you up at the bus stop, math is how I know how much you've grown in the last year, math is how we know how many more days there are until Halloween. So like it or not, math is everywhere and completely necessary to our lives. My advice to you is to learn it and learn it well.
HOW TO GET ALONG WITH PEOPLE
School is about much more than reading, writing, and math. Kindness, compassion, honesty, patience. These are all super handy things to have in your life. School is where you learn to share, to be a good leader, to wait your turn. School is where you will meet people who you like and people who you don't like. People who might become your best friend and people who drive you crazy. When you are a grown-up, you will have a job and probably a boss. And if you don't know how to get along with your boss, that might cause a lot of trouble. But by the time you are a grown-up you'll have learned to get along with all kinds of bosses because every year in school you had a new one(your teacher!) You will know how to be respectful, how to be responsible and how to be reasonable (sound familiar, Bulldogs?). And if you know how to be those three things, you will pretty much always succeed.
Besides, if i never went to school, I wouldn't have written you this letter. And if you never went to school, you wouldn't be able to read it. And you definitely wouldn't be able to read the part where I said you could have extra dessert tonight. See ... isn't reading fun?
Love,
Mom
I've been asked to write to you about why I think you should go to school. My first thought was, "Well, if you didn't go to school, what else would you possibly do?" I mean, would you just sit around your whole childhood marathoning Netflix shows and snacking all day long? Like one endless summer? As appealing as that might sound to a 7 year old, I'm here to convince you otherwise. I think that is maybe the best way to answer the question is to tell you what I think are a few of the most important things I learned in school when I was your age.
HOW TO READ
I'm lucky because reading has never been a chore for me ... I've loved it since I was introduced to Dr. Seuss. In fact, I loved it since I was introduced to Dr. Seuss. In fact, I loved reading so much when I was your age that I actually used to get in trouble for it. Your grandmother would scold me, "get your nose out of that book!" when I would bring it to the dinner table or stay up way past my bedtime reading by flashlight under my covers. Now, I will tell you a little secret. There are lots of books out there that are pretty bad ...boring, confusing or just plain dumb. Sometimes you get those, and that's no fun. But if you choose one if the good ones, I promise you, it can be as entertaining as anything you watch on television. And if you choose one of the great ones, it can be magical. You can travel to Paris on a rainy day or a space station on Mars or go back in time to the dinosaur age, right from the comfort of your bedroom. Sometimes I hear kids say, "but I don't like to read", which makes me sad. I don't believe there is a child out there who doesn't like to read, I only think that maybe they have not yet found the right book.
And besides, what if I never learned to read, and we were driving along the highway one day and there was a sign that said, "CARNIVAL TODAY! FREE ICE CREAM AND CANDY! FREE PUPPIES TOO! TURN RIGHT HERE." Would you really want to miss out on all that because you never learned to read? I think not.
HOW TO DO MATH
I will tell you another secret now, about the math I learned in high school and college. I have forgotten it all, every single thing - which is why Dad has to help your sister with her math homework. But the math I learned in elementary school? Well, I remember and use that every single day of my life. What if you really wanted to buy some shiny purple boots but didn't know if you had enough money because you didn't know if you had enough money because you didn't know how to count your dollars and coins? What if you won a trip to Hawaii in a pie eating contest but you missed your flight because you didn't know how to tell time? What if there were 8 people at your birthday party and everyone wanted the same size piece of chocolate cake? Trust me, you don't want to mess that up ... you'd better know fractions. Math is how I calculate when to pick you up at the bus stop, math is how I know how much you've grown in the last year, math is how we know how many more days there are until Halloween. So like it or not, math is everywhere and completely necessary to our lives. My advice to you is to learn it and learn it well.
HOW TO GET ALONG WITH PEOPLE
School is about much more than reading, writing, and math. Kindness, compassion, honesty, patience. These are all super handy things to have in your life. School is where you learn to share, to be a good leader, to wait your turn. School is where you will meet people who you like and people who you don't like. People who might become your best friend and people who drive you crazy. When you are a grown-up, you will have a job and probably a boss. And if you don't know how to get along with your boss, that might cause a lot of trouble. But by the time you are a grown-up you'll have learned to get along with all kinds of bosses because every year in school you had a new one(your teacher!) You will know how to be respectful, how to be responsible and how to be reasonable (sound familiar, Bulldogs?). And if you know how to be those three things, you will pretty much always succeed.
Besides, if i never went to school, I wouldn't have written you this letter. And if you never went to school, you wouldn't be able to read it. And you definitely wouldn't be able to read the part where I said you could have extra dessert tonight. See ... isn't reading fun?
Love,
Mom
Walking to School in the Monsoons By Chirag Pancholi (William Pancholi’s Dad)
I was born in India – a country almost 11,000 miles away from Bainbridge Island. In India, people speak many different languages including English. My father and mother wanted me to learn as much as I could so they worked very hard to help me go the best school near our home.
But the school was 2 miles away. We had to walk over bridges, in crowded streets with cars, taxis, bicycles and even cows! I remember sometimes I would see a big cow munching on grass right in the street on my way to school! My first memory of going to school was with my mommy during the heavy summer rains called Monsoons. Some parts of the world get so much rain that it floods the streets and makes rivers next to the street! One time the wind was so strong it broke my umbrella.
I really enjoyed going to school because the teacher would help me learn new things every day. These new things I use even today now that I became a big adult. For example, I learned that alphabet letters make up words, and words make up sentences, and sentences make up paragraphs, and paragraphs make up books.
But the school was 2 miles away. We had to walk over bridges, in crowded streets with cars, taxis, bicycles and even cows! I remember sometimes I would see a big cow munching on grass right in the street on my way to school! My first memory of going to school was with my mommy during the heavy summer rains called Monsoons. Some parts of the world get so much rain that it floods the streets and makes rivers next to the street! One time the wind was so strong it broke my umbrella.
I really enjoyed going to school because the teacher would help me learn new things every day. These new things I use even today now that I became a big adult. For example, I learned that alphabet letters make up words, and words make up sentences, and sentences make up paragraphs, and paragraphs make up books.
Children should go to school for many more reasons than reading and math. At school, children meet new people and make friends. They learn how to care about others, even those who are different from them. They have opportunities to learn about themselves and to develop relationship skills that predict future success in life. Yes, the academic skills they learn are important. But the relationship and citizenship skills that are learned in school will enable them to use their smarts and talents for later success.
From a First Grade parent
From a First Grade parent
WHY SHOULD KIDS GO TO SCHOOL...?
A poem by Mom
Options,
Opportunity,
Friends,
Community.
Self-expression,
Self-esteem,
Possibilities,
Room to dream.
Curiosity,
A creative spark,
Thirst for knowledge,
Make your mark.
So much to learn
And ways to grow -
That is why
To school you go
Lisa Timmins
A poem by Mom
Options,
Opportunity,
Friends,
Community.
Self-expression,
Self-esteem,
Possibilities,
Room to dream.
Curiosity,
A creative spark,
Thirst for knowledge,
Make your mark.
So much to learn
And ways to grow -
That is why
To school you go
Lisa Timmins