Happy Birthday Melanie

Happy Birthday Melanie!  It was so wonderful to celebrate Melanie this morning with a short video, singing, some small gifts, and some delicious treats and coffee.  

St. John's has created a beautiful culture around celebrating the birthdays for each child and staff member.  It is such a wonderful opportunity to learn about each other and celebrate our uniqueness as we work on birthday committees, develop a sense of community in our classrooms, and lay the foundation for empathetic gift giving and thoughtfulness for another person.  

We have celebrated a few birthdays already, and each of them has been special and has taught us something new about each child and family.  We are so grateful that you have shared photos, videos, favorite books and snacks, and spent time with us in the classroom.  

The children were enthusiastic about sharing Melanie's gifts, singing "Happy Birthday", and snuggling with her for a quick birthday photo!  We hope that Melanie felt all of our love for her!  

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"It's for Janie!" - Cedar

Another important part of our culture here at St. John's is the exchange of messages with our "all school" mailboxes.  As you know, each child and staff member has their own mailbox.  Thus far, the children are most excited to make "messages" for their parents and siblings, and the mailboxes have been used for making messages for themselves.  The children have been noticing that some of their mailboxes are empty.  This started a conversation about why they are empty and how we can change that.  Again, they wanted to make messages for themselves, so we presented the idea of making messages for each other.  

​Another intention was to focus on the composition of their messages and the tools and techniques involved (e.g. glue sticks, scissors, layering materials, using our stamps for to/from, etc.).  

First, we checked the message center for empty mailboxes.

Second, we had to choose which materials to use. 

Third, we used these materials, and our tools, to compose the message. 

Fourth, we focused on using the symbols for indicating who should be receiving the message, and who sent it. 

Finally, we had to deliver the messages to the recipient's mailbox.  

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A new language: Sewing