Bowen=20 Cooperative Newsletter

May 9,=20 2008

3D"Your Director=E2=80=99s=20 Notes

Wow! The days are flying = by so=20 quickly at Bowen now. I have to remind myself to stop, take a deep = breath=20 and appreciate all the wonderful things that have happened and are = happening in=20 the classrooms. The caterpillars arrived this week and we are = excitedly=20 observing them grow and change before they ultimately fly away from = us. It=20 is hard to keep sentiment at bay as the school year comes to a = close. But=20 without getting too sappy, I would like to thank all the parents and = teachers=20 for making Bowen such a special place this year. As a cooperative, = every=20 job that we do for the school, whether big or small, makes our school a = better=20 place and shows our children how we value their education. Thank = you for=20 all that you=E2=80=99ve done!

Also, I would like to wish all = of our moms=20 a Happy Mother=E2=80=99s Day! I came across the following poem a = few weeks ago and=20 thought you would appreciate it. J

Have a wonderful = weekend!

Barbara

If You Give a = Mom a=20 Muffin

If you give a mom a = muffin,
She'll want a=20 cup of coffee to go with it.
So she'll pour herself = some.
The=20 coffee will get spilled by her three year old.
She'll wipe it=20 up.

Wiping the floor, she will find some dirty=20 socks.
She'll remember she has to do some = laundry.
When she=20 puts the laundry in the washer,
She'll trip over some snow = boots and=20 bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her = she has=20 to plan supper for tonight.

She will get out a pound = of=20 hamburger.
She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things to Make = With a=20 Pound of
Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a = pile of=20 mail.
She will see the phone bill which is due = tomorrow.
She=20 will look for the checkbook.

The checkbook is in her = purse=20 that is being dumped out by her two year old.
She'll smell = something=20 funny.
She'll change the two year old.
While she is = changing=20 the two year old the phone will ring. (Of course!)
Her five = year old=20 will answer it and hang up.

She remembers = that she wants=20 to phone a friend to come over for coffee on Friday.
Thinking = of coffee=20 will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour = herself=20 some.
And chances are,
If she has a cup of=20 coffee,
Her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with=20 it.

Written by Kathy Fictorie
Based on If = You=20 Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura=20 Numerof

More on the May 20=20 Override

Many of you know that an = important vote=20 that will impact our community is coming up on May 20. Mia Wenjen = wanted=20 to pass along a reminder about the vote and how a YES vote will help = preserve=20 the strength of the Newton Public Schools. She would like to share = some=20 ways that you can help get the word out about the vote and its impact on = the=20 Newton community:

Donate to the Override = Committee=20 =E2=80=93 $25,000 is needed next week to keep the signs, letters = etc coming. =20 Donations can be made online at MoveNewtonForward.org=20

Send out Postcards = =E2=80=93 Move Newton=20 Forward has preprinted postcards that you can send to friends to show = your=20 support. These need to be filled out by 5/12 and returned and=20 mailed. It doesn't matter if there is duplication and the more = that are=20 sent "across/around" the city the better.

3. Absentee Ballots = =E2=80=93 If you=20 know of people who travel and may not be around, let them know = starting=20 Tuesday they can go to City Hall to vote or a relative can go get an = absentee=20 ballot for them. We believe the final day for getting them is noon on = Monday,=20 May 19

4. Help at a Phone = Bank =E2=80=93 Get=20 a group of friends and go to a phonebank for 3 hours. You need = to be=20 there for the training at 6:30, and then they will give you numbers to = call. Dates open are Mon 5/12, Tues 5/13, and Wed 5/14 all at=20 6:30-9:00. Contact Lisa@birchile.com=20 to signup.

5. Participate in a = City Wide=20 Visibility =E2=80=93 Key locations throughout Newton have been = identified for=20 people to hold signs. Dates are 5/9, 5-7 pm, 5/10 9-2, 5/13 = 7:30-9:00 am=20 and 5-7 pm, 5/16 7:30-9 am, 5-7 pm, 5/17 9-3, 5/18 9-3 Contact = Lisa@birchile.com when you could help and they will = give you a=20 location for a block of = time.

Newsletter=20 Reminder

The newsletter is published = every=20 Friday. Please email contributions (WS Word files are best) to = fiveabbotts@hotmail.com or place a hard copy in Jen and Todd = Abbott=E2=80=99s=20 mailbox at Bowen. Submissions received by Wednesday evening are=20 appreciated.

3 Day=20 Class

3 Day Class = News

What a glorious day the 3 day = class had on=20 Wednesday.....it was outside most of the time, and I think everyone went = home=20 ready for a nap! Some of us listened to the birds singing....some made = paper=20 helicopters and flying clothes pins. Everyone finished a gift and card = for=20 Mother's Day, and many people enjoyed throwing a paint soaked sock = filled with=20 sand and watching it splat on the paper. Other children painted a mural = with=20 spray paint and still more painted the shed with water. There was a lot = of=20 running and digging and sliding, what fun! We came indoors for a snack = and a=20 story. The story is a cute one about a caterpillar and a pollywog (or = tadpole as=20 Tai reminded us). They both know they will change into something else, = and they=20 think they will both be butterflies....this led nicely into a discussion = about=20 other insects that make a cocoon or chrysalis. Sean's and his mother = gave the=20 class a praying mantis egg case and we put it into a jar to watch it=20 hatch....the note says that they have between 50 and 400 babies, yikes!! = We will=20 all enjoy observing it. Someday soon we will also get caterpillars to = watch as=20 well. We went back outside and had a fun time with the 5 day class in = the play=20 ground, and then we all sat under the oak tree and had a picnic lunch. = After=20 that it was back to the playground for some more fun. We hope to have = another=20 outdoor day, so be ready for anything!

I hope you all got the message = about the=20 picnic next week at my house. School will occur at my house and everyone = is=20 invited. Check last week's newsletter for the details, I will have a map = for you=20 on Monday.

Jane and I realized that there = are only 7=20 more days in the 3 day class...so we are trying to fit in all those = things that=20 we always meant to get around to.....what a great year it has been. Many = thanks=20 to you all for your most excellent parent helping and overall = willingness to=20 chip in when necessary. Have a wonderful Mother's Day, you deserve=20 it!!

Priscilla and=20 Jane

5 Day=20 Class

Dear = Parents,

We have had some beautiful = spring days this=20 week and the children have truly enjoyed being outside. On = Thursday, we=20 spent a long time playing on the playground before we sat at the picnic = tables=20 to eat our lunches. It is wonderful to see the cooperative play = that is=20 taking place both inside and outside--the children working on = construction=20 projects in the sandbox, pushing trucks and wagons together across the=20 playground or sharing the blocks on the blue rug. The social = interactions=20 of the five-day children have truly matured.

With Mother=E2=80=99s Day being = on Sunday the=20 five-day class has been very busy with preparations. Each child had fun = deciding=20 what color beads to pick for his/her gift. The next step was to=20 symmetrically arrange the beads. The gift was then wrapped with = much love=20 in wrapping paper that each child created. Finally, a very special = card=20 was attached. The children are very happy to say those special = words,=20 =E2=80=9CHappy Mother=E2=80=99s Day=E2=80=9D.

During group times this week = the children=20 have been having fun playing games with the upper and lower case letters = of the=20 alphabet. Two types of matching games were played, one with = pictures and=20 letters and one with just letters. With the third game played with = letter=20 duplos each child picked up an upper case letter and a lower case letter = and=20 told the class what each letter was. The children are doing very = well with=20 letter recognition.

The caterpillars will soon = arrive at Bowen=20 and the whole process of metamorphosis will be watched first hand in the = classroom. On Thursday, we starting making our Metamorphosis Book = by doing=20 the first stage=E2=80=94the egg. As the caterpillars grow and = mature into=20 butterflies we will add three more pages to our = book=E2=80=94caterpillar, chrysalis, and=20 butterfly. This experience is always a very exciting one. =20

As was mentioned last week, our = classroom=20 quilt arrived. This week the class made a Thank You Book for = Martha, my=20 daughter, who sewed the quilt together for us. Each child drew a = picture=20 of his/her patch and said thank you and signed his/her name.=20

Happy Mother=E2=80=99s Day to = all the moms! =20 Have a great week!

Barbara and = Margie

=E2=80=9CLittle Peter = Rabbit=E2=80=9D (a fun=20 song)

Little Peter Rabbit had a fly = upon his ear=20 (Repeat 3 times)

And he flicked it and it flew = away.=20

(Each time the song is sung one = of the=20 major words is replace with a motion. Ask your child to sing it to = you.)

TK=20 Class

Dear = Parents,

It was=20 an excellent, albeit challenging week in TK. We learned about = letter X and=20 had fun playing with xylophones and painting pictures of X-Rays. = We=20 quickly realized that there are not very many pronounceable words that = begin=20 with X, so we had to come up with words that have X in the middle or at = the=20 end. We also realized that X is a tricky letter that can make more = than=20 one sound, but we were able to discriminate among middle and ending = sounds to=20 come up with some additional words for the list. Also, we learned = that Xs=20 are fun to write! We practiced making them in the discovery table = using=20 silly putty, sand and shaving cream. We also had a lot of fun = playing tic=20 tac toe.

One of=20 the biggest adventures of the week was the arrival of the = caterpillars! =20 The children and teachers worked together to create a chart that listed = the=20 things we know about caterpillars and the things we wonder about=20 caterpillars. As we observe the caterpillars grow and change into=20 butterflies over the next few weeks, we will add the things we learn = about them=20 to the chart. We also spent a lot of time outside this = week=20 taking walks around the building and looking, listening, smelling and = feeling=20 for signs of spring. We noticed lilacs and forsythia. We = observed=20 birds=E2=80=99 nests and listened for their calls. Also, we think = the bugs are=20 getting ready for June Bugs, because we saw many of them crawling, = flying and=20 wiggling around Bowen.

Mother=E2=80=99s Day kept us busy this week as we worked on = special gifts and=20 cards. There were some very endearing discussions about our = moms=E2=80=99 favorite=20 things and a lot of time, effort and love was put into our = surprises. We=20 hope you enjoy them!

Please=20 mark your calendars for our next field trip to the Zoo on Thursday, May=20 22^nd. A notice and permission slip with all the details = will be=20 distributed in the classroom early next week. This trip will be the = culmination=20 of our year long alphabet study. Can you believe that Z week is = almost=20 upon us? We also have some surprise visitors coming to see us on = Tuesday=20 and Wednesday, so please try to get to school by 9:00 at the = latest. We=20 don=E2=80=99t want any of the children to miss = anything!

Have a=20 wonderful weekend and a Happy Mother=E2=80=99s Day!

Love,

Carolyn, JennAnn, Jen and=20 Barbara