Laura Hawes

March 16-27

March is going by fast! The first and fourth grade classes are spread out over the next two weeks to receive the following lessons..... Fourth grade will be doing activities to discover their learning style. They are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. We recently completed activities to discover their personality style and we will be combining the elements from both of these styles to discuss ways the students can use this information about themselves to be their most successful.

First grade classes will be participating in a lesson on peer pressure and making good choices. We will be reading and discussing a great book by Becky Henton called The Band Aid Chicken and then they will be making a book about what we have learned and how it can apply to their classes and lives outside of school.

March 2-13

Wow! I cannot believe that we are already beginning March! It looks like the weather is definitely coming in like a lion with all of our rain. Over the next two weeks, all of my first grade classes will participate in a lesson on cooperation. They will learn the definition of the word and actively practice their cooperation skills as well as discuss appropriate times to use this important skill.  My fourth graders will be identifying their own personal style. We will be doing an activity with this and brainstorming how this information can be useful in a variety of situations.

February 16-26

I hope that everyone who is off for President's day will enjoy their time off.  Over the next two weeks, I will work with all of the first and fourth grade classes. Be sure to ask your fourth grader what IALAC stands for and how many positive statements it takes to make up for one negative statement! You might be surprised at the answer.

 The first graders will be viewing a video concerning actions to take which are appropriate if someone calls them names. The video will be followed by a discussion and activity to reinforce positive choices.

February 2-13

Welcome to February! I hope that everyone had a good conference last week. Now is the time for students to ask themselves if they need to make any improvements in the choices they are making for school or if they need to continue making their current choices. If you are making good progress, keep it up! If you would like to do better, you will need to change what you are doing.

Over the next two weeks  all of the first and fourth grade classes will get their guidance lesson. First graders will be constructing the "perfect" friend after a lesson on what are good/poor friendship qualities. Fourth graders will be doing the math for monthly bill paying and making the connection between job choices and how easy/difficult it may be to make ends meet based on their salaries. One big idea they should get is that most jobs pay more when you have more skills to do them. Also, education makes a difference in how much money it is possible to make. A salary that appears to be a lot may not go as far as they think when they start subtracting out expenses. We will also discuss the important idea that the choices they make always have consequences!

January 26-30

This is conference week and all of the students will be going home early at 12:15 all this week. Please make sure to have arrangements for adequate supervision after school since this is earlier than usual. I will be completing a series of career lessons with the first grade classes.  Fourth graders may still complete a research sheet on the career of their choice and turn it in to me for extra credit.  Now might be a great time to help your students connect what they are doing in school with possible careers they may be interested in as you go over their report cards with them.

January 19-23

I hope that everyone enjoys the Monday holiday! I will be completing the second half of my fourth and first grade class lessons this week. We are learning about careers and how interests, skills, and abilities help us choose the right job and also, what job people the students know have so that they can get more information to decide if that might be the right job for them. Don't forget that next week is conference week and there is a different schedule for dismissal times!

January 12-16

The first and fourth grade classes will be looking at career choices. First graders will discuss different careers and identify what careers their family members have. The Fourth graders will take an interest inventory and identify the different careers which fit their interests and skills. We will also discuss how their classes in school are preparing them for different career choices.

January 5-9

Welcome to a new year everyone! I always enjoy starting a new year because of the feeling of starting over with endless positive possibilities before me! I will try to pass this positive outlook on as I meet with students this coming week.

I am completing a series of lessons which were given to half of the classes before the break. First graders will be learning about making good choices even if their best friend is not. Fourth grade classes will be practicing being "Tuned In" and really focused on what they are supposed to be doing. These are life skills which will help at school and many other settings.

December 9-19

The last 2 weeks in December before the Winter break will be busy!

I will be focusing on the 4 different kinds of gifts students can give with the first graders. These include- gifts of comfort, skills, things, and compliments. I stress that these kinds of gifts may cost no money and they can be given all year long not just at a holiday time they choose to celebrate. 

The fourth grade classes will have a career focus. I will be sharing the fun book entitled How Santa Got His Job.  While reading this book, we will discuss how important it is for students to think about what is interesting or important to them and how these ideas might relate to a job they might choose one day.

As we close the 2008 year, I wish the best for everyone! Please don't hesitate to get in touch with me if you have an area I might help students, parents, or otherwise.

December 1-5

Wow!! It is hard to believe that it is already December! I hope that the recent break was a time of family and blessing for everyone.

This next week, I will begin lessons for half of my first and fourth grade classes. First grade will focus on respecting personal space and making good choices for school success. We will discuss the value of making decisions for yourself rather than always following what your friends are doing. The fourth grade focus will be on careful listening with a fun activity to help the students to practice this important skill.