Etiquette week has been a huge success. We began the week by reading the book: Have You Filled A Bucket Today? The book describes that everyone has an invisible bucket. When their bucket is full, the person feels very good. When their bucket is empty, they feel sad. The book continues to describe that actions and words we say either fill someone’s bucket, or takes things out of their bucket. Thus, this week, we have been focusing on being “bucket fillers.” You can fill someone’s bucket by smiling, saying good morning, and even helping someone clean up a mess. We empty other people’s buckets when we are “bucket dippers.” A bucket dipper says mean words and makes others feel bad. The children have all really enjoyed their actual buckets at school. When they do something to be a bucket filler, they receive a gemstone from the teacher.

We will keep using the buckets for the next several weeks in order to encourage the children to keep up their manners and to be bucket fillers. It has been such a wonderful lesson using positive reinforcement. Many families have even begun using buckets at home to help improve their child’s behavior and manners.

Etiquette Week culminated in a fancy luncheon. The children have been preparing all week by learning to use their table manners. They have been working on chewing with their mouths closed, staying at the table until they are all finished eating, talking without food in their mouth, and asking to be excused from the table. They did a wonderful job practicing these skills at the luncheon. They asked to pass the food and waited patiently to begin eating until everyone was ready.

Just a reminder, we have an all school field trip on Monday, April 29. We will meet at the Natural History Museum. There will be no actual classes that day.

We also have several field trips coming up before the end of the school year. We will be going to Fisherman’s Folly Farm, the play ZooZoo at playhouse square, and bowling at Bay Lanes. Remember that the last day of school is Thursday, May 30th. We will be having an end of school year celebration at school that Thursday in the wiggle room at 2pm. Families are invited to this celebration! More information on these events will be coming home soon