Washington Post
Family Newsletter for Washington Elementary
A Word from Mrs. Wolf
As holiday time approaches, we wanted to take some time to wish all of you well. This time of giving can also provide a wonderful time of family togetherness. I hope your plans include seeing those you love, extended time in pajamas, and perhaps some service to others. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at GWES.
An article from PBS on balancing family time over the holidays:
The holiday season is here! Like most families, my household is already in a flurry of activity—decorating, purchasing gifts, preparing for guests and baking cookies and pies.
This is also a special time for family fun and togetherness. But with the holiday rush, the to-do list seems to grow exponentially by the minute.
In the busyness of the season, it’s important to keep learning and quality time with family at the top of the list while your kids are home on break from school.
Research shows that families who spend quality time together and connect activities at home to what children are learning in school have a stronger emotional bond and better communication—and the kids do better academically.
The holiday season also provides great opportunities to expose children to new ideas and information, reinforce skills and knowledge, and encourage creativity, which supports their success in school.
As you are shopping, baking and celebrating special traditions, here are some ideas to mix quality time with learning:
Create a Budget — Encourage your kids to write a list of the people they want to buy gifts for. Then have them allocate a certain amount for each person on their list. While shopping for gifts, help your kids keep track of spending and their remaining budget.
Cook Together — Include your children in meal prep and baking for holiday gatherings. It’s a great way to have fun and teach kids about cooking and nutrition. While you’re cooking, you can practice math and reading skills—and demonstrate cool science concepts through various cooking techniques.
Make Holiday Greeting Cards and Gifts — Have your kids write holiday cards or letters to family and friends. It’s a great opportunity for children to practice their handwriting, as well as their grammar, spelling and creative writing skills. Also, making gifts at home is a way to encourage creativity.
Explore Your City — When you feel a bit of cabin fever, plan a family outing. Many local parks and zoos feature light displays and other festivities to celebrate the season. You can also visit a local museum and historic sites, or see a play at a local theater.
Play Games — Playing board and trivia games during holiday get-togethers is a good way to enjoy quality time together. Look for ideas online. There are a variety of games—for all ages—that are fun and educational as well.
Enjoy the Great Outdoors — Play with your kids in the backyard or at a local park. If it snows, build a snowman or hit the slopes! You can find fun outdoor games that promote physical activity.
And Read Every Day — Take your kids to the local library and borrow books to read over the winter break. And spend time reading together—it helps children develop their literacy skills and excel academically.
Family schedules can be grueling during the holidays, but remember the most important part of the season is spending time with the people you love. And when you add learning to your quality time, it will enhance the special moments with your children and support their success.
Coming soon:
December 19-Holiday accessory day-your child may wear a holiday accessory to school
December 19th-LCF Celebration of Learning Performance 9:00 AM and 6:00 PM
December 20th Washington Troupe community tour
December 20th-Holiday sock day
December 21-School dismisses at 12:15
December 21-Ugly holiday sweater day
School closed 12/22-Jan 8
School resumes on Jan 9
Tips for a Healthy Winter
A School Wide Perspective on Homework:
We believe that homework should be appropriate for the age and ability of students. Fundamental to our belief is that reading to, with, and by family members is of the utmost importance. For this reason, all students are asked to read 20 minutes per night regardless of grade level. Math homework is assigned based on the grade level and as indicated in the unit of study. We use the guidelines below in planning for homework. Should additional work be necessary in other subjects or classwork is not complete, you may receive individualized information from the classroom teachers. Homework support is available each morning from 7:45-8:15. We ask that you notify us a day in advance if your child will attend at tharris@k12k.com. In addition, this may be assigned in advance by teachers in order to support individual student needs.
GWES and PTA Thank all of our business partners
Reading strategies:
Independent reading news:
- Provides daily time to practice reading
- Self-selection of a wide range of reading materials by interest
- Increased vocabulary development
- Greater domain and background knowledge
- better fluency and comprehension
- Improved reading achievement
- greater motivation to read
- students who read 21.1 minutes a day of reading read 1,823,000 words per year
- talking about books for 5-10 minutes to a parent or peer improves understanding and comprehension
- Students should use the "goldilocks rule" when self selecting books: easy, just right, and challenging. An easy book is one where they read 95% accuracy with supportive clues and illustrations. A just right book is one that the can read with 90% accuracy but contains some challenging words. A challenging book is less than 90% accuracy and contains little support for the reader in terms of context cues and picture clues.
- Volume reading helps build knowledge
- Exposure to diverse types of books is a good for developing successful readers