We are embarking on our week 3 of "Home Schooling" and next week is officially our Spring Break, but with many of us staying home, I am including some fun activities to share out with you and your family during the next few weeks.

At this time, there are a few reminders for you all:

*Grades K-2 work packets will be available every Friday from 11:00-1:00pm for pick up.

*Grades 3-8 will have Google Lessons pushed out weekly.

*Chromebooks should be available for your child in grades 3rd-8th and only in K-2 if the child does not have a device at home or older sibling with a chromebook.

Lunches/Breakfasts will be delivered to San O School from 11:00-1:00pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Greetings San O families,

I hope you are all doing well, given the situation at hand. We miss our San O families and miss all of our events just as much as you do. I wanted to pass on some information regarding our yearbook and 2020/2021 PTA elections.

Yearbooks will still be available to your child in May like we originally planned. If for whatever reason we are not back in school by then, we will arrange a distribution date and time for your child. We are also looking for pictures to help complete the yearbook. If you have photos of your children during homeschooling, the teacher parade, and/or throughout the school year, please send them to sanonofreyb@gmail.com.

2020/2021 PTA Elections will be held in May for the upcoming school year! If you are interested in running for a position, please email me at ptasanonofre@gmail.com for more information. I will automatically email an interest form to all of our current PTA members. In order to run for an executive position, you have to be a member for at least 30 days. You do not have to be a member to run for a chair position (i.e., popcorn, hospitality, fall festival, etc.). For San Onofre School to have an up and running PTA, the following positions MUST be filled: President, Treasurer and Secretary. I will have more information about elections on our Facebook page in the near future.

Thank you all for your continued support and we hope to see you all very soon.

Liz Villafana

San O PTA President

1. Scavenger hunts. An oldie but a real goodie. For the younger crowd, have kids collect items based on colors (such as three red items, three blue items, etc.), and for older kids, items can be collected based on letters of the alphabet.
2. Collages. Go through photo collections, print out favorites, and make a creative collage for a fun and thoughtful gift for a special friend or family member.
3. Unlimited painter’s tape games. One roll of painter’s tape equals countless activities. Create a long jump “pit” with several spaced-out lines of tape and see how far kids can jump. Perhaps they get further each time they try! Fashion your very own indoor hopscotch court and used rolled-up socks or beanbags as markers. Design a race track for toy cars, trucks, and trains.
4. Fashion show. Unleash your child’s inner diva with a raid of home closets and the dress-up box. Suggest categories for outfits such as stylish or silly. Don’t forget the runway, the music, and the flash of the paparazzi taking pictures.
5. Balloon tennis. Using hands, tennis rackets, back scratchers, pool noodles, or other devices, make your own Wimbledon court. (Strawberries and cream and finger sandwiches are strongly encouraged.)
6. Living room picnic. Spread out your favorite blanket and include the kids in the preparation of their favorite lunch items. Who knows? Maybe after the break, they will make their own lunches! (A parent can dream.)
7. Paper airplanes. There are so many ways to craft a super-sleek aircraft. Ramp up the fun by designing a landing strip. Can you fly your plane into a large pot, a large circle cut out of paper on the floor, or through a hula hoop?
8. House of cards. Skip the Netflix version, grab a pack of playing cards, and see how high your kids can build a tower.
9. Rock painting. With warm, sunny days ahead, prepare to beautify your outdoor space with colorful, painted rocks. Decorate rocks with multiple colors, pictures, dates, and kids’ names.
10. Forts. Go old-school with pillows and blankets, or create a full-day activity by picking up a large appliance cardboard box. Cut out a door, a window or two, and provide craft materials including paint, markers, glue, feathers, ribbons, and stickers for kids to make their very own stylish tiny house. Don’t forget to stock the fort with cushions, flashlights, books, and snacks.
11. Domino run. Pick up a few boxes of dominoes at your local dollar or toy store and set up a domino run. Start small with a straight line of dominoes and increase the challenge with varying shapes of runs.
12. Freeze dance. Think of this as a super way to burn off excess energy as well as an always-fun game. Crank up your kids’ favorite songs and when the DJ (designated kid or parent) stops the music, players must freeze in their spot.
13. Puppet show. With a few craft supplies and a whole lot of creativity, have your kids make their own puppets, write a script, and perform a show. Think Sound of Music without the goats.
14. Twister. Using the official board or your own home-designed version, there is never a dry eye (as in happy, laughing tears) when getting tied up in knots with your friends and family.
15. Obstacle course. When designing an obstacle course indoors or outside, it’s all about movement. Crawl under an object, jump over an object, run around an object, slide between objects, and laugh!
16. Board games. Think the old favorites: Hungry Hippos, Clue, Sorry, Monopoly, Candyland, Snakes and Ladders, and Yahtzee.
17. Indoor basketball. The methods of playing indoor basketball are practically limitless. Have kids toss balled-up socks into laundry hampers, ping pong balls into cups, stuffed animals into hula hoops, etc. etc.
18. Bake. Channel your inner Martha Stewart and bake cookies from scratch. Or channel your inner Betty Crocker and get a pre-made mix. No one is judging!

Click on the title above or click here.

By now, you may be going stir-crazy at home and/or overwhelmed by all of the resources. So, this might be a good time to slow it down and keep it simple. Part of STEM is learning about how the world works.

STEM is happening in your yard. Why not just sit in your backyard and really notice what is happening there. This is great for not only social distancing, but being in nature relaxes us and keeps us healthy.

Is the wind blowing? What animals and plants are in your yard? What parts do these plants and animals have? If you have a phone or tablet with slo-mo, use it to see how that squirrel runs or how the wind moves the plants. It's amazing to see how much we miss when we're so busy.

Below is a slow-motion video of butterflies. If you get some good slo-mo nature videos, share them with me and I'll post them for everyone to enjoy in the next newsletter.

Our world is amazing!

~Maria Flaherty

STEM Coach

mflaherty@fuesd.org