Thank you and congratulations to all of the families who came to Family Night! The children were delighted to share their classroom with their moms, dads, brothers, sisters, grandparents and all the special people in their lives. Every preschool child was recognized with a certificate for the amazing dispositions they display every day.

Dispositions are frequent and voluntary habits of thinking and doing. Children’s desirable dispositions, such as resourcefulness, curiosity, and persistence, can be strengthened by parents and teachers. To learn more about 3 types of dispositions, inborn dispositions, social dispositions and intellectual dispositions read the following article

Why children’s dispositions should matter to all teachers.

21st Century Skills and Sopori Science Fair

It’s time for the Sopori Science Fair. Maybe you have been helping your child with the scientific method in designing a science fair project. Read the following article “Can Learning be Engaging and Rigorous?” to see how one school takes the science fair idea to a higher level with rigorous engagement. Prepare a few questions to discuss with your child about the experiments.

Active Learning for Parents and Children

Have you ever wondered “What can children teach their parents?” Go to the Wonderopolis site to see how families can have fun learning together. Children do not learn much just sitting and listening. They must talk about what they are learning, relate it to personal experiences and apply it to their daily lives. When you and your child interact around the Wonder of the Day, you are not only having fun but participating in Active Learning!

http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-can-children-teach-their-parents/

Great questions to ask when reading a book with your child

Our preschool kids love checking out books everyday from our Make Way for Books library. What kind of questions do you ask when you read a book together? Watch the short video below to learn about questions you can ask that promote higher level thinking skills.

Green Valley News Artist in Residence

Students worked at a higher level of learning during this Artist in Residence event.  The focus of the art program was for the children to draw desert plants and landscape, which enabled them to depict specific species through analyzing growth patterns, textures and shapes.  As part of this process, the children investigated the explorations of Juan Bautista de Anza, whose expedition in 1775 went north along the Santa Cruz River, only one mile from Sopori.

Please click on the link to read the article.

http://www.gvnews.com/sahuarita_sun/sopori-kids-show-off-their-art/article_e3248b46-ff8f-11e0-a251-001cc4c002e0.html

Sopori Artist in Residence

What a wonderful Artist in Residence experience we had with Artist Catherine Nash. With this school wide integrated approach, children preschool through 6th grade learned about the Anza Expedition. Children constructed their understanding of history through listening to an historical presentation, writing stories based on journals from this era, taking a simulated expedition and creating artwork to represent their new learning. Please see the video below documenting this 5 week experience.

 

Something to think about next time you help your preschooler cook

http://youtu.be/rX8lRh1u5iE

Click on this link to learn about the Zone of Proximal Development.

Agua Linda Field Trip Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z5DN255

Mind in the Making Tips for Parents

We had a fabulous first week of school with perfect attendance. What a joy observing our preschool children beginning to build a community of learners. How can parents help?

Watch the video below and leave a comment.

Then go to the Mind in the Making link and read the tips for parents. Play these games with your child and post what you learned playing one of the games.

Explore your community

This year we will be working on an Amado History Project.

Go to the Amado and Arivaca websites links and explore the information on those sites.

Post other ideas that you are interested in exploring about the community where you currently reside.

Wonderopolis

About Wonder of the Day

Learning is happening everywhere, all the time! We have bottled a little bit of that learning in each Wonder of the Day®. Experience a daily dose of time with your child to make the most of each and every moment together — learn something new, try out an idea, create a masterpiece, imagine possibilities. It’s easy. It’s fun. But the learning is big!

Go to the Wonderopolis website link with your child. Post something that you learned together.

Welcome Parents

Hi Parents!

Welcome to our 2011-2012 school year. We hope you are ready to participate in your child’s education in a variety of ways. Let’s start by making sure that you familiar with the Sopori PBIS Procedures. We know that as a team we can work together to support the goals you have for your child.

Write a question or comment that you have after viewing the PBIS video in the Link Menu.