November PreK-4 Newsletter
November 1. 2025
A Note From Mr. B.
Veterans Day
Windom Area Schools has a long history of having one of the biggest and most meaningful Veterans Day programs in our area. On Tuesday, November 11, we will again host this event in "The Nest" at Windom Area High School. The program will begin at 9:30 a.m. Kindergarten students will be attending the program but will not be singing. All other grades from first to twelfth will be participating in the program.
Students should wear a solid white blouse, shirt, or sweater and dark blue or black skirt, dark blue or black dress pants, or dark blue or black jeans. Accents of red ties or bows would add a nice touch to the outfit.
The community is invited to attend this program, but students will need to stay with their class.
Cool Weather Clothing Plan
As the weather starts to cool, we will be implementing our recess clothing plan at the elementary school. You can click on the visual to make it larger so you can read it.
Water Bottles- Parents, please only send water in water bottles. This helps keep our classrooms clean and our students hydrated. Please do not send juice, Koolaid, milk, pop, or beverages other than water.
Drop off/Pickup- Please use the drop off loop in front of the school for dropping off and picking up. Feel free to park in the front lot if you plan to walk up and meet your child. Please do not park or pick kids up in the center lot as this is a safety concern for both traffic and supervision.
Cold and Flu Season and Absences
As the weather cools, we will start to see more cold and flu-type illnesses. If your child has a fever, vomits, or has diarrhea, the district policy is for the student to stay home until they are symptom free without medication for 24 hours. If your child does stay home, please call the school office at 831-6925 or email attendanceelem@isd177.com
Teaching Kids to Accept No for an Answer
When we tell our children "No", we are setting up boundaries. Our lives are filled with boundaries. We have speed limits, money limits, working hours, and safety protocols. Teaching our kids to hear and respond appropriately when they are told "No" helps to set them up for future success, but it also keeps them safe. There are 3 steps that kids should take when accepting "No" for an answer:
- Look at the person- This lets them know you are listening.
- Say "OK"- This lets the person know you understand
- Stay calm- This allows you to hear the rest of the information.
When parents or caregivers say "No", there are also steps they should follow:
- Acknowledge your child's emotions and disappointment without giving in.
- Provide a brief, age-appropriate reason. This helps them understand the boundary.
- Offer a positive potential alternative.
As an example, this might sound like, "No, we can't have cookies before dinner because you need to leave room in your tummy for healthy food. I know that you're hungry, and dinner will be ready in 10 minutes. While you wait, you can help set the table so when dinner is ready we can eat right away."
The important step is to not give in. Once you have set a boundary, do your best to uphold that boundary. Similarly, if you provided an alternative, it is important to follow through with that as well. Upholding boundaries and following through helps to build trust with you, but also with the idea of hearing "No". Hearing, and accepting "No" for an answer is both safe and important for children to develop to their fullest potential.
Raising Readers
The National Education Association had a great list of ways for families to help kids read. The article is linked here, but the first four are listed below.
- Read together every day. You can read the morning news at breakfast, share a story after supper, or cuddle up for a book at bedtime. A daily reading routine is something everyone can look forward to.
- Talk and build vocabulary. Interesting conversations build vocabulary, language skills, and knowledge about the world. Talk is a child’s best source of exposure to new words and ideas.
- Model reading. Kids want to do what the grownups do. Make sure your kids get to see you reading and hear you talk about it.
- Point out print. Read and talk about the words you see in the world around you. There’s lots to read—signs, recipes, cereal boxes, instruction manuals, bus schedules, news, maps, and menus.
Math Activities You Can Do At Home
Building math skills doesn't have to be complicated. Having your child help with laundry introduces the skills of sorting (who gets what, colors, etc), grouping (shirts, pajamas, pants), matching (socks), and classifying (long/short, red, blue). These skills are basic functions that we use in math that can easily be transferred to other activities. Having your child count out ingredients in a recipe, or find numbers on signs and license plates helps build number recognition, one-to-one correspondence, and counting. Older kids can estimate totals at the store by rounding. They can figure out a tip at a restaurant (hint: 10% is moving the decimal one place to the left, double that number for 20%) Even if you can't help with homework, these skills help kids learn math concepts too.