BFPP NEWS

Fall Harvest Festival

Wow. Really. Our Fall Festival had it all……Face painting. Dancing. Theater performances. Games, games, more games. A photo booth event. Our hardworking and dedicated family volunteers went all out so kids and families of all ages and stages could join together to celebrate the fun of fall. Thank you Ashleigh Goulet for heading up this amazing group of parent volunteers. We can’t wait to see what’s next.

Middle School Mixer

Fabulous fall fun was had by all during the Middle School Mixer on November 1st. Students in grades 5-8 gathered in the cabin for an afternoon of fun and friendship. A generous anonymous donor provided food and apple cider while two budding D.J.’s spun music for dancing. Parent Annalee Dunn organized the event on behalf of the students alongside a great committee of student volunteers who helped with costume suggestions and provided games and activities for everyone to play. Final reflections from everyone involved indicated that the event was an overwhelming success. Thank you to everyone involved.

Monday 11/7 11am LTW: LEO Tips and Tricks

Thursday 11/10 1:30pm Arts and Crafts Club

Thursday 11/10 10:30am LTW: Fluency

Friday 11/11 Veteran's Day - No School

Monday 11/14 1pm WWU Planetarium Show

Tuesday 11/15 12pm LTW: Writing Group for Parents

Thursday 11/17 10am Tea with Kate

Thursday 11/17 10:30am LTW: Early Literacy Foundational Skills

Thursday 11/17 11:30am LTW: Middle School Meet Up

Friday 11/18 12pm LTW: Homeschooling 101

Hello BFPP Families,

Let's come together to chat about different Literacy topics! I've compiled a list of topics I'm frequently asked about. These conversations are "stand alone" meaning that you can sign up for one, two, or as many as you want to. My hope is that not only will you want to come learn with and from me, but also share your ideas and resources… learning TOGETHER!

-Carrie

***Babes in arms welcome. No child care is provided. Please find a North Star for your older kiddos before attending.***

November:

11/10/22 10:30-11:30 Fluency Now that they know how to read, how should it sound? Let's talk about Fluency strategies! (appropriate for 2nd- 8th grade readers)

Sign Up HERE for Fluency

11/17/22 10:30-11:30 Early Literacy Foundational Skills: (Rhyme, Initial/End Sounds, Segment, Blend) (appropriate for PreK-2nd grade pre-readers to early readers) Let's explore how to lay a good foundation for reading, before they are reading.

Sign Up HERE for Early Literacy Foundational Skills

December:

12/1/22 10:30-11:30 Daily 5 (Read to Self, Read to Others, Listen to Reading, Word Work, Writing) What does this mean for different developmental levels? (appropriate for all readers)

Sign Up HERE for the Daily 5 Workshop

12/8/22 10:30-11:30 Vocabulary, Sight Words, and Spelling Ideas (appropriate for K-4th readers) What's the difference between these? How should we approach these at home?

Sign Up HERE for Vocabulary, Sight Words, and Spelling Ideas

Have you ever wanted to create a list of core values for home schooling? Do you find yourself wanting to describe a particular moment on the home school journey that continues to inspire you? Have you wanted a safe place to write and share your home school reflections?

If any of these questions intrigue you, please join me, Sven Severin BFPP parent, and counselor Erica for a writing group Tuesdays 12pm-1pm beginning November 15th. We will continue for at least four weeks.

Maybe this group can give you the extra nudge to make writing a more meaningful component of your home school parent self-care. Drop-in on the weeks when you’re available. No writing experience necessary. We’ll provide writing prompts when you want them. All parents of homeschoolers welcome. Children are welcome but will not be invited to join the writing and reflections with the parents.

Please RSVP to Erica. We will send a follow up email with more specific details once we receive your RSVP.

Our October meet-up was such a success we’ve decided to keep the learning and the connections going strong. Please join the adults in your middle school community on November 17th from 11:30 -12:30 in The Fort for our next Middle School Family Meet Up. All middle school adult family members are welcome, even if you were unable to attend the first meet-up.

Please RSVP here so we know to expect you, even if you attended last time. Childcare will be available too.

During our gathering we will continue learning about the adolescent brain and the ways the pruning process and the growth process can have significant impact on our relationships with our changing adolescents. Topics and wisdom will come from within the group as we connect, talk, share, laugh and learn together.

Reach out with wonders and questions to Erica.

Home Learning 101 ~ Routines, Rhythms & Relationships

Friday, Nov. 18th 12-1pm, on Zoom

This Learning Together Workshop is facilitated by BFPP Instructional Coach and former homeschool parent, Erin McCarthy. The intended audience for this workshop is adults who are new/newish to home schooling (this includes online learning) and who have chosen this option for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they feel in their hearts, heads and bellies that this is how their child should learn best right now. Basically, we’ll be taking the energy of “Yayyy, I’m homeschooling!!” and addressing the “Well, now what?!”

Please join us! RSVP to Erin by 9am on 11/17 for the Zoom link.

This workshop will be repeated again each month: 11/18, 12/9, and 1/20

These ongoing Learning Together Workshops are facilitated by Brooke Wertz for new and continuing online learning students and families.

1st Monday of each month 11:00-11:30am on Zoom at

https://bellinghamschools.zoom.us/my/brookewertz

3rd Monday of each month 5:00-5:30pm on Zoom at

https://bellinghamschools.zoom.us/my/brookewertz

Hey Friends! Join us for Arts & Crafts Club in the Multipurpose Room, 1:30 - 2:30pm on the following Thursdays:

• November 10th

• December 1st - A special Math & Art Club fusion! We’ll be making these cool Triskele paper ornaments.

• December 15th

Questions? Contact Siv & Eli at sivspain@icloud.com.

Love to look up at the night sky? Do you want to learn more about what’s out there? Did you know we have our very own planetarium right here in Bellingham?

Meet me at WWU’s, Dr. Leslie E. Spanel Planetarium for a presentation of “Chaos and Order.”

When: 1:00 pm Monday, Nov, 14th*

Where: Haggard Hall, Room 313

Who: Recommended for ages 8+

It’s free thanks to BFPP. Donations to BFPP are appreciated for similar learning opportunities in the future.

*Show lasts 45 minutes. No late seating. Special thanks to BFPP student Owen Hill for organizing this opportunity.

Sign up & more information HERE!

Join Principal Kate for a cup of tea and conversation. Meet in the reception/entry area the last Thursday of the month at 10am. This is a BYOM – bring your own mug - event!

Thursdays at 10am: Nov. 17th, Dec. 15th, Jan. 26th

Woodworking for Parents and Other Adults

Please sign up HERE

Four 2-hour sessions: 4-6 pm Mondays, November 21-December 12

Limit: 15 students

$30 materials fee

This class is for parents and other adults who would like to do woodworking with children. The instructor, Alex Brede, a veteran public-school teacher who has taught woodworking to children in his own classrooms and many other settings for the last 40 years, will share the techniques he uses to create successful woodworking experiences for students ages 5 to adults.

Using hand tools, participants will make several small wooden projects (a paddleboat, a small box, and a few other items) which they might help their own children/students make. The focus is on how to instruct and assist children in tool use and project construction, while emphasizing safety, effective tool use, self-monitoring and independence. We'll use a range of tools from hand saws to hammers, rasps to hand drills.

Woodworking for Kids -

Please sign up HERE

Four 2-hour sessions: 1-3 pm Mondays, November 21-December 12

Grades 1-5

Limit: 12 students

$15 materials fee

Come do woodworking with Alex Brede, who has been teaching woodworking to kids for 40 years, including 20 years right here at Larrabee School. In this class, students will gain competence with many common hand tools while making a variety of wooden projects. We'll make sanding blocks, paddleboats and, depending on student interests and previous experiences with woodworking, possibly a number of other projects. Instruction focuses on tool and workshop safety, effective and efficient tool usage and project assembly, and the learning process.

For more information, visit Alex’s website: https://woodworkingwithkids.wordpress.com

You are also welcome to email him at bredefamilia@gmail.com

Unity Care NW is excited to begin offering Child and Family Counseling at BPPP! This service is currently available for students who qualify for Medicaid. Sessions will take place two days a week on BPPP’s campus. Contact Erica for more information or to schedule a session.

Hi All- Many of you know that my husband and I have put together a home school ski and snowboard program in partnership with Mt. Baker Ski Resort for the past six years. This program ran January through March and took advantage of their Mid-Week Ride program to offer discounted lessons on days that were more conducive to home school schedules.

Now that my husband and I both work full time and our home-schooling community has had much success in this partnership, we’ve asked Mt. Baker to continue offering this program during the week to home school families at a reduced rate, and they AGREED! So, for all you families who have kids who are eager to get up to the mountain (to learn or advance their skills), please find more information for the Thursday Home School Program at the Mt. Baker webpage: https://www.mtbaker.us/lessons-rentals/multi-week-lessons/thursday-homeschool-lessons/. I’m still here to answer any questions or follow up directly with the team at Mt. Baker.

-Erin McCarthy

by Teacher Sammy

When we venture out to new places, or even revisit old places, our brains are given the chance to learn through more than just intellect. ALL OF OUR SENSES have the chance to make personal connection to the experience and we make greater meaning this way.

Recently the Kindergarten Experience class went on a field trip to one of our BFPP family farms. So much authentic learning happened, and our senses were hard at work. We chased down chickens and observed the cows as we fed them. These beasts ate apples that didn't make the cut for the apple press. A few kids had questions about the cows, and because of their courage to share their wonders we learned…Cows weigh around 1400 pounds and females produce about 20 offspring.

I must say that learning by experience is at the top of my list.

A big shout out to Joanne Lawrence and family who took the time to create this experience.

Click here to learn more about the Experience Based Learning approach.

Family Field Trips from Cascadia Weekly

by Crystal Holtzheimer

Recently, I have been reading differently wired. Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World by Deborah Reber. This is, so far, the best parenting book I have read for those of us raising neurodivergent kids. The first part of the book lays out the author’s manifesto for why parents of neurodivergent kids need to have a parenting paradigm shift, and the second part of the book has bite-sized chapters with parenting “tilts” we can utilize and reflect on to make our parenting these unique kids more effective. The author also hosts a podcast, called TiLT Parenting, focused on these same types of topics. I highly recommend both of these resources.

Additionally, if you are parenting a neurodivergent child (or two, or three…) and are craving the community and support of like-minded parents facing the same kind of challenges, please get in touch with me at choltzheimer@gmail.com. I am hoping to put together a low-pressure community/support group/book club/discussion group for BFPP parents. Our kids need the best of us, and we need each other to become the best that we can be for them.

As you know, demanding schedules and busy lives require a great deal of ingenuity and organization to run smoothly and effectively. BFPP parent Annalee Dunn has discovered a great way to help her family stay organized – the badge organizer. The greatest benefit of this tool is the ways it allows students to be their own problem solvers because they can look at their schedules whenever they feel unsure of what is next for them. This helps them feel autonomous, independent, and confident in their abilities to navigate their world.

Thank you for sharing Oona, Enzo, and Annalee.

Bellingham Public Schools serves hot dinner at no cost to all children 18 and under and to those served in the Community Transitions program. These meals are offered from 5 to 5:45 p.m. Monday to Thursday now through June 15, 2023. Dinner is served in the Shuksan Middle School cafeteria, located at 2717 Alderwood Avenue (at the corner of Northwest and Alderwood). It does not matter what school you attend in the district.

Accompanying adults are charged $4.75 per meal — please bring cash or check. Please plan to eat onsite in the Shuksan cafeteria.

The daily Monday through Thursday dinner menu is listed on the school menu webpage by day after the lunch listing.

Please note: Dinner will not be served on school holidays or on the following all school early dismissal days: Nov. 3, Nov. 25, Dec. 8, Feb. 9, March 9 and April 27.

It’s that time of year to think about snow and our procedures and impact of weather-related school cancellations.

Depending on conditions (which could include snow, flooding, power outages, etc.), school could:

• close for the day,
• open two hours late, (BFPP classes will start at 10am)
• open on time with buses on snow/alternate routes.

Families travel to BFPP from throughout the county. We ask that you use your best judgment when deciding whether or not to come to campus on inclement weather days.

How can I get weather/emergency information?

Changes to the school schedule are usually announced by 6 a.m., and we use a variety of methods to keep families informed:

• Sign up for alerts: To receive email, phone, and/or text alerts, set your communication preferences in Parent Square.
• Tune to local media: 790 AM, 96.5 FM, 104.1 FM or Seattle media.
• Check bellinghamschools.org
• Check social media: @BhamSD on Twitter or @bellinghamschools on Facebook
• Call 360-676-6400 for a recorded message.
• Call 360-647-6815 for a message translated in Español, русский, tính từ and Punjabi.

Please familiarize yourself with our weather procedures.

Have an item, talent, idea, or interest to share with the BFPP community at large? Please consider sharing via the newsletter! Email Heidi with your contributions. Thank you!

Next newsletter: Friday, November 18th.

If you've made it this far, let me congratulate you -- this is a full newsletter! When you have a chance, I encourage you to read through a second time - there are so many opportunities to connect in here!

-Heidi

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Website: https://fpp.bellinghamschools.org
Location: 1409 18th Street, Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone: (360) 676-6424