The Daily Special: Last Post of the School Year

We did it! We made it to the end. Congratulations! 

For our last video of the year, we made one last Daily Special video to celebrate all we accomplished.
Have a great summer! 

VIDEO LINK HERE

Mrs. Clayton's last day at UES was last Wednesday. Things happening in the world seem tough and weird and maybe even a little scary. She created one last message for you to remember when things feel bad. Enjoy! and Goodbye! 

VIDEO LINK HERE

Lastly, we do not want to leave you empty-handed for the summer. We want you to know that The Daily Special will stay active over the summer, and you can come back ANYTIME to do the activities we posted. We have included links below to make searching by subject a little easier for you: 

Movement Monday          Tuneful Tuesday          Wellness Wednesday

Terrific Technology          Artful Thursday            Freybrary Friday
Note: You can also use the labels on the right hand side of the page. 

HAVE A TERRIFIC SUMMER!!!! 

Wellness Wednesday Week of June 1-5 Hopes and Wishes

Hi everyone,
Wow, can you believe we made it to June!  Amazing!

I have two read alouds for you this week.  The first is from a book called I am Human by Susan Verde.  This is one in a series of books that talk about empathy - looking at things from another persons point of view and compassion - a strong feeling of sympathy and a wish to be helpful.  Both are topics we work on together all year long at school and are especially important right now.

After the read aloud which you can find here, complete the Roll and Respond activity below shared by a school counselor I really admire, Counselor Keri.  You will need a pair of dice to complete it and you could write your answers down.

Find our Human Connections with Each Other:
Roll the dice and respond with someone else or write your answers down.

1.  Share a unique quality about yourself.
2.  Share something you learned recently.
3.  Share one of your big dreams for the future.
4.  Share something that you are curious about.
5.  Share a time or situation when you feel or felt afraid.
6.  Share a time or situation when your heart feels or felt heavy or sad.
7.  Share a time when you moved on from a hard situation or experience.
8.  Share a time when you showed compassion to another human.
9.  Share a time when you helped someone get what they needed.
10.  Share a time when you listened to another human's fears, concerns, or feelings.
11.  Share a time when you apologized to another human.
12.  Share why you are full of hope for the humans of the world.

The second read aloud is all about my wishes for you as the school year winds down.  Please check out I Wish You More, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld here.  You can also complete this activity which we often do at the end of the school year.  Have a grown up take a photo and share it with me over email @ suzannef@mpsvt.org.  Check out the final lessons from Kids Yoga with Ms. Winters on the UES Social Emotional Learning site as well.

I wish you more sunshine, laughs, fun, time with friends and creativity this summer.  I hope to see you all very soon!  Be kind to each other and yourself.

Wellness Wednesday Week of May 25-29 Mind Bubbles

Hi everyone,

Wow, we have almost made it to the end of May.  We can do this!  Here is my read aloud for the week and I have included a Mindful Kids activity as well.  Be on the lookout for a special surprise during the videos.

Listen to the read aloud here.

Check out this Mindful Kids Activity here and 

click on read more below to see some other ideas.

Week of May 18-22 Wellness Wednesday #6

Hi Everyone,
I hope you are able to soak up some of this beautiful sunshine we are having this week.

1.  Please check out my new weekly lesson below

Listen to a read aloud of Scribble Stones by Diane Alber here.  

Wellness Wednesday Week of May 11-14 Nobody Hugs a Cactus

Hi friends,

Here is a read aloud for the week.  As you are listening to the story think about how an act of kindness can change how you feel and how it might change the way someone else feels about you.  I hope you enjoy the story.

Nobody Hugs A Cactus Read Aloud

Check out the ideas for activities below ...

Week of May 4-8 Wellness Wednesday Week #4

Hi UES, 

This week’s lesson is all about how our thoughts can make us feel certain feelings.  We are always in
charge of how we choose to act and this comes from how we are thinking.  Stay tuned below for a
very special guest teacher as well ….

When we are calm, we can trust our thinking.  If we trust our thinking when we are upset or mad
it can make things worse.

Here is another read aloud for today from the book, What is a Thought? (A Thought is a Lot)
by Jack Pransky and Amy Kahofer.  

You can find the video here.

After the read aloud, check out some ideas below for how to get back to a
calm body when you are not feeling that way to begin with.  

Spreading Positivity Art Project - Final Slideshow!

Here is the final slideshow of all of the Spreading Positivity artwork! Thanks to all of the artists of all ages who created art to share with the community and the world. Special thanks to Montpelier musician Paul Boffa, who wrote the song "Share the Love" with UES first graders a couple of years ago (those students are currently in third grade!) and was happy for this song to be included in the slideshow. Enjoy and have hope!

Week of April 27-May 1 Wellness Wednesday #3

Hi everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the break and are getting back into the groove as we head down the home stretch of our school year.  I have put together a video with a read aloud for you that I think could be helpful.
Please "bear" with some of the technical issues in the video, it was a bright and sunny day and I couldn't pass up the sunshine but it caused some issues with my camera.  As my favorite art teacher says, "Oops, oh well", right?

Here is the video featuring the book Breathing Makes It Better by Christopher Willard and Wendy O'Leary:

I also wanted to share some easy breathing techniques that you could try from the book Alphabreaths, the ABC's of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen.  I made a quick video to introduce the book.

Activities to try from AlphaBreaths:

Here are some additional activities that you can try as well: 

Feelings Scavenger Hunt

Mindset Finder Feelings Fortune Teller Activity

Week of April 13-17 Wellness Wednesday

Hi Mindful Students,

Here is a video that another school counselor, Counselor Keri, made and gave me permission to share with you.  I thought some of you might be having worries these days with school being closed.  I hope you find all of the activities in todays Wellness Wednesday lesson helpful.

Remember to practice calm breathing whenever you have a worry and the more you practice the easier it is to stay calm and worry less.

And of course a story from Mrs. Francke

The Worry Box by Suzanne Chiew

And a Mindful Activity to try

Please share pictures of your worry boxes you make with me via email @ suzannef@mpsvt.org.

I would love to hear if you are using the journal idea from last week to write in as well.  Have a great week everyone, remember to breathe and know that we can do this!

Week of April 6-10 Spreading Kindness and Positivity

Week of April 6-10  Wellness Wednesday - Spreading Kindness and Positivity 

Hello UES students and families.  Please watch this video for an activity that will spread positivity to our community and beyond.  We miss all of you and hope that everyone is staying well and finding lots of ways to spend your time at home that are creative, helpful, kind, and most of all fun!

Here are some directions from Mrs Kane:

And here is the video version:

Please share your messages of positivity with us and the greater Montpelier community.  And check out my post about making a journal below, lots of options for you. Be well!

Wellness Wednesday - Making a Journal from Things you Have at Home

Hello, Wise Owls, Mrs. Francke here, wishing you a happy Wellness Wednesday! I wanted to share an idea I had to help you find ways to show how you are feeling, what you might be thinking about and a project to keep those hands, hearts and brains busy with an artsy/craftsy twist.

Ask a grownup before using any materials and for help with tools like scissors and special tapes or glue. This project could be done with any age, just change the materials or make it super simple depending on how much help grownups can give.  The good news is once you make it you will have a place to go to each day to write, draw, glue or create.

Welcome to the Daily Special!

Welcome to The Daily Special, brought to you by your UES Specials Teachers! Click HERE to watch our "Hello" video. 

You are invited to join us every weekday for new lessons and activities. We are excited to take turns posting each morning for you to enjoy here on this blog. 

Weekly Schedule

• Movement Monday with Mr. Williams & MJ (Physical Education)
• Tuneful Tuesday with Mrs. Clayton (Music)
• Wellness Wednesday with Mrs. Francke (Guidance) and Tempting Tech with Mr. Jarrad
• Artful Thursday with Mrs. Kane (Art)
• Freybrary Friday with Mrs. Frey (Library)

We truly miss seeing you all at UES! You are always welcome to send us an email with questions, share your learning and work from home, or just say hello! We would LOVE to hear from you!

Mr. Williams: EmmanuelR@mpsvt.org

MJ: MJ@mpsvt.org

Mrs. Francke: SuzanneF@mpsvt.org

Mrs. Kane: KristinaK@mpsvt.org

Mrs. Clayton: jessicaclayton@mpsvt.org

Mrs. Frey: MaritaF@mpsvt.org

Mr. Jarrad: Jeffreyj@mpsvt.org
HOOT HOOT! 

Mrs. Francke, Mrs. Frey, Mrs. Clayton, MJ, Mr. Williams, Mr. Jarrad, and Mrs. Kane