Writing is the frame work of our communication. We are encountered with writing every day of our lives. To be able to communicate effectively with each other and to be able to voice your own thoughts and opinions is becoming an increasingly important and a vital skill students learn at PNA to ensure success in their future. In 1st Grade we have recently been working on our opinion unit and learning how to voice our opinions and back them up using evidence.

Congratulations to first grade and everyone involved for their hard work in making the play a success. I hope you all enjoyed it. I came to show my support but ended up being roped into sitting behind the chair helping the little ones. I especially enjoyed some of the songs and unfortunately now have “I don’t wanna be a goat, nope” on a continuous loop in my head.

At PNA, we recognize the importance of social emotional learning. Thus we have continued into our 3rd week of ACE time being dedicated to that and the responsive classroom. Kindergarten to 5th grade students were divided intro three multi-age groups so each can share their unique perspectives and experiences. After exploring inclusion and respectfulness we turned this week to personal and physical boundaries.

Personal Space is a very important social skill for children in elementary school to learn, practice and grow.  Understanding and keeping good personal space helps children to engage more successfully in everyday interactions and in personal relationships with peers and adults, as well as helping them to stay safe.
Everyone feels more comfortable when the person they are with respects their personal space.  While there some commonly held beliefs on how much space we should give others in any given situation, everyone has their own, unique amount of personal space that they need in order to feel comfortable.

This space changes depending on several factors:

• Who you are with
• What you are doing
• Where you are

​Lots of people refer to the space that one needs to have between themselves and someone else, in order to feel comfortable, as their “bubble.”  It is generally accepted that we have a smaller “bubble” with family and close friends, than we do with acquaintances, strangers and authority figures.
For children, the bubble can sometimes be the same size for everyone.  Also, they tend to think that everyone has the same space bubble that they do. Learning to recognize that everyone is different and has different physical and personal boundaries is an important skill in a child’s development. The teaching of self advocacy is also critical. Learning what they as a person are comfortable with or not comfortable with and how to react to and advocate for themselves in those different situations is a life skill. It is also important to stress that if they are not comfortable they can and indeed should say “No”.