Yay! Pōkiʻi start school tomorrow (Wed 8/12) and kuaʻana start next Monday (8/17)…are you as excited as we are? 🎉 This is another book we normally bring to your keiki at our physical kipa ʻohana visits. We would have shared it during our virtual meetings but it needed to be updated to reflect the new COVID-19 changes. 😅 We converted it to a digital format and turned it into a movie. Come and take a peek into the life of a Papa Honu keiki. E komo mai!

Mahalo for attending our Hoʻokipa Nā ʻOhana (Parent Orientation) meeting this past week. There was a lot of information to absorb in that 30-40 minute session but guess what? There’s MORE. Lol. No but for real, here is some more information we would normally give you at the home visit in the form of a fun flip book. Since we won’t get to see you in person until keiki start school, we figured this digital slide deck would be the best way to go. 👍🏼 Also, if you haven’t yet, please fill out this survey and be sure to read the Student & Parent Handbook and Addendum all the way through. Check it all out over the weekend and if you have any questions we can talk more about it when we meet for our Virtual Kipa ʻOhana appointment. See you soon!

Welcome to our class blog page! We hope our summer mailing found you and yours in good health and that your keiki is as excited as we are to embark upon this new journey together. Things have changed a lot for our classroom since March and one of the biggest is that there will be a new daily check-in process (including a health screening) for keiki and now parents/family members will no longer be allowed to enter our classroom. We know that this will complicate things (especially with regard to separation anxiety and school/ʻohana communications) and are trying our best to use a variety of methods to overcome this barrier to the connection between home and school. Some of the tools we will use include: this blog, traditional paper newsletters and calendars (which will also be accessible on this blog), telephone, email, and the Seesaw app. (More information on the Seesaw app will be coming soon!) Take some time to explore our blog and click through the different menu links to see what lives here.

Hopefully you have had a chance to look over the Hoʻokipa Nā Keiki (Keiki Orientation) calendar and are aware of when your keiki is expected to be at school in August. We left the Virtual Kipa ʻOhana appointment time for you to choose so that you can find the best fit for your ʻohana’s schedule. Click on the button below to sign up for a time; your Zoom meeting link will be emailed to you when the time gets closer. Also, let us know if you are unfamiliar with the Zoom platform and we can help you with that as well. “Talk” to you again soon!

Here are a few things you could work on with your keiki:

• Undressing and redressing self as well as using the bathroom (including wiping) independently 🧻
  • Choose easy on/off bottoms for keiki; elastic waistbands are best
  • Practice snaps and buckles if keiki wears those
• Practice opening and closing lunch containers and ziplock bags
• Practice washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds 🤲🏼 🧼 (the length of the ABC song or Happy Birthday twice)
• Practice bedtime and waking routines. 😴 Make sure there’s enough time to wake up, get ready, and have breakfast before everyone goes to school. 🏫

As for parents, you could practice packing lunches for your keiki so you get a feel for how much food to pack and what kinds of foods your keiki enjoys. And your keiki can practice eating healthy and nutritious food too! Win-win. 😉