February is celebrated as I Love to Read Month across the nation. Our school will be joining with many others to create fun and meaningful reading experiences for our students. Classrooms will continue to provide opportunities for students to read independently and with an adult on a daily basis.
We encourage you to take some time during the month of February to read together as a family. Reading at home has the single biggest impact on your student’s success in school compared to other homework. Students who read at home for 20 minutes each night are exposed to 1,800,000 million words per year and score 90% higher than their peers when determining reading levels. Students who average less than 5 minutes each night of reading are exposed to 282,000 words per year and students reading an average of 1 minute per night are only exposed to 8,000 words per year. In other words it would take a student who reads an average of 1 minute a night 1 full year to be exposed to the same amount of words a student reading 20 minutes a night sees in 2 days!
Guest Readers Wanted!!
We are looking for guest readers. Any parent, grandparent, special friend or community member is welcome to join in our celebration of I LOVE TO READ Month. With the help of technology, we can even accommodate those that do not live in the area. If you are interested in reading to our students, please contact me.
Remember to drink plenty of water during the day. Water keeps you hydrated, but it does so much more! Water helps your immune system. First, water keeps your skin from drying up too much. Winter air sucks moisture out of your skin. Water helps with keeping your skin hydrated. Skin is the body’s first line of defense for your immune system. Water flushes out toxins in your body. When you get dehydrated, germs thrive in your system. The stomach and intestines need water to function properly. Constipation is possible as well when you don’t get enough water. Another issue with not enough water is brain fog- your brain needs water because the cells need hydration. Lastly, even mild dehydration- when you are thirsty- can lead to fatigue, dizziness, and weakness. If you struggle to exercise as it is, trying to do so even mildly dehydrated makes the exercise even harder to do. How much water you need is dependent on YOUR body- drink enough to keep urine pale and you are not thirsty. The body knows what it needs and has the ability to let us know…if we just paid attention!!!
