A comment from Finbar

Finbar left a comment on our last post. I know some of you may not check those, so I wanted to make sure you got to read what he wrote. I'm very impressed with everything he and Christine (the other kindie teacher) are doing! The girls come home everyday excited and giddy about school. I have to say they LOVE the bus, too :) In just a week, I've already seen positive changes and growth in the girls. And, yes, I know that I need to post first day/week stories and photos. I promise I'll get there.

Here's what he wrote:

Hi from Finbar! (Mr. Burke) :-)

Thanks so much for providing the link here in your correspondence with me--this is a great family blog, especially the photos.

Your girls have gotten off to a great start--so great, in fact, that they have substantially eased my own efforts this year to have all the children become comfortable--in a matter of days! They are all very sociable and have already made several friends. And so talkative! I've already heard many things about Vanilla, including the shark story. Izzy, too, has settled in quite well.

We actually have 14 children in our classroom! And YES it is fantastic to have a teaching assistant with so few children; I don't know what I would do without her!

The name thing (Finbar) may be nontraditional, but so are most aspects of our program, which is influenced by the early childhood programs of Reggio Emilia, Italy. This is my background, so I'm excited to talk about it at Open House soon. Basically speaking, we (teachers) rely upon the children's own interests and questions to build integrated units of learning. We also stress communicating thoughts and understanding in numerous ways (not depending so much on the "3 R's", but through dramatic expression, song, visual arts, movement, etc.: helping children express themselves more capably than can be limited by their present limits linguistically and in terms of reading/writing). That said, the school as a whole is also heavily focused on literacy development from Pre-K.

So far, the triplets seem to have found themselves in a very comfortable space and atmosphere :-), and I hope it will help them continue to blossom! I'll check your blog now and again (but please don't let this stymie your communications with family and friends in *any* way--I'm pretty fine with doubts/worries/criticisms (I deal with it every year as a male early childhood teacher!). I like to stay informed of doings at home (I'm very keen on the home-school connection for children). Again, let me express great admiration for what you parents are accomplishing with these girls (triplets, Japan(!)). And thank you, again, for offering to be strongly involved with us!

:-) Finbar Burke