A few tears were shed, new friends were made, snack was eaten, and lessons were learned. We all survived our first three days of school! What a wonderful time we had during phasing in! Every day, we could see our new and young returning students becoming a little more comfortable. They might be more tired at home; acclimating to a new schedule in a new environment takes a lot of energy! Next week, we start our regular schedule. Everyone will wear uniforms and all full day children will stay for lunch and a rest. We will start seeing our special teachers, for Music, Spanish, and PE class. The Montessori teachers accompany the children to all special classes. During this first few weeks, your child may use a lot of play-doh, pour water, build with blocks, and put together puzzles. They are also learning *how to wait for work to be available *how to ask a teacher for help *how to ask to join a friend's lesson *how to focus on a task *how to serve themselves snack *how to clean up their own work *how to choose a workspace *how to try again if something doesn't work *how to take charge of their own learning! It sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? This is why, at the beginning especially, your child may be doing a lot that doesn't seem academic. We are guiding them to set the stage so they are ready for academics, namely fostering independence and curiosity, a desire to master skills, and an awareness to choose what they need at the moment. From there, the teachers observe, guide, and introduce lessons to individual students, not the whole class. We have sent home a description for our class's service project, which is to collect donations for St. Luke's Our Lady of Hope Home School. You can donate as little or as much as you want. Please also consider if you have any gently used items from home as described on the wish list. We will be talking about OLH pre-K and Kindergarten classes in our Montessori classroom so that our students know that they are helping students of the same ages. We will collect donations throughout the month of September. On Friday, September 13, there will be a 12 noon dismissal for all full-day students. Half-day students will dismiss as usual at 11 am. It is also Special Person's Day. Since our students have not yet attended Mass as a whole class, we ask that any special guests pick up their Montessori student and accompany them to Mass. If your Montessori student is new to the classroom, please consider signing the student out, then enjoy Mass and the refreshments afterward without returning to the classroom. It is so early in the year to take a child out and bring them back to the classroom, and may be upsetting to our new young students. I also encourage you to look at the different pages of this website. There is a copy of our daily schedule, the snack schedule, photos of children working, and descriptions of all the areas of the Montessori classroom. Ms. Krista's and Ms. Teresa's contact information is also available. Of course, you may also reach us through the Remind app. Have a great weekend!
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Ms. Teresa is just one of the three fantastic teachers in St. Mary's Montessori Children's House! |