Halloween is next week, and every Montessori student is looking forward to celebrating in school! We will, on Friday, October 29, have a full morning of special Halloween activities and treats in the Montessori classroom. While other students of St. Mary are going to put on their costumes after lunch, we want to encourage our 3 and 4 year-old students to wear their costumes to school. We have a few guidelines for costumes that we ask you to keep in mind:
* Please bear in mind that the costume should be comfortable enough for a full range of motion (sitting, standing, and for full-day students, laying down). * Please refrain from makeup, as our full day students will be eating and resting that day. *Please do not include any accessories that are "weapon-like," or extremely small, or valuable. If you care about it getting lost or broken, please don't send it in to school. *Please be mindful of our age group and do not dress your child in overly scary or gruesome costumes. *Please, if your child is a Montessori Kindergartener, send them to school in their regular clothes, and send the costume along in a bag. After they attend the regular Friday school Mass, our Kindergarten kiddos can dress up with their friends! On another note, the weather is changing. We continue to go outside, so please keep that in mind when deciding if your child needs a jacket for the day. Also, many of the extra clothes in cubbies are summer-weather outfits. We will send home these clothes to be replaced with fall or winter-weather clothing. Look for the Remind message to indicate when the extra clothes are coming home to be replaced. We are collecting so different kinds of leaves! On the playground, so many students are aware of the parts of leaves and comparing the ones they find to their friends'! If you haven't already, please bring in one special leaf tomorrow, so we can see what we've gathered! Happy Thursday, all!
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Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! October is just about half over, and we are learning about deciduous trees and their changing leaves. Our students are more comfortable than ever, choosing work on their own and getting invited to lessons by their teachers. They can find their own cubbies, "sign in" to class with their name sticks, draw and write in their journals, raise their hand to participate at circle time, serve themselves snack, and ask their teachers or each other for help when they need it. We've seen so much growth!
This week, due to a generous donation of apples to the school, each Montessori student used a hand-cranked apple peeler/corer to prepare apples for applesauce. This was a great time to talk about the importance of handwashing when handling food. It was very interesting to see how the machine worked as students turned the handle. Miss Teresa's crockpot then did the rest of the work, and the next day, we had homemade applesauce for everyone to taste. We even had two special helpers go to the office, cafeteria, and maintenance office to offer applesauce to others - a great lesson in grace and courtesy! Keep your eye out for interesting leaves over the next week! We are going to do a class-wide leaf hunt, and see how many different kinds we can collect (limit 1 special leaf per student, please!). Please bring leaves by Friday, October 22, when we will gather to sort through them and also learn about the parts of leaves. Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend! We are into our second month of school, and our students are settling in beautifully! They have had most, sometimes all, of the preliminary lessons, and are now on track to do what we call "extensions." This is a step in our lessons that encourages our students to get creative, ask questions, try a different way. Extensions encourage repetition of a lesson without having to do the exact same process over again. And repetition can help build mastery of skills. This week, the four- and five-year-olds are beginning to journal every morning. It will be the first classroom work they do. The journal topic is drawn and written on the board, and our students copy it as much as they can. If they can write their name, we ask them to write it on the page with their drawing. If they can copy the word(s), we ask them to do that. If they can write the date, we ask that they copy the date. If a student can do all that, we might ask them to compose a sentence of their choosing about the journal topic. This is important writing practice, from pencil control, to letter formation, to organization of thoughts. The teachers use this time to assess where each student is when it comes to penmanship and fine motor control. The photo below is our journal topic for tomorrow, which Miss Teresa drew at morning circle. Watching a teacher (try to) draw is also a good lesson in doing your best, even if it's not as perfect as you'd like it to be! Last week, we culminated our apple unit by having an apple tasting. Split into two groups, our students tasted a piece of Macintosh, Red Delicious, and Ginger Gold apples, then voted on their favorites. Both groups decided that Red Delicious was the overall favorite! This exercise helped us learn about eating manners, waiting to take a turn, and of course, counting and comparison of numbers! On a final note, we are aware that it is runny nose season, and we are stocked up on tissues to accommodate our students. Please, if your child has a runny nose, and no other symptoms to impede them from coming to school, send in extra masks. Once they are wet, masks are uncomfortable and ineffective. Thank you for your help!
This coming month, we will be learning about deciduous trees and how they change in the Fall, parts of leaves, and our animal focus is on mammals. Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! September is rushing along, mornings are a little cooler, and our students are learning at an amazing pace!
First, thanks to all who attended Meet the Teacher Night. It was a time to answer some of the commonly held questions. However, please don't hesitate to reach out anytime to the Montessori teachers with any questions or concerns. A few points we discussed: Montessori students have no real need for a water bottle, unless they use it with their lunch, or after school. We have a water pitcher that children can pour from anytime they are thirsty. This prevents lots of trips back and forth to the cubbies. Also, we are using the playground as much as we possibly can. Fresh air and running around time are important to this age group, as is the socialization that takes place during free play time. And finally, please consider, if you haven't already, packing an extra mask in your child's backpack; sometimes, they get wet or dirty, and it's good to have a change for comfort and sanitation. Drop off in the mornings have been going smoothly. The children are more comfortable with every day they come to school. Even those who are still crying are stopping quickly once they get to the classroom. Transitions are hard. We ask, please, to let the teachers get your children out of the car. It keeps the car line moving faster, especially once the children get more independent about coming out of their vehicles. Thanks for your anticipated cooperation. We recently had our first fire drill. It was a "silent drill," so we practiced the skills (being quiet and walking in line) without the fright of the alarm! Our students did brilliantly! We have already celebrated a couple of birthdays in our room. We cannot invite family to the classroom, unfortunately, due to Covid protocols. But families of birthday students are welcome to send in a small treat (nut free, please), to share with others. Some choose to put together a party favor bag to send home, but it is not necessary. The birthday kiddo takes a birthday walk, however many times as the earth has gone around the sun in their lifetime, and we listen, while they all eat their snack, to the traditional birthday book, called "On the Day You Were Born." It is a short, but special, celebration. I know that what the kiddoes are doing at school is somewhat a mystery. This age group doesn't generally talk a lot about their days. But when I tally up the notes I took today, and I made note of over 100 works used by our industrious students! They are beginning to find their favorite activities, and stay with them for longer periods, and also choosing friends to invite to join them. Many students are also asking teachers for lessons, which we love! We want to know our students' interests! For the rest of this month, we will continue to learn about fire safety (particularly fire drill behavior) and learn about apples. Thank you for reading! Hello! Welcome to the first 2021-2022 School Year Montessori Newsletter!
Thank you for all those who came to First Lessons and stuck with the phasing-in schedule. Our students are growing more comfortable every day with choosing work, asking for lessons, and expressing their needs. On Monday, September 13, we will commence with our regular schedule, wearing uniforms. All students will arrive during the window of 7:30 - 7:50 am, at the back door. Please enter the parking lot via the Stahley Rd. driveway, and follow the arrows to the doorway, by the statue of Mary, where one of the Montessori teachers will waiting to assist your child out of the car. There is no need for you to get out; we've got it! We will take temperatures outside, before the student enters the building, so please wait until that is done to drive away. In the unfortunate event that you are late, please park in the lot by Door B1 and wait to be let in. Our school day begins with children hanging things up in their cubbies, letting a teacher know if they have brought or are buying lunch, and checking in by putting their name stick in the cup. Then they are invited to find work that they will enjoy. We encourage children to make their own "plans" for the day. If they are hungry, they may serve themselves some snack, which is food from the school-wide breakfast program (cereal, small bags of graham cookies, juice, or applesauce), anytime during the morning. Our snack table seats 4 occupants, with a plexiglass divider between all spaces. Students may choose to work alone or with one or two friends. They may ask a teacher for a lesson with work that they do not know how to use. Later in the morning, we all clean up to have a circle, where we may read a story, sing a song, or have a short lesson. We try to go outside as much as weather permits. Young children need to run and stretch and have free play in fresh air. Our Half Day Students leave at 11 am. Adults picking up, please park in the lot next to Door B1, come to the sidewalk in front of the window, and we will send your child through when we see you. Full Day Students will have lunch at 11:30 am. We will follow the protocol of having 3 feet distance between eating children. We do help them open packages, and teach them how to do it as much as is feasible. After lunch, students clear their own tables, wipe them with a child-safe alcohol wipe, and get ready for rest. At 12:25 pm, all students take a short rest in the classroom. Again, we are following the protocol of distancing, which we can keep to 3-6 feet apart during rest. If a child falls asleep, we let them rest until about 1:25 pm. Awake children can get up to go back to work at 1 pm. If you do not want your child to have an extended rest, please let one of the teachers know, and we will happily wake them at 1:00 pm. At this time of day, we will sometimes be able to play outside, or we might have another work choice period. We begin to wind down our day at 1:50 pm, so that all children are ready to go by 2:10 pm dismissal. If you are picking up, please park in the lot, come to Door B1, and we will send your child out when we see you. If your child goes home on the bus, we walk them to the appropriate door to board the bus. Exact times and special classes are detailed on this website, under the heading "Contact Info & Schedules." Each morning, before leaving for school, please, for the sake of health and safety, keep these questions in mind: 1: Does your child have a fever (over 100 degrees F) without having taken fever-reducing medication? 2. Does your child have loss of smell or taste, cough sore throat shortness of breath chills headache, body or muscle aches nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea? 3. Has your child been in close contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with Covid-19, or has been placed in quarantine for possible contact with Covid-19? 4. Has a medical professional asked you to quarantine your child? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, please keep your child home. We regularly sanitize tables, materials, and shelves during the school day. We also remind students to sanitize hands upon entering the classroom and to wash hands after bathroom and before eating. Please help by keeping unwell children home. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out via the Remind App, or email me, Miss Teresa, at [email protected], or Miss Krista at [email protected]. Thank you for allowing us to partner in your child's education! Happy June, everyone! We are rushing toward the end of the school year, so we wanted to keep you updated on all the events!
First, though, I'd like to tell you about our last class project for the year. We have been learning about gardening and plants, so each child got to set up the right conditions to sprout a seed. We learned that they need to be warm and wet to get the message to grow. So everyone put a wet paper towel into a ziploc bag, set the seeds in, sealed the bag, and taped it to the window that got plenty of warm sun. That way we could see the sprouting in action! Within a few days, we had sprouts appearing. Then everyone planted their own seeds in the garden in our yard. Every student dug their hole, planted the seed, covered it up, and gave it a good soaking drink of water. Of course, the rain has also helped! We are already seeing corn and bean plants popping up through the soil. As you've seen, June 11 is the last day of school for Montessori students. The whole class will go to Mass at 9 am to watch the Kindergartners graduate. Both Kindergarten classes (Montessori and non-Montessori) will be handed diplomas after Mass has ended. Now, of course this year is different. We have been advised against singing indoors and against having outside visitors in the school due to Covid. Therefore, the children will not sing and we cannot invite everyone for a potluck picnic like we usually do. Only parents of graduating Kindergartners are invited to attend the Kindergarten Graduation Mass. Please have graduates wear Sunday best, all others please wear uniforms. Obviously, we can gather outside after Mass. Dismissal on that day is 12 noon for full day children. Should parents of graduates choose to take your child home earlier, please contact Ms. Teresa, Ms. Rachel, or Ms. Teresa so that we can note their departure. Report cards will be distributed soon. Please note that the report card covers the skills learned in the full 3 year cycle of the Montessori program. If your student is 3 years old, and ending their first year of Montessori education, we do not expect them to have mastered all the skills listed on the report card. For children finishing their third (Kindergarten) year, there will be many, probably most, of those skills mastered. As always, if there are any questions or concerns, we encourage texts on Remind or emails to communicate with Ms. Teresa or Ms. Krista. Thank you all, and enjoy the weather! Hello again! The Montessori Children's House is speeding toward the end of the year, but we aren't finished learning! Now that we finally have some spring weather, we are seeing more evidence of all the new life around us! We are preparing the garden plot for our planting unit (which is where we dug up a millipede). We are learning about the parts of plants and what seeds need to grow. Each student will sprout their own seed in a small ziploc bag so that they can see how it changes. Then, the sprouted seeds will be transplanted to our garden.
This month, we are also learning about our Solar System. Journaling students are drawing a new planet every day in their journal, and picking up interesting facts about each one. In our animal classification work, we are adding one final category - amphibians! But most of all, we are going to take advantage of the sunshine and fresh air and observe the nature around us as much as possible! It is good for our bodies and our souls. Enjoy the weather! Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! We have a lot of exciting news to share this month! First, let's say, "Alleluia!" Last week, Fr. Bryan helped "unbury" our Alleluias, to celebrate the end of Lent and the beginning of the Easter season! A video of our excited children's joyous voices was posted on the St. Mary's Facebook page, if you haven't seen it yet! Also, last week, Ms. Rachel brought in some fertilized eggs and set them in the incubator, where we will watch and wait and pray for the new life to hatch in 21 days. This is such an important and special lesson about the miracle of new life, and there are lots of pieces of work so that our students can visualize how the chicks are growing, day by day. We are "eggspecting" chicks on May 4! Speaking of new life, we are surrounded by so much nature when we go outside now! Worms and bugs and flowers and birds and even a baby bunny (that our students observed so quietly that it didn't run away)! Our rule, so you know, is that we leave all the nature outside, where we found it. This week, we are talking about Earth Day, and explore why we take care of our earth. To commemorate Earth Day, we are learning about paper recycling, and every child will be making and bringing home their own piece of recycled paper.
Hello! I hope you've all had a restful and blessed Easter break. Before we welcome back students tomorrow, we would like to make you aware that the location of one of the Montessori classrooms has changed. Our "annex," which used to be Room 105, will now be housed in Room 111. This room is directly across the hall from the old "annex", set up very similarly, and the same distance from our main classroom, Room 115. I'm sure you'll hear all about the "new room" when your children return home on Monday!
Enjoy the last few hours of the break! Today, we said goodbye to March, and also goodbye to each other for the duration of our Easter break. I hope everyone finds time to rest, recharge, and reflect during this most Holy time of year.
Yesterday and today, we sent home palms with your child. These palms were blessed by Father Bryan, who suggests to us to put them someplace special, where we can look upon them and remember God's love, for one whole year. Then next year, they may be returned to Church to be turned into ashes for Ash Wednesday. Ms. Rachel also passed this assignment on personally to every child at dismissal, as she handed out the palms. We also had some fun decorating and dyeing eggs! We sent them home today, so please, please, please check bookbags for the hard-boiled egg to promptly refrigerate it! Each student's egg is special and unique, just like them. As we say goodbye to March, and hello to April, we also say hello to new classroom themes. We will be learning more about Spring, and reptiles, and respect for the environment, in recognition of Earth Day. We recycle and compost every day in the Children's House, but this coming month, every child will have a chance to make their own recycled paper. We have been diligently trying to send home winter gear, as backpack space permits. There are still a few odds and ends of hats and gloves. We will keep endeavoring to send them home after break. Finally, thank you to all the families who donated to the Food Drive. Bless you for all you do! Happy Easter! |
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Ms. Teresa is just one of the three fantastic teachers in St. Mary's Montessori Children's House! |