On February 14th, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in our classroom.

Giving and receiving valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience. There are 18 students in our class. Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it). This enables your child to distribute his/her valentines without having to read each classmate’s name. If your child is able to read the names of the children then they may write the names on the outside of the envelopes, as this is a nice reading practice. Please allow time for the name writing process. This is a great vehicle for them to practice writing their names so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of the name.

We will begin distributing valentines on Monday, February 12.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on February 15 (1 pm – 7:30 pm) and February 16 (7:30 am – 11:30 am). Conferences provide us with an opportunity to discuss the progress your child has made and they are a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and to answer questions. Please choose a time that is convenient for you if you have not already done so. Please schedule your appointment by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, February 14. If you would like to meet outside of the scheduled conference times, please email me directly and set up a mutually convenient time.

If you would like to meet with one of our Enrichment teachers, please email them directly to set up a time to meet. Enrichment teachers will be available for parent conferences on Thursday, February 15th from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am.

We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in our classroom on February 14th.

Giving and receiving valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience. There are 19 students in our class. Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it). This enables your child to distribute his/her valentines without having to read each classmate’s name. If your child is able to read the names of the children then he/she may write the names on the outside of the envelopes, as this is a nice reading practice.  Please allow time for the name writing process.  This is a great vehicle for them to practice writing their names so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of the name.

We will begin distributing valentines on Monday, February 12th.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on February 15th (1 pm – 7:30 pm) and February 16th (7:30 am – 11:30 am). Please schedule your appointment by 5:00 pm on Wednesday, February 14th.

If you would like to meet outside of the scheduled conference times, please contact me directly to set up a mutually convenient time.  In addition, if you would like to meet with one of our enrichment teachers, you may email them directly to set up a time to meet. Enrichment teachers will be available for parent conferences on Thursday, February 15th from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm and on Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am.

We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

On February 14th, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in our classroom.

Giving and receiving valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience.  There are 19 students in our class. Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it). This enables your child to distribute his/her valentines without having to read each classmate’s name.  If your child is able to read the names of the children, then he/she may write the names on the outside of the envelopes, as this is a nice reading practice. Please allow time for the name writing process. This is a great vehicle for them to practice writing their name, so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of the name.

We will begin distributing valentines on Monday, February 12.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be on February 15th (1 pm – 7:30 pm) and February 16th (7:30 am – 11:30 am). Conferences provide us with an opportunity to discuss the progress your child has made and they are a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and to answer questions. Please choose a time that is convenient for you if you have not already done so.  Please schedule your appointment by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, Feb 14th.

If you would like to meet outside of the scheduled conference times, please email me directly and set up a mutually convenient time. If you would like to meet with one of our Enrichment teachers, please email them directly to set up a time to meet.

We look forward to talking with you about your child’s progress at school.

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

The children were introduced to gentle yoga poses and they really enjoyed it. We began with breath work, inhaling and exhaling as we listened to Native flute music to calm our bodies. We imagined we were birds, spreading our wings, inhaling upward and downward. One at a time we enthusiastically shared what type of bird we were and what our pose look like. We were flamingos, penguins, hawks and eagles soaring through the sky.

Next, we did cat and cow stretches and ended with the cobra slithering under a bridge pose. In final relaxation, we shared what we were thankful for and shook hands with our neighbors. Children were thankful for; “my parents, my big sister, doing work at school, the whole school, having a great day and bicycles.”

Where will our next adventure take us?

               Gentle Reminder

When dropping off your child off at school or picking up your child at dismissal, please do not get out of the car or turn around to buckle their seat belt.  Please wait for the car line to move, pull up about 50-75 feet and then pull over to the side to buckle your child into their seat.  Thank you!!!

Who are our Montessori three-year-olds?

Simply put, they are children on a path toward a questioning habit of mind. They possess an emotional sturdiness and a special kind of grounding that comes from knowing yourself and trusting in your own abilities. They are the three-year-olds who wipe away their friends’ tears, wash their own dishes, self-initiate lessons, and confidently contribute their opinions and experiences in a group setting amongst older peers and much older teachers.

They are an amazing group of children who have traveled so far yet have just begun their Montessori journey.

Have a wonderful week,

Cindy and Samantha

We continue  in our quest for reading, seen by many of our friends who are filling in their picture stories and journals, reading books in the classroom and bringing them home to practice with a parent. The children are learning that writing goes from left to right and from top to bottom and how to use the space available. As a child continues to progress, you will see a mix of letters and squiggles in the writing. Often a child will practice repeatedly what he/she knows, for instance, the alphabet. Eventually, letters will dominate the writing. Usually the letters are in random order and do not form words. The lack of spaces between the letters is common in these early stages. You may help your child to find words on cereal boxes, street signs, and, of course, in books. Remember to praise your child in every stage of writing development because….Writers Are Thinkers.

We often ask the child”What sound do you hear?” and teach the child to say the word slowly. This helps him/her to record the letters in the order that match the sounds he/she hears.

Our love of math continues to grow, in playing the Memory Game, the Exchange Game, and the Fetching Game (Number Composition).

Our Extended Day students spent the morning in a Lower Elementary class. This day provided the children an opportunity to see what it will be like next year when they are Lower Elementary students. This is a wonderful time to make new friends and to renew old friendships.

We are now ready to move from our study of mammals to reptiles.  Building on the knowledge that each class of animals has different characteristics that help us distinguish which class they belong to, we introduce these unique characteristics and learn how to correctly classify animals.

We learned that reptiles:

• Are cold-blooded.  Therefore, a reptiles body reacts to the temperature of their surrounding.
• They are covered in scales.  Reptiles do not have hair or fur.  Their scales help to protect their body.
• They are vertebrates so they have a backbone.
• Most of them lay eggs on land.  They also have very strong instincts so from birth they need to be able to survive independently.
• They breathe air and have lungs.

Some animals that belong to the reptile class are snakes, alligators, crocodiles, turtles and lizards.

As we introduce a different science concept, we also gently weave the topic into the other areas of the classroom.  For example, we know have turtle scrubbing in the classroom.  In math, the  counters and manipulative used will be reptiles.  This is a great springboard for discussions to take part all day long.

A big thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Fowler who came in this week to expand on our studies about migration. The children really enjoyed it!

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle and Sonja