Mrs. Doyle: Giving Thanks

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life.

      –Maria Montessori

For many, the holiday season is a time for giving. Perhaps more than ever, it is so important for our children to understand that giving does not have to be a materialistic gift. Simple and heartfelt words of love and friendship will last much longer than most anything that can be bought from a shelf. It can be an amazing and powerful gift to our children if, in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, we take time to slow down and model being grateful.

This week we asked each child to share what they are thankful for. While their messages will make you smile and warm your heart, there is beauty in their simplicity.

Ainsley– is thankful for rainbows because they are so colorful and pretty.

Arya– is thankful for her Mommy and Daddy.

Bodie— is thankful for his Nana because she likes to play puppies with him.

Ella– is thankful for her sister Livie because they read books together.

EmmaJo– is thankful for her friends because she loves them.

Hannah– is thankful she gets to take walks with her Mommy.

Harper–is thankful for going to the park with her Mommy, Daddy, and Spencer.

Isla– is thankful for her dog Frieda because she is the best dog ever.

Jacob–is thankful for his friends at school because they can play outside together.

Jonathan– is thankful he gets to go outside with his Mommy and play in the leaves.

Joseph– is thankful he goes to get pizza with his Mommy and Daddy.

Leo– is thankful for the medal he got at his camp for being such a well-behaved kid.

Maayan– is thankful she gets to play everything with her sister Noya.

Melina– is thankful she counts numbers with Mommy and Daddy.

Oliver–is thankful for his whole family because he loves them so much.

River– is thankful when her mom takes her for ice cream, and they get to see a rainbow.

Ryan– is thankful for her sister Poppy because she loves to play with her.

Saanvi– is thankful she gets to go skiing with her family.  Sometimes she goes on the bunny hill and sometimes the big hill.

Tommy–is thankful for his dogs because they like to play with him.

Zara–  is thankful for her Daddy because he is her best friend.

Zion–is thankful that he can paint rainbows with his Mommy.

On Wednesday, the children were treated to a presentation honoring the meaning of Diwali.  Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil.  This five-day festival is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli.  While gathering with family and friends, people often wear fine clothes and jewelry.  We are grateful for the time and effort that Paromita Dutt Kunzweiler, Punam Patel, Supreeti Saika, Mithu Talukdar, Chamaini Niyangoda, Radha Priya Gupta, and Hema Ganesan volunteered in order to share with the children this beautiful and meaningful tradition.

Maria and I are grateful for the time we spend with the children each day and for the relationships we develop with each of you.  Wishing you all a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Maria

Ms. Marissa: In November’s Gusty Gale

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

You may have heard your child recite one of our silly monthly poems at home! This month we are practicing our November Poem from Maurice Sendak’s book Chicken Soup with Rice.

“In November’s
gusty gale
I will flop
my flippy tail
and spout hot soup.
I’ll be a whale!
Spouting once
spouting twice
spouting chicken soup
with rice.”

The children enjoy learning poems from this book in particular. This month’s has a tricky tempo, and we are learning how to read poetry in different ways. As we get through the month, volunteers recite the poem for the class. It is challenging to remember all the words! We usually practice as a group each morning after we sing our morning song, the days of the week and months of the year, and do our calendar.

Circle time is a wonderful part of our day. It brings the class together; we sing, practice different movements, open up with questions and comments, and have a group lesson. Integrating poetry into circle time brings so many benefits like public speaking, rhyming, storytelling, comprehension, and of course – silliness! We reinforce the poem each month with paper booklets – maybe you’ve seen them come home in Friday folders! Try asking your child if they remember their chicken soup poem for November.

On Wednesday, the children were treated to a presentation honoring the meaning of Diwali.  Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil.  This five-day festival is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli.  While gathering with family and friends, people often wear fine clothes and jewelry.  We are grateful for the time and effort that Paromita Dutt Kunzweiler, Punam Patel, Supreeti Saika, Mithu Talukdar, Chamaini Niyangoda, Radha Priya Gupta, and Hema Ganesan volunteered in order to share with the children this beautiful and meaningful tradition.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Marissa & Sue

Mrs. Doyle: First Stop, North America!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

These last few weeks have been a particularly busy and exciting time with your children. We have traveled through space, explored the eight planets, discovered that the sun is a star, and rocketed back to planet Earth. We are now exploring the first of seven continents, North America.  You may hear your children call it the orange continent. This is because, on the Montessori globe and map, North America is indeed orange. We will continue to explore the animals native to our continent, map North America’s countries, examine topography, and study how a continent’s proximity to the equator impacts its climate.

The Montessori cultural studies curriculum provides children with an opportunity to explore the whole world, including the continents, countries, people, animals, terrain, music, and arts. Children use didactic Montessori materials to familiarize themselves with the needs of all humans for such things as food, housing, and clothing. This early cultural awareness helps cultivate independent, joyful citizens of our world.

On Wednesday, we were so excited to have the Botsford Fire Department return to FWM to teach us all about fire safety.  The children asked very thoughtful and intelligent questions and had a great time learning about what to do in a fire, the equipment firefighters use, and even got to spend some time on a fire truck.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Maria

Mrs. Lopes: First Stop, North America!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

These last few weeks have been a particularly busy and exciting time with your children. We have traveled through space, explored the eight planets, discovered that the sun is a star, and rocketed back to planet Earth. We are now exploring the first of seven continents, North America.  You may hear your children call it the orange continent. This is because, on the Montessori globe and map, North America is indeed orange. We will continue to explore the animals native to our continent, map North America’s countries, examine topography, and study how a continent’s proximity to the equator impacts its climate.

The Montessori cultural studies curriculum provides children with an opportunity to explore the whole world, including the continents, countries, people, animals, terrain, music, and arts. Children use didactic Montessori materials to familiarize themselves with the needs of all humans for such things as food, housing, and clothing. This early cultural awareness helps cultivate independent, joyful citizens of our world.

On Wednesday, the local fire department visited our school.  We each had the opportunity to take a tour of the fire truck, and the visiting firefighter gave a special presentation on the importance of fire safety.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love!

Amanda & Hema

Ms. Marissa: First Stop, South America!

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

These last couple of months have been a busy and exciting time with your children. We have traveled through space, explored the eight planets, discovered that the sun is a star, and rocketed back to planet Earth. We are now exploring the first of seven continents, South America.  You may hear your children call it the pink continent. This is because, on the Montessori globe and map, South America is indeed pink. We will continue to explore the animals native to South America, map South America’s countries, examine topography, and study how a continent’s proximity to the equator impacts its climate.

The Montessori cultural studies curriculum provides children with an opportunity to explore the whole world, including the continents, countries, people, animals, terrain, music, and arts. Children use didactic Montessori materials to familiarize themselves with the needs of all humans for such things as food, housing, and clothing. This early cultural awareness helps cultivate independent, joyful citizens of our world.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love!

Marissa & Sue

 

Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

The highlight of the week was our visit with Firefighter Bill from the Botsford Rescue Squad. We were able to see the firefighters’ gear and equipment and even climb into the truck! We talked about the different colors firetrucks can be, the parts of the truck (ladder, wheels, hose, steering wheel), and the loud sound the siren makes. This was a fun experience for our toddlers and a great opportunity to begin to instill a sense of respect and admiration for the brave first responders who keep our community safe. 

As part of our pumpkin-tasting experience, we cut and scooped the seeds and pulp from a pumpkin. All of the children were invited to participate in the scooping and to use all their senses for a full experience. Every child was eager to taste the pumpkin. We tasted both roasted and canned pumpkin. While the enthusiasm in the room was buzzing as they were being served, many of their faces changed after having a taste. I really wish we had been able to capture some of their expressions! Perhaps you’d like to try again at home .. maybe even add some cinnamon. 

We have been learning the names of body parts and what each part does and singing songs such as “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’, and  ‘Do You Know Your Body Parts?’ (You can listen below)

We’re loving our days with your children. It is truly amazing to witness their growth week to week. Thank you for entrusting us with their care!

Happy weekend! -Christine & Lizette

Ms Marissa: A Pumpkin Filled October!

Posted on by Marissa Frisk

Welcome to our pumpkin patch!  There are pumpkins everywhere in our class. Having pumpkins in the classroom provides many opportunities for the children to observe and introduce basic science and math concepts.

In Practical Life, we have pumpkin spooning, pumpkin pouring, pumpkin scrubbing, and pumpkin grasping. In Science, we learned about the parts of a pumpkin and the pumpkin’s life cycle. We compared pumpkins and categorized them as small, medium, and large. We are using our five senses to determine what pumpkins look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like.

On Tuesday, we had a small in-class Harvest Celebration where each child had the opportunity to visit our “pumpkin patch” and pick their own pumpkin, make a yarn spider web, and have a fun snack.  Last but not least, meet Skelly, our veggie skeleton prepared by the kindergarten students.  It is always so wonderful to hear the children say they don’t like this vegetable or that one and then devour all of it! All of this was possible because of parents helping behind the scenes.  A huge shout out to everyone for sharing their time and energy with us to provide these wonderful opportunities for the children. We are very grateful and truly blessed.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Marissa & Sue

Mrs. Sargeant: A Peek at the Week

Posted on by Christine Sargeant

We were so fortunate to have such a gorgeous day for our pumpkin-picking event in the Zen garden last week. The children rode in wagons pulled by middle school students. After the wagon ride, the children were thrilled to go out to the Zen garden, which had been transformed into a pumpkin patch. The children were delighted to explore, mesmerized by all the things they could pick up and touch. It’s hard to say if they were more interested in the pumpkins or the tiny stones that cover the floor of the Zen garden- but we made sure everyone left with a pumpkin!

On Halloween, we were invited to the field to attend the upper school’s costume parade. Our toddlers were a captive audience as the older students marched around the field several times, waving to them.

In addition to blueberry muffins and apple cider this week, we tasted pears, which the children loved. If you don’t have pears in the house, I’d definitely suggest adding them to your grocery list this week!

Many of us participated in a missing boot adventure on the playground one day. Our friend lost his yellow boot somewhere in the leaves. It was a fun hunt for the boot, which was very tricky to find as it was camouflaged in the yellow leaves! We worked as a team and noticed the variety of colored leaves that had fallen from the trees – and even found a few acorns.

I will include a song that we have been singing daily since the first week of school. Despite learning new songs and moving from apples into pumpkins, the children request this song every single day! We use numbered apples with Velcro on a tree and subtract an apple after each verse. The children enjoy watching the tree become ‘bare’ or empty. Enjoy!

We hope you all enjoy this first November weekend with your families,

Christine and Lizette