Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Our Five Senses

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

The holiday season came and went in a hurry and the new year has officially begun. We were so excited to see the children’s enthusiasm as they returned to the classroom ready to learn and get back to work!

Children of all ages are eager to learn about their world and everything in it.  When young children use all of their five senses, they understand how their bodies work and find new ways to experience the world. In the Montessori environment, children are taught to experience the world through all five of their senses. This can give them new insights and allow them to think creatively.  This week we explored each of our senses in depth and talked about how we use our senses to understand the world around us. The children have been enjoying the new lessons this unit has brought to our Sensorial shelf. We also ended the unit with a “taste test” to explore the flavors of sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.  It was interesting to watch their reactions as they tried each flavor!

As we begin this new year, we would like to wish you all a very happy new year and look forward to what the remainder of the school year will bring!

Amanda and Deanna

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: A New Year Begins!

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

The holidays are behind us now and the new year looms on the horizon as a time of hope and promise in our lives, our families, and our communities. Your children’s smiles and laughter once again warm both our classroom and our hearts. It is not uncommon to see an increase in children’s emotional, social, and academic development after returning from the break. Our classroom routines are well established and each child is discovering their part in our classroom community. We slowly begin to introduce longer and more involved lessons. It truly is an exhilarating time of the school year!

Matter is everywhere! We have begun our study of the basics of solid, liquid, and gas and look forward to illustrating how matter can change from one state to another: melting, freezing, boiling, condensation, sublimation, and deposition.

Our classroom travels have taken us to the continent of Asia, the largest of the seven continents.  We look forward to exploring the various countries, customs, animals, foods, music, and literature this culturally rich continent has to offer.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous holiday gifts.  Ms. Sharlene and I are blessed to have such a warm, supportive classroom community.

Stay well!

Cindy and Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: What Is Normalization?

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Normalization is a buzzword often used by Montessori teachers everywhere. So what exactly does it mean and more importantly how do we achieve it? When children in a Montessori environment demonstrate deep concentration, self-discipline, social skills, and a true love of work we describe this as a normalized classroom. Normalization is achieved by consistent and clear ground rules that everyone is familiar with. It is our job to make sure the environment is always well prepared and designed to meet the needs of the children. As Montessori teachers, we are confident that if we do our part coupled with the opportunities provided by the environment and Montessori materials, our children will thrive.

After the winter break and upon our return in January we often see noticeable growth in the children’s social and emotional development. They come back eager to learn and raring to go! The first half of the year they have become comfortable and confident with our classroom routines and expectations. They have developed deeper relationships with their peers and teachers. It is always an exciting time and sets the groundwork for the second half of the school year.

Here’s to a wonderful remainder of the school year!

Michelle & Jeannine

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Peace and Love

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Most parents look forward to some time away from the hustle and bustle of routines and responsibilities. What a joy to spend time with loved ones in the comfort of your home. Soon enough you may start to hear “I’m bored” from children. If that were to happen, below are just some suggestions to banish that boredom without breaking the bank.

  1. Bring The Great Outdoors Inside: Have a camp out in your living room, set up a picnic in the playroom, or “build” a sandbox in the family room.
  2. Kitchen Fun: From start to finish include your children in choosing a recipe, shopping together, and then preparing it as a family.
  3. “I’m Not Board Game Night:” Find a game all family members can play and enjoy. This is a great time to introduce the classic board games you played as a child to your children. There’s a reason these games have been so popular generation after generation.
  4. Center Stage: Have a family talent show where everyone can show off their skills. Maybe it’s dance, music, magic, gymnastics, or telling jokes.
  5. Take a Library Tour: Libraries today are so much more than a building with books. They offer programs, movie nights, events, programs for all ages, and interactive displays. See how many you can visit!
  6. Start and Finish a Chapter Book: Cuddle up and read a chapter book together. Don’t be surprised if your kids ask you to read “just one more chapter!”
  7. Movie Marathon: Pick one day to stay in your pajamas, pop some popcorn, and watch movies together. Think back to the movies you enjoyed as a child and share them with your own children.

No matter what you decide to do with the time away from school, enjoy it. Find what your family likes to do together and go from there.

Wishing you all peace and love during this special time of year.

Michelle & Jeannine

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Peace and Love

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Most parents look forward to some time away from the hustle and bustle of routines and responsibilities. What a joy to spend time with loved ones in the comfort of your home. Soon enough you may start to hear “I’m bored” from children. If that were to happen, below are just some suggestions to banish that boredom without breaking the bank.

  1. Bring The Great Outdoors Inside: Have a camp out in your living room, set up a picnic in the playroom, or “build” a sandbox in the family room.
  2. Kitchen Fun: From start to finish include your children in choosing a recipe, shopping together, and then preparing it as a family.
  3. “I’m Not Board Game Night:” Find a game all family members can play and enjoy. This is a great time to introduce the classic board games you played as a child to your children. There’s a reason these games have been so popular generation after generation.
  4. Center Stage: Have a family talent show where everyone can show off their skills. Maybe it’s dance, music, magic, gymnastics, or telling jokes.
  5. Take a Library Tour: Libraries today are so much more than a building with books. They offer programs, movie nights, events, programs for all ages, and interactive displays. See how many you can visit!
  6. Start and Finish a Chapter Book: Cuddle up and read a chapter book together. Don’t be surprised if your kids ask you to read “just one more chapter!”
  7. Movie Marathon: Pick one day to stay in your pajamas, pop some popcorn, and watch movies together. Think back to the movies you enjoyed as a child and share them with your own children.

No matter what you decide to do with the time away from school, enjoy it. Find what your family likes to do together and go from there.

Wishing you all peace and love during this special time of year.

Amanda & Deanna

 

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Peace and Love

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

Most parents look forward to some time away from the hustle and bustle of routines and responsibilities. What a joy to spend time with loved ones in the comfort of your home. Soon enough you may start to hear “I’m bored” from children. If that were to happen, below are just some suggestions to banish that boredom without breaking the bank.

  1. Bring The Great Outdoors Inside: Have a camp out in your living room, set up a picnic in the playroom, or “build” a sandbox in the family room.
  2. Kitchen Fun: From start to finish include your children in choosing a recipe, shopping together, and then preparing it as a family.
  3. “I’m Not Board Game Night:” Find a game all family members can play and enjoy. This is a great time to introduce the classic board games you played as a child to your children. There’s a reason these games have been so popular generation after generation.
  4. Center Stage: Have a family talent show where everyone can show off their skills. Maybe it’s dance, music, magic, gymnastics, or telling jokes.
  5. Take a Library Tour: Libraries today are so much more than a building with books. They offer programs, movie nights, events, programs for all ages, and interactive displays. See how many you can visit!
  6. Start and Finish a Chapter Book: Cuddle up and read a chapter book together. Don’t be surprised if your kids ask you to read “just one more chapter!”
  7. Movie Marathon: Pick one day to stay in your pajamas, pop some popcorn, and watch movies together. Think back to the movies you enjoyed as a child and share them with your own children.

No matter what you decide to do with the time away from school, enjoy it. Find what your family likes to do together and go from there.

Wishing you all peace and love during this special time of year.

Cindy & Sharlene

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Inclusion and Peace

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

Tis’ the season for celebrations!  A time to honor the many beautiful and wondrous ways that people observe the diverse collection of holidays from around the world. All of these occasions are a marvelous way to reinforce the idea that people around the world have distinctive yet similar observances.

This week the children celebrated the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. They were completely engaged in learning about the eight day celebration. Thank you Leah Mayor (Newman) and Laura Wilhelm for your compassionate Hanukkah storytelling, dreidel game, and to Cassie Stevenson for the delicious latkes.

Our Christmas celebration began with a reading of The Night Before Christmas.  No true Christmas celebration would be complete with out a brightly colored, incredibly sweet Christmas cookie. Thank you Christi Orlowski for the delicious sugar cookies. We had fun icing and then decorating our holiday treats. Thanks also go out to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Manca, and Chelcie Georgette for contributing to our festive morning.

Learning about the holidays of different cultures embraces the Montessori principals of inclusion and peace and helps students understand that celebrations have had a great significance to people throughout time and across all cultures. Rituals and celebrations are a large part of human history. They have to do with your culture, your time and place in history. So let’s take a look at creating rituals in our own families, specifically towards the end of the year, the festive season.

Your children will be bringing home a very special gift for you. Please enjoy this token of love and gratitude. We had a great time creating these gifts and know you will appreciate your children’s creative efforts.

A gentle reminder. Please send your children into school with warm winter attire.

May your holidays be merry and filled with moments you’ll always remember.

Cindy & Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Classroom Celebrations

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

 

In the Montessori environment, celebrating holidays is an important component of our philosophy. The children are introduced to the traditions and rituals of celebrations around the world. There is a  gentle focus on how each holiday is distinct and yet there are similarities as well. Helping the children to learn about different holidays highlights the Montessori principals of peace and inclusion.

On Tuesday, Gia and Seth Feltman spent time in our classroom sharing the story of Hanukkah and serving latkes and applesauce. It is always amazing to watch children approach new food with hesitancy and before you know it, ask for more!  Thank you to Rossana Cinquegrana for making the delicious latkes.

On Thursday, Ashley and Salim Boutagy read the classic  ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.  Everyone then had a chance to decorate their own sugar cookie. Thank you to Meg Gill for providing the cookies and toppings. Please know that we are ever so grateful for all of the ‘behind the scenes’ help that goes into making our classroom run smoothly.

There is always a learning curve in the beginning of the winter when the children are learning to dress themselves in snow gear and also be responsible for all of their clothing. If you have a preference as to whether your child’s snow gear should come home each day, remain in the locker until Friday, or stay there for the season, it would be most helpful if you could send us an email letting us know.

Your children will be bringing home a very special gift for you. Please enjoy this token of love and gratitude. We had a great time creating these gifts and know you will appreciate your children’s creative efforts.

Wishing everyone joy and peace this holiday season!

Michelle & Jeannine