Showing gratitude is an important part of who we are as humans. It strengthens our relationships and our connection to our communities and even makes us happier and more compassionate people.

Although adults understand the worth of expressing gratitude, young children find it more difficult. Gratitude involves being sensitive and empathetic to others and truly appreciating what others do for you. While children can quickly learn to say please and thank you, it takes time and guidance to help them truly learn to be grateful. Dr. Montessori implicitly understood the value of fostering a grateful nature in children and helping them become compassionate citizens of the world.

Our Montessori environment places a significant emphasis on gratitude, a value that came to life in our heartwarming Thanksgiving ceremony last week. Students from various levels shared their gratitude in diverse ways and languages, creating a memorable and inclusive experience. Afterward, as we gathered in our classroom to share bread, the warmth of the morning was amplified by the support of our community. We extend our heartfelt thanks to each of you for contributing to the success of this beautiful occasion!

I find The Thankful Book by Todd Parr a great resource to use with toddlers when we are learning about Gratitude. They really enjoyed the book, and I highly recommend it for all families to have at home. It has been great to hear our verbal toddlers start expressing thankfulness.

Shifting gears, this week unfolded with an exploration of forest animals in our Language area. Children learned some specific facts about black bears, foxes, owls, moose, and beavers. We learned that black bears have sharp claws. They climb trees. Foxes have bushy tails. Foxes are members of the dog family. Owls have large eyes. They are active at night. Moose have a big body. Some of them have big antlers. Beavers have big front teeth. They have a broad tail and build dams using mud and wood. Using models and real pictures to represent and match these animals, children explored, observed, and repeated these facts, practicing the use of two to three-word sentences with the new descriptive vocabulary acquired.

In the movement area, we presented a new balance board, and children have been creatively exploring its many uses! This board stimulates the vestibular system, supports muscles responsible for the correct posture, develops the sense of balance, and supports the development of the sense of proprioception. It’s a favorite in our environment these days.

For food tasting, we explored a pomegranate, and this fruit was a hit! Children seemed curious about how the fruit looked on the inside, and they enjoyed watching the seeds just popping out and falling easily into the bowl. Eating pomegranate is like enjoying some little candies, so I wasn’t surprised children loved it!

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Mollie

As families worldwide eagerly embrace the upcoming holiday season, we at the school are equally enthusiastic and ready to join in the festive spirit.

One of the main highlights of this week was our baking day, preparing for our Thanksgiving celebration next Tuesday. Children listened to the names of ingredients and had the opportunity to touch, smell, watch, and help with the mixing of the ingredients of a delicious Vegan banana bread.  On Monday, the whole class will work together to prepare homemade butter as well. We can’t wait to celebrate and take time to let our thankful hearts speak. 

This week, the toddlers also embarked on a colorful and joyous journey as they celebrated the festival of lights, Diwali! 

Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. 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. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

The little ones had a blast immersing themselves in the vibrant traditions of this Indian festival. The children were treated to a beautiful presentation and a mesmerizing Indian dance performance that left our little ones wide-eyed and enchanted, and they immediately joined the fun as the dancer, our wonderful Paromita, invited them to join in. 

No Diwali celebration is complete without indulging in some mouthwatering treats, and our toddlers were no exception! The children enjoyed the delicious taste of Laddu, a popular Indian sweet that symbolizes the sweetness of life. 

In the spirit of creativity, the toddlers got their hands dirty (literally!)  with some Diya crafts. With vibrant colors and a whole lot of imagination, our toddlers crafted their own unique Diyas. 

A big shout out to Neetha Desai for the amazing Diwali gift bags donated for each toddler and volunteering in our class, to Supreeti Saikia for the yummy Laddus, and of course, to Paromita Dutt-Kunzweiler for organizing this beautiful event.

Lastly, the children enjoyed some plantains as the weekly food-tasting lesson, and my Latino heart couldn’t be happier seeing the children enjoy this food item.

As we finish this week, our hearts are filled with gratitude and joy, thankful for the rich cultural experiences that shape our learning environment.

Enjoy the pics, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Mollie 

Hand-eye coordination is one of the most important parts of the learning process. It helps your child track the movements of their hands with their eyes, which is essential for decoding and reading. Because your child also uses their visual system with hand-eye coordination, it can greatly impact their writing skills and handwriting as they use their eyes to guide, direct, and control their hand movements across the page as they write letters and words.

Our Toddler environment is set up in a specific way, looking to sharpen and challenge these skills while meeting your child exactly where they are developmentally. Each material is displayed in progressive order, from easiest to hardest and from left to right. This logical structure encourages children to organize their thinking and to absorb the outcome of the material at their own pace. The left-to-right orientation of the materials also assists children with preparation for reading and writing, aligning with the natural processing flow of the brain. By engaging in activities that demand hand-eye coordination, your children are actively stimulating their cognitive faculties, fostering attention, memory, and problem-solving skills.

Some of the most popular works in our environment these days, sharpening these skills, are spooning acorns, sorting leaves and pumpkins, pouring water, water transferring with a dropper, sunflower stickers, draining and spooning cranberries, cubes nesting, putting the scarecrow together, jigsaw puzzles, ring box, using a roller and a leaf stamp with the playdough and many more.

As a fun activity, the children got to enjoy the visit from the Botsford Fire Department this week. We were surprised to see the firetruck was green instead of red and learned that as we are most sensitive to greenish-yellow colors under dim conditions, these firetrucks are easier to see in low lighting. Children received a tour of the firetruck, and they even got to see me dressed like a firefighter! 🙂

For food tasting, children explored cranberries. They seemed to be in awe of the flower shape and tiny seeds that we found when we cut a small cranberry, and most of them enjoyed tasting the cranberry sauce.

Children also have been learning the names of different types of leaves and enjoy observing, finding, and of course, playing with them on the playground!

Enjoy the pictures,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Mollie