This week, we immersed ourselves in the traditions and folklore of St. Patrick’s Day. The children were captivated by the festive environment, exploring new works and decorations inspired by the color green. It was a wonderful opportunity for sensory engagement and language enrichment as they encountered various shades of green throughout the classroom.

One of the highlights of our week was learning about leprechauns! We introduced the Irish folklore surrounding these mischievous little beings who are believed to guard pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. This story sparked a wonderful conversation about real and pretend, helping children understand the difference between stories based on history and those that come from imagination and tradition.

To bring this tale to life, we played an exciting math game in which we hid small leprechauns around the classroom. The children eagerly searched for them, practicing their counting skills along the way. The goal was to find a total of twelve, and once all were discovered, each child received a special gold coin. It was truly precious to watch the older toddlers helping the youngest to find their leprechauns! This daily game quickly became a favorite, fostering teamwork, observation, and early numeracy skills.

We also incorporated lively Irish tunes into our movement and music time. It was incredible to see the children’s musical development as they listened attentively to different instruments, mimicked playing them, and even named a few! They recognized familiar instruments like the guitar, drums, and flute while also being introduced to new ones, such as the fiddle, accordion, and bagpipes.

To round out our St. Patrick’s Day experience, we enjoyed a taste of Irish culture by trying some delicious Irish soda bread. They all really LOVED this part!

On another note, with the arrival of warmer temperatures, we made the most of our time outdoors, soaking up the fresh air and enjoying active play together. Lastly, we explored asparagus as our food tasting lesson of the week.  While some children were hesitant to try it, others surprised us by asking for seconds.

As we look ahead, our next theme will explore the magic of rainbows and colors when we return from the break. We can’t wait to dive into new activities that celebrate the beauty of light and color in nature.

Wishing you all a joyful and restful March break and Happy St. Patrick’s day for all of you that celebrate!

See you in two weeks! Ciao!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty 

As we wrap up this lovely month of February, our focus this week was on a topic close to many hearts—pets! Throughout the month, the children have been learning about different kinds of pets, their names, and the unique characteristics that make each one special. Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of children learning to live with animals, as it fosters responsibility, empathy, and a deeper connection with nature. Experiencing firsthand interactions with pets allows children to develop kindness, patience, and a sense of care for other living beings.

This week, we had the joy of meeting some of our students’ beloved pets!

🐱 Monday: We welcomed Quentin, a super cute and curious orange domestic cat who was beyond excited (or terrified—it’s difficult to know with cats!) and wanted to explore the classroom. Aruna happily demonstrated how she fed him treats in front of her classmates and brushed his fur.

🐹 Tuesday: After exploring lettuce as our food-tasting lesson of the week, we introduced the children to Mrs. Sankey’s guinea pigs: Teddy and Houdini.  The children were thrilled to feed them and observe them as they played, ate, and drank water. Their gentle nature brought so much joy to the class!

🐶 Wednesday: We had a visit from Elmo, the sweetest senior pup! (A mix of Jack Russell, Beagle, and Mini Pinscher.) He happily wagged his tail as he sniffed around, greeting each child with excitement. Evie was over the moon, proudly introducing her dog and having her dad join us in the classroom. We all had a good laugh when Dad commanded him to sit multiple times—and he didn’t! We think he felt at home, surrounded by toddlers. 😊

🐶Thursday: Everly’s gigantic puppy, a Great Pyrenees, made quite the impression! Looking like a friendly polar bear, he amazed the children with his size. We learned that he loves peanut butter sandwiches and has a knack for reaching kitchen counters! The children cheered as he followed commands and enjoyed petting him gently.

🦎 Friday: Lizzo and Scooter, Ms. Mollie’s leopard geckos, came for a visit! The children were in awe of their beauty, and most of them really enjoyed watching and feeling Scooter crawl all over them. Since Lizzo is pregnant, we gave her some space, but she still joined the bath the children gave them both.

It was truly a memorable week filled with excitement, learning, and hands-on experiences with animals. We are so grateful to all of you who helped make these visits possible, enriching the children’s understanding of pets and fostering meaningful connections. It truly takes a village!

🍊To end the week, the children participated in a hands-on food preparation lesson—juicing an orange! Engaging all their senses, they squeezed, tasted, and proudly enjoyed the fruits of their labor.

Enjoy the pictures from this week, and have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

Even in this short week, our classroom has been filled with meaningful moments, learning, and joy. As we continue our exploration of love and dive deeper into our Emotions unit this month, this week’s focus was all about la Familia, The Family!

Understanding family is an important part of a toddler’s development. Children begin to notice similarities and differences between themselves and others at this age. By learning about families, they build a sense of belonging and an appreciation for the many ways people come together to love and care for one another. We emphasize that every family is unique—some are big, some are small, some have one parent, and some have two. Some families have siblings, while others have beloved pets.

Speaking of families, we have some exciting news to share—Evie is a big sister again! Her baby brother Aaron was born on February 17th. Congratulations to Evie’s family on their newest addition! The children were delighted to hear the news, and it sparked even more conversations about siblings and growing families.

One of the highlights of our week was introducing a fun new work: the dollhouse. This has quickly become a favorite in our classroom! The family of dolls in our dollhouse intentionally represents diversity, with different skin tones, hair colors, and eye colors. The children love engaging with this work, using the dolls to act out daily routines and family interactions. Through this play, they are not only strengthening their social-emotional skills but also expanding their vocabulary—labeling different parts of the house, furniture, and family roles.

We also introduced a picture-to-picture matching work on our language shelf, allowing children to match pictures of their classmates with their respective families. They have enjoyed seeing their own families represented, sparking so many lovely conversations as they proudly name their loved ones and talk about what makes their family special.

For parents looking for great book ideas, here are some of the favorites we’ve enjoyed in the classroom this week: In My Heart by Jo Witek, The Feelings Book by Todd Parr, Feet Are Not for Kicking by Elizabeth Verdick, The Color Monster by Anna Llenas, and especially Calm Down Time, also by Elizabeth Verdick. With the help of this book, children practiced the importance of breathing deeply when encountering difficult emotions. We encouraged the toddlers to “smell the flowers” (inhale) and “blow the bubbles” (exhale), helping them develop self-regulation skills.

We also encourage our students to use the teepee as a calm-down area where they can take space and learn to regulate themselves. Inside, they have a soft faux sheepskin rug, cushy pillows, and a variety of calming items like sensory bottles, stretchy string fidgets, and liquid motion bubblers to support this process. For many of them, this has quickly become one of their favorite places in our classroom—a space to decompress or simply enjoy some quiet time. I highly recommend creating a similar calm-down space at home, especially if your child struggles with tantrums. It can be a simple but effective way to help them navigate big emotions.

For this week’s food tasting, we explored lemons! The children were curious about their bright yellow color and smooth, bumpy texture. But the best part? Their faces when they took their first taste! Through this experience, we introduced the new vocabulary word sour—a fun and exciting addition to their growing list of descriptive words.

It’s always a joy to witness your children’s curiosity and growth each day. Thank you for sharing them with us, and we look forward to another wonderful week ahead!

Warmly,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

Human emotion. It’s a fascinating and complex experience, and we are so lucky to feel such a wide range of emotions in our lives. However, for toddlers, this emotional journey can sometimes feel like a roller coaster! As they navigate big feelings in their little bodies, it’s our job as teachers and caregivers to guide them in understanding, expressing, and managing their emotions in a healthy and supportive way.

One of our main goals in our toddler classroom is to foster emotional intelligence. We do this by first helping children identify and name emotions—their own as well as those of others. Recognizing and labeling emotions is a critical skill that empowers children to express themselves effectively and feel heard and understood. Most importantly, we emphasize that all emotions are valid.

While emotional learning is woven into our daily routines, this month, we are placing an extra emphasis.  This week, we introduced some new songs, emotion cards, and new captivating books to reinforce emotional vocabulary and expressions.  Some of the emotions we explored included happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, shyness, silliness, fear, and surprise.

The children were especially drawn to using emotion cards with a table mirror—observing the images and mimicking facial expressions were both fun and insightful for them! We love seeing their curiosity as they recognize and explore their own emotions through play.

As we continue expanding our emotional vocabulary in the coming weeks, we will also explore the themes of love, friendship, family, pets, and even body awareness. These topics naturally tie into our discussions about emotions, helping children build connections between their feelings and the people and experiences that shape their daily lives.

In addition to all this wonderful learning, we also had two birthdays to celebrate this week! Birthday celebrations are always a special time in our classroom, and we made sure to honor each child in a meaningful way. We will be sending photos of these celebrations directly to their families so they can share in the joy.

We are so proud of the emotional growth we see in our students each day. Thank you for your continued support in nurturing these important skills at home. We look forward to another enriching and heartwarming month ahead!

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

Reminder for next week: Friendship celebration on Thursday, February 13.

In Montessori education, the concept of “normalization” holds a profound significance, quite different from its conventional meaning. Maria Montessori used this term to describe a remarkable process she observed in children’s development—a process that unfolds when children are given the freedom to work in an environment that aligns with their developmental needs.

“Normalization” in Montessori does not imply conforming to a standard or being forced into a mold. Instead, it signifies a state of being where children exhibit a deep sense of inner peace and discipline. Montessori observed that when children engage in activities that captivate their interest and require their full concentration, they experience a profound sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. This focused, purposeful work leads to a state of normalization characterized by a calm, content demeanor.

In our environment, we witness the signs of normalization every day. Children are deeply engaged in their chosen activities, demonstrating sustained concentration and a sense of joy in their work. As they grow more independent and self-disciplined, they contribute to a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere, fostering meaningful interactions.

This week, that sense of curiosity and engagement took our toddlers on an exciting journey to Antarctica! They learned about the icy landscape and some of the animals that call it home. One of the highlights was learning about penguins. The children seemed fascinated to discover that penguins are birds, but they cannot fly! Instead, they are excellent swimmers, using their wings like flippers to glide through the water. They also loved learning that penguins keep warm by huddling together in big groups, just like friends giving each other a cozy hug.

As we learned that penguins like to glide and skate on their bellies across the ice, we introduced a fun sensory activity. The children helped free small penguin models that were trapped in ice by rubbing and melting them with their hands. They were delighted to watch the penguins “skate” as they worked to free them, making the experience both engaging and educational.

We also added a new song to our dance list called “Walking with the Penguins” by Laurie Berkner. The children had so much fun practicing how to waddle like penguins, giggling as they moved side to side, just like the birds they had been learning about.

On another note, this week, we introduced the art skill of gluing, which has become a favorite among the children. Learning to use glue may seem like a simple activity, but it offers numerous benefits. It enhances hand-eye coordination, refines fine motor skills, and helps children understand the sensory concept of stickiness, adding a tactile dimension to their learning experience.

In our most recent food-tasting lesson, we explored carrots. The children seemed fascinated by their bright orange color, cool roots, and soft leaves. As I took a bite, the crunch made everyone giggle! Some children eagerly took big bites, while others cautiously nibbled small pieces.

As we continue to nurture the process of normalization in our environment, we celebrate the remarkable growth and development taking place in your child.

Wishing you all  a wonderful and restful weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

This week brought a winter wonderland of learning and exploration to our classroom! The weekend storm brought very cold days, which meant we couldn’t venture outdoors as much as we’d like. However, we brought the magic of the outdoors inside! The children had a wonderful time exploring the snow indoors in creative and engaging ways. They painted the snow with different colors, felt its cool texture in their hands, and observed how it melted over time. Snow also made its way to our sensory table, where it provided a new avenue for exploration and learning and of course, by popular request, we also brought back ice painting, which captivated the children’s attention for long periods of time!

Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of sensory experiences as a foundation for learning, believing that children learn best through hands-on exploration of their environment. She saw the senses as “the gateway to intelligence,” helping children understand the world around them.

As the week progressed, the snow stayed long enough for us to enjoy it outdoors in its full glory! The children’s excitement to head outside was matched by their growing independence in preparing for the winter weather. Dressing for outdoor play is more than just putting on winter gear; it’s an opportunity for toddlers to practice independence and gain confidence in their abilities.

In our classroom, each child identifies their individual winter bag and retrieves it from the designated area. They then sit on the classroom rug to begin the dressing routine. First, they take off their indoor shoes, retrieve their winter pants, and lay them out on the floor. Sitting down, they practice pulling up their pants until they can see their toes, then stand up to finish pulling them on and zipping their snowsuit. Afterward, they put on their snow boots, coats, hats, and mittens. With each practice session, the children become more adept at this sequence, and their smiles reflect the pride they feel in achieving this task independently. We encourage you to provide time and space for your children to practice this skill at home, as this consistency will further enhance their confidence and capability.

Once outside, the children embraced the opportunity calmly and joyfully, taking in the sights and sounds of winter while exploring the snow at their own pace. It was a peaceful and enriching experience that highlighted the beauty of nature and the joy of discovery.

Lastly, our sensory exploration didn’t stop at snow. This week, the children explored beets as the food-tasting lesson.  They were intrigued by the long green leaves and were in awe to discover the vibrant purple inside the beet. Even though it was not a favorite vegetable for all, we report that 100% of the class tasted it and many of them expressed how beautiful the beets were.

Stay warm and have a great weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty

This week brought a special milestone as we celebrated the first third birthday of one of our students in the classroom! It was a joyful occasion marked with smiles, singing, and a sense of togetherness.

We also introduced a beloved new addition to our classroom: a baby doll named Simba. One of the children came up with the name, and the rest of the class eagerly agreed, demonstrating wonderful teamwork and cooperation. Simba has quickly become a favorite, offering the children an opportunity to practice nurturing behaviors like feeding, reading, singing, and cuddling. These sweet interactions allow the children to develop empathy, patience, and social-emotional skills while learning the importance of caring for others.

In the art area, the children explored a new challenge: using scissors. This activity requires focus and fine motor skills, and it has been rewarding to watch their confidence grow as they successfully cut strips of card stock. This is a wonderful step toward developing hand strength and coordination for future skills like writing and crafting.

Our food-tasting adventure this week featured avocado. While some children were hesitant at first, many discovered they enjoyed its flavor!

To end the week, we enjoyed a fun group sensory experience: painting with ice! The children were fascinated by the cold texture of the ice and delighted in using it to create colorful, freeform art.

As always, our story time has been filled with laughter and engagement, with some of our favorite books this week including The Itsy Bitsy Snowman by Jeffrey Burton, Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes, What Can You See in Winter? by Sian Smith, and the class’s most popular pick: Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin, within others.

We’re so proud of the growth and enthusiasm your children bring to our classroom every day, and we look forward to more meaningful experiences together next week!

Have a great long weekend,

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Patty