This week, we have enjoyed so many wonderful new experiences! We had the opportunity to explore a fire truck, meet our local Botsford firemen, and, best of all, sit in the firetruck! The children were a little cautious at first but quickly got very excited to explore the firetruck and the gear that the firemen wear. A huge thank-you to our firemen and women who help keep us safe. You definitely made a BIG impression on such little hearts and minds.

We enjoyed pomegranates this week. The children were eager to enjoy them, but in the true Montessori spirit, they had to get each little gem of the pomegranate out to eat themselves! They asked for more with such politeness and kept working to enjoy each little bite. It was a very successful food tasting, and I loved seeing the fine motor skills put to work. The children were so independent, too!

Our first rainy day in many weeks provided us with the opportunity to use the school gym, which was a first for us! The children were a bit cautious at first, but they quickly were chasing one another, kicking and throwing balls, playing with hula hoops, and silk scarves. It was a great way to chase our wiggles away.

This week, you and your children made my birthday absolutely one of the best! I loved reading each card and am so thankful for the beautiful flowers and gifts. I am so appreciative of each and every one of you! Thank you for making it such a magical experience.

With Full Hearts,
Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

Our week has been a very busy week! We had so much fun and many celebrations; this week, we enjoyed Veterans Day, reading books about heroes, our military men and women, and doing all the Red, White, and Blue paintings! We also had the privilege of attending our first Diwali celebration, Fraser’s style! We were amazed by the beauty of the celebration, the colorful clothes, the lights, and the Dancing! The children were delighted to see Ms. Paromita dancing with other children and parents in the most upbeat, happy dance! We also got to try the most delicious foods, rice, and gulab jamun- a sweet treat! At the end of the celebration, our small friends were invited to dance! So many thanks to all the families and children and to Paromita for a wonderful celebration!

After such a busy two days, we settled into our daily flow in the classroom. The children, like always, went right to work exploring the materials and found contentment in the work that they did. I do apologize for less pictures, we lived in the moment this week and enjoyed one another.

With full hearts,
Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

 

Time seems to be flying by; we have made it to November! The children have been so busy each day they are discovering new materials that meet the needs of their growing minds! We have started the month talking about “Gratitude” and what it means to our classroom and our families. I emphasize how we can show gratitude with our words and with our actions…..I know you’re all thinking they are toddlers! Yes, the toddler child can show gratitude, empathy, and kindness and still be a little spicy, but that is what makes toddlers so perfect. We will continue to talk, read, and show gratitude, kindness, thankfulness, and all those big words that are basically about the care and love we choose to give to others.

One of the newest works in the classroom is plant care and flower arranging, both have been highly satisfying work and the children take such care in making our classroom feel beautiful. They have been taking in the smallest details of the plants and flowers. The children are very aware of how fragile the plant is, when dusting them you have to have a lightness of touch, so we don’t rip the plant leaf. While they are young, these children know and understand that even the smallest plants need great care. Dr. Montessori once said, “Children indeed love flowers, but they need to do something more than remain among them and contemplate their colored blossoms. They find their greatest pleasure in acting, knowing, exploring, even apart from the attraction of external beauty.”

I leave you with one simple little task: think about what gratitude means to you as a family and how you can express this to your child.

With full hearts,
Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

 

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of fun! We have been talking about Halloween, pumpkins, bats, and of course, candy! We have been enjoying getting to know a new classmate who joined us; the children already know his name and eagerly await him each morning. The children are also very excited to see the birds at our feeder…oftentimes so excited with an excited squeal that scares the birds away! The children can now identify the chickadee, bluejay, and tufted titmouse when the birds visit our feeder.

Opening a large pumpkin gave us a wonderful opportunity to explore, feel different textures, and see the inside of the pumpkin. We talked and read about the life cycle of pumpkins, how they grow, what we can do with them, and most importantly….how to cook with pumpkins! The children made pumpkin bread; each child took turns helping to incorporate ingredients, talking about each step, and enjoying working together with our hands. We took a long walk to Mr. Manuel’s kitchen to bake our bread…..the school smelled absolutely delightful! The children were amazing at practicing their patience, and we enjoyed our pumpkin bread the next day on Halloween!

The children were smitten watching our older “friends” walk in the Halloween Parade! Each child waved with joy and watched in awe of our peers; the parade ended with an epic spooky dance by all the students! The toddlers definitely let loose, too! As the week wrapped up, we read all the Halloween books, baked the pumpkin bread, and explored the inside of pumpkins. as one of our young friends said, “Miss Mollie, Finally Halloween!” Yes, kiddo, it’s finally Halloween!!!

With full Hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms.Lizette

What an eventful and busy week we had in our classroom this week! Our picture day was silly and filled with smiles! We got to enjoy our “Fraser’s Farm Pumpkin Patch,” where the children got to search for the perfect pumpkin! They absolutely loved each moment! A HUGE thank you to all of our parents for helping to make this happen; we truly appreciate and are so grateful for your help in making moments and memories! Before we had our pumpkin hunting adventures, we enjoyed tasting yellow apples for food tasting and trying apple cider…..the children were all big fans! Many of the children did tell me that the red apple is sweet, the green apple is sour and the yellow is crunchy, I call it a food tasting win! 

After all the BIG adventures of the week, we enjoyed a simple week filled with great lessons, good books, and good outdoor activities! Ask them about the turtle, and don’t worry; he is not real!

With full hearts, 

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette 

What a wonderful week! There are so many new adventures and experiences; I know how lucky I feel to share them with your children. The children were so excited to make apple sauce together; it took three days till we could finally try it; the result was well worth it!  The children help in each step, cutting the apples, adding the cinnamon stick,  putting the apples in the crock pot, putting the apples through the sieve, and then eating them the next day! In the Montessori classroom, you will always hear teachers say, ” Your child is so capable.” Give the children the right tools, and they will show us how capable they really are. This week, we focused on the “Grace and Courtesy Lessons” by introducing statements for communication, “This is my work,” “No thank-you,” “Please don’t touch my work,” “Walk around,” “This is my mat,” giving those words and modeling how we use them helps the child to understand how to communicate while being respectful, and confident.  This is another way that we give our toddlers the tools for success!  This week, we also had our first classroom birthday, in which all the children shared joy with their friends with deep enthusiasm! Turning two is a big deal, and we all wish our friend a year of love, light, and growth!

With full hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

October is finally here!! It’s only been a few days, and we have been exploring and learning all about what “Fall” is.  The easiest way for young children to learn about nature is to give them many concrete experiences and allow for unlimited exploration.  Our school campus has provided many experiences to see what Fall truly has to offer; we have been holding insects, collecting leaves, and spreading milkweed seeds. The milkweed provided many tactile experiences, along with the pure magic of watching it float so high into the sky, with the hope that it will feed future monarchs for years to come. As a classroom we also got to all experience a ladybug crawling on a leaf and then flying away, the children had a range of emotions, joy, excitement, curiosity, and sadness when it took flight.

This week we also welcomed in our first cultural celebration and gratitude, we enjoyed learning about the traditions of Rosh Hashanah! The children explored a honeycomb, apples, and the sweetest honey…..but most of all, they loved eating our apples and honey together to symbolize the hope for a sweet new year! Rosh Hashanah is a time of reflection, future thinking, and gratitude! We wish all who observe a “Shana Tova”!  A special thank you to “Nini’ for gifting us honey and honeycomb from your very own bee hives! 

We will be focused on a variety of activities, many of which will include fall themes. We will be specifically emphasizing in our vocabulary what we see occurring in nature, leaves color changing, leaves falling, using words like Autumn, Fall, Halloween, Pumpkins, Corn and Acorn.

With full hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

 

Hello Fall

This week has been a week of exploration, observation, and enjoying the fall weather. We have been enjoying the cool but warm days on the playground, collecting different colored leaves, and watching leaves fall from the trees.  Our bird feeder on our window outside the classroom is one of our greatest joys; the children are so excited when a bird comes to the feeder, sometimes scaring the bird away with pure excitement. The black-capped chickadee is by far a favorite. The children are now in the natural rhythm of coming into school; the tears that we once had are now replaced with giggles and the “why” of the day. At this age, the children are so inquisitive, asking “Why?” the beauty of Montessori is that instead of brushing off the question, we take our time and explain and encourage more exploration. It has been a wonderful week with your children, and I  feel so lucky to be with them each day!

With full hearts,

Ms. Mollie and Ms. Lizette

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We look forward to seeing you at Parent-Teacher Conferences on October 25. Please sign up for your conference here.