“To have learned something for the child is only a point of departure. When he has learned the meaning of an exercise, then he begins to enjoy repeating it, and he does repeat it an infinite number of times, with the most evident satisfaction”

 Maria Montessori – The Montessori Method

Children had a great time this week exploring and repeating some of the new materials in the environment. In a Montessori environment, repetition does not necessarily mean that the child has to engage in the same exact work over and over again. Anything that provides the child with practice of a previously learned skill, including extensions and games, is repetition.

 Dr. Montessori said, “Repetition is the secret of perfection.”

Through repetitive exploration your children are able to look at a material from different angles and explore it, letting it become part of their understanding of the world. At the same time, it allows them to self-critique; they look at how they are doing something and make slight changes in order to perfect the action, making it more efficient. The Montessori environment is designed to support exactly this kind of learning. Children choose their own work, allowing their interest to guide them to a choice. They are drawn by desire and that allows them to return to an activity with frequency, working with it until they have perfected it. It is, in fact, a developmental need. A common phrase you can hear in our environment is the children saying, “Again!”  Dr. Maria Montessori wrote, “When a child has attained this stage, of repeating an exercise, he is on the way to self-development, and the external sign of this condition is his self-discipline.”

Based on our observations, this is  just ONE of the works your child seems VERY attracted to lately and enjoys repeating: 

Ella – Flower arrangement 

Shea– Maximum effort using the wagon 

Kian– Object to picture matching- Arctic animals 

Chey–  Dressing and undressing 

Sara–  Transferring water with a dropper 

Maya–  Puzzles 

On another note, children enjoyed exploring a juicy  grapefruit for food tasting. It was a fun and tangy experience! 🙂

Lastly, In our movement area we added the slide to our stair structure and, oh boy, children really enjoyed it! Slides are encouraging to children and invigorating to play on. Children will climb almost anything if it means going down a slide and since they use it over and over, it encourages balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. It also teaches the children social skills and organization. It’s so fun!

Wishing you a fun and safe holiday weekend, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria 

Happy New Year, families! We hope you had a wonderful holiday break and you got some relaxation and meaningful time with your families! We are thankful for all of you and for the joy your wonderful children bring to our lives! What an honor it is to see them growing and blooming right before our eyes! We want to thank you also for your generosity through your gifts and encouraging words! Ms. Maria and I love partnering with you through this adventure!

Your children transitioned peacefully after the break and they arrived eager and ready to explore the environment and all the new works on the shelves. We were also  given the privilege to receive a new member and his family into our toddler community this week and we couldn’t be happier.

As we have officially entered the winter season we will be focusing on bringing it into the environment and enjoying different aspects of it.  Water and its different stages will be a main object for conversations and sensorial experiences during this month. 

In the language area we introduced an object to picture matching work, focused on arctic animals. Children learned to recognize a harp seal, an arctic fox, a killer whale, a walrus, a husky, a caribou, a beluga whale, and a polar bear. In addition to this, children enjoyed exploring the solidification of water in the form of snow and creating a habitat for some of the animals introduced. 

At the end of the week children were exposed to creating art using ice cube painting, and oh boy! Most of the students really seemed to enjoy and immerse themselves in this sensorial experience.  

Also, this week children learned a new song in Spanish called: “Copo de nieve” by Super Simple Español. We used our beloved scarves to represent the snow falling from the sky and also practice some body parts in Spanish such as: cabeza (head), nariz(nose), mano (hand). As time goes on we will continue adding and practicing more body parts in Spanish.  We recommend you to add this song to your playlist and sing it with your little one. 

For food tasting children explored broccoli, and even though this vegetable didn’t receive a standing ovation, we can say that 99% of the class tried it and most of them really liked it. 

We are so happy to be back and can’t wait for all the fun we’ll have this month. 

As a gentle reminder, please bring winter outdoor gear for your child in a labeled reusable bag. This includes, snow pants, waterproof mittens with mitten clips, snow boots, winter hat, and jacket. 

Warmly, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

And just like that, our first trimester comes to an end, filled with great moments and stories to tell. COVID has changed many things for us this year, but will never change the love and connection we have with each one of your children! Our environment is full of love, smiles, curiosity and great fun because of them! We feel honored to be able to see each of your little ones unfolding so beautifully. 

We thank you SO much for your support and trust. We love partnering with you in this adventure!

May the holiday season fill your home with joy, your heart with love, and your life with laughter.

May 2021 be a great year for all of us!

Enjoy a peek from our Pajama Holiday celebration!

Stay safe and see you next year! 🙂

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria

Rhythm is helpful in all sorts of ways. The pattern recognition inherent in rhythm can help your children to be better observers and better learners (also better athletes). Like any motor skill, rhythm needs to be cultivated and developed. It just so happens the exercises that help develop rhythm can also help with language fluency and reading, two other key life skills for young children to develop.

In our environment, music is a daily activity. Whole body movement songs, finger-plays, and instrument times are always part of our morning routine. This week, we had fun adding holiday songs and rocking to the sound of Jingle Bells, Candle Chase, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and of course, Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano. 

In our practical life, we introduced and modeled how the children can independently put their own jackets on. The smiles on the children’s faces is so great to witness as they try what we call the “fliparoo”. We encourage you to add this routine at home as well, so this skill becomes perfected and boosts your child’s confidence. 

For food tasting, children tried sweet potatoes! It’s always so much fun to see their faces when I demonstrate eating the new food item. They just can’t wait to try it themselves! They walk as fast as they can to their tables to open their containers sent from home and try the food themselves. It’s so fun! Sweet potatoes were very well received by most of your children. 

Lastly, we want to take a minute to thank, from the bottom of our hearts, each parent that donated books for our classroom! Books are very special treasures and we appreciate them SO much! 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Mrs. Hood and Ms. Maria