Have you heard of La Vaca Lola?
Maria Montessori believed that the initial six years of a child’s life are crucial for a child’s language development. That from birth a child must receive appropriate stimulation. This is also widely recognized by many specialists in language, also when referring to learning foreign languages.
Research shows that learning a second language boosts problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills, in addition to improving memory, concentration, and the ability to multitask. Children proficient in other languages also show signs of enhanced creativity and mental flexibility. This is why one of our goals this year is to offer a Toddler Spanish immersion experience.

La Vaca Lola (The Cow Named Lola) was a song introduced this week to our students! And, oh boy! They loved it! Some of the students even showed pretty good moves when dancing to it. Based on our farm theme, this week we focused on one of the most beloved farm animals: the cow. Children carefully observed a cow model and engage in conversation about the characteristics of it. One of those is that cows give us milk. Children enjoyed having a taste of milk and while some absolutely refused to taste it, others wouldn’t stop asking for more.

At the end of the week we also had a great Sensorial experience that finished as a magical art project. For this we used food coloring, cotton swabs, dish soap, and of course, milk. As milk has fat in it, the food coloring can float on top of the fat. When you add the dish soap to the milk, the fat separates and moves making magical milk art! The smile in the faces of the children were priceless! At the end of the experience we placed cardstock in the milk and captured a print of the art they made.

Other highlights of the week were the introduction to the routine of changing into indoor shoes when entering the environment and self-serving snack. These two are huge components of our Montessori Toddler curriculum. Independence, hand- eye coordination, and self-regulation is encouraged during these exercises. As children continue to exercise these skills at school, we strongly encourage you to offer the opportunity for the exercise at home.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Mary Had a Little Lamb as told and illustrated by Iza Trapani were the children’s favorite books this week. Walking in the Jungle, Listen and Move, and of course, La Vaca Lola were the children’s favorite songs to dance to.

In case you also want to join us in the fun, I will leave you the musical video of La Vaca Lola. Go ahead and turn up the volume and enjoy with your little ones.

La vaca lola ( The cow named Lola)
La vaca lola (The cow named Lola)
Tiene cabeza y tiene cola (It has a head and it has a tail)
Y hace: MUUU (and she goes Mooh)

Looking through this school year’s pictures I cannot stop the overwhelming feeling of thankfulness!  I know I have said it before, but I need to say it one more time: Thank you for entrusting us with your little ones and walking next to us to give them the best experience each day!
We give them back to you pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more independent, confident and mature than they were back in September. They did themselves a great job unfolding and growing each day and we feel honored to have witnessed it. They, for sure, will continue to be part of our lives. Even though some of them will be moving up a level, remember that we will always be interested in your children and their destiny-wherever they go, whatever they do and whoever they become.

They are truly precious to us!

We hope you all have a wonderful summer! See you in the Fall!

Enjoy the contrast pictures of the first weeks and the last weeks of school!

There is so much focus in Montessori on fine motor skills, I think at times we can overlook the importance of gross motor skills, the development and coordination of those large, gross motor muscles and movements.

In our toddler environment gross motor movements include free movement around the room, lifting and pouring, practical life activities like mirror washing or table scrubbing, sweeping and dusting, as well as climbing, balancing on the beam, spinning in the bilibo seat, rocking in our moose, and on our well loved boat.

Maria Montessori knew how integral movement is to intellectual development. Mental development must be connected with movement and be dependent on it. “Movement helps the development of the mind, and this finds renewed expression in further movement and activity.”

Children need freedom of movement too. We have observed that sometimes our toddlers just need to get outside and exert their energy, to run until they can’t run anymore. To laugh and to chase each other. To be free and just let it all out. To us this free time, this physical exertion is just as important as good nutrition, or a good book. We are thankful for a campus that fulfills the children’s needs in this area. From beautiful environments, to a huge and well equipped gym and from a beautiful natural playground to a large soccer field.

Running, skipping, dancing, hopping, or climbing a tree – using all those gross motor skills are just as important as taking a tray off the shelves and working at a table. Life skills, risk taking, fun, physical exertion, problem solving, critical thinking can all come from gross motor play. Gross motor work also lays the foundation for the use of fine motor skills.

A big Congratulations to the Smith family in their new beautiful addition. Cheyenne was born on Monday May 27th 2019 at 2:57 pm. She is 8lbs and 9oz!

Upcoming Events:

Field day – June 4th

Bridge Crossing ceremony – June 6th