A look back and a look ahead from January, so named for the two-faced God Janus…

Your children are hard at work at several big writing projects. We are all waist high in crafting up to 8 different kinds of Poems; acrostic, limerick, personal, rhyming couplet, cinquain, diamante, free verse and haiku. We have all shared a fact or two about dolphins and porpoises.  Elders are learning how to construct a multi-paragraph comparison and contrast paper on the difference between porpoises and dolphins and construct and write a multi-paragraph history research paper on the Sumerians.

Younger children are hard at work writing booklets about the parts of a flag and the parts of a horse. The former moves us along our geography studies in concert with our maps of the countries of the world. The latter finishes up our study of vertebrates which moves us closer to the studies of all the different kinds of life on earth: biodiversity.

All the children continue becoming proficient in their math facts and the levels they are working on. We are introducing the concept of fractions to the first year student and decimals to some elders.

Favorite work across the board has been dynamic addition and subtraction, multiplication, division with snake games, bead bars, stamp game, and racks and tubes. Checkerboard has resurfaced to clarify multiplication operations as well.

We hope you will consider attending our 5^th Annual Poetry Café to be held here at school on Tuesday, February 14^th at 6pm in the evening. Your children have a variety of poems to read and perform for you. Some children have written all 8 forms we have introduced and other have found their niche and written several of their favorite form! In consideration of the children we ask that no younger siblings attend. We know you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

We continue to enjoy poetry, creation stories, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling and we are using these short stories as an example of IDEATION in story crafting. The elders are particularly paying close attention to the 6 Traits of Good Writing with “Ideas” being our first focus. The other five traits we’ll study are: Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency and Conventions. Their first experience with this rubric will be coming home shortly. Parents of younger children: I’m sending this home so you can see where we will be going with the development of their written expression. It is nice to see the children embrace these exercises and give them their all. First year students are learning how to craft sentences – so their story may not be as involved as the rubric suggests.

And now, here is my last shameless plug for poetry. Your children have been enthralled with a book and CD I recently received with several poets reciting their own poems. At a quiet moment in the day I invited a few children to look at the poems with me while the poets (including. Robert Frost, Roald Dahl, and Ogden Nash, to name a few) performed. Their eyes were as big as saucers as they recognized some poems and could barely contain their excitement. Bottom line: go out and grab your dusty sonnets off your book shelf, run do not walk to the library and gather up armfuls of poetry and snuggle up and enjoy!

Thanks for all you do!

“If the idea of the universe is presented to the child in the right way, it will do more for him than to arouse his interest, for it will create in him admiration and wonder, a feeling loftier than any interest and more satisfying”

–Maria Montessori

In January we talked about the Earth as part of the solar system.

We started with a Polynesian folktale about five brothers who wanted to catch the sun; the children were quick to point that “nobody can catch the sun” and were delighted to put on their scientists’ hats and analyze what was true and what was fantasy in the story. Then we moved to science books that explained how people learned that the Earth is round, spins around itself, and moves on an orbit around the sun. Balls of different sizes helped us learn the names of the planets in the solar system, which of them are larger or smaller, farther or closer to the sun (photo).

Magnets were another popular subject. The children had different sets of magnets available to experiment with on their own after a short demonstration and discussion. We learned that the Earth behaves like a huge magnet.

From the animal kingdom we looked at amphibians and their adaptations to live in water and on land. “Five Green and Speckled Frogs” filled the classroom for many days.

We looked into Africa’s rich and diverse habitats, cultures, colors, and music.

We revisited materials in the classrooms related to the topics of the months:

• Lessons at different levels on geometric cabinet and geometric solids.
• Looked for spheres and cylinders throughout the classroom.
• Compared the size and the weight of different balls used to represent planets.
• Sound games: Changing the beginning sound to make another word (family  words).
• Connected the names of the planets with the names for the days of the week.

Group discussions about true facts versus fiction in the stories from “When the World Was Young” by Margaret Mayo and Louse Brierley , “When Stories Fell Like Shooting Stars” by Valiska Gregory and Stefano Vitale.

Art & Crafts

• Draw/paint planets, and made “orbits” with marbles rolled through paint.
• Splashes of paint on black paper for the whole universe (photo)
• Build “African style” instruments using recycled materials.

Music

We tried several African instruments, listened to songs from Africa and selections   from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst.

Coming up…

In February we will come down the earth and continue to explore our planet as geologists to learn about minerals, rocks, fossils, and reptiles. We will visit Europe.

For Valentine’s day we will help children exchange cards. Please do not send attached candies and do not write names for the addressee. We encourage the children to spend their time and creativity in making the cards themselves and practice writing their names.

Thank you to Mei-Ling and Justin Mother who brought the Chinese New Year’s celebrations to our classroom with crafts, artifacts, books and delicious snacks.

Parent’s Night – Monday, February 20, 6 p.m. – Math in Montessori classroom

Kindergartners

We used the planets and Africa to extend the math and language work.

• Writing and illustrating a story prompted by pictures of people from Africa or imagining a new planet they might discover in the future (photos: Story 1-3)
• Find the best title for a story. What makes a good title?
• Identifying nouns, adjectives and verbs.
• The Numbers’ Pyramid, a fun approach to multiplication.
• Work with decimal system.

The maps of the continents remain a favorite work. More countries are recognized / memorized. The repeated coloring after the puzzle maps trains the spatial orientation and improves penmanship. It is also a preferred activity because it provides opportunity for cooperation and social interaction.

Photos this month

We cannot create observers by saying “observe,” but by giving them the power and the means for this observation, and these means are procured through education of the senses.
—Maria Montessori

Elementary

We see all children gravitating toward materials from our sensorial area that is literally and figuratively the center of our classroom. The sense of order, the call for perfection, the built in control of error and the possibilities to use them at different levels give the children, young and old, the most rewarding experience.

Science: We talked about birds’ characteristics, adaptation to flight, building nests and taking care of the hatchlings. The evergreen trees came to our classroom with branches of Holly, Yew, Hemlock, White Pine, Spruce, and Fir.

Cultural: The words continent, country and state begin to reveal their meanings as we discuss the puzzle maps. After locating USA and its neighbors to the north and south, we looked closer at the US map to identify New Hampshire and other states some children may know. We traveled east to west, following Johnny Appleseed trail from Massachusetts to Indiana, or the pioneers from Pennsylvania to Oregon.

We learned about Native Americans, their love and respect for nature, and about the pilgrims and their courage in overcoming the hardship of living in the new world.

Making butter, one of the many chores children had in the old times, was an interesting experience that puzzled and delighted our children of today.

Arts & Crafts: Leaf prints and leaf painting, dot painting for corn on the cob, cutting and pasting squares in quilt patterns, folding papers for birds’ wings, Christmas tree ornaments and decorations.

Books and Songs: Follow the topics of the month/seasons/current events in the classroom. Between the libraries, the school’s large collection and our personal favorites we are lucky to find wonderful books that are browsed or read with delight.
Too many favorites to mention; just two musical books we just could not have enough of:
“A Hen, a Chick, and a String Guitar” by M. Read Mac Donald,
“Beethoven’s Wig” by R. Perlmutter and Maria Rosetti.

Mark your calendar:

• December 12, 6-8 p.m. Parents’ Night: Road to Reading
• December 16th we will celebrate the beginning of the winter holidays with a Carols-Crafts-Cookies morning. Parents are invited to come by with their children, bring a few cookies to share, and join us in craft projects and spontaneous singing anytime between 8:30 and 11:30. There will be no lunch, afternoon before or aftercare program.

Kindergarten

Thank you for coming to our thanks giving evening. The children loved the food preparation, tried some of the vegetables for the first time, and felt good to be trusted with using a big knife. With guidance and supervision we managed to keep the soup strictly vegetarian (no fingers cut!).

The Albuquerque turkey was a long multistep project that also boosted the self confidence and stretched the patience while waiting to see the results of one’s work.

The afternoon time is geared toward math and language lessons and each child is expected to practice on improving his/her skills. Thus, the work becomes more differentiated, according to each one’s needs. As a group we learned about plurals in s and some irregulars, we discuss books and the everyday happenings.

Besides the academic growth we are aiming to improve social skills and emotional maturity. The aspiration to be recognized as a role model is a strong incentive for the 5 year old children. When this is matched with self control and responsibility we have good results and a good time.

Dorina, Parna, and Carla

Elementary class party plans are underway and due to the fact that Thursday IS the last day we will all be together, we will Celebrate the Season on Thursday 15 December with fun, games, crafts, and songs. Your child is encouraged to bring in a game or two for fun. Did I mention the cookies? Please bring a plate of homemade cookies to share after lunch when our festivities will take place. Of course, you, their parents are invited to attend.  *Your presence is not mandatory. We’ll wrap up the day from approximately 1:00pm -2:15pm with the goodies.

Friday is a ½ day for all. Dismissal is 11:15-11:30. Children in Ms Dorina’s class will have their Holiday Party. If you have a child in both classes and your elementary children would like to go to that celebration with you (as it is a parent-accompanied event) and their siblings – then by all means, enjoy the day with them. Otherwise Ms Sue and I will be in the elementary class conducting our last class of the year! The one caveat is that there will be no up and down. Your child has the choice whether to be in their classroom with us or upstairs with you.

I neglected to thank the Meisner Family for the beautiful wreath that graces our front door.  Thank you, you are spoiling us!

And thanks to the dedicated drivers to our Martial Arts for the past eight week program. We could not have done it without you. Enclosed with this newsletter is a promotional offer from A.T.A. Martial Arts Studio.

Please note: Swimming begins Friday, January 6th.  Please see to the paperwork sent home in this packet. We need ALL paperwork back ASAP, before the break. Pickup will be at Hampshire Hills as last year. Unless you are driving and have other children to pickup at CVMS, we will expect you to be able to pick up your child from Hampshire Hills on swimming Fridays. If this is not agreeable to you, please see Ms Claire or Ms Sue. You may also choose to make other arrangements with other parents as you like. From our end our concerns are two-fold: Ms Claire will not be attending swimming as she will be in Children’s House providing staff training and conducting observations and Ms. Sue will not be driving any children in her car. We appreciate the time and dedication it takes from many of you to make this excellent P.E. Unit a reality, especially our drivers, and the understanding and indulgence of all of you. * A Special Thank-you to Becki Stevens for setting this up!

Conferences have begun! I have openings on the January Calendar (also included with this packet). E-mail your preference. I will confirm.

REMEMBER: Thursday – crafts and cookies. Friday 1/2 Day for all. You do not have to accompany your Elementary child either day.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight!  Thanks for ALL you do!

“Every blade of grass is a study” - Abraham Lincoln

With the dramatic display of colors and the whimsical dances in the air, the leaves took the main role in the nature’s show for October.

Science

We looked at parts of a tree, a leaf, talked about why leaves change colors, identified oaks, maples, sassafras, dogwood, and birch. We measured the circumference of the red oak on the playground in wide stretched hugs (three old children, or four young ones, or two grownups). We discussed some of the practical uses of tree products: Fruit, medicine, industrial, environmental. Trees in different hypostasis: Yoga, Mosaic, Fractals.

We learned about mammals, what are their distinctive characteristics, and some odd representatives. We compared the body parts of rabbits with those of bats. We analyzed the differences in the habitats of these two mammals.

In the last week October we invited bats, spiders and owls to our science lessons and learned where and how they live, what do they eat, and discussed why they seem scary to some people.

Math

Counting, comparing quantities and sizes, and estimating exercises are used in games at circle time.

Individual lessons are presented according to the child interest and ability, starting with sandpaper numbers, spindle boxes, number rods and cards and counters. Various materials from the science themes are used as extensions for math lessons. E.g. we had acorns for counters, leaves for sorting exercises, and to approximate geometric shapes.

Cultural

With Columbus Day we took a look at the globe to locate Europe, Asia and the Americas. Throughout the year we will take a trip around the Earth, spending a month on each continent. We started with North America and will still be here in November, with the Native Americans. Then, we will move to South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica.

Mrs. Parna talked about Divaly, the celebration of light, enchanting us with traditional music and dance.

The international snack is another opportunity to learn about other cultures. So far we had a taste of Italian, Indian, German, Romanian and Chinese.

Art and Crafts

Rubbing textures of wood and leaves, leaf prints, collages, modeling and painting Diyas

Music

Rhythm patterns, high and low pitch, Vivaldi, Beethoven; Songs: Nocturnal Animals, Skeleton Dance.

Books

Shell Silverstein helped us with his story “The Giving Tree” in our science lessons and into thinking about relationships with others, giving and taking, carrying and being selfish.

We will continue discussions on these topics following “The Quiltmaker’s Gift”, a beautiful story by Jeff Brumbeau.

In November we will focus on:

• Native Americans,
• Evergreen trees
• Animals in winter (birds and mammals).
• Thanksgiving

Reminders

• Send in a labeled seasonal change of clothing for your children (long pants, warm sweatshirt undies & socks).
• Check for “user friendly” fastening devices (buttons, laces, zippers, belts). If your child can not handle them at home they can’t manage them at school either so send in a different choice.
• At school the children practice to turn the sleeves the right side-up, to fold a sweater, to put on mitten and gloves, to button and zip. The flip-over style to put on a jacket is fun and easy to learn: the child lays the coat on the floor with the hood/collar toward him/herself, put the hands in the sleeves, lifts the coat over the head, and slips the arms into the sleeves as the coat covers his/her back. Just ask the children to show you, and take the time to allow them to be independent instead of rushing to assist them.
• When the ground is covered with snow send your children dressed in snow gear on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and have the snow gear in a bag on Tuesday and Thursday (those two days we start inside, but the children will need the snow suits later in the day).
• Footwear should be comfortable and warm, even if there is no snow on the ground.
• Last, but not least, remember to have your children use the bathroom before you bring them to school.

Thank you

• For taking your time to meet with us during Parent Conferences.
• To all parents who took the time to pick leaves with your children and send them to school for sharing.
• To all the Friday snack parents for international day
• To all who send in Box Top and Campbell Soup Labels.
• To all who order Scholastic Books.
• Thanks also for the Small Hands order (they should be arriving soon)

Mark your Calendar

• Language Art Parents’ Informative Night
• Kindergarten parents are invited for a Thanksgiving celebration on Monday, Nov. 21st, 6-7 p.m.

Kindergarten Notes

The Kindergarteners feel comfortable working with materials in all areas. The most visible acceleration is in language arts. Keep reading to you children at home daily. We will continue with word games, enriching vocabulary and expanding conversational skills. Selected stories are followed by discussions about the plot, characters, messages, and we look for parallels in our real life experiences. You can have the same discussions at home. Keep building your child’s language, vocabulary, concept and conversational skills.

One of the favorite lessons this past month was building antonyms using prefixes (un-, dis-, non-).

Another one was building fractals with bead bars, and seeing fractals in pictures of ferns, trees, corals, snowflakes, and crystals.

In November the children will work on projects for the Thanksgiving celebration (Monday 21^st, 6-7 p.m.).

We will discuss about what it means to them to be thankful. We will be putting out our “Basket of Hope” as we do each year and have the children bring in canned and dry goods for those in need. We gently explain what we have to be thankful for and also that helping other in their time of need is a wonderful way to show caring and sharing.

Looking forward to getting in our routines from last week’s weather (ah-hem) interruption! The class is all sorts of busily engaged. Engaged in what you say? The children are engaged in nothing short of their learning. It is a thriving environment chock full of projects and undertakings that are teacher prepared and child managed. This month we have seen the fulfillment of our first Art Unit centering on the Native American Indians. We have painted a Chief, crafted clay pots reminiscent of the Sioux, fashioned masks; paying particular attention to face structure and painted markings, as well as learned how weaving on a loom is accomplished. Our last tasking of a landscape painting at sunset with teepees was finished at The Currier on our latest Field Trip.

Elementary is for “going out” excursions. Montessori said this age of developments has the child ready to explore their surroundings in a new and meaningful way at some distance and in some places far from their close, cozy, and safe home and school settings. We take to that philosophy in a big way. As a group we took our “maiden voyage” to see The Mayflower reproduction and Plimoth Plantation. After years of yearning to bring a class close to that fictional reality of time and place we were finally able to do just that ( in between pelting spats of rainstorms) on a picture perfect day in September! We’ll be calling on that experience as we move towards Thanksgiving with an eye to Fundamental Needs of both the Pilgrims and Natives.

Our History Studies are off and running as a result of both our Art and Field Trip experiences. It is Montessori’s Cosmic approach to education that begs the questions, who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? And how do I get there? Otherwise known as the interconnectedness of things – it is genius at the core. We are moving into our third study of Native Americans of the Southwest after the Eastern Woodlands and Plains Indian studies. These studies have captured the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th year students.

The 1^st years are getting their “sea legs” learning how to discipline themselves to accomplish math and language tasks daily. Apart from the three R’s they are off and running learning about our Earth and the various land forms and the 5 Classification of Vertebrates (parts of the animal studies). I “think” their sticker shock has worn off and they are all digging in with less and less fatigue. Work actually energizes. We love to see the gradual shift from Children’s House student to Elementary student.

All did a wonderful job on their Peacemaker Study. We kicked off our study with an Amherst Library visit to get in the research mood. This year we were treated to the life stories of Annie Oakley, Dr. Seuss, Maria Tallchief, Mahatma Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto, Jane Goodall, Queen Elizabeta of Romania, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Mother Theresa, Pocahontas, George Washington, Buzz Aldrin, and Ole Kristenson. Don’t know the last one? That’s Mr. Lego. I can’t say enough about the time, effort, and dedication your children put into this project. I even heard MANY say, I can’t wait for next year – I know who I’m going to study!

We are knee-deep into our Martial Arts P.E. Unit. I wasn’t sure how the children would enjoy this unit but overall I would have to say we have scored another winner. Their instructor is kind and knowledgeable and seems to keep the class alternating between listening, practicing, running and exercises in a well-balanced blend. We have 4 more sessions. After the holidays we’ll be starting another unit TBD.

You may not have been aware, but we had an outreach program from Bridges an organization that provides services and support for domestic and sexual violence victims.

For three weeks before lunch we had 2 young women for ½ hour in duration provide the children with information through books, scenario and role-play that would have them appreciate the kinds of bullying that can occur, the places it can occur and what they can do about it. We really call it Bully Prevention – or Bully Proofing for our kids. The instructors were amazed and complimentary firstly, about how much our kids already knew and secondly, that they are an empowered bunch to help other in circumstances as well. I am proud of our community and have always said if your school needs a bullying policy- it is too late; bullying occurs there already. To date we have had no need for bullying policies. I know pride goes before the fall – but we’ll keep our traditions until such time as necessity forces us to do something different. It is a luxury of being a small community.

Moving swiftly into November – This week we will be treated to a presentation from Barbara Medlyn a.k.a. The Rock Lady from The Quartz Source store in Milford. Look for your children to suddenly become passionate about rocks and minerals. Some may be making booklets, other posters in the coming weeks.

We should be finishing up the state studies very soon. These will continue to serve as our backdrop as we move beyond the first inhabitants of what is now the United States and we move into early American History; the founding of our country.

In Mathematics, our beginning of year focus has been to see what your child has retained. After extensive review, we are moving out into fraction operations for some, introduction of fractions for others, large division for some, carrying and borrowing for others, beginning multiplication and memorization of multiplication facts as well as word problems for all.

Have fun with math and instead of turning on the television set in the car or at home make up some math word problems and discuss what operation you need to apply to be able to solve it. Make math a topic of conversation at every chance you can.

Elders (2^nd grade and above), are studying Rivers of the World and the Work of Water and will be getting homework soon. This is their geography unit which will relate to Fundamental Needs yesterday, today, and tomorrow here, there, and everywhere and will relate to an end-of-year cultural study. * Back to the cosmic nature of the elementary studies.

In Science, other than our ongoing study of Plants, elders will take up the topics of cells; the parts of a cell, the difference between plant cells and animal cells. We will also begin a study of the nature of the elements. You will see a homework assignment on an element of their choice! All topics will begin before the first of the New Year.

Lastly, we need to know the last day your child will be in school before the Thanksgiving Holiday. This will help in our planning of an evening event of 1 hour in duration for our class. We would like 100% participation so we will schedule it as soon as we can secure all your info. Forgive me if this is a repeat question – but if it’s not on a piece of paper in front of me…….so send it or jot it down and we’ll confirm a date for our last event before Thanks-giving for you ASAP.

And – a final request. We need magazines all kinds! National Geographic, Smithsonian, nature as well as fashion and entertainment, historical, car and home handyman, decorating, cooking, or travel in short, magazines you are soon to dispose of for a class project. If you don’t have any but care to buy one and donate it to us – we will happily accept.

Thanks for all you do,

Claire and Sue

“If teaching is to be effective with young children, it must assist them to advance on their own way to independence.”

Maria Montessori – “The Discovery of the Child

For all of us September was a month of adjustments, of testing the waters and building confidence, of understanding and accepting each other. Some children jumped in quickly and some cautiously, but once at school, they all enjoyed exploring the materials and finding new friends. All our group activities and discussions were aimed to create a community feeling, to define us as a loving, caring and “interesting to be in” group. Songs and dances were the best allies in overcoming the shyness and distress. Stories about love and friendship also helped along. The most effective of all were the children themselves: comforting and advising each other, showing how to work or play on the playground.

We went over the basics of classroom etiquette, grace and courtesy, and practical aspects of sharing a space together such as: using soft voices, care in handling the materials, table manners, cleaning up, listening and taking turns in talking, walking feet, and sitting properly in chairs and on the rug.

From the insects’ world we looked closer (literally) at mosquitoes, grasshoppers, crickets, and butterflies. We read and looked at pictures about walking sticks, dragonflies, ladybugs, ants, termites and bees.

We paired the science books with stories about some of these insects and compared their ways of getting around, and helping each other with ours.

The science and observation table was also host to dahlias, hydrangeas, daisies, sedum, squashes, and gourds.

In October we will talk about trees and leaves, harvest, Johnny Appleseed, North America and United States of America.

On October 31 we will have a costume day: children are welcomed to come to school dressed up as one of their favorite characters, flower, fruit, vegetable, animal… or anything but scary, unfriendly creatures. They also can be just themselves.

We will admire each other for a while (Parents, if they wish, may stay a bit longer to take pictures), and then change to regular clothes (to be brought in a bag).

There will be no candies, but we will play charades, sing songs and read stories, talk about nocturnal animals, and why bats and owls are favorites among the Halloween decorations.

Reminders:

Please be mindful of the drop off and pick up times. Any delays on either end are a disturbance to the normal flow of the day for your child, the other children and the teachers.

Parents/teachers conferences will run before and after school hours for the last two weeks in October. A sign up table is going to be posted online.

Observations in the classroom are welcomed, one parent at a time, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; best time windows: 9-10, 10-11 and 1-2p.m.

Just drop a note prior to your visit with the day and time you intend to come.We will send back a confirmation along with some guidelines to help you get the most of your time in the classroom.

Kindergartners’ Notes

It took a while for the older children to readjust to the classroom routine. They are excited to be with their friends and to show what they know. We are glad to see them so confident and at ease, so friendly and smiley.

Watching them and their interest to one or another area in the classroom, reveals what Maria Montessori described as sensitive periods and how they are specific for each age group, but also vary with each child.

We see a wide range of interest and ability, and work with each child accordingly: from practicing writing and revisiting the sandpaper letters for proper movement to reading beginners’ books, phonograms and sight words. In math, the banking game and the cube chains provide a good stretch for concentration, patience, and even physical exercise.

I try to keep a right balance between what I wish to teach and what the children are interested and when. Often they follow each other, and seeing a friend doing something “hard” is the best incentive to start a working frenzy.

Homework:

Ask your children about what they do at school, play sound/word games and ask them if they want to share a favorite book with us. We will start discussing the stories we read, identifying the main characters, following the plot, and selecting the main idea and the moral/teaching of the story.

Observe with your child a deciduous tree next to your house, collect and press one leaf and send it to school in the third week of October.

Hi Families,  

Attached please find the permission slip for our trip to the Mayflower II and Plimoth Plantation. We will need to assemble at The Mayflower II at 11:00am followed by a 12:15 Pilgrim Village tour. All times are firm as we have reserved docents to guide us on our visit.

Please note on your permission slips whether you will be a driver. We will arrange carpools accordingly and give you plenty of notice to coordinate your meeting and/or pickup times. We anticipate this to be an all-day event and the likelihood is that you will want to leave early and knowingly expect to arrive home late. Drivers: You need to check out the website for Plimoth Plantation and get the directions that will best serve you. I can make no promises about travel times or routes so use your GPS and we’ll hope for the best. My rule of thumb is to leave myself loads of time for error and exigencies. Should be a memorable trip!

It was great to see you at our Elementary back-to-school night. I know some of the information may be unclear or overwhelming. To highlight the important dates is my current mission. After Plimoth – our next major event will be the P.E. unit of Martial Arts which will begin on October 6^th and follow for a total of 8 weeks. (Permission slips to follow)

A major unit of study will culminate in our Annual Peacemaker’s Project on October 31^st. This is a biographical study of a hero or heroine, peacemaker, explorer, inventor, author, famous person of note in history, across time, across political boundaries, real (not imagined) that has contributed his or her mark in some way that we know about them today! What makes them relevant? important? noteworthy? Why are we still talking about them today? Famous would be better than infamous.

For this project we would like your involvement in guiding them toward making a choice of person of note to study. For starters; having conversations about people that have influenced your lives in good ways and why would be appropriate. What makes a hero/ine? Then take a trip to your local library to find child level biographies. Check out a book about a person they want to study and have them become familiar with that person. Bring their choice into school and we will help them write and assemble note cards in chronological fashion to “tell the story” of their “peacemaker’s” life.

We have been reading biographical sketches of such people since day one of school. We have shared stories of many people thus far. Included in this illustrious list have been such an eclectic group of people like Walt Disney, Annie Oakley, Mikimoto, Mahatma Gandhi, Black Elk, Maria Montessori, Elizabeth Blackwell and the children have been captivated with their stories.

While preparing cards with chronological facts about their person is one aspect of this event, the capstone will be their presentations which occur on Monday October 31^st.  For their presentation they will have need “artifacts” to go with each card which helps describe the information contained on the card. In addition an appropriate costume or dress-up is allowed and encouraged (after all it is on Halloween) to help tell the story of their “person”.

We encourage and welcome parents to come to school and share the fun of the presentations. Save the date.

If you are still confused about what this is supposed to look like – then please stop in after school on Friday and I’ll be glad to show you a finished project I will be presenting to the students about Maria Montessori. By giving them this biographical presentation I will be modeling what their presentations need to look like in form and content.  I’d be happy to show you too.

That brings us up to homework. It IS beginning slowly. If your child brings a sheet of paper with spelling work home we ask that you read the sheet a few times over the course of the week with them to help with fluency (juniors especially) and perhaps point out what the common aspect of the words happen to be; such as – “they are all contractions, I can see that the apostrophe is in the place of the missing letters of the two words that form the contraction” or “the letter o in all your words make the short vowel sound/o/”. If the spelling rule is not apparent – I will write it on the page. Please forgive me if I insult your intelligence. No offence is intended. Spelling tests are being conducted each Friday. Their work is in their spelling journal. You will be able to view it at conference time.

Elders (3^rd and 4^th yrs.) are compiling VOCABULARY WORD LISTS in addition to weekly spelling words. When their vocabulary words and definitions come home their homework then becomes to construct sentences which show understanding of meaning in their new vocabulary words. The words may be above their spelling levels so they will not be tested on their spelling of the words. Here we are looking for comprehension of new words and the ability to craft a sentence with correct meaning of previously unfamiliar words. Comprehension in reading is our aim here. You should have them check and edit their work for spelling and punctuation! Homework is due on Friday.

As you can see, we have set off with a bang. Everyone is working at finding their comfort level with the workload here at school. There will be math homework added next. First year students do not have homework aside from their spelling lists currently.

Remember, if you would like to meet with me briefly before our first conference later in the year – just e-mail a before or afterschool time and I’ll be happy to see you. I have Friday morning and afternoon available yet this week.

“There is a part of a child’s soul that has always been unknown but which must be known. With a spirit of sacrifice and enthusiasm we must go in search, like those who travel to foreign lands and tear up mountains in their search for hidden gold”
–Maria Montessori, “The Secrets of Childhood”

Dear parents,

We have a school year ahead of us to know each other and grow together. We are ready for this journey with your children, and are eagerly looking forward to having them with us.

As the returning children will rediscover their familiar environment, and will promptly ask about the changes they will be sure to notice, we all will help the newcomers feel welcome and safe in a new place.

Our yearly schedule follows the cycles of nature in science and a round trip around the world in cultures. Music, art projects and physical activities reflects the themes of the months.

Check the newsletter on line at the end of each month for more details about our activities and information about the upcoming events.
An overview of the yearly curriculum and a daily schedule are posted by the bulletin board and also enclosed here. You may want to make a copy for a handy reference.

For a couple of weeks we will focus on developing social skills, to ensure a healthy and pleasant atmosphere for everyone. Grace and courtesy will remain a priority throughout the year.

Some practical issues for a good start this school year:

• Please return the teacher’s questionnaire as soon as the school begins. It will give us some insight in your child’s routines, likes and dislikes.
• Clothing:
• Please dress your children with clothes they can handle themselves.
• Safety first (fashion can wait): Dress shoes or clogs are not the best safety choice for running on the playground. Please have them wear sneakers and a change of footwear for the indoors.
• Layers for cold mornings and warm afternoons.
• Please bring a set of change (underwear, shirt, pants, socks) in a labeled zip-lock bag.
• Each child will have a folder in the classroom to save some of his/her work. The folder will be sent home every Friday, to be returned empty the next Monday. Most of the Montessori work for this age group is done with materials, so the amount of papers going home is not necessarily proportional with one’s progress but is rather depending on age, child’s interest, pencil control and specific projects.
• Snacks will be provided by each family - daily rotations. Please check the snack calendar to see your days. We will try to help you remember by sending the snack basket with your child the day before your turn. Also please check the list with suggested healthy choices. (Don’t forget Friday is International snack)
• Being on time is one of the first lessons on showing respect and consideration for every member of the community. Please notify us about any foreseeable change in your schedule.

Mrs. Carla, Mrs. Parna and I are wishing you and your children a good school year!

“One test of the correctness of the educational procedure is the happiness of the child”

                                                                                          Maria Montessori

Looking back to where we started and where we are now, we can see many other achievements along with a happy day-to-day life. The summaries in the monthly newsletters were meant to help you connect some bits of information your children may have offered here and there about our time together.

Here are the highlights of this busy last month of school:

Human Body (skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, nervous systems, skin, senses, growth)

A second round of measurements showed an average growth of 2 in, with some children growing with almost 2 3/4 in.

Healthy food and nutrition

Herbs

Experiments with solar panels and a radiometer; talks about the positive and negative effects of solar radiation.

Favorite authors: Keiko Kasza, Eric Carle, Leo Leoni, Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein.

It has been a joyful journey that stirred the best in us to keep up with such a fine company: your children. To those moving to other schools we wish them a good time, a smooth transition and good new friends. Please do bring them back for a visit, whenever possible; we will be so glad to listen to them!

For the returning students, we can’t wait to see you back and hear about the summer happenings. Mark your calendars for our next meetings:

August 31^st – Meet the Teachers (9:30 -11)

September 1^st & 2^nd – returning students only, for ½ day school

September 6^th  - regular school schedule starts for all students

September 22^nd, 6-8 pm – back to school night for parents

September 25^th-  potluck – family picnic

I will leave you all with one of my favorite quotes:

“There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children: one of these is roots, the other, wings.”

                                                                                 Holding Carter

Kindergartners

The end of a school year is particularly important when one graduates from kindergarten. It is such a delight to see the bonding, the growing initiative, the responsibility and importance that every kindergartner seems to suddenly develop.

Beginning with the field trip to Beaverbrook (photos) and continuing throughout the month with the homework and classroom projects, giving lessons to younger classmates, helping the visitors, and practicing for an early graduation celebration kept the six year olds busier than ever.

It is hard to believe the time has come to let these children go. As hard as it may be to say goodbye, we are happy to see them spreading their wings. We are confident they are well prepared, and will be successful wherever they may be. They have what they need to build upon in the next stage of development, as characterized by Maria Montessori:

“Education between the age of six and twelve it is not a direct continuation of that which has gone before, although it is built upon that foundation. The elementary child has reached a new level of development. Before he was interested in things: working with hands, learning their names. Now he is interested mainly in how and why…the problem of cause and effect.”

We kept this in mind in teaching and encouraged the children to think all the time “why” and figure out “how”. They have an acute sense of observation, a great power of recollection, and can make amazing connections. Train their minds to be inquisitive, engage them in discussions and listen to them. Keep feeding them good food, good books, and a good part of yourself.

Thank you for sharing your treasures with us.

 Dorina Nimigean