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Monthly Archives: September 2014
Few Reminders
The end of September is upon us and home projects are due. Please help your child to be prepared. I also wanted to remind you to read everyday with your child. Also, please check the actual blog website to link to the dolch sight word list. Your child practices these in the classroom, but I would strongly recommend having your child practice these at home as part of their daily homework. The site includes games you can play online, lists you can print and create your own games, or just make a set of flash cards. I would recommend my beginning readers to start with pre-primer and work from there. There is a set for every grade level. If you are uncertain where to start your child, please feel free to email me. An easy way to access your child would be to have them read from the printed list. Some children may need a few from first and all of second. The idea is to have your reading these site words. If your child is reading beyond third grade level, these dolch words do not apply.
I also wanted to remind you about water bottles. Please make certain your child has one. I feel it is very important for students basic needs to be met, but it is also a big distraction to have children continually asking to use the drinking fountain. Water bottles are a great solution. I encourage your child to take them home to be washed on the weekend and returned Monday. Also, most of the water bottles do not have names on them. Please label them or I would be happy to. I am sometimes hesitate to write on items, but if a child does not have a name, I will start labeling them.
I am also needing help with leveling our classroom library books. If you are looking to get in some of your volunteer hours, I could really use the help. I have already created the leveling system, it’s just a matter of looking up the book on book wizard and placing a sticker on the book. This could be done anytime during the school day or even after school. I hope to have this done very soon. If you are interested, please email me.
I also know a few of your volunteered to come and read with the students. I would love to have this in place starting the week of the 6th. If you are still interested in coming to help, ideally, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday mornings anytime from 9:15-11:15 please email me. We could really use your support. If you do want to help and these time don’t work, let me know. I will not turn away help.
Thank you for sharing your children with us.
A note from Ms. Nicoletta
Dear Parents,
Next semester for Upper Elementary studio I will be teaching The Art of Physiology. My vision is to be doing hands-on-dissections and having professional visits from people relating to health science and physiology. I would like this class to be a more in-depth approach for those students who are seeking and are interested in anatomy sciences, being doctors, nurses, dentists or anywhere in the health field.
I am seeking two things:
· Professionals of any of the fields or contacts to professionals
· With hunting season coming up- I am seeking animal parts (hearts, brains, etc.) that I can than freeze for lessons.
Please contact me if you have questions, contacts or remains.
Please let me know by October 3!
nhouseholder@mariamontessoriacademy.org
Have a splendid week,
Ms. Nicoletta
Housekeeping!
Hi families,
All first and third graders where sent home last week informing you about hearing screenings. If you do not want you child to have his hearing screened please sent back the form. Otherwise, all first and third grade students will be screened. You will be contacted if a concern arises.
We are starting a new box top store this year. These are those labels that come on food packaging that help raise money for schools. Students can bring in their trimmed box tops once monthly for goods. My understanding is things like MMA pencils and such can be purchased using the box tops. The first store will be held this Wednesday.
Our school cross country team is hosting their first meet this Tuesday at TOADS. We would love your support. Come out and cheer them on. The meet starts at 4:30 p.m.
This Friday is early out at 1:00 p.m.
Also, save the date, November 12, 6:30 p.m. Our school will be hosting a “Get down and dirty with the Montessori Materials” night. You will be able to see Montessori materials your children are using in the classroom. You will learn that snake game, is not about snakes, but mathematics equations and that stamp game has nothing to do with rubber stamps. This is a great night to learn more and ask questions.
Yearbooks are now available to order online. Visit .www.memorybook.com/parentpay The pay code is 75924 and can be order now through January 16, 2015. Cost is $20 or personalized for $25
I also needed to mention formally that students are not allowed to bring their own balls and such to recess. Students are more likely to not follow the grace and courtesy when bringing their own equipment and often feelings are hurt. We have a P.E. supply shed which children are available to use equipment from.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful children with us.
Team Building
We as a school value the importance of team building and creating a community not only in our school, but in each and every classroom. Each year brings a new dynamic when we mix new students with the old. This particular year we have really slowed things down and have revisiting the importance of being a team and working to build community. This week really started out rough. We have had several students who have felt left out, had unkind things said to them, etc. I know we as adults understand how cruel kids can be to each other. It kills me inside when I see these sort of things happen. We set work cycle aside Thursday morning and we had some very focused lessons on character building I read them a story relating to the concept of how we can fill each others buckets. We verbally talked about what emptying someones bucket looks and feels like and what filling someones bucket looks like. I then had a small glass bucket with clear stones which was our classroom bucket and students could come to myself or Ms. Lily and tells us when they noticed our classroom bucket was being filled. They would smile as they would help fill our bucket. We saw new friendships come together and students being mindful of their actions toward each other. We also demonstrated, with using fancy pencils, how alone we can break easily, but together, we are strong. These lessons created a new vocabulary inside our classroom and seems to be working well. I would encourage all of you to take sometime this weekend and speak with your children about friendships, how they can include others, be mindful of the things they say, and how they feel when they are helping and working together. I feel strongly that in order for students to succeed academically, we need to also address emotional needs. It is my goal and deepest wish that we will create an environment where every student in our classroom feels safe, loved and be able to shine like the star they are.
September Newsletter
Click here for this months school newsletter.
Celebration of Life
In the Montessori classroom, when it is a child’s birthday we enjoy celebrating their life. Parents are welcome to come and share a brief history and picture for each year of their life. We do not celebrate with food or trinkets, we focus on the child and celebrate them. If you are interested in scheduling a celebration of life, please email me when it is close to your child’s birthday or half birthday for summer birthdays. We generally have our celebrations first thing at 8:30 a.m. or in the afternoon around 1:00 p.m. We like to keep them to about 20 minutes.
“Normalization” by Ms. Amy
Normalization in a Montessori classroom can be hard to understand. Especially if you are new to the Montessori environment. With the help of Ms. Kacee, (our academic specialist) I hope I can shed some light on the normalization which is taking place in our classroom right now.
E. M. Standing, in his book Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work states: “The crowning characteristic of a group of normalized children is joy. It pervades the little community like a perfume; and is as hard to describe as it is easy to perceive.” Of course “seeing is believing” but verbally communicating to parents what takes place during normalization can be a challenge.
Simply put, during normalization, the child is becoming his best possible self and doing so without effort and with complete joy.
Dr. Montessori’s observations revealed that certain characteristics develop and are refined within the normalized child: love of work; concentration; self-discipline; and sociability. (http://www.montessoriservices.com/ideas-insights/normalization-in-the-montessori-classroom)
In our classroom we are learning the rules of our school and classroom, these are often referred to as Grace and Courtesy lessons. We have a Grace and Courtesy lesson every day. By doing this we learn what is expected and we learn to trust and rely on one another. When the class trusts one another many behavior problems are eliminated. They are also more prepared to help one another in their daily work. We are creating a community, a community of trust, respect and obedience. We are learning to trust each other, respect one another and the materials in the classroom and to obey the rules of the classroom.
We are doing many team building activities. These activities are meant to strengthen our class. We spend a lot of time together the longer we spend on getting to know one another and appreciating each other’s differences now, the better our school year will be.
All of the preparations we put into the first few weeks of school pay off hugely afterward. It is truly the only way we can do what we do for the rest of the year. Our school year is like a camping trip. If you just head out, without any preparation you will not be able to fully enjoy or experience your adventure. However, if you plan, pack and prep for the trip then the trip will be amazing.
If you are interested in more information about the normalization which takes place at our school feel free to explore this website. http://www.public-montessori.org/what-public-montessori
Homework and more
Parents, I enjoyed speaking with you at back to school night. We have such amazing support from you as parents, so much so, I know I wasn’t able to visit with a few of you. I know you had the chance to chat with Ms. Lily, she is fantastic. If you need to contact me, please email me.
I wanted to make you aware that we may have hand-foot-mouth spreading in our classroom. This spread last year as well. It generally starts with a sore throat and then the rash appears later. I have not said anything to the students, but if they are complaining of an unusual sore throat, it may be best to keep them home in order to keep it from spreading further. I know as parents it is sometimes hard to know if they are really feeling ill and wanted to make you aware that this is a possibility.
Reading in the classroom has really taken off and the students are enjoying their personal libraries. Thank you for your donations, they really are going to a great cause. I hate to even ask, but we could really use an increase in beginner early emergent books. If you have any to share, please do so. I would even be willing to take character books at this level. If you are interested in getting in some volunteer hours by creating some early emergent books for the classroom, please let me know.
I spoke with the students Thursday about work that needs to be completed outside of the classroom. It is expected that all students read 20 minutes daily. This could include being read to, as well as, reading to others. We have completed most of our back to school reading assessments and we see a huge difference in students who are consistently reading. Please help your child be successful by helping to establish a reading routine in the home. I will not require a sign off sheet, unless I come to find it necessary. Please don’t fall into the misconception that MMA does not require homework. We do, it is just not traditional in nature.
I also talked to the students about their first home project for this month. They are to present a personal talent, hobby or interest. This is a great warm up for getting to know each other more and becoming comfortable presenting in front of the class. I will not be creating a due date, but it needs to be completed by the end of the month. They are required to have a visual aid and a completed written work according to their ability level. Level 3’s will be talking the SAGE written test on the computer in the spring and home projects would be a great opportunity to practice typing. Some students ability level is just learning to write their own name, this would be a great opportunity for your child to dictate what they want to say and you could write it out using a highlighter. Your child could then practice tracing over your highlighter writing. I really want this to be their own work. I had to smile when a little girl last year came up to me and said, ” My mom isn’t finished with my home project yet.” You know what your child’s ability level is and encourage them to spread just a little further. This should be fun and create excitement and love for learning. I dislike stories of students who are forced to stay up past 10:00 p.m. rewriting their home projects, because they were not perfect. Some examples ideas for this project: A student who takes karate could demonstrate or teach some karate moves to the class, this would qualify as a visual aide. Then they could write about how karate is good for the body and mind. You may have a child who is a great skier and they could present a project on one of their favorite skiers. I had a student last year create a poster board with pictures of him in front of significant places in his life., such as the hospital he was born. He then wrote a little bit about each picture. A student who just learned a new skill, like tying shoes, could teach the class and write out the steps needed to complete the process. The sky is the limit on this project. Please have your child bring their work once it is completed and we will work to present it that day. This works well to have a few each day rather than a large number all at once.
I forgot to mention to the students that we have P.E. on Monday. Please make certain your child is dress for this activity and has proper shoes. Thanks.
Back to School Night
Just a reminder back to school night is Thursday from 6:30-7:30 p.m. This is will be an open house style event for adults only. For those of you who are new to our classroom this year, I will have a paper for you to fill out on your student. This gives me a little deeper understanding of your child and provides some insight in how to best reach their needs. We will also have sign ups for helping with reading, field trips, and such. I know the evening is brief and if you feel we need more time to visit about your child, please email me and we can set a time to meet. I look forward to visiting with you.