Ms. Jalee and Ms. Vanessa

Hello All,

Today during the last part of school, a bird flew into our classroom window. Unfortunately, the bird died. We used this opportunity to talk to the students about things like the circle of life and the roll all living things play in it when they die. I was able to put gloves on and bring the bird in for the students to observe. I did not let any of them touch it but we did discuss things like what it’s beak and talons are used for. We also were able to tie this into the great lessons. Today we were learning about the coming of life on earth and the five kingdoms all living things are classified into. We talked about which kingdom birds belonged to and about vertebrates vs. invertebrates. We were also able to bring out a next that I have to talk about how birds make their homes.

Overall, it was a great experience for us all. We discussed how it was sad for something to lose it’s life and it is okay to feel sad, but we can be happy for the life the bird lived and for all we learned from it. We then were able to bury it out by the gardens near our classroom. I would encourage you to talk to your students about all they learned and their thoughts on this.

Thanks for all your support.

Jalee

Hello Everyone,

Thank you to everyone who was able to come to the family luncheon! We had such a great turn out and loved seeing you all!

What a great week we had! We were able to start work cycle this week with some practical life works, some works from last year, and for our level 1s some math lessons to get them going. We are excited to do some more works and lesson this week, both group and individual. Though it is the beginning of the year, many of the students are starting to settle in and focus on works of their choice. For most, the choices are still fairly limited, but that will change in the new future as more lessons are given. We also had the first great lesson which was The Birth of the Universe. To go along with this lesson we talk a lot about theories. We emphasize that a theory is essentially a scientist’s best guess or what a person thinks or believes. We talk about how everyone is allowed to have their own theory and it does not have to be the same as everyone else. There is no right or wrong but the most important theory for them is the one they learn at home. We also encourage them to go home and talk to you about your beliefs and theories. The Birth of the Universe great lesson hits mostly on theory of the big bang but we also talk about other theories and what the students think. Then they get to create beautiful chalk pictures of space and the wonderful changes that are constantly happening there.

We are excited this week to start P.E. and music. Our class has these every Wednesday mid-morning to shortly after noon. This does mean that our schedule is a bit different these days. Since the kids will be running and exercising during P.E., please make sure your child is wearing shoes that are comfortable for them to run and be active while wearing.

Because we are at the beginning of the school year and still getting some things figured out, I wanted to send a reminder of our school’s dress code. Here are some links to the guidelines and some samples: Guidelines Samples. The basics are shirts must have collars and be a solid color. Bottoms must be a plain color and skirts and shorts must fall below the fingertips when arms are held straight down to the side. Leggings must be worn with a skirt or dress. Jeans can only be worn on Fridays and bottoms must not have holes. Please make sure these guidelines are followed. Hats are only allowed outside of the school.

I am excited to continue working with all the students and helping them progress and improve.

Thank you for all your support.

Jalee

Don’t forget tomorrow, August 22, you are invited to a family luncheon at school from 12 o’clock noon to 1:00 pm. We would love for you to come and enjoy lunch with our class from 12 to 12:30 and then play some team building games until 1 pm. I hope that many of you will be able to take some time to come by even if it is just during your lunch and only for part of the time. We are eager to get to know those of you that are new to our school and/or class and to get reacquainted with those of you we haven’t seen since summer started. I truly hope we get to see you all there. It will be a fun time to enjoy lunch together and play games and have a relaxing time. Please make sure your child has a sack lunch that does not need to be heated up for that day and bring one for yourself as well as a blanket if you would like.

Please make sure to send a water bottle with your child and bring one of your own as it is supposed to be quite warm tomorrow.

Hope to see you all there!

Jalee

Hello All,

The first week of school is over and it was a wonderful week. It has been so fun seeing all the returning students and getting to know all the new students. I am so excited for this year and all the learning and growing we will do together.

I am so excited to invite you all to a family luncheon that the school will be holding this coming Thursday, August 22, from 12 o’clock noon to 1:00 pm. We would love for you to come and enjoy lunch with our class from 12 to 12:30 and then play some team building games until 1 pm. I realize this is short notice and hope that many of you will be able to take some time to come by even if it is just during your lunch and only for part of the time. We are eager to get to know those of you that are new to our school and/or class and to get reacquainted with those of you we haven’t seen since summer started. I truly hope we get to see you all there. It will be a fun time to enjoy lunch together and play games and have a relaxing time. Please make sure your child has a sack lunch that does not need to be heated up for that day and bring one for yourself as well as a blanket if you would like.

We did a lot of fun getting to know you games and team building games. We will continue to do more get to know you things and more team building throughout the next couple weeks and also throughout the year. We have also been learning grace and courtesy. This includes things like walking respectfully in the halls, how to reply to someone who greets you, and washing hands as well as many other things. Though we hit on these hard at the beginning of the year, we will continually practice them and review them as needed throughout the year.

This week we will begin some works. We will ease into our work cycle by doing a few works a day and adding as the students are ready. Along with our regular math and language works, we will have many practical life works for the students to practice. These are things that will help your child learn to do everyday activities that are needed in life, such as sorting and folding clothes.

We will also be starting our Great Lessons this week. These Great Lessons are The Birth of the Universe, The Coming of  Life, The Coming of Man, History of Language, and History of Math. These lessons are designed to spark the children’s curiosity and wonder. Since we are a lower elementary classroom, we do not dig super deep into all these areas. We teach the children about theories and share with them that these great lessons are theories and may or may not be true, and that they are someone’s best guess. We invite the children to share their theories, and stress that the most important theory for them is the one taught in their homes. If you have any questions about The Great Lessons please feel free to email me. You can also visit this cite for more info. http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/The-Five-Great-Lessons_ep_66-1.html

I have posted the Year at a Glance for our classroom at the top of the blog. Please take a look at it and mark important dates on your personal calendar. I have not yet included field trips and home projects as all the details on these have not been finalized. I will get this information to you as soon as I have it.

Again, I am so excited for this fun new year and the great relationships and positive atmosphere we will get to enjoy.

Take care!

Jalee

Family luncheon

Hello Everyone,

I know we don’t have school for a couple months and we just got out of school next week, but for anyone that wants to get a jump on things, here is the supply list for next school year.

Jalee supply list 2019-20

This year we are also supplying you with our supply list on Amazon Smile. You can order your supplies there and have them sent to the school if you would like. I will share with you that using Amazon may not be the most cost effective choice for getting your supplies but it will be easy. It also lets you see the supplies I am talking about in case you are unsure. For things like the headphones, you do not have to order the ones I have on my Amazon list, you can do something like earbuds. It really depends on what your child will be comfortable with. Each level has a few different things on their list so please make sure you are looking at the correct level. I would encourage you to look at both lists even if you are just using one or the other. They are the same, the PDF document just has more on it such as slippers and water bottle.

Amazon Smile

As always, please feel free to email me with any questions about this.

Don’t forget about the school pool party next week, June 7, at North Shore from 6-9.

Hope to see you other.

Jalee

jschofield@mariamontessoriacademy.org

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe that we made it through this last school year? There were definitely ups and downs but what a good year it truly was. Thank you everyone for all you support and love and care. Sara and I could not do our jobs without your support. We love your children and are grateful to you for trusting us with their care and education.

I hope you all have an amazing summer. We will miss the students who will not be returning to our class next year and wish you all the best of luck. We look forward to another amazing new year with our returning and new friends. The new school year starts August 12.

Don’t forget about the pool party on Friday, June 7th from 6-9 at North Shore Aquatic Center. Even if you are not returning to MMA next year, please come and have a wonderful time. Hope to see you all there!

Again, thank you all and have a great summer.

Jalee