Parents,
This week we will begin talking about the second habit of happy kids which is begin with the end in mind. As a class we will be working on writing a class mission statement. To do this we will be reading several books to help guide our discussions. The book we will be reading this week is Coudette by Tom Lichtenheld. Having a class mission statement (or a personal/family mission statement) is one of the best ways we can begin with the end in mind. It focuses on what we want to be and do. It is our plan for success. It reaffirms who we are, puts our goals in focus. Our class mission statement makes us the leaders of our own lives. We create our own destiny.
This week we will introduce our continent and biome studies. We will be talking about North America for the next 2 months and we will be looking at the desert biome of North America this month. In biology we will be talking about reptiles and roots and in science we will be talking about rocks. In art we will talk about tints. A tint is any color that has had white added to it such as pink and grey. Our artist this month will be Ansel Adams.
One of our new practical life activities is preparing carrots. We would love a few donations of whole large carrots. The other food preparation work we will have available is making biscuits. We could use some jam or jelly to go with the biscuits. Thank you in advance for your help with this.
Just as a reminder we will be having our Early Childhood Thanksgiving feast on Friday November 15th. All parents will be invited to attend the feast with their child. Morning class will be from 10:45 – 11:30 and afternoon class will be from 2:15 – 3:00. We will also have opportunities for parents to help with the preparation. More details will be coming soon.
As we were cleaning up the classroom this past week we noticed something went missing. We are missing a small ring of keys (5 or 6 small keys) that go to various pad locks. It is an activity that I put together. The students need to match the lock with the key that opens it. They really enjoy this work but without the keys I will have to throw away all of the locks. Please take a moment to look around your home environment to see if by chance they made their way to your house. I would love to have them returned.
As the weather gets colder I could not help but think of a quote from Maria Montessori. She says “Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining”. I try to take the kids out everyday. The exceptions are thunder/lightning, red air, extreme cold (below 20). We will go outside in the rain and snow. Please make sure your child has clothing appropriate for the weather. I have heard it said there is no such thing as bad weather only bad clothes.
Have a great week.
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess