Parents,
We will be having parent teacher conferences in December. Here are the links to sign up
Tuesday December 17 https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/event/511723
Wednesday December 18 https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/event/511843
Thursday December 19 https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/event/511844
We hope to see you all there!
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
Parents,
A few of you asked for the recipes from the feast, so here they are.
Corn bread muffins
makes an 8 x 8 pan or about 18 muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
1/3 c. oil
3 Tbsp. melted butter
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. When they are well combined make a well and add all wet ingredients. Mix until combined. bake at 350 degrees. For muffins bake for 20 minutes, for an 8 x 8 pan bake fro 35 minutes.
Shepherd’s Pie
1 lb ground beef, cooked
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. oil
1 garlic clove pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 c. frozen veggies
12 oz. beef gravy
2 c. prepared mashed potatoes
2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
In a large skillet heat oil. Add onion and garlic. cook over med heat for 2 – 3 minutes until tender. Stir in ground beef and seasonings. Add veggies and gravy. Mix and bring to a boil. Pour into a 9 x 13 casserole pan. spoon potatoes on top of beef and veggies. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Chicken Pot Pie-ish
4 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 10 oz. cans cream of chicken soup
10 oz can cheddar cheese soup
1 c. chicken broth
1 c. milk
2 15 oz cans mixed veggies, drained or 30 oz frozen veggies
3/4 c. crumbled bacon already cooked
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 6 count can Pillsbury home style biscuits
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. place shredded chicken into a large bowl. Add ranch dressing mix, salt and pepper. Toss to combine seasonings.
In a large skillet place soups, broth, milk over medium heat. Whisk until combined. Stir in mixed veggies then add chicken. transfer to a 9 x 13 baking dish. sprinkle bacon and cheese over the top. Top with biscuits. Bake fro 40 to 50 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through (you make have to flip them over about 30 minutes into baking.
Enjoy!
Parents,
I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped donate food for our feast, who helped set up and take down the feast and who attended our feast!!! We simply could not do any of this without your help. I really am grateful for all of your support!
This week we will be reading one more book to help us begin with the end in mind. The book is Ruby’s Wish by Shirin Yim Bridges. We will be writing our class mission statements which we will say each morning after the pledge of allegiance. We will talk about the plants and animals of the deserts of North America. We will talk about the parts of reptiles, focusing on the Gila monster as well as finish up our study of roots by making root soup (potato soup). We will also talk about shades in art. A shade is any color that has black added to it. We will look at some of the work of Ansel Adams.
Next week there is no school for Thanksgiving break. We will see everyone back on December 2nd.
Here is a message from MAPA:
Calling all Mma Families!!
We have 2 more Monday where pizza pie is donating 10% of their days profit to our school!!! This is a win win, promoting local business and getting some extra money for our school!!
Be sure to mention Mma at the register 🙂
Thanks again for all your hard work to make our school community the very best for our kids!!
Maria Montessori said “Do not tell them how to do it. Show them how to do it and do not say a word. If you tell them they will watch your lips move. If you show them they will want to do it themselves”. When you want to teach your child something new try teaching it the way Maria Montessori would have done.
Have a great week!
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
Parents,
This Friday is our Thanksgiving Feast. Thank you to all who have signed up to help bring things. Here is the link if you would like to help https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events
This week we will be introducing the continent of North America and we will focus on the Desert biome. We will also continue talking about beginning with the end in mind. The book we will read for this is called Roberto the insect architect by Nina Laden.
The office has asked me to pass this info along to you
Here is your Montessori thought for the week:
“What is Montessori?
As educators we get asked that question often . . .We ask ourselves, What is Montessori? Perhaps we’re asking the wrong question. The idea that there is a ‘Montessori’, one way to respond. . .one magic combination of ingredients that makes our classroom or school ‘real’ separates us from our authentic work.
When we realize that Montessori is a verb, an action and not a thing, we grant ourselves grace to grow”
The Tao of Montessori by Catherine McTamaney
Have a great week.
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
Parents,
Our Thanksgiving Feast is coming up soon. We will be having our feast on Friday November 15. There are 2 ways to help us with this. One is by donating food items that we will use to prepare the feast and the other is helping on the day of. Please view the sign up sheets here https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events
Thank you for your support!
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
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
Parents
This week we will finish up our map studies as well as our habit of being proactive. In art we will be talking about warm and cool colors. This week is red ribbon week/spirit week here is the schedule of events
Monday, Oct. 28th – Spirit day: ‘Show your true colors and say not to drugs’
Each grade is encouraged to dress in tier designated color:
Kinder and early childhood wear RED,
1st wear ORANGE,
2nd wear YELLOW,
3rd wear GREEN,
4th wear PINK,
5th wear PURPLE,
6th wear RED,
7th wear ORANGE,
8th wear YELLOW,
9th wear GREEN,
… or wear rainbows colors.
Tue. Oct 29th – Spirit day: ‘Don’t get mixed up with drugs’. Students are encouraged to show their school spirit by wearing mismatched or crazy socks!
Wed Oct 30th – Spirit day: ‘I’m wild about being drug free’. Students can show their wild side by giving their hair a crazy style! (Please keep in mind anything too distracting or uncomfortable for the student will result in a phone call home.)
Thur. Oct 31st – Spirit day: ‘Team up against drugs’. Students can “sport” their favorite team shirts or jerseys, as long as they are school appropriate.
Fri. Nov. 1st – Spirit day: ‘Saying no to drugs is no sweat’. Show your school spirit by wearing a sweatshirt/hoodie to school, again making sure they are school appropriate.
We will not be dressing up in costumes for Halloween. We have a few fun activities in class that we will participate in but we are keeping it low key so we can try to avoid the crazy.
In her book Montessori Today, Paula Polk Lillard said “The importance of parents giving full attention to their children . . . is not for the purpose of entertaining them but to establish a collaboration with them in their development”. In a time when it seems like we have little to no time, please use what time you do have with your children to collaborate with them and not just entertain them.
Have a great week.
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
Parents,
This week we will continue talking about being proactive. Here are some of the words we use when we talk about being proactive “I am a responsible person. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my actions. I make good, responsible choices without being asked, even when no one is looking.” This might help you when you talk about being proactive at home.
We will be making maps of our classroom and your child will bring home a paper to make a map of their bedroom. In art we are going to introduce the artist Jackson Pollock. Weather permitting we will try our hand at making our own. We have one canvas for the morning class and one canvas for the afternoon class. These will be available at the Gala in the spring. We will also talk about the parts of a spider as well as the parts of a leaf.
On Tuesday it will be picture day.
I want to give everyone a heads up on an important date in November. We will be having our annual feast on Friday November 15. 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. I will give you more details as it gets closer.
As Montessori teachers we spend a lot of extra time preparing our classroom. In Montessori this is referred to as the prepared environment. To help you understand why it is so important to us to spend the time and energy we do here is a quote that helps explain it “Montessori could not put the world into one room for the children to discover but she could place ‘keys’ to it’s exploration there.” Everything we put into our classrooms are put there with intent to give a child a “key” to use to unlock something new to them.
Have a great week!
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
Parents,
To go along with our habit of being proactive we read a book called Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin. The cat gets new white shoes but throughout his day many things happen to those white shoes and they do not stay white. Pete never gets upset. He chooses to remain happy. We will also talk about the compass rose on a map. On Wednesday we will have a leaf party. We would love to have your donations of raked leaves to enjoy at our party. Please remember that there is no school on Thursday or Friday for Fall Break
I always have many parents who ask what their child does while they are in class. This brings up one of Montessori’s core principles. The concept of choice. In a Montessori classroom children are free to choose what they would like to work on – within limits. There are two basic ground rules: you have to have had a lesson and the material has to be available. Maria Montessori said “These children have free choice all day long. Life is based on choice, so they learn to make their own decisions. They must decide and choose for themselves all the time . . . they cannot learn through obedience to the commands of another”. In Angeline Stoll Lillard’s book Montessori: the science behind the genius she talks about the many studies that have been done that support the idea that having choice is a great benefit to education, learning and desire to learn more. Let me share just one with you. A study was done where children were asked to play a computer math game. Half of the children were able to choose the name of their space ship that took them through the game and half were not. The children who were able to choose the name of their space ship liked the game better and played it more than the children who did not name their space ship. They also choose more challenging tasks in the game and asked for fewer hints. They showed greater improvement from pre-test to post-test. “Having a sense of control over one’s environment is associated with better learning and better performance in children. A wide range of positive outcomes stemmed from a very simple choice manipulation” (Lillard, p. 84).
Many parents often confuse “choice” with “no limits”. These two could not be more different. The choices we offer to children need to be appropriate, direct and simple. One example might be “Sally which shoes do you want to wear today? Your tennis shoes or your sandals?” Note that not wearing shoes was not one of the options given. We empower our children when we offer them appropriate choices.
Have a great week!
Ms. Jen & Ms. Jess
