I sent home a yellow packet yesterday with you child’s original art and instructions on how to order. The items for purchase make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holiday season and are a terrific fundraiser for our classroom. In the you will find ideas on what you can order with your child’s art on it. For example, I am ordering a Christmas tree ornament for each my own children to commemorate the year and then letting them each pick one other item of their choice (they want a keychain, a notebook and a dog tag). If you are ordering, please make sure that you return the art with the order form in the yellow folder. They can do more than one piece of art for different items. Your child’s other siblings are welcome to do an art piece and you can order items with their art. Just make sure you identify what art you would like on the item. All original art pieces will be returned.

 What is Original Works?

Turn your child’s art into high-quality keepsakes (mugs, tote bags, pot holders, quilt blocks, ornaments, pillowcases, keychains, night lights, etc.). This fundraiser benefits your child’s classroom directly.

What if my child didn’t do or complete their art?

Complete it now! Art needs to be on plain 8.5”x11” paper (cardstock is best for durability–ask Ms. Christina if you need some!). No 3-D art (glitter, pipe cleaners, etc.) and no copyrighted art. Must be original! Whatever you turn in with your payment will be considered complete.

What if my child made/wants to make more than one piece of art?

If your child would like to create a piece of art in addition to what they created in class (for example: something more specific for grandparent gifts, etc.), they are welcome to do that! You need one order form per piece of art (if you need an extra, ask Ms. Christina!). The order form needs to be filled out and taped to the back of your child’s art.

What if I have a child who wants to participate and isn’t at MMA?

Anyone can submit art. All you need is an order form and to designate which teacher you want to benefit!

How do I pay?

Write a check made to Original Works and attach it to the order form or write your credit card number on order form.

When are orders due?

Art, order forms, and payment must be returned to the front office by October 17^th.

What needs to be on the art?

Your child’s name, teacher’s name, and a T designating the top of art must be written on the back of each piece of art.

When will keepsakes arrive?

Friday, November 30^th!

Questions?

Email rachael.bush@gmail.com

I sent home a yellow packet yesterday with you child’s original art and instructions on how to order. The items for purchase make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holiday season and are a terrific fundraiser for our classroom. In the you will find ideas on what you can order with your child’s art on it. For example, I am ordering a Christmas tree ornament for each my own children to commemorate the year and then letting them each pick one other item of their choice (they want a keychain, a notebook and a dog tag). If you are ordering, please make sure that you return the art with the order form in the yellow folder. They can do more than one piece of art for different items. Your child’s other siblings are welcome to do an art piece and you can order items with their art. Just make sure you identify what art you would like on the item. All original art pieces will be returned.

You might notice that your child’s artwork features the silhouette of a tree, but it’s not just any tree. It is a Kentucky Coffeetree. Last year, each Lower Elementary teacher chose a Utah tree grown as a symbol/mascot for the classroom. Ms. Lana chose the Kentucky Coffeetree for us in Room 23. Never heard of it? Let me tell you about it! The Kentucky Coffeetree is native to (you guessed it!) Kentucky, but it now grows throughout the United States. Part of the wide distribution is due to Native Americans purposely bringing seeds with them as they traveled and migrated due to the tree’s usefulness. They used the tree’s beans as food and also as part of religious ceremonies and other uses. Today, the tree is known for being tolerant, adaptable, hardy and pest-resistant in addition to being beautiful and used by cabinet-makers and woodworkers.

Like the Kentucky Cofeetree, I hope all of us in Room 23 can learn to be more tolerant, adaptable and resistant to hardship. I also hope we can all express our individuality within the boundaries of kindness, which is why I chose to let each child decorate their tree as they wanted to.

Lastly, I have a favor to ask. I would love to have a quilt block (one of the ordering options) from each member of our class to make a quilt for our classroom either as a wallhanging to beautify our space or as a weighted/comfort blanket (or possibly floor cushions) for our peace area. Of course, this is not required, but I would like all of the children to feel the pride of knowing they contributed to our classroom. The quilt blocks are inexpensive and I would so appreciate if you consider adding that to your order so that I can create this for our room.

I will create a separate post with FAQs about the Original Works program, including important dates.

School-wide picture day is October 22nd and we’re looking forward to seeing all of their smiling faces! As a gentle reminder, students still need to be in dress code that day. If you would like them to wear something else for pictures, they can bring a change of clothing and then return to dress code after pictures are taken. Thank you!

Good afternoon, parents! I have updated Track It Forward with the time slots for Parent/Teacher Conferences. You can find it here: https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events

Each slot is 20 minutes long, which should be sufficient for most meetings, but you are welcome to sign up for two if you feel we need more time to discuss.

As always, feel free to contact me at cmiller@mariamontessoriacademy.org with any questions and thank you for all you do to support your student!

Just as a reminder, field trip forms went home yesterday with all students. The form that needs to be signed includes all our out-of-school field trips for the year except our April field trip that we don’t have confirmed yet. I got some forms back today, so thank you! I need them all returned and signed by next Wednesday in order for the children to be able to attend our field trip next Friday, the 12th. As always, feel free to reach out with any questions.

Today we all created paintings for our Original Works program. For those of you not familiar with it, each student creates a piece of original artwork and then their image is scanned onto just about any product you can imagine like tote bags, keychains, coffee mugs, etc. The products I have seen are great quality and they would make fantastic presents for the holiday season. Best of all, the children love seeing their work on something “real.” I will be submitting their works on Wednesday. They will be scanned and then the original and an order form will be sent home to you on Friday so that you can see what it looks like and determine what you’d like to order.

I’ll post more about what our class did later this week, but I’m updating you now because other children in your families can also participate! You can see the guidelines here: https://www.originalworks.com/artguides/, but the main thing to remember is that we can accept almost anything on an 8 1/2″ x 11″ white cardstock. You can provide your own or I can send a piece home with your student tomorrow! I will need them back on Wednesday and I know that’s a quick turnaround, but I wanted to give you the opportunity. If you’re interested in another member of your family participating, please let me know!

First up, items of business.

1. Home projects are due this Friday, October 5th, but your student can bring in their project any day this week. If you need additional information, you can find it in the tab at the top of the blog or email me any questions.
2. Our next field trip is coming up quickly! We are going to Green Acres Dairy Farm 10:30 AM-2 PM. We have an unlimited number of chaperone spots available and our wonderful room mom Natalie is arranging rides for students who need transportation.
3. Normalization is now over and so parents and other volunteers can begin to come into the classroom. I will be in touch with those of you who have already expressed interest, and if you haven’t yet but would like to be involved in our room, please let me know!
4. We have begun a new morning routine to help us transition into our work cycle. As the children enter, they are free to either read silently or fill out their work plan for the day. At 8:45, we all go outside to run/walk a few laps around the field. The fresh air and extra movement have helped us all to have a better morning! The only downside is that we have to change our shoes another time during the day, so if your student is struggling lacing or tying their shoes, it is a great practical life activity to practice at home!
5. We have begun using Imagine Learning as a school-wide literacy program. Several students asked for their login information so they could use Imagine Learning at home, and I told them the best thing to do would be to ask their parent or guardian to email me so I can send over the information. It is a free program and a great way to reinforce reading and language concepts.

Last week we completed our Great Lessons with the Story of Numbers, including the parts of our numerical system that we have kept from the Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans and Arabs. We began spelling groups and will get a new list tomorrow that I will post on the blog in case your student would like to practice more, but this is not required. The highlight of the week for me was our first home project presentation. One of our students presented his project on the life cycle of a katydid (he also brought in one that he caught!) and it was wonderful to see him confidently speak to the rest of the class and answer questions. The rest of the class loved being taught by a peer and we all learned about katydids. I can’t wait to see the rest of the presentations this week! Thank you for all your work to prepare, support and foster learning for your student!