A Montessori Classroom
Mar 11th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello families!
We are celebrating literacy week this week! Please send you child in with a printed copy of the cover of one of their favorite books. We will display the covers around our classroom door. Friday is a read-a-thon from 10-11 am. Students may bring in a book. Also, plan to attend our fantastic literacy night on Tuesday night from 5:30-7:00.
More school news can be found in the MMA Montessori Moments.
See you there!
Karen
Mar 6th, 2019 by Karen Clements
It is the time of year for our Maria Montessori Academy Gala!
Our class has decided that the theme of our basket will be Summer Fun. Here are some of the ideas that the students had for our basket:
We really appreciate any donations you make to our Gala basket. These baskets are auctioned off at our Gala to raise money for our parenting organization, MAPA. The funds are then used to benefit our school in many ways.
Thank you!
Karen
Feb 19th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello Families!
Feb 12th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Valentine’s Day is coming up! The children will have the opportunity to exchange Valentines. We have 20 students in our class. It is simplest for the children to pass out Valentines when they aren’t labeled, so please don’t worry about adding names.
See you at our Student-Led Conferences!
Thanks,
Karen
Feb 11th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello Amazing Families!
Last week, our students participated in a fire drill. They evacuated the classroom and gathered in the parking lot, which at that time had snow and ice. Since the time of the fire drill was not made known to teachers, the students were in their quiet shoes. It was quickly apparent that some students have quiet shoes that are not appropriate for school. The purpose of quiet shoes is for students to have clean, comfortable shoes that are only worn in the classroom. The shoes should still have soles and be appropriate to wear outside in the case of an emergency. Simple canvas shoes and crocs are great examples of appropriate quiet shoes. Students wear out their quiet shoes (I’ve already worn a hole in mine!). We will bring them out during conferences for parents to see and determine if they still fit and are appropriate.
Speaking of Conferences, they are just a couple of days away! Conferences are this week from Feb. 13-15th. Sign-ups are available at https://www.trackitforward.com/site/389525/events. These are student led conferences! The students will share some of their recent work as we discuss their progress.
Please refer to this week’s MMA Montessori Moments. I would particularly encourage you to refer to the sections regarding our school dress code.
This week, we will forgo spelling tests as we continue to prepare for the Spelling Bee. Please practice at home and support your child in preparing for this fun experience!
Peace Education continues to be an area of emphasis in our classroom. We have revisited the Peace Area and how students resolve conflicts. There is a rose that students pass back and forth as they converse. The student who invites another child begins by saying, “When (this happened), I felt ______.” The other student is then handed the rose and given the opportunity to reply, explain, or apologize. When the issue is resolved, the children then shake hands. As teachers, we strongly encourage children to use the peace area to resolve conflict as the first step. If a child is invited, he/she must go, but can request a teacher to come along. The entire process usually takes about 5 minutes and is an incredibly beautiful experience for all involved. This same process can be used at recess, during specials, and even in your home. It is one of my favorite aspects of this incredible Montessori educational experience.
We have also discussed the importance of handling an issue immediately. As we know, problems are easier to handle when they are small, before misunderstandings or other students get involved. Please support your child in using the peace area and developing the skills they will need to be successful adults. If any issues arise that are of concern to you, please follow the same advice and address the issue with me quickly so that misunderstandings and frustration can be avoided.
Thank you for the opportunity to work with your children. Thank you for your patience and support as I have transitioned from Special Education to being a Lead teacher. Thank you for taking this journey with me as we form the next generation. The work that we do affects generations, and indeed, the entire world. I am so grateful for this journey!
Karen
Jan 29th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello Familes!
Thank you for your support in the fun run! Our class is now 7th in the ranking and the kids are so excited. Our Fun Run is on Friday, February 1st. We are running at 8:45 am. Please have you kids come in appropriate clothes and shoes.
Here is a link to this week’s MMA Montessori Moments. Please check out the Chilli Cook-off and Spelling Bee! Students are practicing words from the Spelling lists for their spelling tests for the weeks leading up to the bee. If the words at your child’s grade level are too hard, go up a level. If they are too easy, go down a level. The point is to have fun and really practice spelling words. Here they are:
Spelling Bee First Grade List 1
Spelling Bee Second Grade List 1
Spelling Bee Third Grade List 1
Jan 24th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello Families!
The time for Conferences is fast approaching! From February 13-15, we are having student led conferences! Your child will get the opportunity to show you what they are learning. Please visit trackitforward.com
to sign up! If any of these times don’t work for you, please contact me!
Karen
Jan 24th, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello Families!
The lists for the upcoming spelling bee were sent home yesterday. We are so excited about this fun opportunity for each student to dive into the amazing words that make up our language.
The theme CONNECTIONS is what your child will be studying during our fourth thematic unit.
During this theme our school will celebrate a Spelling Bee week which will include class spelling bees, lower and upper el spelling bees, and a school wide spelling bee. All students are encouraged to participate in the spelling bee that will be held in their classroom. We want all students to work with the words used in the spelling bee to help build their vocabulary and spelling knowledge. Our class spelling bee will be a fun experience, held during the week of February 18-21. The top three spellers will join the lower elementary spelling bee on Tuesday, February 26th at 9am.
If your child is not comfortable participating in this event, they can also participate in other ways. If your child decides not to take part in their classroom bee, they will need to use the spelling bee words in another way to share with their classmates. Some of these ways include but are not limited to writing a story using as many of the spelling bee words as possible, creating multiple funny sentences using the words, create a board game using the words, create a game involving good, physical activity with the words, create a classroom scavenger hunt with the words.
When words are involved, the possibilities are endless!
Jan 23rd, 2019 by Karen Clements
To: Classroom Parents
Jan 22nd, 2019 by Karen Clements
Hello families!
Here is the link to the MMA Montessori Moments for this week. Please check for when your child’s STEM week project will be on display.
Thank you to all those families who have supported your students in their projects! And if they aren’t done yet, there is still time! Projects will be on display this week, and can be turned in by the day they are assigned. It has been so much fun to learn from the presentations!
Please see the spelling words that were posted last week. We will be having spelling tests on Friday.
Thank you,
Karen
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A Montessori Classroom
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