Hemlock Building
Welcome back returning students and a big welcome to the Hemlock class for our new students!
It has been a good start into our new school year. Mrs. Fidelis, Mrs. Govindaraj and Mrs. Dykstra are looking forward to a great year with your children.
All beginnings are not the same and as it takes some students longer to get accustomed to a new routine, it is easier on others. The nice thing is, we have a lovely community where some older students take the younger ones under their wings and everyone is most understanding with the sad faces. We all had to learn. It will get better!
We have a nice group of children, who are kind and helpful with one another:-)
In the first few weeks we take the time to explain the ways around a Montessori classroom and make sure the children understand why we push in a chair and return work to the shelf; why a mat on the floor is a workspace to be respected and that works are for individual children and we take turns doing them. At snack/lunch time children take out their own food and clean up after themselves. We are there to provide support but the goal is to support your children in helping themselves.
If you like, you can continue this at home as well and let your child/ren do as much for themselves as possible and help you, too. Folding washclothes, sorting socks, setting utensils on the table for dinner, watering plants (outside first:-), counting apples at the store when putting them in a bag etc. are all great ways to incorporate your children in meaningful activities.
We tried to catch water bottles as they came to school and mark as many as possible to prevent a mix up. The same issue will arise as it gets colder and jackets come to school and so many other personal items (hats, scarfs, gloves etc.). Please help us and remember to mark all of your child’s belongings! If you do not want to write on an item, use a piece of masking tape which can be removed.
If you have general questions please feel free to ask during our Curriculum Night on the 22nd of September. Individual conversations will have a time and place during school conferences in early November where you have all of your child’s teachers undivided attention. We are looking forward to telling you all about your child’s discoveries by then. (Sign ups for conferences are available by late October).
Thank you for trusting us with your children, it is a pleasure to work with them and to get to know each individual child!
Buckeye Building
Here’s to welcoming 15 returning families and 9 new! We are so thankful to be lucky enough to spend this time with some of the youngest members of your family.
We launched off with our five classroom rules.
- Be kind to everyone
- Touch only your own work
- Work quietly, use walking feet inside and inside voices
- Use the materials gently
- Put your work away ready for the next person
We have been learning ways we can take care of our environment, lots of lessons on grace and courtesy, how to carry a tray, walking around our mats, rolling up our mat, and how to wash hands and blow our noses. These skills will make your child feel successful and kind in their classroom community.
International Day of Peace was on September 21 where we learned the song “Light a candle for Peace” and joined our friends from the Hemlock class to sing all together. We will be teaching the peace virtues in a couple of weeks. We are now learning about our world. We introduced our sandpaper globe showing land and water. The colored globe identifies continents. At circle we showed how to take a sphere and make it flat like a map. The children really enjoy singing “I am a pizza.” In the next couple of weeks, we will be teaching all about Fall.