Hemlock

A warm welcome to the 2023 – 2024 Hemlock community. We hope
Everyone had a great summer with their families and we are very excited to see new and returning children. We enjoyed all of our new families during meet and greet day. It is great on our side to know about your precious ones and concerns. We are very happy to be part of their developmental years. Please let us know anything different or new happening in your child’s life. This can help us better
respond to your child’s individual needs. No piece of information is too small, anything you would like to tell us, we are here to hear. Children have all done a fabulous job in the first month by adjusting to the new environment. It is great to see children walking through the door on their own by each day. They are doing it beautifully. Our returning children help our newcomers to settle down at ease
which fulfills the envision of a multi age group.

We started our school year by learning each other’s names by welcome songs and classroom rules and why they are important. We are striving to be the kindest persons which is our first rule followed by walking feet, inside voices, respecting others’ work, and work cycle. We learnt circle rules of sitting criss-cross, hands in our lap, listening ears. We also learnt to carry a mat, tray, and chair. We celebrated World Peace Day on September 21st by lighting candles and singing peace songs with Buckeye friends. We conducted our first fire drill and discussed the safety protocols to be followed. We played finger games and songs. It was a great opportunity to meet you and explain the Montessori methodology on curriculum night.

Travis, Carlitos and Shourya celebrated their birthdays. We wish them a very happy birthday. As Montessori classrooms emphasize independence, please send age-appropriate shoes and have your child’s name in bags, dresses and water bottles. As the weather gets cooler, children may need appropriate clothes. Once
again thank you for choosing Creative Montessori and trusting us with your loved
ones. Looking forward to having a great school year.

“The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing
him or her for school but for life.”

———–Dr. Maria Montessori.

Buckeye

September 2023
What a busy month! We hope you all are settling nicely into your own individual family routines. In class, the children are learning to put on their own coats and shoes, wash their hands, and to set-up and clean-up their own snacks/lunches. They experience such joy when they can accomplish these tasks on their own. This you can reinforce at home.

Joining our class this September, we welcomed eleven new children. This is an exciting time for our returning children who naturally and effortlessly take on more of a leadership role. We have spent time talking through our classroom rules. These focus on respecting others and their own space and maintaining a calm and peaceful classroom.  Through traditional Montessori “grace and courtesy” practices we learn to treat others with respect, kindness, and thoughtfulness.

Circle time is filled with music, singing, stories, role-playing, and show-and-tell.  We utilize the book The Peace Rose, by Alicia Olson, to illustrate a problem-solving tactic where we pass a rose for a turn to speak.

We have also talked about identifying and handling our emotions. When a child feels calm/happy, they may ask for a “love light” to be pinned to their shirt. The love light is the love that lives inside us that is bright when we are calm/happy and dim when we feel sad.
In recognition of the United Nation’s International Day of Peace, we gathered with the Hemlock class to sing “Light a Candle for Peace” in unison with other schools all around the world. This holiday has perfect timing as we prepare to learn all about our “peace virtues” in the days to come.

Our practical Life area is especially popular at the beginning of the year as children work on controlled movements, care for self and care for their environment. They are busy choosing work that is new, exciting, and challenging.

The popular nature walks in St. Edward State Park have begun! Each child will have a chance to walk every other week. This outdoor education helps to tie in nature concepts in our indoor classroom.
Birthdays are an exciting time for your child to celebrate their birth and share pictures from each year of their life during our circle. They will take home a small model of the earth including the four elements that are the foundations of life. It is impressive to see all that your children absorb in these first few weeks.

We are looking forward to what the rest of the year brings!