Hemlock Class

Welcome back to a new and bustling year!

The children arrived back in class with renewed interest in learning and a joy for seeing their friends again. Sadly, we had to say Goodbye to Aliyah since she moved to the east coast to be closer to family. Therefore, we were joined by our new friend Julian in the pm class. Welcome!

The year began with lots of activities with sounds and several new readers emerged. Some children are even venturing into cursive writing. Money and telling time are also new points of interest for a few children.

As a class we started to talk about geography. First our earth geography with land and water masses as well as the layout of seven continents and five oceans. We also talked about the two hemispheres and how maps were created. Now our January circles will be full of discoveries in land and water forms like for example island and lake or isthmus and straight etc.

We had a circle on MLK after we observed the holiday.

As it gets colder and icier outside, please familiarize yourself with our school closure procedures. We follow the Northshore school district guidelines.

Several children have fallen ill already and we would like to remind parents to give their children 24 hours rest after coming down with a fever (vomiting and diarrhea as well) before returning to class. We are reminding the children to use tissues and wash their hands as much as possible in the classroom. Thank you for sending your children with appropriate clothing. We will help with gloves, scarves and hats! Please mark their names in their belongings.

Thanks to all the parents who attended our Kindergarten night! That third year is a special one when the children become the leaders and are the oldest in the classroom.

Next, we are looking forward to our Guest Night. Please have only one adult accompany each child as the room can get pretty crowded.

Buckeye Class

We hope you all had a restful and joyful winter break. It has been so nice welcoming the children back into the classroom and settling into our January work together.

This month, the children have been practicing independence and care of the environment through our practical life work. We reintroduced the washing station, where children wash their own snack dishes using a bowl of soapy water and a bowl of clean water. This work supports coordination, concentration, and responsibility—skills we see growing every day.

We were also lucky to welcome a special guest to our classroom. Diana’s mom, Anastasia, visited to share about the Russian New Year. The children enjoyed learning about another culture and hearing firsthand how families celebrate around the world.

In our cultural studies, we’ve been exploring winter and arctic animals. The children have been learning about penguins and polar bears through books and hands-on materials that show the parts of a polar bear, as well as their lifestyle and life cycle. We’ve also been studying animal tracks and are excited to keep an eye out for any we might discover during our nature walks.

As part of our peace education, we spent time learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We discussed kindness, fairness, and what it means to be peaceful with ourselves and others—important conversations that naturally connect to our Montessori values.

Several new materials were introduced this month, including land, air, and water sorting; land and water forms; sink and float experiments; wood polishing; and table washing. These works encourage careful observation, scientific thinking, and pride in caring for our classroom.

Thank you for your continued support. It has been a wonderful start to the new year, and we’re looking forward to all that’s ahead.