Dear Parents,

You just never know how kids are going to handle the return to school after a long holiday break, so as teachers we have to be prepared for all sorts of reactions. It’s not always easy for your little ones to make such an adjustment, especially after spending so much quality time with their parents and loved ones. That said, we’ve got some little super heroes in our group, and they were all so thrilled to be back in action. Jackie and I were pleasantly surprised with how smoothly the first week of the new year flowed as our students have carried a very peaceful and productive presence. We imagine that they had some good sleep and relaxing days over the break, because everyone seemed to be refreshed and motivated to jump into work cycles. The group has also been very welcoming and helpful to our 3 new students, Sayge, Konstantinos, and Francesca (a.k.a., Pippa). Sayge and Francesca, both previously in the Pre-Primary Studio, have been slowly introduced to the Primary Studio over the past couple of months as they would come for a visit a couple hours at a time here and there, making for an easy transition. Konstantinos and his family have recently moved to the area, and he jumped right in during the new year. He also seems to be very comfortable with our routine, learning by example from our longterm students. So please thank your wonderful kids for us, because they have adjusted so well by carrying a positive attitude into the new year.

 Welcome, New Students!

Schedule Update

Jackie and I have been giving lessons on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the new year. Lessons begin as soon as possible, i.e., within the first 10 minutes upon arrival, because everyone’s focus is sharpest early on. That said, please do your best to have your child arrive by 9:30 a.m. or earlier on these days, so your child is not missing out on new lessons. If you happen to arrive at least 5 to 10 minutes early, please drop your child off at Wonderland to help with transitioning into the classroom, no charge! This is the best way for everyone to enter the studio, because when everyone comes in as a group, it helps tremendously with staying on task.  Kids do well with following their peers, tear free and happy to start the day with friends. Also, the kids are not always precise about arriving to Indigo right on the dot, so bare with us! As simple as it sounds to get in a line and walk over to Indigo, each child transitions at a different pace, and many are still working on gathering their bags along with putting on their winter gear. If you are dropping your child off at Indigo right at 9:30 and the kids have not yet arrived, feel free to drop them off with Mastaneh who is always happy to comfort your child while waiting for the others. I try to use every minute to prepare for the day, but if no one is in the office to help you, and you don’t have time to wait outside of the room, then please check in with me at 9:30. Thank you!

Celebrations of Life

We’ve had a lot of celebrations this month, and it has been a joy for everyone to learn more about each student. Below are some recent photos taken during celebrations. For new parents, you can learn more here about “celebrations of life.”

Lessons

Practical Life Lessons

Lately, Jackie has been working with children between ages 2.5 and 4 on the latest practical life material, encouraging each of them to focus on the little details found in a work. During the presentation of each work, she might describe the textures and translucency of an object, including the sound that is heard during the transferring of objects from one bowl to another. By pointing out a few focal points, we are suggesting a purpose to the material that should bring awareness to the way objects can be handled with tongs, spoons, funnels, droppers, etc.

Practical Life Area review for new parents (or anyone who would like to be refreshed on practical life material): A lot of our practical life material contains items found in everyday life paired with various types of utensils and interesting objects that we teachers have collected over the years. It’s an opportunity for us to get creative and to find unique ways that challenge kids to sharpen their fine motor skills. All age groups are encouraged to practice this material, because it can help each individual to build concentration, coordination, and a sense of order. Below is a recent example of a work that I came up with where students were shown to carefully balance marbles on some sparkly plastic craft flowers. The possibilities are endless as we are always coming up with different ideas to bring new life to the Practical Life Area.

Below, are some more common practical life activities that you will likely find in any Montessori environment.

Update: Extra Help During Lessons!

While I’ve been working a lot with the older ones on lessons, this group has actually gotten rather large recently as kids have advanced into more writing and/or word building, etc., and I would really like to have the opportunity to work with them more closely.  I love working with all of the age groups, so it’s important to make sure that we teachers are making rounds with every child in the studio. That said, Jackie and I started brainstorming… While we are both confident that we keep the classroom running well with just the two of us, Jackie and I both agree that at this time of the year with so many children advancing, a 3rd helper would be good for us during lessons. That way, we can have even smaller groups to focus on each age group’s specific needs. The smaller the group, the more involved and focused kids can be during the presentations. This would require some extra assistance, so we presented a job description to management for a floater to join us at least an hour a day on lessons days. That way, we can divide the class into 3 small groups. Jackie and I will be teaching all of the lessons while our floater will assist the 3rd group by reading to them, leading group discussions, or keeping a close eye on them during a quiet work cycle. These groups will rotate so that everyone gets an opportunity to learn something new from each teacher. We have already found a candidate who started this position last week, and we are so pleased with how well our small group plan is working out. The job has been offered to Cristina, who has been a floater teacher for Indigo, Wonderland, and Sleeping Grass– she has a wonderful presence and the kids already love her! Jackie and I are really excited to be able to offer more attention to our students, and we hope that this all sounds good to you, too!

Lessons Given to Older Students

If your children fall between the ages of 4 and 5 (and occasionally kids who a little younger, depending on their readiness), they have likely been working with me on more advanced material offered in the studio. I am especially working on word building exercises and simple math equations for them to solve. Last week was incredibly productive for these children during small groups as each child was able to participate in a skip counting activity that (with practice) will help them to have a better grasp on counting by a number other than one. This material is also an indirect preparation to multiplication, the square of numbers, etc. Learn more here if you’re curious about what this material looks like and how it works. Below are some examples of some other works that older students have had lessons on.

Popular Activities for All Age Groups

Tracing Activities

Every age group is offered materials to work on that involves tracing letters and numbers. Even the kids that are still in the “scribbling stage” benefit from this exercise, because the “bubble letters” give them the opportunity to control their markings within a target area. I have been preparing lot of beginning sounds activity sheets for tracing that have imagery matching objects from our “beginning sounds mugs,” and we are constantly seeing improvement in all age groups. Jackie has also just begun to help me in the making of custom pages, since these activity sheets have been on such a high demand lately!

Pins & Pin Cushion Activity

As many of you know, this is a popular Montessori Activity that all students continue to enjoy throughout the year. Pins and tiny intricate beads can be utilized to create fun designs on a pin cushion. Handling the pins carefully while finding a tiny hole on a bead to poke through is a good exercise for those little fingers as kids carefully decorate a pin cushion. Each design is original, and students will often ask, “can you please take a picture of my work?” in order to have documentation of their little creation before having to carefully put the material away.

Continent Coloring Books, Maps, & Globes

True Montessori students show interest in the world as they study the continents and work on puzzle maps, and so forth. Every child makes their rounds in our studio, and it’s exciting to see their interest and enthusiasm. We have a lot of material that teaches about animals from different continents, special landmarks, and various types of geography maps we often find our students exploring.

Transitional Activities

Our biggest transition of the day is during clean-up after lunch. Everyone works at a different pace, but eventually, they all migrate to a designated area in the classroom that has an activity for them to work on. This week, we got on the topic of outer space during circle times, so kids enjoyed adding to a space activity sheet that I drew up just for them. Oh and speaking of outer space, if you hear your kids singing parts of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” I will shamelessly take partial credit for that (and I say “partial,” because I know I’m not the only Bowie fan out there…)! I showed everyone the video of the real astronaut, Chris Hadfield, singing this song in outer space, and the kids were all about it 🙂

Photos of Your Kids at Work

It’s  hard to talk about every activity in a nutshell, so take the time to look at the following images with your child, and offer questions to encourage your child to explain what they see. It’s the perfect opportunity to help your kids to reflect on the activities in the studio. If you have any questions or comments about any material, feel free to comment below!

 
Thanks for checking in, and I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

New Parents: One last note that I’d like to mention to put you at ease: the way I pick and choose photos is tricky, because I have to sort through literally hundreds of photos, so I try to pick images that help explain material that I am writing about. Then, I make sure each child is seen at least 2 times, somewhere throughout the post. Sometimes children are featured more than others, only because they happen to be in the photo with a child I am intentionally trying to show. The way I pick and choose has nothing to do with a lack of photos of your child, and I promise that you will receive all of these photos and many more during our parent-teacher conferences. I hope this blog was helpful!