Newsletters 2024-25

 

It's been a busy week in our classroom with Watch Me Work, changing the materials to reflect even more Fall and October work, and Parent Teacher Conferences.  We bit off "more of the apple" than we could chew!  This week was made possible by the generosity of families with apple trees in their yard and we couldn't have planned it or been more grateful that it turned out that way!  They have been scrubbing apples, using apples in their artwork, comparing apples, looking for similarities and differences in all the apples, graphing apples, identifying the parts of apples, looking for apple seeds (and other seeds too), and even using apples for science!  Thank you so much to all the families that shared their apples with us!

 

The children were thrilled to host you for Watch Me Work and we certainly hope you felt as proud of their work as we did!  They did such a wonderful job preparing for you and demonstrated some of the Grace and Courtesy they have learned, as well as some of their great accomplishments.  Thanks for making the time to join us!

 

We have truly enjoyed meeting with you for Parent Teacher Conferences and look forward to seeing the rest of you at your upcoming conference time!

Happy Friday!

 

We ended our week with a truly wonderful Peace Day Celebration.  Children's House was the first to open the celebration with our songs and they watched intently as each of the levels added their contributions to the day they started.  It was one of those moments that make me truly grateful to be a part of this community!  Though we had lots of practices, once we were outside in the sunshine, on the "big playground", surrounded by each of the other levels in a sea of white, they seemed to recognize their importance as peacemakers in this world.  It was as if, in that time, they suddenly understood that they were respected members of this community and that their contributions were just as significant as the older children they look up to in the hallways.  They carried that confidence with them for the rest of the day!  

 

We also began talking about the impending change in season so when the weather changes this weekend, ask what they think might be happening.

 

We also began to change some of the materials on the shelves and it has been super fun to watch them as they discover the new opportunities available to them!  When they return on Monday, they'll find signs of fall along with other new work in each of the areas of the classroom.  We hope they'll share some of their favorites with you!

 

Germs and Making a Booger Ghost (proper nose-blowing steps) - Practical Life

(I am a Booger, Treat Me with Respect )

Scientific Observation - Science

Stereognostic Sorting - Sensorial

Watercolor Lines - Art

 

Ms Lis' Social Emotional Lesson was all about peace as she introduced "peaceful spot".  

 

 

This week's focus has been trying to understand the broad concept of peace.  When we began trying to define it, the children were anxious to describe what it is not.   They weren't far off because if you look up the definition, here's what you might find:   a stress-free state of security and calmness, a state of tranquility or quiet, freedom from disturbance or war.  However, trying to define what it is seemed much more difficult.  They said it means not fighting, or kicking, hitting other people but we went back to the lessons of last week and discussed what it feels like inside your body when you're silent, breathing and calm.  They said you can hear other things around you better;  and it feels like you're waiting for chances to help others.  Once we got there, which, in my opinion, was a brilliant way to describe peace, we started to look for ways to share our peace with others.  Keep in mind, that's not so easy when you're just 3 or 4 or 5 years old but they didn't let that stop them!  We started making a list of ways to share peace and it's getting lengthy but they're not ready to stop.  As we prepare for the peace celebration next Thursday, we're hoping you'll see some evidence of some of those ideas!  Maria Montessori's quote below seems to describe it as the children do:

 

With all that in mind, we are in good hands because:

 

 

 

"A child has a twofold of sense of order. One of these is external and pertains to his perception of his/her relation with his/her environment. The second is internal and makes him/her aware of the different parts of his/her own body and their relative positions."                    -Dr. Montessori, The Secret of Childhood

 

The children are settling in and beginning to discover their independence within the classroom and build confidence in their growing skills!  We've even had a few children master their first sounds which is such a victory!  We began to define each of the areas of the classroom so the children can determine what area they are working in and where to return the materials they are using.  I have put each area in parenthesis after the lessons below so you can ask them questions about their favorite work and see if they can tell you where it comes from.

 

Specials started this week so we had our first P.E. and Music classes.   The children are working to follow directions and be in control of their bodies for larger and smaller movements and also to be still which is the most challenging so far.  In music, Mr Zach has been introducing a song with various instruments and they are working to listen and use the beat to follow along.

 

We introduced the set of books by Jory John and Pete Oswald to help understand social cues and communicate our needs appropriately.  (jory-john-books )  We've been reading them together this week so you may hear them talking about the good egg, the bad seed, the sour grape or cool bean.  Each tells a story by defining a behavior and working to do what's needed to be kind and thoughtful in our interactions with others, and to manage our feelings so we can get to a place of calm and listen to what our body needs.  It is very common (and developmentally appropriate) to recognize the behaviors of others before they are able to recognize those same in themselves.  If you know the stories, you can behave like one of the characters and ask your child who you are acting like!  It's a great conversation starter to continue working on their growing social skills!

 

Felt Rolling and Folding Cloths (Practical Life)

Shell Scrubbing (Practical Life)

Syllabication/Clapping words by their syllables (Language)

(This video helps explain the skill if you want to keep practicing at home: Syllable Stomp

Making Silence-this is the first lesson in our peace curriculum (Peace)

Cutting Strips (Art)

 

We had our first Fire Drill today so we practiced walking to our safe place and staying in a line to stay safe when we are exiting the building for an emergency.

The children did a great job and the Inventors stepped up to help with the Explorers.

 

Next week's Sound of the Week is "a" as in alligator, apple, acrobat, axle, and antelope.  If you are interested in supporting your child's growing skills, this is a great infographic to help understand phonological awareness:  phonological-awareness

 

In Jeffco, we use the Science of Reading Approach to teach reading in addition to our relying on our Montessori philosophy and training which is very phonologically based.  If I've sparked your interest in the process, here is a condensed explanation of The Science Of Reading:  science of reading-basics

 

Hot Lunch began this week and the children have seemed to enjoy their choices so far.  If they are not loving Hot Lunch, we have tried to communicate with you but if you still have questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

 

Thanks to all of the families who have helped in our coin quest!  Thanks to Dottie Hopkins for being our Greeter this week!  Thanks to Noel Mueller and Krista Estep for listening to children read this week!  I can only think that Noel enjoyed his time with us so much that he ran home and asked his mom to come on Thursday to be a Reading Budding too!  I may be a little biased, but listening to children work on their growing reading skills is truly a bucket-filler!  Do you know anyone that might need their bucket filled?  Thanks to Christianna Ruple for washing our laundry this week and thanks to Jennifer Wood for washing it last week!  Thanks to Janet Hopkins for refreshing our library books last week too!

 

A few reminders:
*Please be sure to return your child's Friday Folder and water bottle, and their nap roll if the rest, on the first day of each week!  
 *Please be sure that you are signing in to the Mountain Room when using the QR code each morning.  If you sign into Before Care, we will move your child to our classroom when they get to us.  You can note Aftercare when you sign in also if they are already signed up to attend Aftercare.
*When packing a lunch, please leave the sweet treats at home or you can have them with you when you pick your child up to eat when they're headed home.  I'm asking because, when your child opens their lunchbox, the sweet treat or dessert is the first thing they want to eat and often, like if they just had a snack before our lunchtime, that's all they want to eat.  As a rule, candy is not allowed in lunchboxes but the other sweet treats are very distracting too.
*Lots of people have used our webpage to signup for the Volunteer Opportunities.  If you haven't had a chance to do so and you want to be with your child, the best ones to do that are:  P.E. Cheerleader, Reading Buddies or Mystery Reader.  If you can't do one of those, there are other opportunities to do some work at home under the Volunteer Opportunities tab on our webpage.
*If you have already signed up to volunteer or plan to ask a grandparent, neighbor, or extended family member planning to volunteer, please send the links to them to complete before they arrive to volunteer.  This applies to anyone who wants to volunteer, chaperone, read, etc. at Compass.  The following two steps need to be completed: