Goats, and Rabbits, and Horses Oh My!

The month of December has been very busy in Room 5/6.  We have welcomed a new friend, Addison, who is three, to our classroom.  We are all working like elves to get out Christmas decorations and presents finished to take home before the holidays.  Every day on line we have been practicing old Christmas songs and learning some new ones for our Holiday Sing-a-long on Friday, December 23.  We are hoping that you will all be able to come and join us.  We have been reading books about other winter holidays, such as Kwanza and Hanukkah, and next week we will begin our class time with the lighting of the menorah.  The children have been fascinated to discover how other cultures and families celebrate their holidays.

We had a lower elementary assembly in the gym on Thursday where we heard all about their trips to Bel Aire farm and how the students learned to care for the animals.  Imagine our surprise when we walked into the gym and saw two horses, two goats and two rabbits waiting for us.  We watched their  "ABC of Farming" presentation while anxiously hoping we would be able to get closer to the animals.  Our patience paid off when all the students were dismissed back to their classes, except early childhood, and we got to pet the animals for as long as we wanted.  The rabbits were so soft, the horses were so big, and the goats were so funny, they like to eat anything!  When we got back to our classroom the older children were excited to think that maybe they could go to the farm when they are in lower elementary.

As this year draws to a close, I would like to once again thank all the parents for entrusting us with the care and education of your children.  We recognize what an honor you have bestowed upon us.  Each child is such a unique gift to our classroom and brings us great joy every day.  May your holidays be filled with love and surprises and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Submitted by: Cindy Shelley, Donna Rockafellow, Karen Klingel

Wrapping up the Holidays

Benefiting Others

MISHAWAKA — The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes recently held its seventh annual Wrapping Up for the Holidays.

The school wrapped presents and packed boxes of food for three families (11 children and three adults) that the Montessori adopted through Salvation Army. Each family’s pantry was stocked with enough food for the duration of Christmas break. Each child received hat and gloves, an outfit and socks, and three presents to open.

Courtesy of: The South Bend Tribune December 11, 2011 Edition

Photograph Courtesy of: Ed Bosworth of Bozworthy Images

December Events at TMA

Moms Night Out:  thirty-one party

Attention Moms: You are invited to attend a “thirty-one” party at TMA! Thursday, December 1st at 6:30 p.m. TMA mom, Amy Cousins is a consultant and will be available to talk about and display products--specializing in bags, purses, lunchboxes, etc.  Orders will be available for holiday gifts. Join us for an evening of fun!

WRAPPING UP THE HOLIDAYS 2011

Don’t miss this great Annual Community Event - Friday, December 2nd at 6:00 p.m.!  TMA is once again sponsoring three local families in need this year.  We would like to provide a holiday dinner as well as presents for these three families. All three of the families would be grateful to accept new or gently used items.  All donations should be delivered to the office prior to December 2nd.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Paige in the TMA office.

Winter Sing-A-Long

All families are invited to join us Friday, December 23at 10:00 for a TMA community winter/holiday sing-a-long in the gym. 

Please note: this is also an early dismissal day for the entire school. 

Welcome Cinnamon the rabbit!

Room 4 has a wonderful addition to the classroom! A new rabbit kitten, only 8 weeks old, has joined our family. The children are so glad to have our new friend and the entire Early Childhood building is equally enthralled with this cute little addition.

We have had lessons on proper holding techniques for rabbits and how to be gentle and loving with our new little bundle of a bunny. Cinnamon, the rabbit, has had a grand welcoming and is being very well cared for in our room. The children enjoy watching him in his cage and also giving him the opportunity to hop around the room.

Each room 4 family will have the opportunity to take Cinnamon home for the weekend and care for him. Please contact Miss Ann if you have questions regarding this matter, and please stop in and meet our newest family member; Cinnamon the rabbit.

Submitted by: Ann Stebelton

Ideas for the Picky Eaters Amongst Us...

Hopefully Fridays discussion will also give you some ideas about foods your preschooler will eat too!

Please join Ann & Julie Friday morning at 9:00 to talk about how to entice your child to eat different types of food.

We'll have:

• cookbook ideas
• child-friendly utensil ideas 
• creative lunchbox ideas
• ideas on how to incorporate your child into creating your evening meal...and hopefully preventing the late afternoon / early evening meltdown that occurs every time you enter the kitchen
• Provided there is time, we may even begin discussions on food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, and more...

Reduce, Reuse, Re-purpose

We are looking for crayons to Re-purpose.  Want to get rid of those broken, dull, torn crayons?  Please send them in with your child to school.  Starting Monday, November 7 there will be a collection box in the Early Childhood Building awaiting crayons to be re-purposed into creatively shaped crayons and beautiful works of art.

Life in Room 3

Fall is a wonderful time of year to teach children about the cycle of life in nature.  Some of their favorite foods are harvested in the fall.  In our class we learned about the parts of an ear of corn ( the husk, stem, kernel, and corn silk at the top).  We learned about how the apple tree comes to life in the spring to produce buds, then flowers that get pollinated, and finally apples that ripen in the warmth of the summer sun to provide us with delicious juicy fruit in the fall.  It was fun to cut up the fruit and cook it in a crock pot to make our own yummy applesauce.  We also pickled the last of the cucumbers out of Ms. Burns' garden to enjoy at a further time. 

The class  learned about plants starting as seeds with our sunflower tweezing work.  We purchased a HUGE cut sunflower from the farmers market and let it start drying out.  When the flower was fairly dry the seeds were easily plucked out with a pair of tweezers or even bare hands.  In addition to providing an opportunity to practice fine motor control the children were able to think about how this huge flower had started as a single tiny seed.  I even overheard one child wonder aloud if we were going to plant all those seeds all over the world!  We talked about how  the pumpkins we enjoy at Halloween and Thanksgiving also started their journey as a tiny seed.

As the leaves change and as the growing season gets put to bed, the children learn to appreciate the cycles of nature that provide them with so much nourishment and beauty.

Submitted by: Lindsay Turner

Dad's Night 2011

Observation

We welcome families in our community to come and take at look at our classrooms and see how the children are developing into a peaceful & harmonious classroom community.  It seems like such a short time ago we were having the beginning of the year open house / classroom visits and we were frantically attepmting to remember everyone's name.  The children have accomplished many great things in the weeks since then.

Please feel free to stop by some morning, grab a cup of coffee and observe!

How to Observe

The first glimpse of a Montessori classroom may seem confusing with all the activity. 
A few guidelines for observation are suggested:

First: Take a quick look around the room.  Notice--

• the individual activity of the children
• the range of ages of the children
• the type of equipment and materials
• the interaction of the children with little or no friction

Second:  Focus your attention on one of the teachers.  Notice--

• the composure
• the respect the teacher shows the child
• the teacher as an observer
• the manner the teacher uses to guide and assist children

Third:  Focus your attention on one child.  Notice--

• concentration on work
• succession of activities
• respect for teachers, other children, equipment
• enthusiasm and joy in each activity, self-satisfaction

Fourth:  Think a minute.  The children you are observing are 2 1/2 through 6 years of age.

•  Have you seen such peace and order before in this age group?

When observing through the classroom windows, please make sure the hall lighting is turned off.  Please be aware that voices may carrry into the classroom and can be disturbing to the class.

Oatmeal

Better Oats is an alternative to all the sugary cereals out there and comes highly recommended by a TMA parent.

You can find Better Oats at Target.

Lunchtime Proceedures for the Full-Day Class

Children are invited from the line or the hallway to wash their hands and proceed to find the chair with their lunch box on it.  Most children sit on the same side of the room each day so there is little confusion of where to go.

After washing their hands and locating their spot, the children pick up their plate, glass, silverware and napkin and set their own table spot.  This may take several trips back and forth, adding in yet more movement to our day.  Emphasis is placed on learning how to set a table, yet another opportunity for the Practical Life curriculum to infiltrate our daily routine.

Children then stand behind their chairs until the whole table is prepared and then everyone sings the "Bon Appetit" song. 

            Look around and you will see a family

Community

            Brothers, Sisters

We are one

Bon Appetit, you may eat!

Some children proceed to unpack their lunches onto the plates, while others participate in the hot lunch program and this stays in the provided container.  Lunch is a time filled with opportunities to work on Grace & Courtesy.  The children remain seated during this portion of the day, raising their hand if help is needed in opening a container.  Manners are re-enforced and please and thank-you are words heard frequently at this time.

Milk and water are on the table in child-friendly pitchers and children ask their friends to 'please pass the milk".  The milk or water is then passed carefully from friend to friend.  Each child pours his own milk or water.

When the child has finished his lunch he asks if he may be excused.  Leftovers are packed in to the lunch box to return home so the parent knows what has not been eaten.  Each child carries their plate, glass and utensils to the wash basins to wash and then stack his/her own dishes into a basin.  They then carry a small bucket & sponge back to the table for cleaning up their own spot.  If needed, they use a broom & dustpan to clean up under the chairs.  A smaller broom & dustpan is used for table crumbs.

Following lunch, the younger children are dismissed to use the bathroom in preparation of naptime, while the older children help load the dishwasher.  Tables are returned to their original locations, chairs are returned to the tables and a last look around is made for any stray crumbs. Children meet at the blue line to wait for story time or movement exercises with one of the teachers.

Submitted by: Cindy Shelley

Pumpkin Songs

Five Little Pumpkins

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "oh my it's getting late"

The second one said,"there's magic in the air"

The third one said, "but we don't care"

The forth one said, "let's run and run and run"

The fifth one said, "It's Halloween fun."

or

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said, "oh my it's getting late"

The second one said,"there's a chill in the air"

The thrid one said, "but we don't care"

The forth one said, "let's run and run and run"

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."

Ooooo went the wind and out went the lights

and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

I'm a Little Pumpkin

(sung to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot)

I'm a little pumpkin, orange and round

here is my stem, here is the ground

when I get all cut up, don't you shout

just open me up and scoop me out.

Dad's Night

Tuesday the 25th, the Early Childhood Classrooms host the 2nd annual Dad's Night.  This is a night for the children to bring a dad, grandpa, uncle or other special man in their life to their Montessori classroom.  This is a night for it to be all about the two of you spending time together.  The children are so proud of what they do at school, yet oftentimes have difficultly relaying it to you.  At my own dinner table my  husband, father of a four-year-old & a two-year-old, often looks to me for interpretation when the girls talk about their day.  Luckily, I have an inside scoop.

We hope to see you there:  Tuesday, October 25  6:30-8:00p.m.

Early Childhood Breakfast

We welcome all Early Childhood parents to enjoy a light breakfast with their child at school,

Thursday October 13 7:30-9:00a.m. 

School breakfast opportunities are offered a couple times each year for parents to have the opportunity to spend a little bit of time with their child in school, the child sharing their work with their parent.

We hope you are able to attend, even for a few minutes on your way to work.  We realize some families have the opportunity to stay a few minutes and others are able to stay enjoy the classroom longer. Please respect the time frame so that the children are able to go about their day successfully.  If your child seems to have a difficult time saying goodbye when it is time that you need to leave; please say "goodbye", give a hug and remind your child that you will return when the school day is done.  The teachers and assistants are fantastic at transition periods.  Please be assured that they will assist & redirect the children to begin their work time.