Dear Parents,
I hope everyone had a great Spring Break! I can't believe that it is already April and we only have 2 1/2 months left. I have really enjoyed getting to know your kids and seeing them grow over the year. This past month, during our unit on reptiles and dinosaurs, the kids learned the names of different reptiles and dinosaurs. They learned some characteristics of reptiles as well. The kids got a chance to make fossils of dinosaurs out of clay and turtle puppets from paper plates. They also learned that an anaconda, the longest snake in the world is almost as long as the classroom. They even had the opportunity to investigate skull replicas of different dinosaurs and an iguana. They really enjoyed the unit. In April we will be learning about birds. We will start by focusing on the characteristics of birds. We will discuss the different types of beaks and feet that birds have as well as the different kinds of nests they make. The kids and I will take trips to go visit the chickens and ducks that live on campus. We will compare their beaks, feet and wings to other birds that can be found in the Pacific Northwest. The kids will make nests of their own and complete other bird and egg crafts. Next month will be the 30th anniversary party for Montessori Children's House. I hope to see everyone there. It will be held on May 13th from 6pm to 9pm. For more information please check Bloomz. Erin Sargent
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Dear Parents,
I can’t believe that it is already March. February has gone by so fast. I can’t believe that there are only 31/2 months of the year left. It has been an incredible year so far and I know that the rest of the year will be good as well. Last month we were focusing on amphibians. We learned that there are different types of amphibians, more than just frogs. Toads and salamanders are amphibians too. Amphibians have slimy, smooth skin, hatch from eggs and live both in the water and on the land. We learned that frogs undergo metamorphosis and transform from eggs to tadpoles to frogs. The kids discovered that tadpoles have gills and a tail. As the tadpole gets bigger, it grows its hind legs first and then their front legs. As the tadpole grows into a froglet, it loses its tail and starts to be able to live on land. The kids created a hanging chart that is folded to show the different stages. They also created frog puppets out of paper bags by painting the bag and gluing on legs and eyes. The kids celebrated Valentine’s Day last month by passing out Valentines to their friends. They really enjoyed that process. In February the kids were visited by a teacher from the Seattle Opera named Nicole. She taught them a little bit about being a conductor and had them help her tell a story using singing and motions. This month we will be focusing on reptiles. We will learn about the different types of amphibians: lizards, alligators and crocodiles, turtles and snakes. We will focus on their characteristics and how they are alike and different. I have decided to include dinosaurs in our unit due to the interest of the children. We will learn the names of different dinosaurs and what makes them different. On March 18th we will have our Montessori Celebration concert. The kids are learning a song to sing at the concert with Ms Amy. They are enjoying practicing the song. I hope that everyone will be able to come to the concert. On March 9th the school will be closed. Childcare will be available on the 9th. On March 10th school will be closed for an inservice day. These two days the school will be closed so that the teachers, including me, will be able to go to a conference in San Diego to learn new strategies to help our classrooms and our students. Miss Erin Dear Parents,
I can’t believe that it’s already February! January went by so fast! During January, the students focused on learning about fish. They learned about the parts of a fish and discussed the functions of the parts using live fish as examples. They got a chance to make a book about the parts of the fish, where they colored in each part of the fish on a different page. They also completed some fish crafts: stamping scales on a fish in paint and gluing paper scales on a fish made out of a paper plate. The students also learned about the lifecycle of the salmon, a fish that is found in our part of the state. They discovered that salmon is born in a river, makes its way to the ocean where it grows to an adult and then returns to the river it was born in to lay its eggs. It was fun hearing them discuss their favorite part of the fish and their favorite type of fish. This month we will be focusing on amphibians. We will learn what an amphibian is, including the characteristics of an amphibian and the different types of amphibians. We will compare the different types of amphibians to fish. We will also discover the steps of the lifecycle of the frog. The students will be able to complete frog crafts and sing songs about amphibians and especially frogs. Valentine’s Day occurs this month. The students will have a chance to hand out valentines to each other on February 14th. I will put up an announcement detailing this on Bloomz. Mid-Winter Break is on February 16th, 17th and 20th. Childcare is available if needed. I hope that everyone has a great break. I enjoyed seeing everyone during conferences and discussing the great things that your children are working on. Miss Erin Welcome back from winter break! I hope everyone had a great time! I enjoyed seeing everyone back in the class. I feel like everyone has grown bigger over the break. They have all been excited about seeing their friends and getting back into doing work and learning new things.
Last month the kids enjoyed discussing the holidays that occur in December. We learned about Hannukah, Kwanzaa and Christmas: why the holidays are celebrated and some celebrations that occur. The kids enjoyed singing songs related to the different holidays and having the opportunity to decorate a miniature tree and place the candles in a menorah. We finished the month by baking cookies and decorating them. This month we are going to focus on learning all about fish. We will learn about the parts of a fish and their functions. The kids will have the opportunity to view the fish in the fish tank between Rojo and Verde and determine how they move. They will also be able to touch a real fish. We will name different types of fish and determine where fish are located. The kids will also learn about the lifecycle of a fish and complete fish crafts. In the month of January we will also be doing crafts based around winter and snow. School will be closed on January 16th for Martin Luther King Day. We will discuss this holiday as well as Chinese New Year which occurs later in the month. Later this month I will send out your child’s Mid-Year Progress Report. We will have a chance to discuss it during conferences which will take place on February 2nd and 3rd. You can sign up for a conference on Bloomz. If you have any problems signing up for conferences please let me know. I look forward to seeing everyone during conferences. Miss Erin I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break and a great Thanksgiving dinner. Our class cooked crescent rolls and made a fruit salad to have during our feast. It was fun to do with the class.
The kids have really enjoyed learning about the ocean and the animals that live there. We have discussed the properties of ocean water: that it is made of salt water and that things are more likely to float than in fresh water. We also learned that the ocean is divided into different zones and that as one travels through the zones the amount of light gets lower, the water gets colder and there are fewer animals. We learned about the whale shark and are going to continue learning about other animals into the month of December and complete some crafts. The kids are enjoying singing songs about ocean animals too. This month we will also discuss the main holidays that will occur in December. These will include Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. The kids will learn about the traditions people have for each holiday. Our school is hosting a Scholastic Book Fair the week of December 5th. I hope everyone will have a chance to come and get some books, as well as get some books for the classroom. This month our fall community service is to collect goods for Mary's Place. We are collecting hats, scarves, gloves and jackets well as anything else you would like to donate. Mary's Place is a place that provides services, centers and help for homeless women and families. I hope that everyone will be able to help. Our last day of school is December 16th. I hope everyone has a wonderful Winter Break! Fall is definitely upon us. The leaves are falling along with lots of rain. It's getting chilly when we go out to the playground. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather: layers are great, a sweatshirt and raincoat works well. I hope everyone had a great Halloween, the kids said that they did.
Our unit on plants has ended. The kids have enjoyed our growing experiment as well as looking at seeds and leaves of different plants. We have learned the names of the parts of a plant and their functions as well as what a plant needs to survive and grow. We ended the unit by tasting food that comes from different parts of the plant, understanding that we eat all parts of the plant. Our next unit will be on the ocean. The students will learn the names of the oceans and where they are located. They will learn about some of the animals and plants that live in the ocean. We will also do some experiments based around water and the difference between salt and fresh water. This month I am introducing a new concept to the classroom to help with problem solving and teaching empathy called the love light. A love light is a center of goodness inside each person. When a child is feeling happy, calm, focused or helping another their love light shines bright. When a person is feeling sad, angry, scared, or tired, their love light dims. We are using this phrase in conjunction with the Zones of Regulation to talk about how we feel. We will also use this to help us talk about how we feel when someone else hurts us or how another person feels when we hurt them. The kids will also work on determining ways to make their love lights shine when they are sad or angry. If you would like more information about this please let me know. School will be closed on November 11th for an in-service day and on November 23rd, the day before Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. I can’t believe that it is already October. In September, the students spent time getting to know each other and reconnecting with their friends from last year. They learned that we live on the planet Earth in the Solar System and that there are seven other plants and one dwarf planet also in the Solar System. We’ve discovered that we live in the state of Washington in the country of the United States in the continent of North America. The students and I have also discussed our emotions and are learning to identify them.
This month we will continue to work on our emotions and problem solving. We will also learn about plants. We will study the parts of the plants and their functions. We will learn what a plant needs to survive and do experiments to discover how plants grow and get their nutrients. The students and I will do crafts with different parts of the plant. On October 13th and 14th we will have our fall conferences. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there. Childcare is open on Thursday, but the school is closed on Friday and there will be no Childcare on Friday. We will have a parent education event on the 20th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm. More information will come your way as the day gets closer. October 28th is an inservice day and the school will be closed so that the staff can prepare for Harvest Fest on Saturday. Harvest Fest is from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. It is a fun time with crafts and games and where the students get to pick and decorate their own pumpkin. I hope to see everyone there. Picture days are October 31st and November 1st. I will send out more information as the day gets closer. Halloween is on October 31st. We will be doing some crafts and carving a pumpkin on that day, but no costumes are allowed. I’m looking forward to a great month with lots of learning and laughing. Dear Parents,
The beginning of our year is off to a good start. I am enjoying getting to know all of the new students in our class, reconnecting with the returning students and watching as everyone gets to know each other and the classroom. This month we are focusing on Grace and Courtesy in the classroom: how to walk in the classroom, the volume of our voices, walking around a mat, etc. We will also focus on identifying our emotions and how to use them in problem solving with our classmates. Finally we will discuss our place in the universe: from the solar system our planet is in to the city our school is found in. On the 16th we will be having a Back-to-School barbeque with the Recess Monkeys performing for the students. Later this month on the 24th we will be having a fall potluck in Redmond. I hope everyone will be able to make it to both events. In October we will be having our fall conferences and later this month I will put the sign-up sheet on Bloomz so you can sign up. I look forward to seeing everyone at the conferences. We will discuss how your child is settling in and any goals that you and I have for them for the rest of the year. Please remember to label anything your child brings to school: extra clothes, lunch box, coats, etc. That way if your child misplaces something we can get it back to you. Please email me or send me a message if you have any questions or concerns. I’m looking forward to a great year with your children. Miss Erin Upcoming dates
We have finished up our unit on the rainforest. The students have learned the names of the different layers: forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent layer. We discussed the characteristics of the rainforest and how the layers are different. They determined which animals live in the rainforest. We finished up by doing an art craft in which we created the different layers using plants as stamps. This month, we will be learning about different types of insects. The children will help me determine which bugs they want to learn about. We will learn what things different insects eat and the different ways they move. We will also learn about the different lifecycles of the insects and do insect crafts. The weather is now getting warmer as we move closer to summer. On sunny days, I recommend you put sunscreen on your child as our playground does get sun. You can also send a water bottle with your child that he or she can bring to the playground for when they need it. The kids are enjoying bringing in sharing that doesn’t have to start with a particular sound. Please make sure that the sharing is small enough to fit in the backpack and not violent. If you want to check on a sharing before sending it in, let me know. The end of the year is coming up. On our last day, we will have an end of the year party. I will send out more information regarding the party as the day gets closer. Please email me with any questions or concerns about anything in the class. Miss Erin Can you believe that it is already April? Boy does time fly! This means that our first year together is almost over. I can't believe how much progress your children have made since the beginning of the year and how much they have grown!
This month we are continuing to focus on the rainforest. We will be learning about the different layers of the rainforest and the animals and plants that live there. We will discuss what we would find if we were in each layer: forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent layer and learn more about one animal and plant found in each layer. The layers are so different they are almost their own ecosystem. Later this month we will have the annual Hop-a-Thon on April 20th to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. Information will be going home soon and will be found on Bloomz. I really enjoyed seeing everyone come for the Child-Led Open House last month. It was a lot of fun to see your children be the teacher. I hope everyone had a great Spring Break! Please remember to contact me with any questions, concerns or comments you have. Miss Erin |
Ms. SunandaEl Salon Rojo Lead Teacher Archives
June 2018
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Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE Redmond, WA 98053 Phone: 425-868-7805 [email protected] For Records Requests, please reach out to [email protected]. |
Founded in 1987
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