October 2014 Newsletter

What a wonderfully, busy month September has been.   Everyone has settled nicely into our school routines.       

In the classroom we have been working very hard in the Practical Life area and have perfected many basic motor skills.  Among them are hand washing, floor sweeping, window washing, and polishing.   In the Math and Language areas we have completed all the beginning of the year assessments and are just focusing on our individual number works and on learning the sounds that correspond to the letters and using these to build and read words.   In the cultural area we have been discussing the seasons and have set up a nature tray where children are encouraged to bring nature items including signs of fall.   So many wonderful things to experience and discover at this age!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are set for the third week of November. I will send the link to sign up for conferences soon

I will also have a signup sheet on the clipboard at drop off and pick up,  to schedule observations, so you can come in to observe your child in the classroom before conferences,

In class we have been talking about:

Leaves/Trees

Seasons/Fall

Living/Non Living

Vertebrates/Invertebrates

 Insects

Continents

Flags

Art

Fall Trees- using torn paper

Literature

We focused on two authors last month, Eric Carle and Kevin Henkes.

Apples Unit

We are getting ready to begin a new and exciting unit on Johnny Appleseed/Apples, and we need your help! We have a lot of fun and educational activities planned to teach us everything from graphing, patterns, measurement and cooking applesauce.

In order to do all this we will need lots of apples! We are requesting that each student bring in at least one apple of any kind by Wednesday, Oct 22, 2014

We are looking for a variety of types of apples for our various projects, so we’ll take anything we can get.

Label EVERYTHING!   Please be sure to label every item that goes to school with your child or risk losing it into the black hole of lost items!

Cooler Weather:

As the weather starts changing, it would be a great time to check your child’s bag of extra clothes to be sure that their clothes are weather appropriate!  Please also make sure that your child has outerwear appropriate to the weather

Talking to your child about school

Some great opener questions to start a conversation about school with your child might be:

• What work did you like the best today?
• Did you work with anyone?
• Do you remember any songs you sang today?
• Did you do a sorting work?
• Did you do a pouring work?
• Did you do a number work?
• Did you do some art work?
• Did you do a matching work?
• Did you do an animal work?

Thank You’s

Andrea’s (Madeline’s mom) for taking care of our laundry (towels and nap sheets) every week and also helping out in the lunchroom and recess

Amy and Scott (Dylan’s parents), Kebbie (Zach’s mom),  Laura ( Maddox’s Grandma), Brooke (Josiah’s mom),  Margaret and Kiowa (Lucy Anne’s parents),  Noah and Diana (Tesla’s parents) for coming in to listen to our students read.

Monique (Clio’s mom) for bringing in wonderful books from the library to support our curriculum.

 “What do you like about Fall?” when asked of our students-
 Maya- The leaves changing color
Claire-Falling leaves going down to the ground
Mia- I like when the leaves fall down
Tesla- I like the rainbows
Vivienne-I like watching leaves turn different colors
 Lila- When my mom rakes up the leaves
Monroe- crunching the leaves
Christopher-I like picking the leaves
Hunter-I like to see the leaves on the tree
Maddox- I like to see the floating leaves
Liam-I like running into the leaf pile
Zach, Mateo, Adelaide, Esther, Chase, Josiah, Madeline, Alice, Clio, Marley, Dylan, and Marnee - I like jumping in the leaves

Happy Fall!!!!


Ms. Sheela, Ms. Kelly and Ms. Paula

Birthday Celebration

We celebrate birthdays by explaining to the children that it takes the Earth one year to travel around the Sun – this is one unit of measurement for time.
A candle is lit to represent the sun and we talk about events in the life of the child in the 3-6 class. The ‘birthday child’ holds a globe of the world and walks around the Sun once and stops; the first birthday has been reached. If a photograph of the ‘one year old’ is available then we all look at it, we will then mention a special event, provided by the parent, that happened to the child during that year. This is repeated until the current birthday is reached.
The child then blows out the candle and Happy Birthday is sung. This is then followed by a birthday snack provided by the child’s parents. 

The Birthday Snack

The birthday snack can be cookies, fruit, or vegetables, suitable for the children to eat with their hands. 
We can discuss food allergies and if able, bring something in that all children could eat. These children always appreciate being able to eat the same food as everyone else. 

September 2014

Lincoln Elementary Montessori

Ms. Sheela’s Classroom

Room #112

September 7^th, 2014

 

 “Teach by teaching, not by correcting.”

Dr. Maria Montessori

 The first few days were filled with sharing summer news and experiences, and getting back into the “rhythm” of our school activities. The school year begins with simply following the routine of the school day at a pace that allows each student to take in the new experiences. There are classmates and teachers to get to know, routines to figure out (e.g., sitting on the green line, singing songs, waiting for a turn), lockers to find, and new activities to discover and even the younger students soon enjoy the routine. This simple consistency builds their confidence and independence. This is what Dr. Montessori referred to as "normalization" - the transition of the child into the responsibility, productivity and joy of the school day.

          

NOTES & REMINDERS

Nut Allergies-Please note we have two students with severe nut allergies in our classroom, please do not send nuts in your child’s snack, we really need your support here.  

 

**Non-Student Contact Day

Monday, Sept 22^nd, 2014

Monday, Dec 1^st, 2014,

Friday, April 17^th, 2015

 

3 and 4 year olds will not have school on the above dates. Only Kindergarten students will attend school as we will have a Substitute teacher for that day.

Please mark this on your calendars now so it won’t be a surprise later on.

 

**Arrival and Dismissal

 Thank you for your patience and support as we help our little ones adjust to the routines.

 

Please say good-bye quickly, lovingly and go. This is important for your child’s transition as well as traffic flow. We will help at easing the transition for your child and we will let you know if there is a problem. Groups of parents lingering in the classrooms or in the hallway can affect an otherwise calm routine. 

With younger children you may want to discuss and role-play saying good-bye. Be sure to convey your confidence that school is a good place for them to be. Some families establish a ritual such as “hug-kiss-snuggle” that reassures them both at parting. Saying good-bye quickly, warmly, lovingly and matter-of-factly just as you rehearsed (no matter how anxious you are feeling!) will ease them through this transition.

Please be on time, allowing us to prepare a peaceful, harmonious and happy environment for your child. And if you are late picking up, we have a hard time fitting in cleaning, prepping, phone calls, lunch and meetings.   Children are often worried and distressed when they arrive too early, too late or when parents are late for pickup.

 

**Tote Bags

All students should bring their Tote Bags to school every day with one snack for half days and two snacks and a lunch (unless buying a hot lunch) for full days, They should all have a water bottle, and a change of clothes at school. They should be quite independent in dressing for the out-of-doors so please make sure your child can easily put on and take off his/her own shoes, especially during winter. If your child cannot yet tie laces, please provide shoes with buckles, Velcro or slip-on styling. We also ask that you ensure your child can open all containers for snack and lunch by him or herself to foster independence.

 

 We would like all children to bring a water bottle to school on Mondays to use in the classroom during the week.   We will send water bottles home on Fridays to be washed and returned on the following Monday.   This is especially important during this hot, end of summer days.   

 

 

**ECE Forms/Classroom Funds

Our three and four year old children must turn in all paperwork ASAP.   Our program is licensed by the state and it is a state regulation that we have this paperwork in your child’s file.   If you are missing any forms we will be contacting you at arrival/dismissal times.

Also, don’t forget that we ask parents of Kindergarten children to contribute $35.00 and parents of Preschool children to contribute $25.00 to the classroom fund for consumables and supplies.   If you haven’t sent this in yet please do so.

 

**Scholastic Books

We will be sending Firefly (Preschool) and See-Saw (Kindergarten) book orders home with your child monthly.   Scholastic Books offers quality paperbacks at reasonable prices.   We enjoy the added plus that Scholastic offers bonus points with your orders to obtain books and materials free for the classroom.   So we really appreciate all your orders.   We are offering you the opportunity to order books from Scholastic online if that would be more convenient for you.  All orders for this month are due on Friday, Sept12, 2014

 

**What is Show and Tell? For New Parents

Show and Tell is an oral language experience designed to give the children an opportunity to talk about an object they bring from home and to answer questions the other children ask.  The children sign in on the Show and Tell book as they arrive in the classroom.  We will again be using the alphabet sounds to guide your child’s choice of items.  Show and Tell will officially begin on Monday, September 15th, 2014.   The sound for the first week is ‘a’ as in apple.   The sound for each week will be posted on our bulletin board.   We ask that you help your child choose an item that begins with the sound of the week.   Also, help your child think of clues such as what color the object is, or what the item is used for, as your child will keep their item hidden and give these clues to the children at Circle Time.   The other children will then guess what the item is.  These items will be available to take home from the basket at dismissal. We encourage your child to bring educational items, items from a trip, or from your back yard; a book, telescope, painting, picture, etc. We ask that you please do not select stuffed animals or toys. Thank you!

 

Thank you for your support as we begin this school year.   Please feel free to contact me at school anytime you have questions or concerns.   Dismissal times are good times to catch me or you can call and leave a message at school for me to call you.   The school’s number is (720)424-5990, and my email is sheela_dharmarajan@dpsk12.org

 

We are looking forward to a fantastic year!  Thank you again for your patience, help, and your understanding these first few weeks.

 

We hope that your September is happy and healthy!!!

Peace,

Ms. Sheela, Ms. Kelly & Ms. Paula

 

Lincoln Elementary School

Primary Montessori Classrooms

August 2014

 

Dear Parents,

 

Here is some information that will help us start the school year successfully…

 

1. There will be a Primary Montessori Picnic at Platt Park, Saturday, August 23rd from 11 to 1 pm. Platt Park is located at 1500 S. Logan St. Please bring your blankets and/or chairs and lunch for your family. Hope to see you there!

 

2. The Primary classrooms have a specific parent orientation which is scheduled for Wednesday, August 27th from 4:45 to 5:45 pm. We encourage ALL families, new and returning, to attend as information changes from year to year. We encourage you, if at all possible, to come to this meeting without your children. Back to School Night will also be on the same night from 6 pm onwards.

 

3. Start dates are as follows….

New and returning Kindergartners will start on Monday, August 25^th

Four Year Olds will start on Wednesday, August 27th

To make the transition to school as smooth as possible and provide the attention needed to acclimate the Three Year Olds to our classroom, we phase these students into the classroom - in small groups. Three Year Old Parents - Please reference the list of start dates and dates for classroom visits below:

 

Tuesday, September 2nd – Knight Heckendorf, Maya Jones and Claire Coughlin

Thursday, September 4^th – EstherLouise Cholak, Chase Reed and Finnean Weddle

Monday, September 8^th – Adelaide Franklin, Christopher Bogantes-Villegas and Emerson Newton

 

We invite these Three Year Olds and their parents to make a short visit to the classroom to familiarize them with the environment and their new teachers.

-If your child starts on September 2^nd, please visit on Thursday August 28th 3:45-4:00pm.

-If your child starts on Sept 4th, please visit on Wednesday, September 3^rd from 3:45-4:00pm.

-If your child starts on Sept 8th, please visit on Friday, Sept 5th from 3:45-4:00pm.

 

Parents of Kindergarten and Four Year Olds students, new to Lincoln, please reply to this email to schedule a time to bring your child for a visit during the day on Friday, August 23rd.

Please bring all of your question and concerns to the parent orientation meeting. I am looking forward to a wonderful school year with you and your child!

 

With warm regards,

Ms. Sheela

Week of Jan 13th to Jan 17th 2014

January is always a wonderful time in the classroom. The children are eager to explore all the possibilities after a long winter rest, free from the distractions the holidays always bring. This is a time for amazing learning and we love watching it all come together!

It’s hard to believe that we are already almost through January.  Our continent study was Antarctica. We learned where it was located and what kinds of animals lived there. That led us to the study of Penguins. We discussed the different kinds of penguins, Parts of a Penguin and read books about Penguins.

During this week we discussed the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and his many accomplishments. We read ‘Happy Birthday Martin Luther King’ by Jean Marzallo. We also talked about ‘what is peace?’ and how children could be peaceful.

Chinese New Year

On Monday, February 3rd, we will be celebrating Chinese New Year with our annual dragon parade! During this week we will study Chinese culture as we discuss and study China and create our Chinese Dragon. We encourage any of our students who have a traditional Chinese outfit to please wear it on Feb 3^rd, if not wear something red, as red is considered a lucky color.

Our Chinese New Year Parade will be celebrated on Monday, Feb 3rd at 11:00 a.m, please join us to see the Parade.

Just a Reminder

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, although those adorable cards and candies are tempting, we ask that you do not send them to school.  Candy and cards for each classmate can get out of hand so we appreciate your understanding and cooperation!

 Valentine’s Day

We would like to repeat what we did for Valentine’s Day last year. We will have the children make one valentine card in class to exchange at school on Valentine’s Day. We will put all the children’s names in a basket. Each child will choose a name of a classmate and give their valentine card to that child. We will use this as an opportunity to practice our manners. We will have a treat to share at group time. Anyone interested in providing this treat (strawberries or apples?), please let me know.

 

When asked to the children,’ What is Peace?’,

Dylan- doing work

Marley-Painting

Marnee- Being nice to each other

Madeline- to not fight

Alice-not to go to the Peace Table

Sydney-Being calm, kind and nice

Cameron-Being quiet

Nika- Be kind and caring

Lily-Being nice too each other

Tesla-Being quiet

Miles-Making friends and playing with them

Spencer-Not being mean o my sister and brother

LucyAnne-Focus on your work

Alex-use peaceful ways to solve the problem

Mazie-not to hurt other people

Zach- Be safe

Mia- not hurt people

Giuliana-Be safe

Josiah-not use hands to hurt

 

 

Madeline table washing, helps in developing concentration and finishing a cycle of work

Mia and Alice enjoying Green Tea

 Mazie working on the Color Tablets and grading them from Darkest to Lightest

Mateo, Pin Punching on the dots helps with strengthing the fine motor muscles and helps in develping the pincer grip

Our three volunteers Dylan, Josiah and Giuliana busy doing the dishes after our Stone Soup feast.

Lily and Jack created a Christmas Tree with the Red Rods and Knobless Cylinders.

Monroe busy at the easel.

Zach and Dylan applying butter on the bread for the Stone Soup feast.

I am Thankful for............

 

Marley, working with the Brown Stairs  and Pink Cubes and learning about Patterning and Comparing.

Marnee, working with dry exploration materials and sorting.

Week of Jan 6th to Jan 10th, 2014

Happy New Year and welcome back!

Hoping you all had a wonderful holiday break.  A very big thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the lovely gifts we received.

As we all know children enjoy a regular routine. We appreciate January because it’s typically a quiet month as students readjust getting back into a school routine.

In January we’ll learn about:

·        Antarctica

·        Asia

·        Landforms

·        Penguins

·        Hibernating Animals

·        Amphibians

·        Tea Pouring

 

Sound of the week

‘O’-Olive the Octopus

 

Upcoming Events

• Valentine’s Day is coming up. Please do not buy any Valentines or candy to pass out at school. Each student will make one card at school, and then randomly draw them from a basket.
• The Chinese New Year Parade, end of Jan/beginning of Feb
• No school on Mon, Jan 21^st - MLK Day

Week of Nov 18th to Dec 6th, 2013

·         We studied the Pilgrims, the Mayflower and the Native Americans in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and discussed how the Pilgrims were grateful for the help of the Native Americans and reflected on the things that we are grateful for. We also discussed the meaning of the “First Thanksgiving”. We wrapped up our study of Thanksgiving with “Stone Soup".  Thank you to all our families who brought an ingredient for the soup. We read a couple of versions of the story “Stone Soup”. The story taught the students the important lesson about giving and sharing

·         I think all the students were excited to come back to school on Monday after the week long break with many so new works to explore.

·         We started this week by learning about Hanukkah and we will discuss Christmas and Kwanzaa in the coming weeks. The children have enjoyed playing, the Dreidel game and adding a candle to the ‘menorah work’.

·         We also discussed how animals adapt in the winter and have learned about migration and hibernation.

·         Food prep is a great practical life activity in a Montessori classroom. The children learn self-care as they wash their hands. They develop independence and improve fine motor skills as they prepare the food. They practice grace and courtesy as they offer the food to share with their friends. The new food prep work in the classroom is Rice Cracker spreading with Apple Butter.

BRRRR……

 

As we head into December the weather is getting colder!  Please dress your child WARM for the freezing outside temperatures.  We do go outside for fresh air even when it is very cold unless it is freezing. We want to keep your children warm and healthy so please have the following items at school for your child every day:

****-thick, warm coat (no thin windbreakers)
****-light sweater for layering
****-boots and  warm socks
****-hood or warm hat
****-warm gloves or mittens
****-extra clothes in cubby appropriate for the weather
 

Remember that handling hats, gloves, mittens, boots, coats, and scarves is part of your child’s Practical Life training at the Primary level.   We will help your child learn to handle the extra clothing.   If the weather is wet or there is snow on the ground, all children need to wear boots to school.   It is not good for children’s feet to wear boots all day and our classroom floors don’t need the mess, so all children need a pair of shoes to wear in the classroom.  (Kindergarten and Full Day Fours especially need a pair of athletic shoes for P.E. )   You may choose to have your child keep their shoes in their cubby at school or they can carry them back and forth in their bag.

 

It’s important that a child’s clothes be accessible as well as have a loose, comfortable fit (and of course, the outfit has to be cute!). The clothing should be easy to button, snap, or buckle without the aid of an adult.

In the Montessori classroom, every activity is designed to inculcate a sense of independence and this extends to the clothes a child wears. We want our students to wear a coat freely and remove clothing for the restroom without help. This develops confidence and a positive self-image.

In school, we have special activities in our Practical Life area that instruct a child how to function independently when eating, cleaning, and dressing. One special material is the Dressing Frame – a series of wooden frames with cloth that are attached with different fasteners, such as buttons, laces, and buckles. In addition to the practical application of these materials, a child also learns concentration, focus, and self-discipline when using the frames.

 

 Winter Vocal Concert

Only Kindergarten and Full Day students will be participating in Dr. Brown’s Winter Vocal Concert on Tuesday, December 17 at 6:00PM.  Our half-day students will participate in the spring concert.   All are welcome to attend.  

 

 

Sound for this week

 

“m- Missy the mouse”