Classroom Notes | December 2018

As the calendar year draws to a close, a HUGE thank you to all the families that have supported our classroom these past months: sewing, flower bouquets, laundry duty, gourds, and holiday gift donations create a sense of community and hominess in the classroom, and nurture the independence and development of the children. Thank you all for your dedication to your children and to the FCMS community.

This is an exciting time of year, and the children are learning about all the celebrations taking place world wide. We have learned songs and traditions for Hanukkah, discussed how some families celebrate Christmas, and talked about the Winter Solstice. The latter ties in nicely with the holiday gift that children will be bringing home next week, and we hope that it brightens your home on the shortest day of the year!

Evergreen needle trimming and pine cone plucking are now part of the classroom, and children use both the needles and pinecone pieces in our new nature collage work. Several children have started embroidery work, and some are reading for the first time! It has been a peaceful and productive few weeks!

Please enjoy these new songs and sing along with your child over the holiday break: “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel”, “Hanukkah, O, Hanukkah”, “Sleigh Bells”, “Over the River”, “I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm”, “Dona Nobis Pacem”, “Auld Lang Syne”.

I can’t believe the first semester is coming to an end! It has been such a pleasure getting to know all of your beautiful children, they have grown so much already! A big round of applause for everyone who came together to help make our Holiday Performance a hit. Gathering as one community to celebrate the children was a thrill to share and be apart of!

This month we have been learning all about “The Winter Solstice.” This lesson is given as story about the one special day when the light part of the day will be the shortest ever and the dark part of the day will be the longest ever. We explain that after that day we begin to notice that our temperate zone will turn back towards the sun and the light part of the day will start to get longer and longer until we’re back in summer again! But for now we notice all the changes that winter is bringing to our world. We have also discovered that there are things that stay green all winter long—EVERGREENS! As a class we have gathered evergreen branches, wrapped them in lights and have used them to decorate our classroom to celebrate the “Return of the light.” The children are even using some of the smaller pieces to add to the flowers for our flower arranging lesson. Needles to say our classroom feels quite festive!

We have learned several new songs to go along with the season. “This little light of mine” and “Make new friends but keep the old.”

During this time of year we are having lot’s of friends breaking into writing, the decimal system and exploring the mathematical operations. I wanted to share a photo that a child had worked on with the movable alphabet. This friend decided to write the poem we recited at our holiday program “Snow” by Alice Walker. Writing from memory using newly learned punctuation was wonderful to see!

We are emerging into a hectic holiday season where our children will be surrounded by gifts and attention. During this time many of us have systems in place to help our children say “thank you” for the special gifts they will receive, as well as assisting those less fortunate. Thank you notes and donating toys or needed items are some ways that children see us practice empathy, gratitude, and giving. Children are naturally empathetic and want to help others, they can use these feeling to begin to cultivate and embrace gratitude. We should remember that children absorb our actions and words, so when they observe our daily acknowledgment of appreciation, they will begin to practice this as well.

Here are a few ideas:

Speaking of gratitude, I want to let you all know how thankful I am for YOU and the FCMS COMMUNITY!

When we talk about Christmas or Hanukah, we mention that “many families celebrate this holiday, but some do not.” We focus on the cultural aspects, such as family traditions and the commonality of many of the world’s celebrations, like lights! However you celebrate please enjoy a happy and safe holiday!

BIG WORK

The oldest children in our community are 5 and 6 and nearing the  Second Plane of Development . This morning I noticed that four of them had chosen  large activities  and were spread out across the floor near each other. Typically in Primary, we encourage children work at a solitary table to protect their concentration. These older children, however, are moving toward the way they will work in  Elementary  next year. Although they were all side by side, they were each deep in  concentration  on projects they had chosen.

PROBLEM SOLVING IN A MONTESSORI COMMUNITY

A few days ago, one of the oldest children had a lesson on knitting. She was able to complete the stitches, but was having trouble remembering the sequence of events involved in making each stitch. Her solution? Get a piece of paper and pencil, and make herself a set of step-by-step instructions. She referenced these instructions for the rest of the day.

SHIFTING SEASONS AND WINTER SOLSTICE

Many years ago, people noticed the warmth and green leaves disappearing as darker, colder days arrived. They rejoiced when springtime brought sunshine and new growth. Today we continue to bring  evergreens  into our homes to remind of us greener days to come. We string up  lights  to remind us of the light that will return and to  gather  together around their glow. Our classroom is celebrating the arrival of winter by hand-rolling  beeswax candles  to bring home.

PARENT RESOURCES FOR BREAK

Being home for two weeks together can be a great opportunity to  connect  and create an atmosphere of mutual respect  and  collaboration . Some  articles  around simplifying to make holidays more enjoyable:

Why You Should Do Nothing When Your Child Says: “I’m Bored”
It’s Okay to Stay Home and Just Play
Holiday Survival Guide  from Janet Lansbury

I have  so  much gratitude for your supportive and open-minded attitudes. I am lucky to know your children and to get to collaborate with you. Happy holidays, everyone.

The children felt so proud after their performance at the Senior Center! The following morning they couldn’t stop talking about it (especially the performance that the Upper Elementary children did)!

As we come upon the Winter Break, the children are working on finishing up work that is incomplete. They are also working on a winter craft. Our winter craft this year is an embroidered hanging ornament. The children are designing an ornament on felt, then they’re embroidering their design using a variety of stitches. They are then creating a backing, beginning to stitch the two pieces together (using the blanket stitch), stuffing the ornament, finishing off the blanket stitch, and completing it with a hook. There is so much uniqueness in these designs and stitches.

If you are looking for gift ideas for your children, here are some Montessori-friendly gift ideas for you to consider.

I hope your Winter Break is filled with laughter, warmth, and fun! May the time you spend with you family bring lots of fun, lots of love, and many memories that will last a lifetime!

This month our class studied watercolor painting. A third year student researched the technique and shared it with the class. Many celebrated artists used a watercolor technique. We studied the life and artwork of Edward Hopper.

Below, Maria Montessori is quoted by Association Montessori Internationale in a holiday greeting. Every day I come to class to guide the development of your children. I respect them as the builders of the future. They are gifts. Thank you. Happy traditions and celebrations:) See you next year.