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Friday, November 17, 2006
Calendar
11/22 – 11/24 School closed for Thanksgiving, no childcare
12/13 Core meeting 5 pm
12/18 – 12/29 Holiday Break – childcare provided by registration
1/1/07 New Year’s Day – school closed, no childcare
TAB, PHOTOS & HOLIDAY BREAK FORMS
Take a Break forms for December thru February have been distributed to parent pockets/cubbies. School photos have also been passed out, along with Holiday Break childcare forms (which are due by Monday, Nov. 20). Please be sure to check your pockets/cubbies frequently.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid paperwork for the 2007/2008 school year is available from the business office. Email Nancy Haskins at nancy@grandlakemontessori.com, or call her at 510-622-0259 for more information. Paperwork for new families is due back by 2/1/07; deadline for current/returning families is 1/1/07.
LUCCIOLA & GLM
Now through December 31st, Lucciola bookstore will donate 10% of all purchases by the GLM community* to Grand Lake Montessori, which the teachers will use to purchase books for the classrooms.
This is a great way to support our school while stocking up on beautiful, high-quality books for holiday, birthday, and other gifts. In addition, you will be patronizing an independent, local, multicultural, women-owned cooperative business in Oakland. How can you beat that?!
Tell all your friends and family to come out and patronize them too—and to mention GLM at the counter so we can raise lots of extra funds, and bring some wonderful new books into the school.
*Patrons must identify themselves as Grand Lake Montessori family/friends in order for this contribution to be made, so don’t forget to let them know at the counter.
Lucciola Children’s Bookstore is on Piedmont Avenue near the corner of Monte Vista.
SOUND OF THE WEEK Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no Sound of the Week next week. We will resume on Wednesday, November 29th, with the sound of “K” as in Kitten, Ketchup, and Kale.
MILD STOMACH FLU GOING AROUND
GLM is having an outbreak of a mild flu affecting the children and staff. Symptoms are a low fever and vomiting. PLEASE, PLEASE, KEEP YOUR CHILDREN HOME IF THEY DISPLAY FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS. A true story related to this topic: A child vomited at school. The teacher called mom (in front of child) to ask that the child be picked up. The child said to the teacher, "Mom said I'd be OK". Oops, you never know what your child may say!
HELP SAVE A RESCUE KITTY TODAY
A friend of GLM has a fantastic rescue kitty, Lilly, who needs a permanent home. She is between 3-5 years old, spayed, and is up to date with her shots. She likes to talk and play with little mock mice. Her fur is black on top, and white underneath. I am looking for a home for her with someone who understands that while she is a sweetheart, it may take some time for her to adjust to her new home. While she is affectionate and loves to get pets and purr and knead, she also needs to be the kitty-in-control, which means letting her come to you on her schedule. Because of her background, Lilly will probably do best in a home with someone who would love to have an active kitty but who does not have small children or dogs. She likes to explore the house, and especially likes to find the highest nooks.
There is an adoption contract to sign as a part of the process. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me at lillycat@fribble.org or call 925-429-1117, 5-9PM weekdays or weekend from 9-5PM. Lilly is a great girl and I am hoping that someone out there can find a place in their heart and home for her.
Thank you!!
CHILDCARE NEEDED
I am looking for childcare for two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) for my two daughters, ages 5 and 9. Both have after-school activities and would love to have a fun, caring person with a car take them to their activities. The hours would be from 3:30pm to 6pm. Please contact Celeste at crgrinage@yahoo.com if you can help or have a referral.
NANNY AVAILABLE
Our wonderful Nanny is available now that our children are in school. Our nanny, Betty, has been with us for 4 years. She raised our 4 and 1.5 year old daughters who are now at GLM.
She treats our children as if they are her own, giving them lots of love and attention. She took our daughters out almost every day, typically going to the library and the park, walking around the lake, feeding the birds, going to MOCHA and many other activities. She is reliable and shows up on time.
She is available from 7:30-6:00 M-F. She does not drive, so she prefers to be with a family or a share that is easily accessible, as we are, from public transportation. We live near Lake Merritt on the Oakland/Piedmont border. Betty is English speaking and can be reached directly at 510.206.9702. I am sure that you will be happy that you found her. I (Kara Kelly) can be reached at kara_g_kelly@yahoo.com. should you have questions or need a reference.
BELOVED NANNY AVAILABLE!
We are moving soon and our nanny, Maria, is available in December/January from Monday-Thursday (8-5). We have felt so fortunate to have Maria caring for our children over the past 4 years, we want to help her find a great family! Seeking family with infant for share-care with remaining family. Location flexible. Please feel free to email Elizabeth with any questions: e_moughty@hotmail.com
❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
This week the elementary class had a good time in after-care and during free play inviting the 5 year olds to join us. They played soccer and Frisbee. It was really nice to see the mentoring that occurs between the elementary children and the 5 year olds.
The children have planned their menu for their in-class Thanksgiving feast. They are having: baked chicken, a cheesy mashed potato bake, corn on the cob, macaroni soup, and strawberry shortcake. This feast is going to be a lot easier to cook...we make everything from scratch and they can sometimes choose really complicated items that they would like to make. However, they have decided that they would like to have a chili luncheon one day later this school year.
I want to thank all of the parents who attended our Journeys of Discovery! They were a lot of fun and it was exciting to share with you the Montessori materials.
This week we did some dancing outside with Mr. Hoffman. We did the Virginia Reel and Sashay. It was a lot of fun. Usually we dance inside our classroom but since we were already outside for P.E., Mr. Hoffman decided it would be a nice change to dance outside as well.
JACARANDA
• A parent noted the other morning how quiet the classroom was when he peeked in at 8:15 am. It is testament to how "normalized" the classroom is becoming; that is, when the children come in, they are able to choose a work that they have had a lesson on, then take that work into the classroom and to work with it for a while, without a lot of direction from an adult.
• Many children have been coughing and feverish in recent weeks, so remind your children to wash hands often- you know they hear this in the classroom already.
• The Jacaranda classroom hosted a Journey of Discovery last week. Several parents joined Jacaranda teachers and teachers from around the campus to explore the Montessori primary third year and elementary curriculum.
• Our parakeet,Sky, who had lived in the classroom for ten years died last week from old age. The burial took place on the campus and his female partner, Rainbow, has gone to live with other parakeets in the Magnolia classroom. This was a very good opportunity for us to discuss what happens when something dies, that it does not need its body anymore and that we can therefore give it back to the earth. We also offered the children an opportunity to touch Sky's body and 'pet' him if they would like. Many of them chose to do so very sweetly and solemnly.
• From the cultural calendar:
• The afternoon children had a group lesson on the puzzle map of North America, taking turns building the map in the frame, country by country. We welcome any items from countries in North America for our Geography shelf.
• Reading from a children's book of poetry, "The Crocodile", "The Fish", "Pachycephalosaurus," and "Mr. Nobody."
• A discussion of amphibians that included a visit to the another primary classroom's frog. One of the older children made an (assisted) phone call to the other classroom to ask permission to visit their frog!
A Thanksgiving lunch will happen on Tues the 21st in Jacaranda. Thank you for making sure that your child's contribution reaches us by Mon the 20th. They will be preparing their own lunch on Mon and Tuesday. Thank you to Zayda Thiel and Kristen Talley for volunteering to help the children prepare food on Monday. We are still hoping for 2 more volunteers on Tuesday to help with the prep and clean up on the day of the feast.
A warm welcome to Frankie Broening from the Camellia Class in the Brown Cottage! She is officially the newest member of the Jacaranda family. Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to one of our oldest members, Nico Stella and his family, at the end of November, as they are moving across country to Syracuse, New York. Nico will be attending a Montessori School where, coincidentally, one of Ms. Leck's Montessori teacher friends just happens to work! We will be holding a goodbye ritual on his last day and have already started discussing his leaving our class in passing.
JUNIPER
*Second Step
For over a month, we have been working with the children on recognizing the emotions and feelings of others by way of non-verbal cues. The children have worked at length with materials that ask them to group pictures of children's faces based on the emotion they are displaying (e.g. happy, sad, angry, and surprised) and have practiced role-playing in groups. Now, we have moved on to the next step: empathy. Using large black and white photographs, we are engaging the children in discussions about the children in the photos. First, we talk about how to recognize what the child is feeling, then we discuss the appropriate ways to react. For example, if a child looks sad, you could ask them if they would like a hug or if they need anything to help them feel better. In this way, the children begin to develop a repertoire of words and behavior that they can use in emotionally charged situations, enabling them to act pro-socially.
*Thanks for your continued support!
Thank you again to all of the Juniper parents for their ongoing support of our classroom and activities. It has been wonderful to feel so strongly supported by our community of parents, and we hope that it continues!
*Thanksgiving feast and preparation
On Monday, the Juniper children will be preparing the food for our feast on Tuesday. They will be chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients, and doing all of the things that we do as adults (but at an age appropriate level, of course). Thank you to those have already brought in their food items!
*Thank you to our specialists!
Just a brief message to say thank you to our specialists, Mr. Moody (dance and movement) and Mr. Hoffman (music), for their continued involvement with our students. The children look forward each week to their visits and are always very excited when they arrive!
LIVE OAK
The children had an extremely fun and busy week as we prepared for our Thanksgiving Feast this Friday. On Monday the children and Ms. Hyer chose the menu. Your children have very good taste! They chose turkey, salmon, mac and cheese, corn, carrots and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.
On Tuesday we began to learn some Thanksgiving songs. Here are the favorites.
I have a turkey, big and fat
He spreads his wings and walks like that.
His daily corn he would not miss,
And when he talks he talks like this: gobble, gobble, gobble.
The other favorite is this one.
Turkey in the barnyard, what does he say?
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble all day.
Turkey on the table what do I say?
Yummy, yummy, yummy in my tummy all day.
Turkey in my tummy what do I say?
I ate too much on Thanksgiving Day.
We had a great time with Alice (Lucy’s mom). She came and glittered leaves with the children and created our beautiful altar for Autumn. Valerie (Emily’s mom) came and made “What I’m thankful for cards”. We read them out loud at our feast. Jon (Mia’s dad) came and made absolutely delicious chocolate chip cookies with the children. And Diane (Michael’s mom), Nima (Ananda’s mom), and Kimi (Ethan’s mom) came and helped with the feast.
We also want to thank all the parents who brought in food for our fabulous lunch on Friday.
We hope your holiday is wonderful and creates many new memories for your family. If by chance you are visiting relatives, we would love for grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles to write down a childhood holiday memory that our children can share together when we return to school.
Happy Thanksgiving.
GINKGO
We had a birthday celebration this week for Caitlin Sheen. She turns 3 years old on November 23rd. Caitlin’s mom, Bernadette Chi, came in and told the story of her life and showed the children pictures. The children enjoyed a special snack and they brought in a “peace lily” as a gift to the class in honor of Caitlin.
I would like to thank all the parents who signed up for observations. I will post the conference sign-ups on Monday. Conferences will start on December 4th and will end on December 8th.
We are looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving feast. The children have volunteered to shop for the items we will need by Tuesday, November 21st. The list went home in their lunchboxes.
We have an intern from the Mountain View Montessori Teacher Training Center, Karla Venzor. She worked with the Ginkgo children all week, and we’ve enjoyed having her in our classroom.
MAGNOLIA
A huge thank you to all of the Magnolia families who came to our Journey of Discovery evening. All of the teachers had a wonderful time showing you the materials.
A big thank you also to Katie Anderson who helped us make our beautiful woven place mats. The colorful mats will look very festive on our tables during the feast.
This week with Mr. Hoffman the children sang the "Thankful" song, and each child said what they were thankful for.
We would also like to welcome a new student, Desmond Wilkerson, to our Magnolia family.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving break with their families and loved ones.
MULBERRY
This week observations have begun in our class. This is a time for parents to come in and see what their child does during the morning and see the routines of the morning. On Monday Nov. 20 we will have our Thanksgiving Feast. You should have gotten a slip of paper with an item to contribute to the feast. Each child brings in part of our feast and together we will be making home made lasagna, garlic bread, fruit salad, soy beans, and cheese cake. The feast itself starts at 11:15 for parents who wish to attend. We ask that parents allow their child to serve themselves.
Song of the week:
Three little monkeys swinging in a tree teasing Mr. Alligator you can't catch me.
Along comes Mr. Alligator just as quiet as can be and snaps that monkey right out of that tree!
Two little monkeys swinging in a tree … etc
One little monkey swinging in a tree …etc
Quote of the week: Food forever remains more than just nourishment, thanks to our mothers. Even to us "more grown" humans, food is more than just physical nourishment. Humans gather around food. We use food to celebrate life. Food gives clues to our cultures. Our rituals are characterized by specific types of food. Special foods celebrate family, rites of passage, time of the year.
Making food is an act of love. Preparing food is an act of independence for a child, but also an act of contribution. Preparing and serving food enhances a child's worth and self esteem in a genuine way. To hear members of the family say with genuine authenticity "this tastes good" empowers a child. " I can do this. I can feed myself and others."
Preparation of food is a time for being together with loved ones. The child feels that she truly belongs and is a valued family member. The child can prepare a celebratory meal with the people who matter to her the most. It also provides time. Carving out time to be with our child in our fast-paced lives happens naturally around the preparation of food.
CAMELLIA
We have started our Camellia observations this week. Observations will continue through the week of Nov. 27th. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so.
After observations teacher and parent conferences will happen. There will be a sign up sheet on the clipboard by Friday. I would like both parents to attend the conferences. Mr. Tien has sent a pre-conference form out and needs to have it back by Dec. 1st.
This week we talked about our feelings, like sad, happy, silly, and mad. It's okay to have these feelings. One child said, "I'm sad mommy went to work. " Mr.Tien replied with "Mommy goes to work and you go to school, and mommy always come back." One child said, "Mr. Tien is silly", and everyone began laughing.
Reminder: School is closed for the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 22-24. There will be no sound of the week until the following week. The sound will be "K" as in King, Kiss, and Kitten. This week’s sound was "J" and we had Jars, Jams, Joker, Jell-o, Jacket, Jazz, and Jet.
Quote of the week: Food forever remains more than just nourishment, thanks to our mothers. Even to us "more grown" humans, food is more than just physical nourishment. Humans gather around food. We use food to celebrate life. Food gives clues to our cultures. Our rituals are characterized by specific types of food. Special foods celebrate family, rites of passage, time of the year.
Making food is an act of love. Preparing food is an act of independence for a child, but also an act of contribution. Preparing and serving food enhances a child's worth and self esteem in a genuine way. To hear members of the family say with genuine authenticity "this tastes good" empowers a child. " I can do this. I can feed myself and others."
Preparation of food is a time for being together with loved ones. The child feels that she truly belongs and is avalued family member. The child can prepare a celebratory meal with the people who matter to her the most. It also provides time. Carving out time to be with our child in our fast-paced lives happens naturally around the preparation of food.
11/22 – 11/24 School closed for Thanksgiving, no childcare
12/13 Core meeting 5 pm
12/18 – 12/29 Holiday Break – childcare provided by registration
1/1/07 New Year’s Day – school closed, no childcare
TAB, PHOTOS & HOLIDAY BREAK FORMS
Take a Break forms for December thru February have been distributed to parent pockets/cubbies. School photos have also been passed out, along with Holiday Break childcare forms (which are due by Monday, Nov. 20). Please be sure to check your pockets/cubbies frequently.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid paperwork for the 2007/2008 school year is available from the business office. Email Nancy Haskins at nancy@grandlakemontessori.com, or call her at 510-622-0259 for more information. Paperwork for new families is due back by 2/1/07; deadline for current/returning families is 1/1/07.
LUCCIOLA & GLM
Now through December 31st, Lucciola bookstore will donate 10% of all purchases by the GLM community* to Grand Lake Montessori, which the teachers will use to purchase books for the classrooms.
This is a great way to support our school while stocking up on beautiful, high-quality books for holiday, birthday, and other gifts. In addition, you will be patronizing an independent, local, multicultural, women-owned cooperative business in Oakland. How can you beat that?!
Tell all your friends and family to come out and patronize them too—and to mention GLM at the counter so we can raise lots of extra funds, and bring some wonderful new books into the school.
*Patrons must identify themselves as Grand Lake Montessori family/friends in order for this contribution to be made, so don’t forget to let them know at the counter.
Lucciola Children’s Bookstore is on Piedmont Avenue near the corner of Monte Vista.
SOUND OF THE WEEK Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be no Sound of the Week next week. We will resume on Wednesday, November 29th, with the sound of “K” as in Kitten, Ketchup, and Kale.
MILD STOMACH FLU GOING AROUND
GLM is having an outbreak of a mild flu affecting the children and staff. Symptoms are a low fever and vomiting. PLEASE, PLEASE, KEEP YOUR CHILDREN HOME IF THEY DISPLAY FLU-LIKE SYMPTOMS. A true story related to this topic: A child vomited at school. The teacher called mom (in front of child) to ask that the child be picked up. The child said to the teacher, "Mom said I'd be OK". Oops, you never know what your child may say!
HELP SAVE A RESCUE KITTY TODAY
A friend of GLM has a fantastic rescue kitty, Lilly, who needs a permanent home. She is between 3-5 years old, spayed, and is up to date with her shots. She likes to talk and play with little mock mice. Her fur is black on top, and white underneath. I am looking for a home for her with someone who understands that while she is a sweetheart, it may take some time for her to adjust to her new home. While she is affectionate and loves to get pets and purr and knead, she also needs to be the kitty-in-control, which means letting her come to you on her schedule. Because of her background, Lilly will probably do best in a home with someone who would love to have an active kitty but who does not have small children or dogs. She likes to explore the house, and especially likes to find the highest nooks.
There is an adoption contract to sign as a part of the process. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me at lillycat@fribble.org or call 925-429-1117, 5-9PM weekdays or weekend from 9-5PM. Lilly is a great girl and I am hoping that someone out there can find a place in their heart and home for her.
Thank you!!
CHILDCARE NEEDED
I am looking for childcare for two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) for my two daughters, ages 5 and 9. Both have after-school activities and would love to have a fun, caring person with a car take them to their activities. The hours would be from 3:30pm to 6pm. Please contact Celeste at crgrinage@yahoo.com if you can help or have a referral.
NANNY AVAILABLE
Our wonderful Nanny is available now that our children are in school. Our nanny, Betty, has been with us for 4 years. She raised our 4 and 1.5 year old daughters who are now at GLM.
She treats our children as if they are her own, giving them lots of love and attention. She took our daughters out almost every day, typically going to the library and the park, walking around the lake, feeding the birds, going to MOCHA and many other activities. She is reliable and shows up on time.
She is available from 7:30-6:00 M-F. She does not drive, so she prefers to be with a family or a share that is easily accessible, as we are, from public transportation. We live near Lake Merritt on the Oakland/Piedmont border. Betty is English speaking and can be reached directly at 510.206.9702. I am sure that you will be happy that you found her. I (Kara Kelly) can be reached at kara_g_kelly@yahoo.com. should you have questions or need a reference.
BELOVED NANNY AVAILABLE!
We are moving soon and our nanny, Maria, is available in December/January from Monday-Thursday (8-5). We have felt so fortunate to have Maria caring for our children over the past 4 years, we want to help her find a great family! Seeking family with infant for share-care with remaining family. Location flexible. Please feel free to email Elizabeth with any questions: e_moughty@hotmail.com
❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
This week the elementary class had a good time in after-care and during free play inviting the 5 year olds to join us. They played soccer and Frisbee. It was really nice to see the mentoring that occurs between the elementary children and the 5 year olds.
The children have planned their menu for their in-class Thanksgiving feast. They are having: baked chicken, a cheesy mashed potato bake, corn on the cob, macaroni soup, and strawberry shortcake. This feast is going to be a lot easier to cook...we make everything from scratch and they can sometimes choose really complicated items that they would like to make. However, they have decided that they would like to have a chili luncheon one day later this school year.
I want to thank all of the parents who attended our Journeys of Discovery! They were a lot of fun and it was exciting to share with you the Montessori materials.
This week we did some dancing outside with Mr. Hoffman. We did the Virginia Reel and Sashay. It was a lot of fun. Usually we dance inside our classroom but since we were already outside for P.E., Mr. Hoffman decided it would be a nice change to dance outside as well.
JACARANDA
• A parent noted the other morning how quiet the classroom was when he peeked in at 8:15 am. It is testament to how "normalized" the classroom is becoming; that is, when the children come in, they are able to choose a work that they have had a lesson on, then take that work into the classroom and to work with it for a while, without a lot of direction from an adult.
• Many children have been coughing and feverish in recent weeks, so remind your children to wash hands often- you know they hear this in the classroom already.
• The Jacaranda classroom hosted a Journey of Discovery last week. Several parents joined Jacaranda teachers and teachers from around the campus to explore the Montessori primary third year and elementary curriculum.
• Our parakeet,Sky, who had lived in the classroom for ten years died last week from old age. The burial took place on the campus and his female partner, Rainbow, has gone to live with other parakeets in the Magnolia classroom. This was a very good opportunity for us to discuss what happens when something dies, that it does not need its body anymore and that we can therefore give it back to the earth. We also offered the children an opportunity to touch Sky's body and 'pet' him if they would like. Many of them chose to do so very sweetly and solemnly.
• From the cultural calendar:
• The afternoon children had a group lesson on the puzzle map of North America, taking turns building the map in the frame, country by country. We welcome any items from countries in North America for our Geography shelf.
• Reading from a children's book of poetry, "The Crocodile", "The Fish", "Pachycephalosaurus," and "Mr. Nobody."
• A discussion of amphibians that included a visit to the another primary classroom's frog. One of the older children made an (assisted) phone call to the other classroom to ask permission to visit their frog!
A Thanksgiving lunch will happen on Tues the 21st in Jacaranda. Thank you for making sure that your child's contribution reaches us by Mon the 20th. They will be preparing their own lunch on Mon and Tuesday. Thank you to Zayda Thiel and Kristen Talley for volunteering to help the children prepare food on Monday. We are still hoping for 2 more volunteers on Tuesday to help with the prep and clean up on the day of the feast.
A warm welcome to Frankie Broening from the Camellia Class in the Brown Cottage! She is officially the newest member of the Jacaranda family. Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to one of our oldest members, Nico Stella and his family, at the end of November, as they are moving across country to Syracuse, New York. Nico will be attending a Montessori School where, coincidentally, one of Ms. Leck's Montessori teacher friends just happens to work! We will be holding a goodbye ritual on his last day and have already started discussing his leaving our class in passing.
JUNIPER
*Second Step
For over a month, we have been working with the children on recognizing the emotions and feelings of others by way of non-verbal cues. The children have worked at length with materials that ask them to group pictures of children's faces based on the emotion they are displaying (e.g. happy, sad, angry, and surprised) and have practiced role-playing in groups. Now, we have moved on to the next step: empathy. Using large black and white photographs, we are engaging the children in discussions about the children in the photos. First, we talk about how to recognize what the child is feeling, then we discuss the appropriate ways to react. For example, if a child looks sad, you could ask them if they would like a hug or if they need anything to help them feel better. In this way, the children begin to develop a repertoire of words and behavior that they can use in emotionally charged situations, enabling them to act pro-socially.
*Thanks for your continued support!
Thank you again to all of the Juniper parents for their ongoing support of our classroom and activities. It has been wonderful to feel so strongly supported by our community of parents, and we hope that it continues!
*Thanksgiving feast and preparation
On Monday, the Juniper children will be preparing the food for our feast on Tuesday. They will be chopping vegetables, measuring ingredients, and doing all of the things that we do as adults (but at an age appropriate level, of course). Thank you to those have already brought in their food items!
*Thank you to our specialists!
Just a brief message to say thank you to our specialists, Mr. Moody (dance and movement) and Mr. Hoffman (music), for their continued involvement with our students. The children look forward each week to their visits and are always very excited when they arrive!
LIVE OAK
The children had an extremely fun and busy week as we prepared for our Thanksgiving Feast this Friday. On Monday the children and Ms. Hyer chose the menu. Your children have very good taste! They chose turkey, salmon, mac and cheese, corn, carrots and chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches.
On Tuesday we began to learn some Thanksgiving songs. Here are the favorites.
I have a turkey, big and fat
He spreads his wings and walks like that.
His daily corn he would not miss,
And when he talks he talks like this: gobble, gobble, gobble.
The other favorite is this one.
Turkey in the barnyard, what does he say?
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble all day.
Turkey on the table what do I say?
Yummy, yummy, yummy in my tummy all day.
Turkey in my tummy what do I say?
I ate too much on Thanksgiving Day.
We had a great time with Alice (Lucy’s mom). She came and glittered leaves with the children and created our beautiful altar for Autumn. Valerie (Emily’s mom) came and made “What I’m thankful for cards”. We read them out loud at our feast. Jon (Mia’s dad) came and made absolutely delicious chocolate chip cookies with the children. And Diane (Michael’s mom), Nima (Ananda’s mom), and Kimi (Ethan’s mom) came and helped with the feast.
We also want to thank all the parents who brought in food for our fabulous lunch on Friday.
We hope your holiday is wonderful and creates many new memories for your family. If by chance you are visiting relatives, we would love for grandmas, grandpas, aunts and uncles to write down a childhood holiday memory that our children can share together when we return to school.
Happy Thanksgiving.
GINKGO
We had a birthday celebration this week for Caitlin Sheen. She turns 3 years old on November 23rd. Caitlin’s mom, Bernadette Chi, came in and told the story of her life and showed the children pictures. The children enjoyed a special snack and they brought in a “peace lily” as a gift to the class in honor of Caitlin.
I would like to thank all the parents who signed up for observations. I will post the conference sign-ups on Monday. Conferences will start on December 4th and will end on December 8th.
We are looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving feast. The children have volunteered to shop for the items we will need by Tuesday, November 21st. The list went home in their lunchboxes.
We have an intern from the Mountain View Montessori Teacher Training Center, Karla Venzor. She worked with the Ginkgo children all week, and we’ve enjoyed having her in our classroom.
MAGNOLIA
A huge thank you to all of the Magnolia families who came to our Journey of Discovery evening. All of the teachers had a wonderful time showing you the materials.
A big thank you also to Katie Anderson who helped us make our beautiful woven place mats. The colorful mats will look very festive on our tables during the feast.
This week with Mr. Hoffman the children sang the "Thankful" song, and each child said what they were thankful for.
We would also like to welcome a new student, Desmond Wilkerson, to our Magnolia family.
We hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving break with their families and loved ones.
MULBERRY
This week observations have begun in our class. This is a time for parents to come in and see what their child does during the morning and see the routines of the morning. On Monday Nov. 20 we will have our Thanksgiving Feast. You should have gotten a slip of paper with an item to contribute to the feast. Each child brings in part of our feast and together we will be making home made lasagna, garlic bread, fruit salad, soy beans, and cheese cake. The feast itself starts at 11:15 for parents who wish to attend. We ask that parents allow their child to serve themselves.
Song of the week:
Three little monkeys swinging in a tree teasing Mr. Alligator you can't catch me.
Along comes Mr. Alligator just as quiet as can be and snaps that monkey right out of that tree!
Two little monkeys swinging in a tree … etc
One little monkey swinging in a tree …etc
Quote of the week: Food forever remains more than just nourishment, thanks to our mothers. Even to us "more grown" humans, food is more than just physical nourishment. Humans gather around food. We use food to celebrate life. Food gives clues to our cultures. Our rituals are characterized by specific types of food. Special foods celebrate family, rites of passage, time of the year.
Making food is an act of love. Preparing food is an act of independence for a child, but also an act of contribution. Preparing and serving food enhances a child's worth and self esteem in a genuine way. To hear members of the family say with genuine authenticity "this tastes good" empowers a child. " I can do this. I can feed myself and others."
Preparation of food is a time for being together with loved ones. The child feels that she truly belongs and is a valued family member. The child can prepare a celebratory meal with the people who matter to her the most. It also provides time. Carving out time to be with our child in our fast-paced lives happens naturally around the preparation of food.
CAMELLIA
We have started our Camellia observations this week. Observations will continue through the week of Nov. 27th. If you haven't signed up yet, please do so.
After observations teacher and parent conferences will happen. There will be a sign up sheet on the clipboard by Friday. I would like both parents to attend the conferences. Mr. Tien has sent a pre-conference form out and needs to have it back by Dec. 1st.
This week we talked about our feelings, like sad, happy, silly, and mad. It's okay to have these feelings. One child said, "I'm sad mommy went to work. " Mr.Tien replied with "Mommy goes to work and you go to school, and mommy always come back." One child said, "Mr. Tien is silly", and everyone began laughing.
Reminder: School is closed for the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 22-24. There will be no sound of the week until the following week. The sound will be "K" as in King, Kiss, and Kitten. This week’s sound was "J" and we had Jars, Jams, Joker, Jell-o, Jacket, Jazz, and Jet.
Quote of the week: Food forever remains more than just nourishment, thanks to our mothers. Even to us "more grown" humans, food is more than just physical nourishment. Humans gather around food. We use food to celebrate life. Food gives clues to our cultures. Our rituals are characterized by specific types of food. Special foods celebrate family, rites of passage, time of the year.
Making food is an act of love. Preparing food is an act of independence for a child, but also an act of contribution. Preparing and serving food enhances a child's worth and self esteem in a genuine way. To hear members of the family say with genuine authenticity "this tastes good" empowers a child. " I can do this. I can feed myself and others."
Preparation of food is a time for being together with loved ones. The child feels that she truly belongs and is avalued family member. The child can prepare a celebratory meal with the people who matter to her the most. It also provides time. Carving out time to be with our child in our fast-paced lives happens naturally around the preparation of food.
