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Saturday, February 10, 2007
2/14 Core meeting 5 – 6 pm
2/19 President’s Day – School closed, no childcare
2/20-2/23 Winter Break – Childcare by prior registration
3/7 Science show, 2 pm for Kindergartners & Elementary
PARENT’S RIGHTS FORMS
You will be receiving a new Parent’s Rights form with your February statement. You will need to read, sign and return it immediately to the school office. Childcare Licensing is adamant about having the new form in your child’s file. Thank you.
THE SAFETY CORNER
This space is dedicated to a weekly safety note. Everyone at GLM works very hard to keep your children safe. We have fire drills, earthquake drills and are planning a series of skits to practice our preparedness even more. We want to use this space to update you on our preparedness so that in case of any emergency you would know what we were doing and what we would like you to do as well.
Your children deserve to be in safe environments and it is the responsibility of every adult to keep them safe. The children should not be expected to actively protect themselves; however, it is important to offer children the opportunity to learn about safety. Teaching safety is not very different from any other lesson in our classrooms with the focus being on what we can do to be safe and not what is out of our control. For example, children can learn to fasten a seat belt, but they can’t do anything about an adult driving too fast.
Children learn by interacting with their environments. Adding safety-related materials to our curriculum and demonstrating and practicing drills are very important. As we grow through the year and implement new safety curriculum we will inform you here so you use the same language and practice at home.
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that contains with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound for next week is “T”, as in Taco, Tea, and Tower.
NANNY NEEDED
I'm seeking a nanny for my 3 month old, 3-4 days a week, M-F from 7:30AM-4:30 PM. I'm returning to work THE 2nd week in March. My work week is different each week, so I'm looking for someone who is willing to be flexible. I'm also looking for someone who is Infant/Child CPR certified, speaks English well, very energetic and likes to go for walks, has a clean CA drivers license, and has current references. We live around lower Rockridge area, close to public transportation (BART), shops and restaurants. We are looking for someone who will be a great fit for our family. We also have a small dog who loves people, so must love dogs too. Thanks! Email: Gethurman@yahoo.com
WHAT’S ELEMENTARY UP TO?
✔ A snow trip Feb 14 – 16 to Norden, CA!
✔ Swimming at the YMCA beginning Mar. 1st
✔ Aftercare sewing class starting Mar. 2nd
✔ Mar. 7th “Color of Justice”, a Theater Works production
✔ Field trip to see “People Like Me” dance performance on Mar. 20th
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
Every year the elementary class at GLM participates in Pennies for Patients, a fund-raising event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year’s event will begin February 26th and run through March 21st. There will be containers in each class for spare change – look under your car seats, lift the cushions off your sofa, empty the pockets of your raincoat! The GLM class that raises the most money gets a pizza party, and children with cancer benefit from funding for further research.
❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Last Friday the elementary teachers, Mrs. Gilliam and Mr. Flushman, went to the Portland Montessori Training Center for a refresher course on the third period lesson. This is the lesson format we follow in the Montessori method and it is defined as the association of the terminology of a concept associated with the senses. The first period in elementary is to simply give the terminology to the children, the second is the children recognizing the terminology and the third period is the children relating that terminology to a different concept. Here are two examples of the elementary children using the third period lesson this week:
◆ This week the third years began studying quotation marks. We were using the movable alphabets to make our own quotes. Kai and Angelina stated, “We can use the adverb from our grammar box, excitedly, in these sentences.”
◆ Charlie, on the other hand, decided that he would like to incorporate his Spanish language, “Buenos dias, Profesora Gilliam.”
The fifth years have begun to study fluid pressure. We were discussing the concept of a straw and fluid pressure. Zachary said, “This is related to Newton’s third law of motion; for every action there is an equal reaction.”
This week Zachary, Camille and Nacalah prepared jambalaya for lunch. We used a Gilliam family recipe that included tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, onions, garlic, kielbasa sausage, chicken, rice broth, and many spices. We also had cornbread. It was all delicious!
This week the first years had a lesson on mountain formation and we began to look at the different types of mountains around the world. They are currently working on making a map of the world of all major mountains.
The fourth years have been busy with their many research projects. Some of them have completed their invertebrate research, eras of the Earth’s history research, and botany research. They have been very busy!
The entire class has been eagerly anticipating our upcoming three-day trip to the snow. Everyone will bring their gear on Monday to have it checked. A group of children will do the shopping on Tuesday morning, and Wednesday, we leave!
JACARANDA
Now that the rain has begun again the children spend more time inside. This time is filled with the same enriched choices that their normal, non-rainy day morning and afternoon work times offer. Besides choosing from the Montessori choices on the shelves of the Jacaranda environment, other cooperative work that leads to focus, concentration, order and coordination are offered.
On Monday the class celebrated both Owen’s 3rd and Garren’s 4th birthdays. Thank you, Owen, for the frog book, and Garren, for the soccer ball!
Please refer to the Jacaranda Valentine guidelines for those parents who are celebrating Valentine’s Day for the first time with us, and for those families who need a reminder of how the class shares in this community event. These guidelines will be available this week.
In the month of February Jacaranda will be studying the weather, the fifth and last group of vertebrates, mammals, and the continent of South America. We will also be celebrating the Lunar New Year. If you would like to help us with this holiday please contact the Jacaranda Teachers. We would love somebody to help the children make some Chinese food!
JUNIPER
The children have started learning the names of sea mammals. They are matching labels for seal lion, harbor seal, fur seal, blue whale, sperm whale, orca, manatee, dolphin, and walrus to small models of the animals. It’s always amazing how little practice it takes for them to memorize the names.
We’ve started our celebration of Lunar New Year on Wednesday and will continue through next week. This week we set up a presentation table with various items related to the holiday and will rotate the items throughout the coming week to reflect the activities we are doing. On Wednesday the children took turns making sweet dumplings (Nei Gauo). They wrapped sweet rice cake inside dumpling skins, cooked it in oil, then shared their treat with the class. Eating Nei Gauo symbolizes bringing sweetness and success to the coming year.
There is no need to bring a valentine’s snack to class as the children will be making a snack together in class. Despite the plethora of commercially made valentine cards, the most appreciated and enjoyable valentines for children to give are those they have made themselves. Young children love crafts and this is a great opportunity for them to practice making gifts for others! Also, when getting their valentines ready they only need to write their own name on them since they will be giving one to every child in the class. It’s a great chance to practice writing their own names.
As we study the continent of Europe this month we encourage all parents to share their experiences of the continent. Whether it’s books, music, photos or clothing, bring it in and share!
The children have become so proficient at doing the puzzles in the classroom that some of them have begun doing the puzzles blindfolded. Despite the difficulty of the activity, many of them are finding success on their first attempt! This builds their sensory-motor skills as well as patience. We encourage you to revisit puzzles they may have mastered at home with blindfolds as well.
For safety reasons please make sure your child has slippers in the classroom. If they do not, please bring a pair ASAP. In the event of an emergency there would not be time to put shoes on. Therefore, all children wear slippers at all times in the classroom.
The Juniper teachers would like to thank all of the parents once again for their continued support. The children are doing great, and we couldn’t have helped them to this level of success without all of your help!
LIVE OAK
This has been a quiet week. There have been several sick children - we miss you, please feel better soon.
We have several reminders this week. Please bring in your picture of your family for our family tree. If any families would like to come give presentations for Lunar New Year, African American History Month or give us a concert playing your favorite instrument, we would love it!!
The children have been working on recognizing when children in our class may need help, from a fall or a difficult work, and what we can say to offer our help. When a child falls, the nearest child asks if the fallen child is ok, and if there is anything they can do to help, either giving the child a hug or getting a teacher. This helps the children to practice empathy for others.
Live Oak children are growing quickly and are eating everything that is sent for lunch. Please send more food with your child. Many children are becoming hungry only one hour after lunch. Please also send protein with every lunch every day.
A new song we are learning:
Love is Something
Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away,
Love is something if you give it away, you’ll end up having more.
It’s just like a magic penny,
Hold it tight and you wont have any
Lend it, spend it, you’ll have so many,
They’ll roll all over the floor.
So… Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away
Love is something if you give it away, you’ll end up having more.
Valentine’s Day is next Wednesday. Please help your child to learn the meaning of the holiday, focusing on friendship and love of their friends and family. If you have to purchase cards, please remember that we avoid characters and super heroes in our classrooms. Hand making Valentines for the children in the class is a way to let your child practice the skills they learned in school (cutting, painting gluing, writing) and a fun way for you to earn your Parent Participation hours!
LIVE OAK PARENTS – Please see the letter from Helen Campbell that follows this newsletter.
GINKGO
The Ginkgo children have just finished their study of the human body. We have talked about ears, skin and the heart. We talked about how everyone looks different, even though we have two eyes, a nose, two arms, and so on, we still all look so different that we can recognize each person we know without getting anyone confused (with the exception of identical twins).
We are getting ready for our Valentine’s Day tea party! We would like to celebrate, and be mindful of, the spirit of the holiday: love, friendship and appreciation. We would like to take focus off store-brought themes such as princesses, Superman etc. If you think your child will be tempted by store-brought commercial themes incongruent with the Montessori ethic, you may wish to create handmade cards with your child or shop for cards without your child.
Thank you to the parents who helped children make Valentine’s Day bags, Erin Scott (Chiara’s mom), and Joanne Yoshimura (Ben Morgan’s mom).
Last week we had a birthday celebration for Julia Mascola who is now 4 years-old. Her parents Jennifer and Robert came in and shared a story and pictures with the children, and we all enjoyed a special snack.
Mr. Hoffman began teaching the children a South American song entitled “Bogando A La Luz Del Sol”, which in English means “Rowing Toward The Sunlight”. The children are learning the lyrics in Spanish.
MAGNOLIA
In the month of February we will be studying different types of mammals, geometric solids, and the continent of Europe. We will also celebrate Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year.
This week a fourth year elementary student, Clare Keating, came to the class to present her research project on the Magnolia tree. The children sat with baited breath as she talked about different varieties of the tree and the pollination process (Magnolia trees are pollinated by beetles!). She also passed around a beautiful Magnolia blossom for the children to touch and smell.
The third years went to the Live Oak classroom for a science experiment about flame and oxygen. They watched as a vase was placed over a lit candle, and counted how long it took for the flame to die with the lack of oxygen. Next week they will be working on their continent maps of Europe; tracing, painting and labeling them.
Please bring in an empty cereal box to decorate for Valentine’s Day. We will make them extra fancy next week!
MULBERRY
GLM is sorry to report that Ms. Aima was hospitalized this week with a non-life-threatening condition. She is resting comfortably at Kaiser. We wish her well and will be sending her flowers. Furthermore, her husband is convalescing from surgery and her daughter has the flu!
In her absence the class is running smoothly with Ms. Kebede, Ms. Mollel, and Ms. Velasquez. Mr. Tien is acting Site Director.
Some thoughts about Valentines:
This can be an unnecessarily expensive commercial holiday. For children, it isn’t about candy or special “Ninja Valentines”. In keeping with the Montessori ethic give your child opportunities to sensorially express the spirit of the holiday; Affectionate and caring cards to friends and family. At GLM the children will be making special snacks and passing out unlabelled cards. Use up your parent hours by:
✔ buying doilies, red paper: materials for card making
✔ supervising two children at a time while they make Valentines
✔ make heart-shaped pancakes with the children
Little Chefs prepared macaroni and cheese this week – everyone’s all-time favorite. NO left-overs! Next week they will put together a vegetarian lasagna.
CAMELLIA
During the month of February we have two celebrations. First we have our Camellia Valentine's tea party when children will enjoy having muffins and a delicious, healthy fruit cone. We ask that each child bring 14 cards, unaddressed, to be delivered. Please be mindful of the spirit of the holiday; this is about love and friendship, not candy and super heroes. If you think your child will be tempted by store-bought Valentines with commercial themes, you may wish to create handmade cards and shop for cards without your child or even better, come in and do a Valentine's card project with your child and the class.
The second celebration is the Lunar New Years (year of the pig) on Thursday, Feb.15. Megan's moms, KoKo and Margot (Camellia Class) and Alex's (Mulberry class) grandpa Minh and mom, Tuyen, are doing crafts, music, stories, and will prepare a wonderful dish with the children. We have been talking about the Lunar New Year, firecrackers, lion dance, dragon dance and many delicious foods.
This week the Little Chefs prepared the old-fashioned macaroni and cheese. It was a big hit and everyone asked for seconds and thirds. We can't forget the delicious fruit salads! Next week their menu is a vegetarian lasagna, mmm...... again no lunch boxes needed.
This week’s sound was "S" and we had Screwdriver, Salt, Sea lion, Soap, Spoon. Sophie said her name and her brother’s (Spencer) both started with the "S" sound, too. Remember next week’s sound is "T" as in Tomatoes, Train and Track, and Tea.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: MUSIC AND LANGUAGE
“In the first days, months, and the first year of life the infant is especially interested in the sound of the human voice and in watching the face and lips of a speaking person. It is not an accident that the focusing distance of the eyes of a newborn are exactly the space between his face and that of the mother while nursing. Perhaps the best first communication experiences are provided while nursing the baby.”
More Music and Language next week.
Dear Live Oak Parents,
Whenever there is a change GLM strives to blur and overlap the transitions so the children see the adults modeling change as ordinary. There are some planned changes and some unplanned staff absences coming up in Live Oak in mid-February. Awa Dia will be absent from February 12 to February 28 due to a family illness in Senegal. We wish her a safe journey. During her absence, a Montessori teacher-intern will be doing her practice teaching in Live Oak, which means the children receive lots of lessons from the visiting teacher.
Monica MacDonald is doing more and more with Montessori teacher training. She is absent one day a week observing teacher trainees in other schools. We were planning to have her step back out of the classroom in June since there will be several weeks that she is training students over the summer. Instead of waiting until June, Monica is beginning now and Amanda Hyer is assuming the lead teacher role with Awa Dia and Maggie Cheney as support teachers.
Monica will be taking on a new job at GLM both in curriculum design and administration. She will be coordinating disaster preparation drills and readiness for all staff monthly meetings. In addition, Monica will start working 4 days a week and help GLM design a child in nature greenhouse experience that could expose all the children comfortably to gardening and composting. She is currently researching other schools in Marin and Berkeley that have edible gardens, and active hands-on programs for school age and preschool children.
Ginni Sackett, teacher trainer, pointed out that Live Oak has many qualified staff to serve the children’s needs. Monica will continue to be a peripheral presence to the children. She will greet children in the mornings, and do occasional special activities in Live Oak. Amanda will be the anchoring teacher along with Awa Dia, who completes her Montessori internship this May. Maggie Cheney and Amanda will on occasion switch teaching shifts so that Amanda can greet parents in the mornings, and still be available for conferences one afternoon weekly. While we are all very excited about the changes, we also recognize it is a transition for the children. Please keep the Live Oak teachers up-to-date about how your child is processing these changes.
Sincerely,
Helen Campbell
Head of School
2/19 President’s Day – School closed, no childcare
2/20-2/23 Winter Break – Childcare by prior registration
3/7 Science show, 2 pm for Kindergartners & Elementary
PARENT’S RIGHTS FORMS
You will be receiving a new Parent’s Rights form with your February statement. You will need to read, sign and return it immediately to the school office. Childcare Licensing is adamant about having the new form in your child’s file. Thank you.
THE SAFETY CORNER
This space is dedicated to a weekly safety note. Everyone at GLM works very hard to keep your children safe. We have fire drills, earthquake drills and are planning a series of skits to practice our preparedness even more. We want to use this space to update you on our preparedness so that in case of any emergency you would know what we were doing and what we would like you to do as well.
Your children deserve to be in safe environments and it is the responsibility of every adult to keep them safe. The children should not be expected to actively protect themselves; however, it is important to offer children the opportunity to learn about safety. Teaching safety is not very different from any other lesson in our classrooms with the focus being on what we can do to be safe and not what is out of our control. For example, children can learn to fasten a seat belt, but they can’t do anything about an adult driving too fast.
Children learn by interacting with their environments. Adding safety-related materials to our curriculum and demonstrating and practicing drills are very important. As we grow through the year and implement new safety curriculum we will inform you here so you use the same language and practice at home.
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that contains with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound for next week is “T”, as in Taco, Tea, and Tower.
NANNY NEEDED
I'm seeking a nanny for my 3 month old, 3-4 days a week, M-F from 7:30AM-4:30 PM. I'm returning to work THE 2nd week in March. My work week is different each week, so I'm looking for someone who is willing to be flexible. I'm also looking for someone who is Infant/Child CPR certified, speaks English well, very energetic and likes to go for walks, has a clean CA drivers license, and has current references. We live around lower Rockridge area, close to public transportation (BART), shops and restaurants. We are looking for someone who will be a great fit for our family. We also have a small dog who loves people, so must love dogs too. Thanks! Email: Gethurman@yahoo.com
WHAT’S ELEMENTARY UP TO?
✔ A snow trip Feb 14 – 16 to Norden, CA!
✔ Swimming at the YMCA beginning Mar. 1st
✔ Aftercare sewing class starting Mar. 2nd
✔ Mar. 7th “Color of Justice”, a Theater Works production
✔ Field trip to see “People Like Me” dance performance on Mar. 20th
PENNIES FOR PATIENTS
Every year the elementary class at GLM participates in Pennies for Patients, a fund-raising event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This year’s event will begin February 26th and run through March 21st. There will be containers in each class for spare change – look under your car seats, lift the cushions off your sofa, empty the pockets of your raincoat! The GLM class that raises the most money gets a pizza party, and children with cancer benefit from funding for further research.
❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●❄●
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Last Friday the elementary teachers, Mrs. Gilliam and Mr. Flushman, went to the Portland Montessori Training Center for a refresher course on the third period lesson. This is the lesson format we follow in the Montessori method and it is defined as the association of the terminology of a concept associated with the senses. The first period in elementary is to simply give the terminology to the children, the second is the children recognizing the terminology and the third period is the children relating that terminology to a different concept. Here are two examples of the elementary children using the third period lesson this week:
◆ This week the third years began studying quotation marks. We were using the movable alphabets to make our own quotes. Kai and Angelina stated, “We can use the adverb from our grammar box, excitedly, in these sentences.”
◆ Charlie, on the other hand, decided that he would like to incorporate his Spanish language, “Buenos dias, Profesora Gilliam.”
The fifth years have begun to study fluid pressure. We were discussing the concept of a straw and fluid pressure. Zachary said, “This is related to Newton’s third law of motion; for every action there is an equal reaction.”
This week Zachary, Camille and Nacalah prepared jambalaya for lunch. We used a Gilliam family recipe that included tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, onions, garlic, kielbasa sausage, chicken, rice broth, and many spices. We also had cornbread. It was all delicious!
This week the first years had a lesson on mountain formation and we began to look at the different types of mountains around the world. They are currently working on making a map of the world of all major mountains.
The fourth years have been busy with their many research projects. Some of them have completed their invertebrate research, eras of the Earth’s history research, and botany research. They have been very busy!
The entire class has been eagerly anticipating our upcoming three-day trip to the snow. Everyone will bring their gear on Monday to have it checked. A group of children will do the shopping on Tuesday morning, and Wednesday, we leave!
JACARANDA
Now that the rain has begun again the children spend more time inside. This time is filled with the same enriched choices that their normal, non-rainy day morning and afternoon work times offer. Besides choosing from the Montessori choices on the shelves of the Jacaranda environment, other cooperative work that leads to focus, concentration, order and coordination are offered.
On Monday the class celebrated both Owen’s 3rd and Garren’s 4th birthdays. Thank you, Owen, for the frog book, and Garren, for the soccer ball!
Please refer to the Jacaranda Valentine guidelines for those parents who are celebrating Valentine’s Day for the first time with us, and for those families who need a reminder of how the class shares in this community event. These guidelines will be available this week.
In the month of February Jacaranda will be studying the weather, the fifth and last group of vertebrates, mammals, and the continent of South America. We will also be celebrating the Lunar New Year. If you would like to help us with this holiday please contact the Jacaranda Teachers. We would love somebody to help the children make some Chinese food!
JUNIPER
The children have started learning the names of sea mammals. They are matching labels for seal lion, harbor seal, fur seal, blue whale, sperm whale, orca, manatee, dolphin, and walrus to small models of the animals. It’s always amazing how little practice it takes for them to memorize the names.
We’ve started our celebration of Lunar New Year on Wednesday and will continue through next week. This week we set up a presentation table with various items related to the holiday and will rotate the items throughout the coming week to reflect the activities we are doing. On Wednesday the children took turns making sweet dumplings (Nei Gauo). They wrapped sweet rice cake inside dumpling skins, cooked it in oil, then shared their treat with the class. Eating Nei Gauo symbolizes bringing sweetness and success to the coming year.
There is no need to bring a valentine’s snack to class as the children will be making a snack together in class. Despite the plethora of commercially made valentine cards, the most appreciated and enjoyable valentines for children to give are those they have made themselves. Young children love crafts and this is a great opportunity for them to practice making gifts for others! Also, when getting their valentines ready they only need to write their own name on them since they will be giving one to every child in the class. It’s a great chance to practice writing their own names.
As we study the continent of Europe this month we encourage all parents to share their experiences of the continent. Whether it’s books, music, photos or clothing, bring it in and share!
The children have become so proficient at doing the puzzles in the classroom that some of them have begun doing the puzzles blindfolded. Despite the difficulty of the activity, many of them are finding success on their first attempt! This builds their sensory-motor skills as well as patience. We encourage you to revisit puzzles they may have mastered at home with blindfolds as well.
For safety reasons please make sure your child has slippers in the classroom. If they do not, please bring a pair ASAP. In the event of an emergency there would not be time to put shoes on. Therefore, all children wear slippers at all times in the classroom.
The Juniper teachers would like to thank all of the parents once again for their continued support. The children are doing great, and we couldn’t have helped them to this level of success without all of your help!
LIVE OAK
This has been a quiet week. There have been several sick children - we miss you, please feel better soon.
We have several reminders this week. Please bring in your picture of your family for our family tree. If any families would like to come give presentations for Lunar New Year, African American History Month or give us a concert playing your favorite instrument, we would love it!!
The children have been working on recognizing when children in our class may need help, from a fall or a difficult work, and what we can say to offer our help. When a child falls, the nearest child asks if the fallen child is ok, and if there is anything they can do to help, either giving the child a hug or getting a teacher. This helps the children to practice empathy for others.
Live Oak children are growing quickly and are eating everything that is sent for lunch. Please send more food with your child. Many children are becoming hungry only one hour after lunch. Please also send protein with every lunch every day.
A new song we are learning:
Love is Something
Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away,
Love is something if you give it away, you’ll end up having more.
It’s just like a magic penny,
Hold it tight and you wont have any
Lend it, spend it, you’ll have so many,
They’ll roll all over the floor.
So… Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away
Love is something if you give it away, you’ll end up having more.
Valentine’s Day is next Wednesday. Please help your child to learn the meaning of the holiday, focusing on friendship and love of their friends and family. If you have to purchase cards, please remember that we avoid characters and super heroes in our classrooms. Hand making Valentines for the children in the class is a way to let your child practice the skills they learned in school (cutting, painting gluing, writing) and a fun way for you to earn your Parent Participation hours!
LIVE OAK PARENTS – Please see the letter from Helen Campbell that follows this newsletter.
GINKGO
The Ginkgo children have just finished their study of the human body. We have talked about ears, skin and the heart. We talked about how everyone looks different, even though we have two eyes, a nose, two arms, and so on, we still all look so different that we can recognize each person we know without getting anyone confused (with the exception of identical twins).
We are getting ready for our Valentine’s Day tea party! We would like to celebrate, and be mindful of, the spirit of the holiday: love, friendship and appreciation. We would like to take focus off store-brought themes such as princesses, Superman etc. If you think your child will be tempted by store-brought commercial themes incongruent with the Montessori ethic, you may wish to create handmade cards with your child or shop for cards without your child.
Thank you to the parents who helped children make Valentine’s Day bags, Erin Scott (Chiara’s mom), and Joanne Yoshimura (Ben Morgan’s mom).
Last week we had a birthday celebration for Julia Mascola who is now 4 years-old. Her parents Jennifer and Robert came in and shared a story and pictures with the children, and we all enjoyed a special snack.
Mr. Hoffman began teaching the children a South American song entitled “Bogando A La Luz Del Sol”, which in English means “Rowing Toward The Sunlight”. The children are learning the lyrics in Spanish.
MAGNOLIA
In the month of February we will be studying different types of mammals, geometric solids, and the continent of Europe. We will also celebrate Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year.
This week a fourth year elementary student, Clare Keating, came to the class to present her research project on the Magnolia tree. The children sat with baited breath as she talked about different varieties of the tree and the pollination process (Magnolia trees are pollinated by beetles!). She also passed around a beautiful Magnolia blossom for the children to touch and smell.
The third years went to the Live Oak classroom for a science experiment about flame and oxygen. They watched as a vase was placed over a lit candle, and counted how long it took for the flame to die with the lack of oxygen. Next week they will be working on their continent maps of Europe; tracing, painting and labeling them.
Please bring in an empty cereal box to decorate for Valentine’s Day. We will make them extra fancy next week!
MULBERRY
GLM is sorry to report that Ms. Aima was hospitalized this week with a non-life-threatening condition. She is resting comfortably at Kaiser. We wish her well and will be sending her flowers. Furthermore, her husband is convalescing from surgery and her daughter has the flu!
In her absence the class is running smoothly with Ms. Kebede, Ms. Mollel, and Ms. Velasquez. Mr. Tien is acting Site Director.
Some thoughts about Valentines:
This can be an unnecessarily expensive commercial holiday. For children, it isn’t about candy or special “Ninja Valentines”. In keeping with the Montessori ethic give your child opportunities to sensorially express the spirit of the holiday; Affectionate and caring cards to friends and family. At GLM the children will be making special snacks and passing out unlabelled cards. Use up your parent hours by:
✔ buying doilies, red paper: materials for card making
✔ supervising two children at a time while they make Valentines
✔ make heart-shaped pancakes with the children
Little Chefs prepared macaroni and cheese this week – everyone’s all-time favorite. NO left-overs! Next week they will put together a vegetarian lasagna.
CAMELLIA
During the month of February we have two celebrations. First we have our Camellia Valentine's tea party when children will enjoy having muffins and a delicious, healthy fruit cone. We ask that each child bring 14 cards, unaddressed, to be delivered. Please be mindful of the spirit of the holiday; this is about love and friendship, not candy and super heroes. If you think your child will be tempted by store-bought Valentines with commercial themes, you may wish to create handmade cards and shop for cards without your child or even better, come in and do a Valentine's card project with your child and the class.
The second celebration is the Lunar New Years (year of the pig) on Thursday, Feb.15. Megan's moms, KoKo and Margot (Camellia Class) and Alex's (Mulberry class) grandpa Minh and mom, Tuyen, are doing crafts, music, stories, and will prepare a wonderful dish with the children. We have been talking about the Lunar New Year, firecrackers, lion dance, dragon dance and many delicious foods.
This week the Little Chefs prepared the old-fashioned macaroni and cheese. It was a big hit and everyone asked for seconds and thirds. We can't forget the delicious fruit salads! Next week their menu is a vegetarian lasagna, mmm...... again no lunch boxes needed.
This week’s sound was "S" and we had Screwdriver, Salt, Sea lion, Soap, Spoon. Sophie said her name and her brother’s (Spencer) both started with the "S" sound, too. Remember next week’s sound is "T" as in Tomatoes, Train and Track, and Tea.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: MUSIC AND LANGUAGE
“In the first days, months, and the first year of life the infant is especially interested in the sound of the human voice and in watching the face and lips of a speaking person. It is not an accident that the focusing distance of the eyes of a newborn are exactly the space between his face and that of the mother while nursing. Perhaps the best first communication experiences are provided while nursing the baby.”
More Music and Language next week.
Dear Live Oak Parents,
Whenever there is a change GLM strives to blur and overlap the transitions so the children see the adults modeling change as ordinary. There are some planned changes and some unplanned staff absences coming up in Live Oak in mid-February. Awa Dia will be absent from February 12 to February 28 due to a family illness in Senegal. We wish her a safe journey. During her absence, a Montessori teacher-intern will be doing her practice teaching in Live Oak, which means the children receive lots of lessons from the visiting teacher.
Monica MacDonald is doing more and more with Montessori teacher training. She is absent one day a week observing teacher trainees in other schools. We were planning to have her step back out of the classroom in June since there will be several weeks that she is training students over the summer. Instead of waiting until June, Monica is beginning now and Amanda Hyer is assuming the lead teacher role with Awa Dia and Maggie Cheney as support teachers.
Monica will be taking on a new job at GLM both in curriculum design and administration. She will be coordinating disaster preparation drills and readiness for all staff monthly meetings. In addition, Monica will start working 4 days a week and help GLM design a child in nature greenhouse experience that could expose all the children comfortably to gardening and composting. She is currently researching other schools in Marin and Berkeley that have edible gardens, and active hands-on programs for school age and preschool children.
Ginni Sackett, teacher trainer, pointed out that Live Oak has many qualified staff to serve the children’s needs. Monica will continue to be a peripheral presence to the children. She will greet children in the mornings, and do occasional special activities in Live Oak. Amanda will be the anchoring teacher along with Awa Dia, who completes her Montessori internship this May. Maggie Cheney and Amanda will on occasion switch teaching shifts so that Amanda can greet parents in the mornings, and still be available for conferences one afternoon weekly. While we are all very excited about the changes, we also recognize it is a transition for the children. Please keep the Live Oak teachers up-to-date about how your child is processing these changes.
Sincerely,
Helen Campbell
Head of School
