January 27-31, 2020

Kudos to the Pre-K and Kindergarten students for collecting 117 coats for our coat drive! 

Thank you for helping us help others!

We had a fabuloso time celebrating Hispanic Heritage month at Community Time! Our favorite parts were decorating maracas and the dance party!

The Pre-K's love for Dr. Martin Luther King continues!

Last week and this week, we talked about ways that we could be like Dr. King: being kind, playing together, being respectful, and loving one another. We started our "Dr. King Kindness Jar." Every time we catch someone acting like Dr. King, he or she will put a pom-pom in the jar. Once the jar is full, we will celebrate! The students voted and decided our "celebration" will be an extra recess! They are working hard to be kind to one another each and every day!

While the boys and girls are working hard to be kind, there are still times when conflicts arise. We have created a peace corner in our classroom. Maria Montessori believed in peace education and the importance of teaching children about peace, manners, conflict resolution, and caring for the environment. The students know that they can go to the peace corner to take some time to calm down, work things out with a friend, or even if they just "need a minute." It has been wonderful to see the children utilizing this space!

Looking ahead:

• Parent Visitation Day is next Friday, February 7. We are hoping that every child can have someone present. Please let us know if you are able to attend by clicking here.
• Show and tell will be on Tuesday, February 4. The topic will be something that begins with /g/. If possible, please send in an item with the hard /g/ sound as in green, grapes, golf, etc.
• Get your tickets for the HCA Auction on February 29. More information can be found here.
• Students may bring in valentines to share with the class. Please refer to the email that was sent for more details.
• There is no school on Friday, February 14, or Monday, February 17.

Just a reminder!

Have a good weekend! Stay healthy!

January 20-24, 2020

Have you heard?

The Pre-K and Kindergarten students are organizing a coat drive!

The boys and girls made posters to hang in the classroom and around school to remind everyone to bring in new and gently used coats for men, women, and children to benefit families in the Greater Philadelphia area.

Please bring in your coats by Monday, January 27, 2020! Help us help others!

Pre-K and Kindergarten students have also been working together in science class!

We watched a Sid the Science Kid video called "Discovering Darkness." The boys and girls learned about the difference between light and dark, reasons why not to be afraid of the dark, and how to use their other senses to help them "discover" something they encounter in the dark.

The students were partnered together - one child was blindfolded and the other chose an object for the first child to guess. The students were able to ask questions and use their sense of touch to determine what the object was. 

Then, the students took turns entering the "cave of darkness" and used great adjectives to describe what they saw and how they were feeling. Even the teachers got in on the fun!

Looking ahead:

• Hope to see you at Family Fun Night tomorrow at HCA from 5:00-8:00 pm.
• Show and tell will be on Monday, January 27. The topic will be something that begins with /f/.
• Save the date: Parent Visitation Day is Friday, February 7. Please RSVP. We are planning a fun morning for you and your child!
• The HCA Auction is Saturday, February 29. Click here for more information. 

Have a great weekend!

January 13-17, 2020

This week, we celebrated the birthdays of two very special people - Cornelia Connelly and Martin Luther King, Jr.!

We learned that Cornelia Connelly was the foundress of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (the order that founded our school!) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a leader in our country who fought for equality for all people.

We spent a lot of time in class talking about Dr. King, how he helped our world, and how his work made it possible for all of us to be friends today! We watched a great video to help the children understand what life was like during that time. You can view the video here. 

Before and after watching the video, the class engaged in wonderful conversations about differences, fairness, and being kind to all people. They did have a hard time understanding how and why people could be so unkind to one another and asked very insightful questions.

The boys and girls quickly realized that none of us are the exact same color - we all come in different "shades." They were even able to relate what they were learning to one of our Montessori lessons. Color Box 3 is a lesson where the students grade various colors from darkest to lightest. "Guys, guys, we are just like Color Box 3 - we all come in different shades from dark to light!"

The Pre-K students LOVED the song from the video and it quickly became a hit throughout the school. Listen to their enthusiasm as they sing about Martin Luther King!

After our lessons, we decided to institute "Make a New Friend Day," a special tradition in our classroom. Students were encouraged to choose a classmate that they do not usually play with and partner up with him/her. The students were so excited and eager to talk to their "new friend." Since then, they have asked if the new friends could sit together at snack and lunch, play together, and even work together. It is wonderful to see the children embrace one another and branch out to include more classmates in their "circle of friends." Look at these pictures of all our new friends!

We plan to continue our "Make a New Friend Day" throughout the year. ❤

Looking ahead:

• The Pre-K and Kindergarten students are ready to work on our next drive! We will be collecting new and gently used coats for men, women, and children to help families in the Greater Philadelphia area. The drive will run through January 27, 2020. 
• There is no school on Monday, January 20 for Martin Luther King Day. 
• There will be a bake sale next week during all lunches to benefit Australia. Items will cost between $0.50 and $1.00.
• Our next show and tell will be on Monday, January 27, and the topic will be something that begins with /f/. 

Our "Selfie Station" is up and running in the classroom. Since so much of the children's work does not come home with the Montessori lessons, we have found a way to bring the work to you! Students are encouraged to clip a camera to a lesson they have completed and are especially proud of and we will take a picture to send home to you. So be sure to keep an eye on your email! Great news coming soon!

A big thank you to Panos and his family for
sending in bagels and juice for snack! We all
enjoyed this special treat!

Enjoy the long weekend!

January 6-10, 2020

Happy New Year and welcome back!

We hope you all had a blessed Christmas and enjoyed the nice, long break. Thank you for all you did to make our holiday so special!

The boys and girls jumped right back in to the new year and are working hard already. They have had a great week reviewing some old lessons and learning new ones!

Peyton is working to build patterns and grade
from largest to smallest with the Knobless Cylinders.

Caroline is filling in missing ending sounds
with the Movable Alphabet.

Maya is building extensions with the Pink
Tower and Brown Stair.

Jennah is working on the snowman pin-punching craft
to strengthen her fine motor skills.

Georgie is creating a pattern and stringing beads.

Mason is matching shapes with the Geometry Cabinet.

Sydney is sorting picture cards by the initial
sounds /d/, /w/, /e/, and /n/.

Grace is reviewing initial sounds using the
Movable Alphabet.

Braden is using the Insta-Learn Board to
fill in missing initial sounds of pictures.

Archie is working on the concepts of same
and different.

Kaleo is counting out quantities for 1 to 10.

CJ is grading color from darkest to lightest
using Color Box 3.

Asai is matching letters to pictures by their initial sounds using
the Insta-Learn Board.

Chase is strengthening his grip by tweezing pinecones.

Panos is tracing and writing his name.

Lucas is proud of how he sorted the Geometric Solids
(sphere, cylinder, cone, and cube).

Harper loves putting puzzles together.

Looking ahead:

• Show and Tell on Thursday, January 16 will be something that begins with /b/.
• There is no school on Monday, January 20, for MLK, Jr. Day.
• Save the dates:
• Parent Visitation Day is Friday, February 7. More information will be sent home soon!
• The HCA Auction is Saturday, February 29. Get your tickets now! Hope to see you there!

Have a great weekend!