440 February Newsletter

The new year has gotten off to a great start!  We had three new children join the 440PM class in January.  Please join us in welcoming Van Bouc, Bennett Buese, and Elle Shaw.  The older children have been very helpful in welcoming our new friends and helping them learn the routines and expectations of our classroom.

We’ve begun our study of Asia, starting with an emphasis on Japan.  If you have stories, artifacts or other things to share from any personal or family trips to Asia, please let us know.

We enjoyed having everyone come for a visit on Mother’s Night.  The children love sharing their classroom and their work with their special friends on this night.

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Thank You

Thank you to the Mercier family for donating the jars of all sizes for use in the classroom.  Thank you to the Dunn family for the Van Gogh Self Portrait puzzles.

Classroom Spotlight

In this section of the newsletter, each month we will highlight an area of the Montessori classroom or provide information about the philosophies of the Montessori and Reggio approach to education.

This month’s classroom area is Practical Life.  The Practical Life program in the Montessori classroom is the basis upon which all other activities rest.  It is in this sequence of activities that the child develops the skills that are necessary to begin activities that are presented in other areas of the classroom.  These activities support the overall goals of Practical Life:  the development of Order, the development of Concentration, the development of Coordination and the development of Independence.  The design of the environment and the activities is very carefully considered in order to ensure that they promote the child’s development towards these four very important goals.  In addition, many of the Practical Life activities provide indirect preparation for specific activities in other areas of the classroom.  While Practical Life activities are among the first activities presented to the youngest child when they are new to the classroom, these activities provide ongoing interest for three and four year olds.  Older children also benefit from Practical Life as it provides opportunities to foster their growing social awareness.  Practical Life provides the foundation necessary for children to be successful in all areas of the Montessori classroom.

 

 

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