Deck the school with bows of holly Tra-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la! December is always a short and busy month. We will be creating crafts, singing carols, and reading timeless stories all month long! We are really focusing on the joy of giving and encouraging children to show their love through their helpfulness, happy attitudes and acts of kindness at home and at school. Be watching and try to catch them doing something good!

We will keep our spirits bright with a Christmas Party on Thursday Dec. 18, 2008. We will be having our annual class gift exchange. Children will draw names and are invited to bring a $1-3 gift wrapped for that child.

Service
We would love to do a class secret service for someone or something if you have any ideas see Amy or Karen.

I enjoyed our conferences together. Your children are doing great! This is a young class but one of our most academic years ever. Your children are zooming right along. If you could not schedule a conference you will be getting a phone conference the first week of December. I will send the progress reports home with your children.

The Perfect Gift
Find a classic story or a wonderful illustrated book. Wrap it up and slip it under the tree. You have just given your child…..special time with you and something that can be enjoyed over and over. Opening a book can be like opening a whole new world of adventures beyond belief. Reading out loud is a great activity for the whole family. Give the perfect gift give a book!

Some of My Favorite Authors:

Jan Brett
Eric Carle
Mercer Meyer
Max Lucado
Jez Alborough

Pilgrims and the Indians... re-enactment

Montessori grasps on to the importance of each Holiday... Thanksgiving being no exception. Our Thanksgiving Party included the story of The Stone Soup, making of Pilgrim and Indian hats (each child had the choice of which they would like to be), the re-enactment of the Pilgrims and Indians at Plymouth Rock, ended with a wonderful feast of the Stone Soup that each child helped contribute ingredients to that day. It was a wonderful, educational, and most importantly FUN day!

Trevor Tenney and Taylor Mills.. greeting eachother just as the Pilgrims and Indians did.

So much fun!

And that is the rest of the story.....

Collins Chapman:)

Kelten was so happy to pose as an Indian!

Kellen Mills first workstation as Pilgrim:)

Kaelynn Hipps and McKay Wood acting out the Thankgiving workstation of the Pilgrims and Indians.

Kayson Merrill... so careful in balancing.. and SO CUTE.

Briley Decker... one of our cutest girl Indians.

Brooke Chlarson and Taylor Mills... two lovely Pilgrims!

Stone Soup

Adding ingredients!

Mrs. Merrill discussing the process of making stone soup.

Ready to cook!

Stone Soup Recipe:

1 round stone (washed)

10 cups of water

1 lb. ground beef (cooked)

3 Tbsp. beef broth flavoring (powdered)

1 Tbsp. salt

2 large carrots

2 onions

3 celery stalks

3 potatoes

1 cube butter

1 cup barley or rice

1 bag frozen peas (do not add until last 10 min. before serving)

Chop it all up, put in the pot with the stone. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until vegetables are soft. Turn off heat, add peas, and serve! Mmm... delicious!

Pumpkin Mousse Pie

Graham Cracker Crust

Filling:

1 tub cool whip

1 vanilla pudding prepared

1/2 cup pumpkin

1 tsp. pumpkin spice (or allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon combined)

Fold together, spoon into pie shells. Spread plain cool whip on top, chill, and serve!

Thanksgiving Party Feast!

The First Thanksgiving feast!

The Feast included: Stone Soup made by our students that day, Pumpkin Mousse Pies, and cornbread! So all of you mom's with picky eaters... your children loved it!

I can't believe it is already the third month of school! We have already seen such growth in your youngsters! Our classroom is peaceful and busy. Plan a day to come observe. We would love to have you. I am looking forward to parent teacher conferences this month on Thursday Nov. 20th & Friday Nov. 21st. Watch for the sign-up sheet at school.

The word Educate comes from the Latin rood meaning "to lead." As a parent, you have a unique opportunity to lead your child into areas of interest and activity that are meaningful and fulfilling. You, as the primary teacher, are the most significant influence in your child's absorbent mind.

Tip #1: When your child does something or says something wrong, try using this phrase:
"Try it over" (Show them a better way if needed, then use the phrase.)

Tip #2: Say only the words you want your child to do. When children are young, they usually pick up on only the last words in a phrase.

Examples:

Don't run ~ Walk ~ You're being noisy ~ Talk quietly ~ Don't spill ~ Be careful ~ Stop fighting ~ Be kind


Tip #3: We should be giving 9 positives to every negative criticism we make. This is a challenge, but it is proven to work and bring great results in good behavior. We often forget to notice when children are behaving well. Make an effort to praise them more.

A Montessori teacher is constantly looking inward to better herself and better lead a child. A Montessori tacher is a child advocate in the deepest sense who respects the child's total being.

Thanksgiving Celebration - Tuesday Nov. 19, 2008!

We love to act out the first Thanksgiving. We make costume hats and make a feast to share!

Cranberry Orange Salad

1 lb. fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 Orange

Grind cranberries and orange in food processor. Mix with sugar and juice. Chill and serve.

The Middle of November - poem

It's the middle of November and the weather's crisp and cool,
Thanksgiving's getting closer so there's lots to do at school.
Our teacher gives us projects that we work on everyday,
We make Indians and Pilgrims out of paper, paste, and clay.
Our bright Thanksgiving murals are displayed on all the walls,
And our cut-out paper pumpkins gaily decorate the halls.
Today I drew a turkey with a fat and funny face,
In the middle of November school's a very busy place.

Halloween Party

Costumes!

Students do a variety of yoga poses at Montessori. Each day before workstations are begun, each student holds their "candle flame" and focuses on the workstation they choose to begin each day. On a day like today, they had the option of many fun workstations: Ghost making & ghost grab game, bingo & bean bag toss, making paper spiders, pumpkin seed tasting & pumpkin drawing.

Musical numbers.....

in the end, they all got a treat!

Group snack is a special occasion when there is a party.

Halloween Artwork

Mrs. Merrill has been giving students art lessons. This month, being Halloween, we focused on Pumpkins. You can see the various pieces of artwork done by a few of those students ready for this type of assignment. They are displayed as shown for parents to see. If you would like a closer look at your child's artwork, feel free to come in and take a peek any time.

This is a close up of Kellen Mills pumpkin.

October festivities!

A Tree is Nice
This month we are studying trees and birds.We are learning the parts of a tree, and taking notice on how they change with the seasons. We are discovering that trees are very important to us, as they provide so much for our survival as well as for animals.

Tree Hunt
We have invited the students to bring leaves, branches, seeds, nuts, fruit, bark, etc. from their trees at home or wherever they may be. We have a collection in a looking basket that they may add to throughout the month.

"Lots of Costumes, lots of fun,
Candy, treats for everyone!
Spooky stories, games and more,
That's what Halloween is for! "



Recipe - Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups unwashed pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/4 tsp. seasoning salt (Lawry's)

In a bowl, stir seeds and ingredients. Shake until well coated. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake @ 250 for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

!

Our celebration will be held on Thursday Oct. 30. All children may wear their costumes! We will be making crafts, playing games, eating treats, and singing songs. We would love to have 2 parent volunteers to join us and help with games and crafts. If you would like to help, please let us know. If you would like to send a treat/trinket/snack this day, you can- it is optional.

Lets DANCE!

Taylor Mills

Baylee Bowman

Kelten

The line- accomplished:)

Trevor Tenney

Kasen Merill

Kaelynn Hipps

Kellen Mills

Trevor Tenney and Mckay Wood

Braelyn Brimhall

Collins Chapman

Taylor Mills

Baylee Bowman

Briley Decker

Focus in the workstation

Collins Chapman.


Trevor Tenney.


Kambria Bowman.


Briley Decker.


Brooke Chlarson.