November 2023
Honeybee
Hello Honeybee Families, let’s give a warm welcome Parker Bess, our new baby girl who just joined us in November!
It was so nice getting to hang out with the nido and toddler families at the social this month. We shared food, stories, laughter and got to know each other! The babies in the classroom have been very busy this month. As the weather is chilling down in the morning and the evening, it is nice to bring them out to feel the change of the season! There’s no bad weather for outdoor activities, we just need to have the right gear! When it’s raining, and when it’s safe, get them rain boots and rain jackets, let them feel the rain falling onto their hands, and let them splash in the puddles! Nature provides a lot of sensorial experiences for children and it’s great for their development.
As the holiday season is coming, we are very thankful for our honeybee families to share your babies with us. We wish all the best for your family and enjoy your time with families.
With love,
The Honeybee Team
Butterfly
Hello Again,
We are beginning to see some cold weather, Finally! As I mentioned last month, please remember to send an extra set of clothes with your child. Now that it is getting cold and we use water in the classroom often, we try our best to change them out of their wet clothes as soon as we can in order to avoid illness.
Many thanks to all that were able to come support us with our Creo Social, we hope you had a blast and enjoyed the food and conversations as much as we did! It is so great to see you outside of school and get to converse outside of the classroom to get to know each other a bit more, we hope to get together again next semester for our Spring Social.
Next month, we will have a community meeting so get ready to engage and share with others your experience, we hope to have parents take the reigns on this meeting so hope to see you there! We have began to bake in the classroom again, finally! This month we baked lemon cookies and next month we are looking forward to making orange scones. All the ingredients that are needed for baking are placed on a big enough table for everything to fit in one space and each ingredient is in its own dish and pre-measured. Small items are easily accessible online from Amazon, Montessoriservices.com, World Market, and so many more. Contact me to get more ideas and information if you were unable to attend this month’s meeting.
Thank you all that are able to participate in our monthly meetings, truly. Each month we have a new topic to discuss, not only to give information about what we do in the classroom, but also to give you ideas on how to apply it at home. We promise we are here to help and support you to help guide your toddler’s development further and to make it a breeze (or at least try) in raising a toddler. We follow these Method’s that Maria Montessori studied and relied on to understand each child and guide them to their own development to build confidence, independence, self-esteem and much more. We want all parents to understand the uniqueness and capabilities every child has, and these short meetings are just the beginning!
Hummingbird
Dear Hummingbird Familia,
When we reflect on memories with our Hummingbird students, we feel very grateful, and it brings delight to us to share so many experiences in and out of the classroom. We value the toddler’s curious and humble nature, as it has taught us to extend our grace and love more than we could ever imagine. The Gratitude Potluck helped bring us closer and we were able to share some quality time together. We feel very lucky to be part of this phase of your family’s life. Thank you for all of your trust and support throughout the year so far.
The weather is getting colder outside, so the children are learning how to take off their sweaters and hang them up. Please let your child try to pull the zipper down or pull the sleeve off their arm, or if you do one side then they can try to take off the rest of the sweater. Just as long as they can be involved in any way with taking off or putting on their sweaters/hats/gloves can assist with their dexterity, strength, and overall self-confidence.
Also, the children will be practicing the “Montessori coat flip”, which after a lot of practice can enable our toddlers to be able to put their sweaters on all by themselves. The children learn to put the sweater on a table or floor (if needed) with the hood closest to them, then both of their hands slide into the sleeves, and then swiftly flip the sweater/jacket over their head. Below are some pictures of the coat flip. With much practice and guidance, they soon will be able to do these tasks on their own! So exciting!
Warmly,
Ms. Kat and Ms. Claudia
Squirrel
Hello Squirrel families!
The festivities are here and with that our busy schedules just got busier! I hope you all had a lovely November during our time off and enjoyed the time with family.
As our toddlers enjoy this lovely season, we make it a priority to offer routine and order in our environment, honoring that at this age they are in a sensitive period of order.
There are special sensitivities, which are found in evolving beings, i.e., in the infantile states, which are passengers and are limited to the acquisition of a certain character. Once this character has been developed, the corresponding sensitivity ceases. -Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood
This is a sensitive period where the child is attracted to following a sequence. That helps them have orientation in the environment and explore the environment in a specific way. They start making connections at school and home, they start to establish a relationship with the environment.
Order is very personalized depending on the person. The point of reference is the routine of the day and where they can find things in the environment as well as the adults. Every object must have a specific place in the environment, so the child can independently find things when needed. It is important for the child to establish sequence and realize every action has a beginning, middle and end. Which will also help the child create internal order.
