December 2024
Honeybee
It's the most wonderful time of the year, Honeybee familia!
As we approach the end of 2024, it's incredible to reflect on the many milestones our students have reached this year. The classroom has been buzzing with excitement as children have mastered new skills, deepened our strength in community, and embraced the values of independence! Whether it's the joy of perfecting their grasps, crawling through the classroom, or exploring the natural world, each child has made beautiful strides. Let's celebrate these accomplishments!
Winter is a time for reflection, growth, and shared warmth; we are looking forward to the end the year and preparing for the new one ahead!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being an amazing part of our community! We hope you enjoy the winter break with lots of family and food! Happy holidays!
Please reach out to Susan@creoschool.org or Nido@creoschool.org for any questions or comments.
With love,
The Honeybee Team 💌
Ms. Susan, Ms. Maria, & Ms. Roseanna
Butterfly
Happy December, everyone!
A new year is only weeks away. Thank you all for the sweet gifts and the love you share with us throughout the year. Know that we are always here for you and we know we can count on you to be there for us as well. To cover a little about our last community meeting - there was information on how we introduce language materials in the environment as well as the benefits to what and how we do it and how you can introduce new materials at home. Down below is a brief introduction to our language area. Please be sure to write up your questions you may have for us for our Parent Meeting to share with the rest of the group as we try and make this into a group share rather than me chatting your ears off about the classroom. It is always good to hear parent feedback and your experiences!
At this age, toddlers are at a stage we call a “sensitive period” for language. This means that their minds are rapidly absorbing and seeking language. Through much study, Maria Montessori came to learn that this sensitive period lasts from birth up until age six. This helps explain why it is much easier for a child to learn multiple languages than it is for an adult; the sensitive period for learning new languages has ended for the adult.
Having this knowledge, the Montessori toddler classroom is made up of a fourth of the materials and lessons just for language alone! First, there are tangible materials for the child to work with. There are real items the child can interact with and have lessons with such as real fruits, vegetable, tools, plants, and more. Then there are other materials that are replicas for of objects that the child cannot interact within the classroom such as wildlife animals, transportation vehicles, large home appliances and much more.
The other aspect of the language materials are the language cards. These are pictures of items for the child to see and learn the names. There is a variety of these as well. Some activities are set up to have the tangible materials matching with the exact picture card and others with similar pictures so the child learns there are different varieties of an item. On the language shelf, they also have other language cards of pictures of items that cannot be tangible at all, like ‘parts of a city’ or images of careers. These are great for the young child to be exposed to and begin to learn more about parts of their world!
I hope everyone has a wonderful break filled with joy and smiles. Happy New Year!
Warmly,
Ms. Rebeca & Ms. Daisy
Hummingbird
Happy Holiday’s Hummingbird familia,
We have enjoyed seeing the children grow so much this semester. From hearing some friends say new words to others speaking in sentences, and everyone finding deep focus on the “works” that interest them. It truly is an honor to observe these special moments with your children and to guide them in ways that help us build closer relationships and very important life skills.
This month the children worked on baking orange waffles, slicing celery sticks, spreading sun butter on crackers, and pressing oranges to make juice. We shared the celery slices during lunch time, and everyone tasted it while some even asked for seconds! Food is a big part of our culture; it is amazing to see the children try new foods and share this experience with everyone.
Lunchtime is a big part of their workday, in which the children learn about opening their lunch boxes and containers and setting up their food on their plate. Also, if their food needs to be warmed up, they learn to use the microwave. Some of our lunch time is dedicated to speaking about the different food we bring from home and sharing short stories about playing outside or any recent trips.
Grace and courtesy skills are learned and practiced through genuine and real experiences. Lunchtime is an opportunity for the children to practice these skills by passing out the milk/water cups to their friends, learning how to respect each other’s food and drink, using utensils for their food, or helping fill up another friend’s cup of water after it gets empty, and if there’s a spill someone is always eager to get up to get a towel to dry it up.
The children are constantly observing and absorbing all that is around them. To support them we model the way to eat, drink water, collaborate in conversations, set up and clean up our place at the table. By modeling a respectful approach in a practical, and genuine way, the children can use that experience to learn from and practice.
We hope that your holidays are filled with laughter, love, and lots of quality time with loved ones. We will be saying farewell to our dear friends Parker and Arjun, as they are moving to new places next semester. We will miss them dearly and wish for the best in their future. Have a wonderful end of the year, and safe winter break. We look forward to welcoming you back in the New Year. Thank you for all that you do to support your children through these toddler years.
With lots of gratitude,
Ms. Kat and Ms. Dafne
Squirrel
Happy Holidays Squirrel families!
What an amazing first semester of school we have had, together we have grown to be a community and through grace and courtesy you can see the children help one another. We have our older friends helping and guiding our younger ones in our routine and classroom expectations. If there is a spill a child made, there are friends who will willingly get a towel to help them clean up! They tell each other reminders of where our lunchboxes go, or to put their things away. It is so lovely to see our community grow and feel more like a family 💖 as we take care of one another.
As we approach our winter break I wanted to send a few reminders for the next semester!
Make sure all belongings are labeled First and Last Name
Bring back wet-bag and extra clothes to replenish for the next day
Bring easy to open containers for your child to use for lunch
Refer to the Family handbook for thorough Dress code policy
Check clothes are easy to pull on or off for your child as well as shoes.
No characters
Packaged items please place in containers or slightly opened for your child to open such as applesauce pouches, cheese sticks, sandwiches, etc
Thank you for your trust and continued support this semester! I am honored to be with your child in their developmental journey! As always, I am here to support your child. If you need to reach me, you can email me! See you after the Holidays
I wanted to share this quote with you all.
“A child who has become master of his acts through long and repeated exercises, and who has been encouraged by the pleasant and interesting activities in which he has been engaged, is a child filled with health and joy and remarkable for his calmness and discipline. ”
Maria Montessori
The Discovery of the Child, p. 92
