Time Outs!

I have been giving alot of thought to my approach to children in the classroom, who might be struggling in socializing with their peers. It has been my practice in the past to isolate them from the group to allow them some time to think about what they did wrong. But honestly, I don't think this helps,what are they learning? I believe that they need more practice instead in learning to socialize positively, so they can eventually become better at it.
I will be looking for extra activities for them to take part in, to foster these skills.Some ideas that I have come up with so far are: excusing each child from the circle to find their place at the table for lunch. Facilitating classroom cleanup before we begin preparing lunch.Greet the children as they come in the door to begin the day. Hopefully my list will grow.

I would like to begin introducing this new practice with a Grace and Courtesy Lesson. The children understand the concept so much better if they are SHOWN not TOLD about a new practice. We have a spot in our classroom called "The Peace Corner". The child is free to go there at any time to be by themselves. They may choose to be there for as long as they want. This is a good place to be if they are feeling sad, angry or even tired. If I see a child that appears to be frustrated, I say to them, "I can see you are getting frustrated, do you remember that there is a good place to go when you are feeling like that"? We will continue to use the Peace Corner for this purpose. But as a child needs to be reminded of proper social skills we will encourage more social interactions.

GRATITUDE

A few days before Thanksgiving I went around the circle and asked each child to share what they were most grateful for...........

Here's what they said...........

Penny: "When Ms. Carolyn reads me a story".
Gavin: "Friends, and when my mom plays trains with me".
Mikey: "My friends"
Jameson: "I like writing stories at school".
Mya: "Mommy and Daddy".
Swapna: "Friends and reading stories together".
Avery: "Pie, napping at school and snack".
Bruno: "Drawing and coloring at school".
Vivek: "Taking a nap at school"

The themes that we are covering this month are: Amphibians, Telling Time, Weather, Temperature, Clouds and the obvious: Christmas and Hanukkah.

We have a short month because of the two-week break which begins:
December 21 - January 4.

There have been some questions from parents about when their child will begin writing their names legibly on paper.
Here is the information that you need to hear on that issue:

It is my belief as a Montessori Teacher that.......when the hand, eye, brain have been prepared with other activities, the child explodes into writing, and it becomes a joyful and a natural activity.
If the child is not able to control his or her pencil yet, trying to write on a worksheet or a plain piece of paper, where all their mistakes are there for everyone to see, is much too frustrating.
So.......be patient, and let them take their time getting there.

Introducing Our Infant Room

The Start of a New School Year

Just look at what I created!

Best Buddies

Woo Hoo!

I can still see you

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself!

Sweetwater Bay Montessori - Meet & Mingle!

The Hot, Sultry Days Of Summer Are Upon Us

The 2008-2009 school year is over, but cry no more........Summer School has begun! Yes, today was the first day of Summer School. We welcomed our old friends and welcomed some new faces. Melanie and Noah are brother and sister and friends of Sevilla and Jameson Groebe. Jameson got to bring his sister, Penny along with him today for her first day of preschool.

We are continuing with the fun classes that were so successful last year, they come after our three-hour work cycle and lunch. I recruited Kari to teach Suzuki Violin as well as Music Therapy. They surely enjoyed it today......learning the names of each part of the violin as well as practicing the notes.

Invite your friends to join us for a fun-filled summer program for the next nine weeks. We will work hard and play hard too! We have lots of fun activities planned.

I just want to recap some of last month's events.......
The end of the school year party at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse was so much fun!
Kudos to Urvi and Tara for planning, cooking, putting it all together, and so much more! It was a great success. Before I forget.....if you took pictures that night and you don't mind sharing them, I would love to post them on the Blog.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the gift certificates they are most welcomed!

I really enjoyed visiting with those of you who came by for Parent-Teacher Conferences. I appreciate the time that you took out of your busy schedules to come.

In July......Urvi Shah (Swapna's Mom) would like to offer doing an Infant Massage class. If you are interested or know of someone who might be just let me know so we can do some planning. She will do a fabulous job!

We have the most Wonderful, Supportive Parents around, Thank You!

Look What's Happening Around Here!

Take a look at these beautiful pictures of your children....

Pictures Finally!!!