2013
December
NEWS
Have I told you how much I love being with the children and staff of St. James? It’s a heartwarming place to be after spending a day or two in the retail frenzied world! The Christmas season at SJES is an especially peaceful and endearing time as we see the children bring gifts for those in need and hear their sweet voices singing their Christmas songs. There’s also a slightly different atmosphere in the classrooms- a kind of excitement brewing in the children as they count down the days. Surprisingly, this season doesn’t diminish the amount of work that they choose, in fact it seems as though the children become more focused and introspective. As I walk tours through the classrooms I notice bigger, more challenging works are being chosen. Many of the children have mastered works and are now exploring the materials through extensions to the lessons as we draw to an end of this first semester. Each classroom also has a variety of seasonal works, each with a purpose and intent. Even through the work and the whispers of Santa, Elves, and Christmas wishes can be heard through the classrooms, Jesus remains front and center. How blessed are we that we can share the true meaning of Christmas together? Enjoy your holidays with your family and friends- and have a very Merry Christmas. Mrs. Loree
Christmas Manger Prayer Oh God, whose mighty Son was born in Bethlehem those long days ago, lead us to that same poor place where Mary laid her tiny Child. And as we look on in wonder and praise, make us welcome Him in all new life. Let us see Him in the poor and in the care for His handiwork‌ the earth, the sky and the sea. O God, bless us again in your great love. We pray for this through Christ our Lord. Amen
MDO
Oh my goodness! We can't believe that we are already half way through the year. The children are growing and learning so much. We would like to thank everyone for coming to our Grandparents Day. We had a really wonderful turn out and the children were so proud to show off their classroom. This month we have been working on gluing, cutting with scissors, painting, Christmas songs, and our sound book. The children have been very busy in the classroom. They stay so busy while they are here. Don't forget when we come back we will be starting POTTY TRAINING BOOT CAMP! We will need a lot of underwear, leg warmer's, and changes of clothes. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have about it. MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR, Your MDO Teachers
Luke and Madeleine are painting Christmas trees
Elizabeth is putting stickers on her Christmas tree
Top Left: We are practicing our Christmas songs at circle time Top Right: Noelle is gluing her gingerbread man together Bottom Right: All of our grandparents lining up with the children. What a successful grandparents day we day. The children loved having them in their classroom
Toddler
Tree Decorating
Bead Stringing Ornaments
Gluing the Christmas Stars
Godly Play Wooden Manger
Wow, where has the school year gone? Just when we started getting into the groove of choosing works on their own and completing a work cycle, it's time for the Christmas winter break. Our works in the classroom have been so much fun during this holiday season. Decorating our class Christmas tree, painting with two colors of paint (red & green) and learning our holiday songs for our Christmas performance. The cold weather made it difficult to play outside, but we had fun learning indoor gardening and the life cycle of the frog and butterfly. Our Christian education story of the birth of Jesus has been the most fun, working with the felt story board and the wooden manger and one of our songs all telling of the story of a baby named Jesus being born in a manger has been the highlight of the month of December. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, from the Toddler 1 classroom! Mrs. Anna and Ms. Bea
Red and green Painting
Gingerbread gluing
This month,the classroom has been filled with joyful sounds of children singing. The children have been eagerly practicing their songs for the Christmas program. Some of the popular works with the children have been decorating the tree, Christmas sticker work, and acting out the nativity story with the flannel board and mini figuress. Starting in January we go diaper free! During the Christmas break is an excellent time to start working with your child. A great book to read is "diaper-free before 3" by Jill M. Lekovic. We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. See you in 2014 Mrs. April, Mrs. Lilly, Ms. Eliane
Happy Holidays From Ms. Coral’s Class!
While the children quietly work you can hear tiny voices singing Christmas songs around the classroom. The children are so excited to perform for you at the St. James Christmas Pageant! The ice storm gave us the opportunity to talk and explore about the different weather as well as the constant practice of taking off and putting on our winter gear. The children would stand on the platform and observe the icicles and the thick layer of ice on the roof. They got to see the ice melting and experience how slippery it can be. They were very surprised by this ! It is lovely to see their young faces absorbing knowledge from the environment. The children have also been very busy working on their Christmas crafts. Painting has been a very popular work lately; they are loving mixing red, green, and blue with white paint to make a holiday picture. The children are eager to actually wrap their own crafts this year for you! They are filled with the holiday spirit and are loving to socialize at this time. Merry Christmas! Love, Ms. Coral, Martha, Jana
Anna stamping painting her wrapping paper for the holidays.
Violet hanging decorations on the Christmas tree
Friends socializing together helping one another finish a wooden puzzle
Aidan painting with red and white holiday colors
Olivia, Leisel, and Anna read books together with their work mats.
Primary
Happy Holidays families of Primary One! I want to begin with an enormous THANK YOU for the outpouring of love and support from all of the families and children at my “surprise wedding party” as the children called it. It was so much fun and I was thrilled with the beautiful and generous gift of silverware given by the class. The thing, of course, that moved me to tears (“Are you going to cry Ms. Charlotte?”) was the beautiful scrapbook assembled by the children filled with special wishes and drawings for the happy day and the rounds of spontaneous hugs from all of the children. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making this such a special and memorable year!! Despite the hustle and bustle, Christmas is the perfect time to reconnect with your sweet families and remember the most important things in life. It is also so important to the child’s love and need for orderthat each family makes some special holiday traditions you can continue through the years. Here are some ideas for those weeks of vacation: 1. Decorate a gingerbread house! Michael’s sells one for $8.95 that is easy to assemble. I recommend that an adult assembles the house the day before you plan to decorate it so it has plenty of time to dry. Place the icing and candies in seperate ramekins along with a spreader and allow your child to decorate. You can also apply the “glue” and just let kids create patterns with candy. 2. Go caroling! Place a note in neighbors mailboxes the day before to let them know when you’ll be coming by to sing. Pick one or two songs your child knows and have fun! Remember, if you are having fun, your kids will too. Bring along a wagon and thermos of hot cocoa to keep warm. 3. Put your child’s map making skills to good use and have a Christmas Eve Scavenger Hunt. Hide picture clues throughout the house and have them make a map of the places they go. Hide a Christmas cookie or small gift at the end. 4. Make a birthday card and cake for baby Jesus! This is so much fun! Let children decorate it and sing happy birthday to Jesus. This is perfect accompanied by the Christmas story and is a great reminder of why we celebrate.
From all of us in Primary one, have a safe and happy Montessori Christmas! Love, Ms. Kalindi, Ms Marla and Ms. Charlotte xx
We have been preparing for Christmas. The students have been asking, “when is Christmas?” A great way to answer this question is to count the days down on a calendar. Put a picture of a Christmas tree on Christmas Day, then check off each day and the child can count down to Christmas independently. This is what we do in the classroom. We are also stringing beads on pipe cleaners and hanging them on our classroom tree. This is a Christmas tradition in our classroom. The students take the “ornaments” home when we leave school for the holidays. Additionally we have had Christmas “pricking” works, Christmas coloring within the lines works, and a wonderful stash of items in our Art Cache to help with Christmas Art Creations. Listening to the students practice the songs for the Christmas Program is always just priceless. We have had a fun December in the classroom. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy this blessed season with your children, families, and friends. May we always remember to count our many, many blessings. Much love, Mrs. Barrineau and Ms. Ana=
Christmas has come so quickly this year! We are amazed and blessed when we consider that we have had your children in our care for a full semester now. The holiday season reminds us of the Peace, Grace and Courtesy works in the Montessori environment. The children practice their Grace and Courtesy skills every day by greeting the teachers with a “Good morning� and a handshake, and by offering help to the younger ones. The children grow their sense of Peace by learning to to resolve their conflicts with other children at the peace rug, by taking turns, and sharing food together. The Montessori environment naturally sets the stage for these opportunities. Montessori believed that education was the most powerful and universal way to reconstruct society - a way to transition from a state of war to a state of peace. The curriculum teaches about peace but it cannot produce peace by itself. As the adults in the child’s life, it is our duty not only to talk to the children about peace but also to create an environment that promotes peace. We can expect the children to be peaceful if we as adults set an example for peace in daily life.
Maria Montessori recognized the children are the future and that they are the key to bringing peace and tolerance in the world. This is why she devoted significant portions of the Montessori curriculum to matters of peace and respect. As we head into Christmas and prepare for the New Year, let us all find inspiration in Maria Montessori’s vision for a world filled with peace and care for others. We wish each and every family a very Merry Christmas! “Adverting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education.” - Maria Montessori Ms. Julia and Ms. Tamara
Children love to eat! In our Montessori classrooms, the children help prepare snack each day. The children have really enjoyed preparing special snacks for the holiday season. We made Christmas trees out of whole wheat pita bread. First, we sliced the pita bread into triangles. Then the children spread cream cheese which had been colored green onto the pita bread. The children placed diced red bell peppers onto their trees for decoration. Finally, they added a pretzel stick for the trunk. The Christmas trees were delicious, healthy, and adorable! We are having so much fun preparing for Christmas in the classroom! Each child made an ornament by stringing beads onto a pipe cleaner. Everyone helped decorate our class Christmas tree with their ornaments. The children have also enjoyed scooping pinecones, sorting Christmas gifts, punching out Christmas trees, and learning about Advent. The children know that Advent means Jesus in coming. Each day we sing our special Advent song:
“One candle, one candle, one candle shining bright, Advent, Advent, Christ was born on Christmas night.� Ask your children to help you sing the song at home, too! We have also had lessons on the Nativity scene. The children really enjoy placing Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the barn and telling the story of the birth of Jesus. Merry Christmas! Ms. Elizabeth and Mrs. Ashley
Playground Fun
Art
with Ms. Judi In December, many of the classes finished up their fun fall leaves. Each class used a variety of mediums from watercolor, prismacolors, and oil pastels. We learned new techniques to achieve different textures such as putting salt on watercolor or scratching on oil pastels. In light of the extreme cold and winter nights we’ve experienced lately, I thought it would be fun to do a tropical drawing with palm trees and dolphins over the water. We will be adding color and making a beautiful Van Gogh inspired sunset in the background. Can’t wait to see how these turn out!
Detail of Ethan’s Leaves picture with the background made from watercolor and salt.
Parker’s tropical drawings of dolphins and palm trees.
Danielle coloring her leaves using oil pastels
Technology with Ms. Judi
T
his month was filled with fun! The children were introduced to the Bamboo drawing tablet. It was a new challenge with the tablet and stylus, but they were able
to practice and were quick learners. Using the Corel Drawing program, each class will be making life cycle reference books and the information will be from their nomenclature cards that they use in class. Also they were able to print their Christmas trees that they decorated from the ABC ya website. The children really enjoyed personalizing their christmas tree, typing their names, and printing.
The children had so much fun decorating their own Christmas trees on the ABC ya! website.
Santi is drawing with the Bamboo Drawing tablet. He is drawing a sunflower.
It is hard to believe that it is already December, the year has flown by. I have enjoyed getting to know your children this year. They make me laugh at the end of the school day. Please remember to check the baskets at the end of the day for your child’s jacket. The large navy blue baskets that are for Ms. Charlotte and Mrs. Barrineau’s classroom seem to have a lot of leftover jackets. I believe that some children might be putting jackets in the basket and are not in one of these classrooms. Please feel free to look in if you are missing a jacket. Speaking of winter gear, please make sure you label your child’s jacket and if the jacket had a previous owner, please write your child’s name in the garment as well. We always like to go outside in ASC and sometimes this can be the coolest part of the day because the sun is starting to set. One of my primary children came to me after much effort had gone into putting on the jacket, hat and mittens and told me “Ms. Lisa, this is how we dress for winter”, indeed she is a great example, sunglasses optional. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me. Lisa Wilson
We are welcoming winter with open arms and great anticipation for Christmas! Christmas is “Coming”! Advent itself! All of the children have loved the stories that are told during Advent in Chapel. We’ve learned about the Advent Wreath, The Nativity Story and even about a few guys in a meadow watching sheep that were called upon to worship the Baby Jesus! Chapel lessons are a unique setting where all the glamour’s of the holidays slowly fade away and the children are solely focused on the birth of Emmanuel. This name literally translates to: God with us. He is with us! “Mary will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”-which means, “God with us.” Matthew 1:23. I know many of the Teachers here at St. James have been giving lessons in the classroom using the beautiful Christmas materials such as the Nativity. All of the children love to reenact the story using these materials. What great fun! God is with us. Our hope lies in Him. During this Christmas season remember that God will send His light and love to us all. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light” Matthew 4:16a May your Christmas be filled with love, light, hope, peace, and goodness. We send you all of our love and we look forward to seeing everyone in the new year. Blessings, Ashley Woodruff Christian Education Director
Upcoming Events January January 7th- School Resumes January 20th- Conference Day January 30th- 100th Day of School