SJES March 2018 Newsletter

SJES NEWS March 2018

Happy spring everyone!

What a month this has been. I have to brag about my administrative team; Lisa, Becky and Amanda. They have picked up so much of my office work to allow me to step into the Primary One classroom. It’s been such a smooth transition because of them. Of course, every teacher here at St. James has also supported me by jumping in to help me and each other...so I get the great joy of being in the classroom with the children and leading the school because of all of those around me.

I have always loved working here at St. James but this year I’ve been shown in a very real way what a strong team I have around me. It has been so exciting to prepare the children for spring Montessori works and the Easter season.

We can hardly wait to celebrate with the grandparents and special friends!

I hope each of you have a wonderful Easter with all of those you love close by.

Mrs. Loree

Hello from MDO! First of all, we hear that you all had a wonderful spring break! It was fun to hear the children talk about their adventures, both near and far.

Everyone came back refreshed and ready to get right down to work.

Speaking of Spring, we have been learning about all things Spring in the classroom -- the beautiful weather, the flowers, the holidays! One of our favorite songs for springtime is “All Things Bright and Beautiful.” The children love it, even if they can’t remember all the words!

Going outside again has been absolutely wonderful. Do your children ever talk about the rockpit on the toddler playground? They don’t realize it, but they are honing their “dry transfer” skills, not to mention their fine and gross motor skills. There’s even some grace and courtesy to be practiced, in having to share and to wait for a turn. But if you ask them, it’s all about the fun!

We’ve also been learning about farms – the animals and the sounds they make, and how important (and special) farms are. The children have enjoyed working with our little farm, done a matching work, sung songs about animals, and more. We have also mixed colors with food coloring, and talked about diamond-shaped objects.

MDO

We’ve also been learning about farms – the animals and the sounds they make, and how important (and special) farms are. The children have enjoyed working with our little farm, done a matching work, sung songs about animals, and more. We have also mixed colors with food coloring, and talked about diamond-shaped objects.

We have been learning a fun song for the Easter season – “Ho Ho Ho Hosanna!” Here are the lyrics; you can find many versions of the song on You Tube.

Ho, Ho, Ho Ho-san-na

Ha, Ha, Ha Hal-le-lu-jah

He, He, He He saved me

I’ve got the joy of the Lord!

As we get closer to Easter, and the end of this school year, we’d like to tell you once again how much we love working with your children. Every day is a gift! That’s why it’s called “the present.”

Much love, Mary, Eva and Pam

What is art?

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

What a powerful definition of work your children accomplish on a daily basis at school. We make it exciting, messy, and most of all fun. Whether it is coloring free style with primary colors, sticker work, stamping works, scissor work, gluing or free expression painting at the easel, Toddler 1 has a fun way of expressing themselves.

Each day we have art prepared in the environment and it can be a choice of their daily routine. Some of the children stop to look at the new art supplies on the self before anything else in the class.

Toddler 1

Toddler 1, has been working very hard at getting our art work ready for the annual art show and fundraiser.

Here are some examples of Toddler 1 working hard and expressing the beauty inside themselves.

Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Andrea

Thank you to all the grandparents, and special guests that came to visit our school. The children love to show off their classroom and works they do every day.

The weather is getting nice out so that means we need to get our garden ready. On Fridays we take four second year toddlers to the garden to work with Mrs. Loree. The children do egg shell crushing, rock scrubbing, and learn the names of the plants as they walk thru the garden.

The children have been social butterflies in the classroom. It is an interesting thing to watch the beginning of friendships form in children so young. Friendships and social play are quite advanced behaviors that many children won’t fully grasp for years. In the Montessori environment, where emotional intelligence is supported, and respect for other is fostered, children often form early friendships. Children also begin to collaborate or share what they are working on.

The children work together to achieve a common goal.

Learning to work as a team, collaborate, and treat others with respect are lessons that will stay with your child for a lifetime.

As we are heading into the last months of school, we are always working on introducing new works to the children. Our older children who will be graduating to the primary classroom in the fall, are starting to have lessons on some primary works, like the brown stairs, the pink tower, color tablets, and sandpaper numbers.

We hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

April, Lilly, and Annabel

Toddler 2

Well hello there early Spring!

The classroom has acquired a low hum as the children work. Socialization and gross motor have been a huge focus in the classroom lately. At this age, their vocabularies are exploding and they can't get enough conversation with their friends and teachers! It's beautiful to see the children learning and socializing at the same time.

There are now several transfer works on the shelves with tongs and spoons to refine fine motor skills, as well as dry pouring. The Easter egg sensorial bin (filled with confetti grass and Easter eggs) and bubble whisking are two works all the children have been very eager to have a turn with!

A few of our students spend their mornings engrossed in water exploration by washing windows, tables, chairs, and even the floor. They really enjoy this and it gives them a proud sense of purpose in their individual work and taking care of their environment.

We are still working hard on potty training! Please remember labeling your child's belongings is super important at this time. :) Have a Happy Easter!

Toddler 3 Team

Toddler 3

Dear Toddler 4 Parents,

Spring is finally here, and boy do we continue to have beautiful weather! The children thrive on outside play time, especially during this time of year. While sharing activities with their classmates, the children are also able to interact with other students from the other classes. Our Montessori outdoor play time consists of unstructured and organized play time. Organized activities teach social skills, sharing, cooperating, and how to follow the rules. Some of our favorite outdoor activities are kicking a ball together from one end of the playground to the other, having fun races to promote physical activity, and group music and movement.

The second semester seems to be flying by so quickly! Last month was dental awareness month. All of the children have had a lesson on teeth brushing.

This practical life skill is easily everyone’s favorite. From squeezing the toothpaste onto the toothbrush, getting the toothbrush wet, brushing their pearly white teeth, to learning how to spit the toothpaste in the sink. What’s not to love? The children also enjoyed a short presentation from an actual dentist, who shared everything there is to know about visiting the dentist office. Learning all about dental hygiene could not come at a better time! We celebrated Valentine’s Day with a very sweet party and shared valentines with all of our friends. It’s safe to say that Toddler 4 definitely has a sweet tooth! We will be putting our teeth brushing experience to great work.

The month of March has been a time of focusing on visual tracking skills, gross motor movement- balance and muscle tone development, body awareness, oral motor skills, and spatial awareness and directionality. What better activity to grasp all of these skills at once? Why bubbles, of course! Bubbles have many benefits that encourage many areas of development and learning. The children enjoy blowing bubbles as well as catching bubbles! We have incorporated several bubble activities as a group during our circle time and outside time. Here is a fun song we enjoy singing while catching bubbles.

“Bubbles bubbles everywhere, bubbles bubbles in your hair Bubbles down, bubbles up, bubbles go Pop Pop Pop!”

The children are finishing off this month strong with stamping with a cork and green paint, cleaning the environment, watering indoor plants, making delicious guacamole, and perfecting the color song. We hope everyone had a relaxing Spring Break and a fun time celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! Much love, Ms. Ashley and Ms. Anna

Toddler 4

Grandparents and Special Friends, Thank you for spending the day with us.

We loved sharing our special school with you!

Happy Easter!

March in Primary 1, What a joy it has been to be in the classroom with your children! I have loved watching learning happen in real time.

Some of the popular practical life works in the classroom this month are bunny and chick pricking, sorting fluffy chicks with tongs, tissue paper collage work and colored rice spooning/pouring.

I thought you might like a peek at our classroom Chore Chart.

The jobs change weekly and are a central component of our classroom’s organization and cleanliness. Some jobs are so big that two people share the task! It is these chores that make the environment truly the child’s. The most popular chores are Parent Watcher, Zoologist, Dish Washer, Lunch Box Gatherer and Table Washer.

Do you have chores for your child at home?

Studies show that chores make a child feel as though they are a needed part of the family unit‌like a most valuable player, in fact! Time for a little spring cleaning!

Mrs. Loree and Ms. Rina

Primary 1

Welcome back!

We hope everyone enjoyed their week. Spring break is always a fun time, even if that means relaxing. The students come back to school with their best smile and attitude. They are prepared to jump back into our daily routine. The weather is amazing, flowers are blooming, and we get to enjoy recess even more!

The spring semester is flying by! The students are thriving in class. We have seen them progress in every area of the curriculum. We really enjoy art in Primary 2. We encourage creativity and help them when they start with an idea. Our first year students have the art shelf in our classroom available to them. In this area of the class we have water coloring, collage making, stencils, easel painting, sewing paper.

Wolfe painting at the easel.

Ford focused on water coloring.

Primary 2

The second and third year students have the "art cache" open to them in the afternoon after lunch. This is a more advanced area of art in the class. There is a lot of material and they are challenged to make something beautiful. They all love the art cache. They have all had lessons with the materials and they create amazing pieces that they can be proud of. Remember to check it out in their take home folders.

We are all looking forward to celebrate/remember our wonderful grandparents and of course hunt for some Easter eggs next week! We hope to see everyone there!

"To assist a child we must provide him/her with an environment which will enable him to develop freely." - Maria Montessori Love, Mrs. Barrineau Ms, Sheila

Clockwise from top: Adam and Andrew choosing materials from our art cache; Caroline preparing to make an Easter collage; Madeline cutting out her coloring to use it for a collage.

Primary 3 parents, Welcome to April! This time of year we are seeing such positive growth in all stages of development. They are thriving and moving onto more abstract concepts as each week progresses.

This past month we have been seeing huge improvements in our younger children. Their fine and gross motor skills have increased and are letting them move and work through the classroom in an easier way. They are starting to retain lessons given to them and be more productive in their work cycle.

Primary 3

Our second year students are learning to master simple addition and subtraction skills as well as move along in their reading levels.

Our kindergarten kids have been practicing memorizing their addition facts and moving onto simple multiplication. They are learning to construct stories with a beginning, middle, and end.

This next month we will be studying the continent of Asia. We will be learning about different cultures and the children that live within those cultures.

We are so proud of the progress of all of the Primary 3 children have made.

We know they will continue to impress us as summer starts approaching.

Ms. Eloise and Ms. Anna

Dearest Primary 4 families,

The children have been anxiously awaiting the return of Spring and the warmer weather with it. We saw signs of Spring’s return on the playground where they picked a pile of dandelions and collected acorns like the squirrels we often see scurrying around.

In class we celebrated the first day of Spring by observing the fava bean plant we watered before we left for Spring Break. What started as just a fava bean in some water has turned into a full-fledged plant, complete with roots, seed, stem and leaves.

This led to a discussion about different parts of the plant that we can eat. We named a vegetable for each part of the plant - potatoes and carrots for roots, celery for the stem, spinach, mint or lettuce for the leaves and cauliflower or broccoli for the flower. The children enjoyed naming fruits and vegetables they enjoyed and discussed where they would find it on the plant.

We have also been studying Dinosaurs, and they can’t seem to get enough! Tyrannosaurus Rex is by far the class favorite. We have learned the name of some lesser known species and the children have matched threepart cards with the pictures and names of some well-known dinosaurs. One of the favorite works is the bone matching, where the children can look at the dinosaur model and match it to the skeleton.

With talk of hearts left over from Valentine’s Day, we read a book about how our heart works and each child got to listen to a heartbeat through a stethoscope. They marveled at the sound and the experience. Each child eagerly awaited their turn to hear the “thump, thump” coming through the doctor’s tool.

The end of the year is barreling down on us, and I, for one, am not ready to see the end of it. Our classroom has become a cohesive family, a community that is strong and peaceful, welcoming and fun.

Every day is a new adventure and a new lesson, not just for the children but for the teachers as well.

Sincerely, Ms. Bianca and Ms. Brenda

Primary 4

Welcome Spring!

The children have been busy in art class creating their Eric Carle inspired pictures! After the students finished painting their papers, we discussed how to create our pictures. I showed the children how Eric Carle uses shapes put together to create his images instead of cutting out the entire object. For example, Eric Carle’s Purple Cat has seven different shapes, just to make up the body of the cat.

The children have worked so hard on this project, and their pictures are amazing! They have created pictures of a tiger, a shark, a robot, and a fire-breathing dragon! We have also had beautiful flowers, insects, and landscapes. I am so impressed with their creativity!

In technology, we have been working on typing in preparation for the Kindergarten Showcase. For the Showcase, the Kindergartners put together their own Power Point presentation of their favorite work in the classroom!

It is a big project, as the children make a slide for each step of their work. They insert pictures onto their slides, and type out each step. It is so fun to work on, and I can’t wait to get started next month!

Happy Easter!

Ms. Hanna

Art & Technology

March in the Children’s

Garden

Last month we had to learn patience as the rain and the cold temperatures kept us out of the garden most Fridays. What a payoff God provided though! Spring is definitely here. The grapevines are coming back, as is the fennel and the ferns. The children have planted all kinds of lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower and some seasonal flowers.

One of the lessons we had during our indoor gardening class was parts of the worm, and worm experiments. After the children learned the things that earthworms need, they were able to have earthworm races!

We are glad to be back in the garden and hope you’ll take a few minutes to walk through it and spot all the beautiful signs of spring.

Mrs. Loree

The after school care area continues to be a burst of activity. I am thankful that the last of the really cold weather seems to be behind us and we can enjoy spring-like weather before the Texas heat arrives. Each age group is able to enjoy lengthy outside playtime between snack and inside activities.

I enjoy my time in ASC - your children are the highlight of my afternoon. The toddlers have enjoyed coloring and playing with play dough. We still enjoy the Imagination Blocks in the Parish Hall on cold and/or rainy days. I think the blocks will always be the favorite activity for both Primary and Toddler children. The primary children are always building a new structure, and the structures are spectacular!

As always, if you need to reach me after 4:00 p.m., please call the school phone 214-3481349.

Happy Spring, Lisa & the ASC Staff

ASC