TFS Aug Newsletter

August 2014 Newsletter headers

1. Classroom highlights

VOL: 002

2. Birthdays

AUG 2014

3. Fun facts 4. Mark your calendars 5. Sound of the week 6. Wish list - to parents 7.Announcements 8. Parent resource

**The month that was -July 2014

creating happy memories on and off the campus thefreethinkingschool.com

the freethinking family day celebration the freethinking school recognises the significant role that the family plays in the building up of society. in fact strong family units, like bricks when cemented together forms a sturdy, unshakable wall of society. hence, in order to fasten family bonds 'the freethinking family day' was cerebrated on the 28th of july 2014. parents were encouraged to take a break from their hectic working lives to spend some quality time with their family at the little sisters of the poor, an old age home on hosur road. just the sight of our beautiful little children brought great joy and happiness to the inmates there.in the words of an inmate, "the time we spent with your children made me feel like a child once again". the old and the young alike had a swell time singing, dancing, sharing stories and a snack together. it was truly a heartwarming experience to be able to share our joy of living in the warmth of a family with those less fortunate. just to witness the smiles on their faces and to see the light of joy in their eyes made it all worthwhile. a parent who joined us said, "i would have missed a great deal, if i hadn't taken the day off". for ultimately there is nothing more gratifying to the soul, than to bring happiness into the lives of the lonely and downhearted. we would like to thank all the parents, who actively participated and contributed towards the success of this programme. we are motivated to do so much more, because of the encouragement that we received from all you wonderful parents.

id celebrations special thanks goes out to mrs. sadiya sultana for bringing a delicious sweet 'kheer' for us to enjoy and for enlightening our kids regarding the festival of eid on the 24th of july 2014

2

classroom highlights we are only in the second month of the school year and i’m happy to announce that the children have already settled comfortably into school. they are demonstrating refined personality traits by using their soft indoor voices. they have also begun to participate in classroom activities and have turned into little explorers. last week we explored our school campus, looking for living and non-living things. the children were excited to learn and categorize the items they had picked. in july, we also had a great time learning about the basic elements that sustains life- land, air, and water. children were amazed to learn that land masses have names too and they love to sing our continent song. as the year progresses we will focus on the animal kingdom. in august we will be learning about mammals. every week, the children eagerly look forward to sharing things that you send with them. they are excited to tell their friends about the articles during the circle time. sharing will help bolster your children’s confidence and develop public speaking skills. sharing takes place every thursday and friday. please support the program by continuing to send articles and telling your child a few facts about the article. the children are thoroughly enjoying their dance classes and just can't wait for wednesday. we also had our first parent-teacher meeting that was attended by all of you. it was great to get to know you all and receive feedback regarding the school and the progress of your children.

- meenal goyal hod - montessori

3

birthdays in august:

gowthami c. p 8th Aug (friday)

mark your calendars 22nd august 2014 (friday) mom's night 6-7pm mom’s night – moms please make it convenient to attend a night designed specially for you. this is an evening when mother and child come to school together. children will escort their moms around, show them the 'work' that they like the most and will even share a short circle time together. it's a big event for the children and one they look forward to. dads,please don’t feel left out, we have a similar evening scheduled for you on the 12th of september. (no siblings please.)

23rd august 2014 (saturday) the tfs sports day programme will be conducted at bethany high pre-primary block opposite the koramangala police station from 10am to 12 pm. (attendance is mendatory) holidays in august 15th aug 2014- independence day 29th aug 2014 - ganesha chaturthi 4

fun facts how to handle a picky eater? prepare meals together. having a hand in making the meal increases the chances that your child will taste his/her “creation.” have your little one assist you with measuring, pouring, stirring and tasting. make your creation as colourful as possible, using a variety of different coloured vegetables will make it attractive. some children can seem “picky” because they want to feed themselves. you can: let your child decide where foods go on her plate—you can also let your child serve herself (put your hand over hers to help her handle the bigger serving spoons). offer your child a spoon to hold while you’re feeding her. this will let her feel in control and will put her on the road to independent eating. some children are sensitive to the taste, smell or texture of food. track your child’s food sensitivities and keep them in mind when preparing meals. for example, if your child has trouble with “mushy” foods? then offer tomato slices instead of tomato chutney, or a baked potato instead of mashed potato. some children are simply less likely to try new things based on their temperament—you can: put new foods next to foods your child already likes. encourage him to touch, smell, lick, or taste the new food. also give him what the rest of the family is eating in toddler-sized portions. over time, these choices will become as liked and familiar as her favourite foods. did you know?? children need to be offered a new food item as many as 10-15 times before they eat it. (adapted from lerner & parlakian) 5

sound of the week we are continuing with the “sounds of the week”. here are the sounds we will focus on for the next 4 weeks. aug 4 - 8 “f” as in fish, fan, flower aug 11-15 “c” as in cap, cat, caterpillar aug 18 - 22 “r” as in rat, rabbit, red aug 25 - 29 “b” as in bat, balloon, bicycle

announcements tfs launches it's after school activity programme in august, 2014. kindly enquire at the office to avail of this facility. if you would like to contribute towards the old poor aged home that we visited on the 28th of august. you can choose to purchase medication for them and hand it over personally. the list is available at the office.

6

parent’s resource participating in family life the family is the child's first teacher and most powerful model in all areas, movement, kindness, respect for nature, good manners, relationships—the infant is taking it all in and becoming exactly what he experiences around him. human beings of all ages want to be able to communicate with others, to challenge themselves, to do important work, and to contribute to society. this is human nature at its best. this desire is especially strong during the time when the child who has been observing all kinds of important activity going on around her has finally mastered the mental and physical skills to stand up, walk, use her hands, and participate in real work. a child learns self-control, and develops a healthy self-image if the work is real—washing fruits and vegetables, setting or clearing a table, washing dishes, watering plants, watering the garden, sorting, folding, and putting away laundry, sweeping, dusting, helping in the garden or any of the daily work of a family. family work, known as practical life in montessori schools, is the single most important area of a montessori education at any age. allowing the child to participate in the life he sees going on around him is an act of great respect for, and confidence in, the child. it helps him to feel important to himself and to those around him. he is needed. we can empathize if we think of the difference in our feelings for a dinner guest in our home that is completely served and waited on, or for one who is welcomed in our kitchen to talk and to laugh while we prepare the meal together. in the first instance the guest is separate, the relationship formal. in the second we share our life and the relationship is intimate—a true friendship. the main areas of practical life activities are: 1. the care of the self: dressing, brushing teeth, cooking, and so on.

2. grace and courtesy and concern for others: moving gracefully, using good manners, offering food, saying "please" and "thank you," etc.

3. care of the environment: dusting, sweeping, washing, gardening. children have always shown us their interest in practical life by pretending to cook and clean, taking care of a doll, carrying out adult conversations, etc. but when given the chance, they would much rather be doing the real work of the family and community, instead of pretending. a child would prefer to remove real dust from a dusty shelf with a real child-sized duster, to help collect the dirty laundry, or to fold it, to take part in preparing real meals, rather than to pretend to do these things with toys.

. . . but i know happiness does not come with things. it can come from work and pride in what you do.

— Mahatma Gandhi

7

the child's reasons for, and methods of, working are different from ours. we adults will usually choose to carry out a task in the most efficient and quickest way. a child, on the other hand, is working to master the activity and to practice and perfect her abilities. she may scrub a table for hours, but only when she feels the urge. she may sweep the floor every morning for two weeks and not again for a month—because she will be occupied with mastering something else. if we expected her to keep carrying out every new activity every day, there would be no time for sleep. there are many physical, emotional and mental values in work. through these activities the child learns to be independent. there can be no intelligent choice or responsibility at any age without independence in thought and action. she learns to concentrate, to control muscles, to focus, to analyze logical steps and complete a cycle of activity. it is precisely because of the valuable work in practical life that children in montessori homes and schools are able to concentrate, make intelligent decisions and master the beginnings of other areas of study such as math, language, the arts and the sciences. but the purpose of this work is the inner satisfaction, and the support of the optimum development. following a successful, complete cycle of family work, a child becomes calm and satisfied and, because of this inner peace, full of love for the environment and for others. children also read the adult's mind and emotion and will carry out research to find out exactly what the parent is trying to communicate when they give double messages—for example when an angry parent is trying to appear cheerful. a child needs to know that it is all right to feel and express anger and frustration. he needs models to learn how—walking, scrubbing a floor, hitting a pillow or pounding clay—and not hitting another person (spanking included). if an adult goes for a walk or pounds clay, so will the child. if the adult hits the child, the child learns that it is okay to hit to express emotion. the working parent does not always have the time to include the child in everything and should not feel bad about this. we must be easy on ourselves in the home and plan a time when we will really enjoy working together. success in learning to "follow the child" comes slowly. it is helpful to begin with one thing, perhaps putting the napkins on the table for a meal, and gradually adds to the tasks in which the child can participate, and little by little take over. soon we will begin to learn from the child how to bring our whole selves, mental, physical, and spiritual, to the task of the moment, to focus on each thing we do, and to enjoy each moment of life. thus the child becomes the teacher of the adult. the needs of the adult are met at the same time as the needs of the child. log on to www.facebook.com/thefreethinkingschool to engage in conversations that enable SMART PARENTING.

montessori + after school club

080 2553 3446 / 88613 03631 learn@thefreethinkingschool.com

thefreethinkingschool.com