VOL: 008 FEB 2015
new year, new goals and exciting new things to learn. thefreethinkingschool.com
the month that was - january our table etiquette class on the 16th of january was a big hit with the children. a big shout out to all our parents, who willingly pooled in to prepare a three-course meal for our kids; thank you for your efforts. the children were delighted to be seated at the dining table all laid out in readiness for lunch to be served. their hostess meenal aunty, demonstrated the art of refined dining, that is, the appropriate cutlery to use during a three-course meal, how to use it and more importantly a more gracious manner by which to communicate with the stewards and the hostess. before we commenced our meal the children greeted the hostess and when they were all done with their meal they didn't forget to say "thank you". children finally got the hang of how to use the fork and knife! although there was an initial struggle, they beautifully rose to the challenge and successfully completed the task. parents, please encourage your children to eat, using appropriate cutlery and gracious manners at home during family meals together, so as to prepare them to be refined ladies and gentlemen tomorrow.
fun fact about insects
- butterflies taste with their hind feet. - a snail can sleep for three years. - bees have five eyes. there are 3 small eyes on the top of a bee's head and 2 larger ones in front. - a dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours. - a bee must visit 4000 flowers in order to make one tablespoon of honey.. - australian termites have been known to build mounds twenty feet high and at least 100 feet wide. - ants don't sleep. - the blood of insects is yellow. - flies have 4000 lenses in each eye. - mosquitoes have 47 teeth. 2
classroom highlights the new year began with the study of the most beautiful insect - the butterfly. we learned about the lifecycle of a butterfly and its parts. children enjoyed colouring the wings with a multi-coloured pencil. they also learned about a new secondary colour - orange. first they cut out a butterfly pattern, which helped them understand the concept of symmetry. then they put a few drops of yellow and red paint on the wings and gently folded the butterfly wings. when they opened up the wings they all shouted "orange". it’s a pleasure to witness the children's excitement as they discover little things on their own– this makes learning fun for them and is a natural aid to retention. we continued learning about invertebrates by talking about arachnids. the children actually counted the legs of both an insect and an arachnid. they came to the conclusion that insects like the butterfly, grasshopper and ant have 6 legs while arachnids like the scorpion and spider have 8 legs. through the year, children have been able to cover all the units pertaining to the animal kingdom. in the month of february we will focus on yet another category of living organisms and that is the "plant kingdom". as always– please continue your support in making sharing-days a success. thursdays and fridays of every week are sharing days. to make sharing more fun please send articles in a brown bag or an opaque bag with some clues written on it. encourage the child to make his or her own clues to share with the class. the children in class will have to guess what's in the bag based on those clues. meenal goyal hod - montessori
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birthdays in february
4th feb - saanvi anuganti
6th feb - vihaan vinodh
mark your calendars 13th feb 2015 – Field trip to departmental store 20th feb 2015 – is a holiday on account of the annual day program parents are requested to escort their children to the venue at 2 pm. 4
sounds of the week we have completed all the consonants sounds in the english language. so for this month and the next we will focus on vowel sounds. here are the sounds during the next 4 weeks: feb 2-6
“a”
as in apple, ant
feb 9-13
“e”
as in elephant, egg
feb 16-20
“i”
as in ink, iguana
feb 23-27
“o”
as in orange, octopus
announcements the freethinking school is now open to new admissions right from toddlerhood to grade 1. we are proud to announce the launch of our primary school, starting with grade 1 in the academic year 2015 -16. in the subsequent years, we intend to add the upper grades over time as resources permit. the idea stemmed from some of our existing parents; it has now taken shape and has become a reality. thank you parents for your encouragement and support! please spread the word around to your friends and family. parents of students who wish to continue with us in the academic year 2015-16 may reconfirm your registration at the office. we have also signed on a professional musician mr. floyd santimano who is currently training our kids voices to sing in harmony and melody. he has most graciously agreed to offer his services should any of our kids be interested in learning to play the keyboard. parents kindly ensure that the library books are returned on/before every friday, so that your ward will be able to take home another book. 5
parent resource 7 tips for teaching manners to your children from teachers and dance instructors to frustrated parents, many adults are appalled at children’s manners today. most moms and dads are perplexed on how to teach their child good manners and help good habits stick, so their little one retains and practices what she’s learned. teaching your kid proper etiquette isn’t as daunting a task as you may think. to be effective, it’s important to make manners as big of a priority as getting your child to brush her teeth. with a little time and effort, you’ll be able to effectively help your wild child blossom into a little lady. here are some tips to get you started: • family support from grandparents to your spouse, make sure that everyone’s on board with what “good manners” means to you—and respects your stance. if your spouse burps at the table and laughs about it with your child, or if grandma doesn’t enforce the “no jumping on furniture” rule at her house, they’re inadvertently sabotaging your program. if you’re sending mixed signals, how will your child learn acceptable manners or good behavior? encourage (and beg if necessary) relatives to agree with and enforce your rules and practices of behavior and manners at all times. • sound positive avoid empty threats to ship your little one off to manners camp if her etiquette doesn’t improve. this negativity sends the message that a manners camp is dreadful—and therefore learning manners is dreadful. instead, make polishing social skills a fun and positive experience by explaining all of the benefits your child will receive from having good manners, such as being invited on more play dates and having her teacher enjoy having her in class. positive language is always a better motivator than negative language, so use words that make being polite sound like an enjoyable—and necessary—part of life. • role-play show your budding miss manners how to be polite by acting out various situations before they happen. be sure to demonstrate the “wrong way” to do something as well, for reference. for example, have your kid practice shaking hands with you before walking into someone’s house. this way, the acceptable behavior’s fresh in her mind, giving her confidence that she’s making a good impression. don’t be discouraged if she enjoys acting out the impolite interactions more than gracious ones—it’s just her way of having fun. with enough practice, she’ll master great manners in no time.
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• eat dinner as a family getting the entire clan together for meals gives kids security and confidence about their home life. breaking bread together typically leads to a happier and more cohesive family unit, and meals offer the perfect opportunity to teach manners. setting the table is a great exercise for youngsters, just be sure to add any sharp knives to the table yourself. remind your child to say please and thank you, and discuss appropriate conversation topics. life lessons are learned by interacting as a family, so make group mealtime a priority in your routine. • incorporate manners into your daily life make manners habitual with daily practice. writing proper thank you notes after receiving a gift, eating out at a restaurant, always saying please and thank you, and holding doors open for other people are all courtesies you can practice with every day. before bringing your child to “prime time” at a restaurant, check out kid-friendly places where you won’t know anybody. this way, your kid can put her restaurant etiquette to the test in a relaxed environment, where you both can speak freely about what to do—and what not to do. • repetition a key to learning anything new is repetition. practice makes perfect, so insist that your child always says please and thank you, set the table every chance she can, and shake hands with adults whenever possible. if she frequently forgets to say please and thank you, tell her you can’t hear what he’s saying until those words are used in her sentence. if she complains about having to set the table all of the time, make it a game by timing her and challenging her to complete the task faster than yesterday (neatness counts). after a while the repetition will pay off, and she’ll have successfully incorporated these practices into her daily routine. • outside influence your child’s more likely to listen to someone that isn’t you, so find an outside influence to help establish good manners. seek out teachers, grandparents, and friends to help you host a politeness bootcamp. even if the message itself is the same thing you’ve been telling her for ages, a different messenger is always more effective than the same old one that is heard all of the time. teaching your child good manners can seem like a lot of work. eliminate stress and frustration by using these ways to incorporate and practice good manners into your child’s daily life. give it time, and you’ll see a positive payoff when you hear your child’s teachers, relatives, and her friend’s parents tell you what a polite and respectful kid you have. raising a polite little lady isn’t always easy, but success is one of the most rewarding gifts of being a parent. by elise mcveigh
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