TFS July Newsletter

VOL: 001 JULY 2014

starting afresh on a known road

new things to learn and old friends to catch up with thefreethinkingschool.com

off to a good start! the new school year started off well with the parent orientation programme conducted on 3rd of june, 2014, in a delightful manner. a pop quiz brought to light just how unique each one of us truly is. at the freethinking school, we embrace uniqueness of each child and cater to their individual needs. meenal goyal provided pointers to parents that paved a smooth way to the year ahead. dr. akash ryall addressed the gathering and enlightened the parents about ‘the 5 languages of love’ which are words of affirmation, acts of service, gifts, touch and quality time. my first day at school- being such an important landmark in the child's life, was captured in time and framed as memorabilia at the freethinking school. it was a moment to remember for every family that came in to drop off their ward for the first time.

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classroom highlights welcome to a brand new school year. this is an exciting and emotional time for everyone involved. it's only been a few weeks since we started and it is amazing to see how our little ones are learning to adjust to their new environment. the children were very excited to meet their old friends and i see new friendships on the horizon. we have a few routines that the children have adapted to quickly, such as the independent snack routine, work time, circle time, putting on their own shoes and all the safety rules of our classroom and playground. we have been talking about how to carry materials, push our chairs in, roll out our mats, how to walk around activities on the floor and put work back on the shelf. these isolated skills become an integral part of the applied lessons and activities of the practical life curriculum and in other curricular areas. i believe that by working together, we can make this a very successful year. let us work as a team to ensure that our children become independent, lifelong learners.

-Meenal Goyal HOD - Montessori

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birthdays in july: harshil karthigeyan 15th july tuesday

tanay subramani 19th july saturday

aarav singh katoch 22nd july tuesday

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fun facts sugary foods do not make kids hyperactive. studies have consistently found no relationship between sugar and hyperactivity. children may become uncontrollable due to lack of sleep, poor diet, inadequate iron in their diet, excessive television or computer games, too much caffeine and too little physical activity. parent tip: try healthy snacks that give kids energy and nutrients, like cheese and crackers, peanut butter, whole-wheat crackers or finger foods.

mark your calendars 1. parent teacher meeting - 5th july 2014 (9 am -11 am) 2. family day - 28th july 2014 we invite every freethinking family to join us on the 28th of july between 10 am and 11.15 am. we intend to spend some quality time with our families along with the inmates at the little sisters of the poor, an old age home located on hosur road, next to baldwin boys school.

3. ramadan - 29th july 2014 (holiday) parents and volunteers are welcome to share their joy on this festive occasion with the children at school on the 25th of july.

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sound of the week we will be starting our ‘sound of the week’ in july. please note that it is the sound and not the letter of the week. these are ‘sounds of the week‘ for the month: july 1-4 “m” as in monkey, mat, man july 7-11 “s” as in snake, socks, stone july14-18 “a” as in apple, alligator, ant july 21-25“t” as in truck, table, teapot july 28- 1 aug “p” as in pan, pink, parrot

wish list to parents sharing will start this month on thursdays or fridays. the children may bring something from nature, a book (as long as it doesn’t depict any violence), or something they made outside of school. please do not send toys, games, articles of clothing, etc. for these sharing days. the children can bring objects or things that start with the sound of the week any day of the week which is shared during circle time. we will talk about it at our first ptm.

announcements bus service will commence on the 1st of july 2014. kindly enquire at the office for further details. your freethinking kid will 'move to the music' every wednesday starting july, 2014. a professional dance troop will get them to break out in a little sweat and groove to the beat; watch out for those movers and shakers.

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parent’s resource classroom materials and contents

attractive objects invite the child to touch them and then to learn to use them. dr. maria montessori the materials and equipment in a montessori classroom were developed based on what dr. montessori observed children doing naturally, unaided by adults. she witnessed and thus believed strongly in the use of multiple senses, particularly touch, in the learning process. as such, textbooks and workbooks are not used and followed in a montessori classroom. all classroom contents (aside from reading and reference materials) are designed to teach specific concepts or skills through physical manipulation and hands-on usage.

the possession of and contact with real things brings, above all, a real quantity of knowledge. dr. maria montessori further, this approach strengthens understanding and is able to render symbolic subject matters concrete. all materials in the classroom are staged to address the state of a child’s development and components of the academic curriculum. moreover, all subject areas are integrated so children do not learn and gather knowledge in disconnected and isolated units of study. montessori classrooms contain only one set of each lesson’s material. given the order in the environment, children understand that materials are in use when not found in their designated locations and thereby learn to manage their desires and expectations. children learn to share materials by taking turns. dr. montessori believed developing this ability was important given that the world itself possesses limited resources. in addition, limiting the availability of materials also prompts children to pursue the full range of lesson opportunities available in the classroom.

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intended to promote work, concentration and the use of a child’s internal learning mechanisms, lesson materials share many qualities. they are: 1. aesthetically appealing to the eye and hand 2. composed of natural materials whenever possible 3. interesting and engaging 4. designed to teach a specific concept, hone a certain skill, or serve as a resource for research 5. suitable for the development state appropriate to challenge but not frustrate or discourage the child 6. self-correcting and require little oversight by the teacher after the initial lesson to impart knowledge or a certain skill 7. sequential, possessing consistent elements and the same look and feel from the younger to the older classrooms many of the materials found in a classroom, like the sandpaper letters, binomial cube, and bead chains were originally developed by dr. montessori. many are also delicate and are to be handled accordingly by the children. during the course of a child’s three year cycle in a classroom, the child will complete his or her lesson plan by using the full range of classroom materials and learning the skills and qualities promoted by them. source: “what is montessori?” by heather pedersen, ph.d., and jason a. pederson.

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