Many of you have seen your child come home with a little, yellow felt circle pinned to their shirts, representing their “love lights.”  This is actually the fourth, inner circle representing the spirit of a person.  

As we have progressed through our peace lessons this year we have expanded our awareness of the four aspects of a person; body, mind, emotions and spirit.  The largest circle represents body, followed by mind, then emotions and in the center is the yellow, spirit circle.

As an extension of learning about the body, Ms. Melissa spent time recently talking about the spinal cord and its very important function of connecting commands sent to the mind, and executing the command through the body.  She played the game of “Simon Says” with the children and they got to experience the sensation of really listening to the instructions, or not, and feeling the disconnect when they realized they had moved with out the “Simon Says” directive.

We explored the five senses this week and the children were quickly able to isolate which of their five senses they had used to match color tablets, identify sounds with their eyes closed, smell the difference between an orange and a piece of chocolate, and watch Ms. Melissa grade (put in order) the wooden cylinders with her eyes closed using only her sense of touch to guide her.

 These lessons help the children identify aspects of themselves that they have in common with each other and it gives them labels that help them communicate more clearly with each other.

Sometimes, when a child is having a hard time emotionally, it simply is a matter of helping them identify their emotions, such as “were you mad about that?”  You can see the tension drain from them as they know that they have been heard and they are more willing to soften their stance and work through the disagreement.

Every peace lesson is closed with “Making Silence”, a centering exercise that is as simple as it is profound.  We encourage you to ask your child about it and if you want, let them lead you through it.  Here are the words:

I cross my legs,

I place my hands on my knees,

I make my back very straight,

I tell my body to be still,

I tell my mouth to be quiet,

I take a deep breath,

I close my eyes,

I make silence and feel my love

Thanks to all the parents who helped us on our field trip to see “The Little Mermaid” performance at Green Valley High School.

REMINDERS:

Saturday, 1/31:  Middle school community service fundraiser – parking lot sale at FMS.

Tuesday, 2/3:  Shark Reef field trip is scheduled for all P1 students. Please dress your child in the blue, Foothills Montessori School tee shirt.

Wednesday, 2/4:  Kindergarten enrollment information night at 5pm. For parents of students entering the kindergarten program for the 2015-2016 school year.

Tuesday, 2/10:  P1 Kindergarten field trip to Estes McDoniel Marine Lab.

Thursday, 2/12 Valentine celebration in P1.

 Friday, 2/13:  No school, teacher in service.

Monday, 2/16:  No school in celebration of President’s Day

Friday, 2/20:  PTO Family Dance

Thursday,: 2/26:  Parent-Child Night.  Families with the last name starting with A-L are invited to be here from 4:30-5:15 and families with a last name starting M-Z are invited to be here from 5:30:6:15. Join us with your child as they show you their favorite Montessori works.

A great big thanks to Ava and Noah and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

Happy new year!  Settling back into our school routine after our recent winter break, came easily to our students as they were reminded of the four simple rules governing our classroom: “show respect for the environment, the jobs, ourselves and to practice being kind to each other.”

Eager to try the myriad of new jobs placed on the shelves; the children moved quietly around the room taking jobs off the shelves, digging into the use of the materials and then returning the work to their proper places.

The hush of the room confirmed the level of engagement in our classroom, allowing many opportunities for the teachers to quietly observe the focused activities of the students.

 In the Montessori classroom quiet, focused attention is achieved when each of the students has reached a true level of independence and are able to move from one completed task to another.

 A “normalized” classroom is a  term used to describe the collective feeling that the classroom as  a whole is working. Materials are being used with intent and purpose, interactions between students are easy and communal and there is a flow of activity that is clearly productive.

When a visitor steps into a normalized Montessori classroom, there is a tangible impression that the children are content in their roles as learners and that the teachers are actually there to guide the process.

 Even when the children have differences among themselves, a teacher can influence the resolution process, but the real work of settling disputes rests with the children.

In a normalized room the students have the tools and the desire to engage peacefully. The overall atmosphere in the room is conducive for deeper learning as the children experience a quiet of mind and an openness to the depth of learning available to them.

We are studying the solar system and constellations this month and encourage you to spend a little time with your child looking at the night sky, observing the moon and even experiencing a full sunset with them.

Small moments like these can leave a lasting impression upon your child, igniting a passion for learning about the natural world around them.

REMINDERS

We are pleased to announce a uniquely Montessori parenting education opportunity you won’t want to miss.  Mark your calendar for a visit to FMS on Thursday, January 29th at 5:30p.m. for a speaking engagement by Betsy Holke.

“Betsy Hoke is a Master Trainer for the Gurian Institute and an Education Consultant working with private, public and charter schools across the country and abroad.  A Colorado teacher and administrator for 39 years, she joined the Gurian Institute’s training staff in 2006. After graduating from DePauw University in English and Secondary Education, she completed her Montessori early childhood teaching certification in London, England.

As the Head of School at Montessori School of Evergreen for 29 years, she expanded the program from a small preschool to a school of 300 students ages 2 through middle school while continuing to teach for many years at the preschool/kindergarten level. She is currently an instructor at Montessori Education Center of the Rockies, teaching Montessori Philosophy and Classroom Leadership to future Montessori teachers at the early childhood level. “

No school on Monday, January 19th in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

The Primary classes went on a “global safari” this week, with our enthusiastic guide, as she brought rescued animals to the multi-purpose room and we traveled through six of the seven continents looking at animals indigenous to those locations.

The “milk snake” hails from North America and got its name from the dairy farmers who would often find this type of snake trying to help themselves to milk fresh from the cows.  We saw a red-headed parrot from Europe whose green-headed mate does all the food gathering for her, allowing this beauty to spend most of her time sitting on her eggs in their nest.

A lizard (has eyelids, allowing them to blink) who looked very much like a snake, came from Australia and when in danger, will drop its very long tail and throw the hunter off its trail. We saw a tortoise from Africa who only eats at sunrise and sunset and a “side neck” water turtle from Asia whose neck can bend to the side when he feels like he is in danger.

Our safari glided to a sweet stop with an adorable chinchilla from South America, who was placid enough to endure gentle pats on the back from four classes of primary aged children..

A hearty thanks to Paxton and Saagar and their families for providing delicious snacks  for our classroom.