The Five Primary Curricular Areas continued

from OFMS Primary Handbook 2024-25

The Five Primary Curricular Areas

5. The Cultural Subjects: The Cultural Subjects are designed to teach the child geography, history, and science. They aid the child’s understanding of our solar system, what makes up our earth, and our place and responsibilities on the earth. These subjects give them an appreciation of the different people, cultures, plants, and animals that live on our earth.

Additional Areas

Library, outdoor work, kitchen work, and Brain Gym are morning work choices guided by Specialists out of the classroom environment. Art and Music are guided by the classroom teacher within the classroom. In addition, Music, Spanish, Ecoliteracy and Art for kindergarten students are taught by a Related Arts Teacher outside the classroom. A Spanish teacher offers Spanish lessons to all children in the classroom on a regular basis.

Kinderforest takes place at least once per month for the morning work cycle with possible extensions. The Kinderforest movement is a response to the decline of children’s access to and engagement with natural spaces. It is an attempt to reestablish a healthy balance of indoors and outdoors in children’s lives.

Classrooms, Days, and Hours

The Primary classes meet five days per week. There is a half day option (8:45 am to 11:45 am) and a full day option (8:45 am to 3:15 pm). Students arriving prior to 8:25 am or dismissing after 3:30 pm are to be enrolled in the before care and/or after care program. Please refer to the Oak Farm Montessori tuition and fee schedule for details on hours offered.

*All first and second year students will have a rest period during the afternoon work cycle to nap, self calm and/ or practice mindfulness.

Arrival Procedures for Primary Students NOT Enrolled in Before Care

Students are to arrive at School no earlier than 8:25 am and no later than 8:45 am. A faculty member will greet Primary students at their car between 8:25 am and 8:45 am. Drive your vehicle to the main entrance and stop in one of the four designated spots, passenger door facing the sidewalk, and wait for a faculty member to open the car door and greet your child. Please do not exit your car or bypass other vehicles while in carline. Have your child ready with shoes, coat, lunch box, and backpack when greeted by faculty. Once your child exits the car and is safely away from vehicles, proceed through the circular drive and exit.

If it is necessary for you to visit the office at arrival time, please park your car in the Victorian parking lot after you follow the above arrival procedure. For families with students enrolled in various levels and buildings at Oak Farm Montessori, please follow the arrival order found in the parent handbook.

Arrival & Dismissal Procedures for Students Enrolled in Before or After Care

Students are to arrive at school no earlier than 7:30 am, and parents are to arrive for students no later than 5:00 pm. However, all parents are accountable to the arrival and dismissal times stated on their Enrollment form. Should the stated time need to change, please contact the school. Before and After Care is held in the Victorian Farmhouse Multi Purpose Room adjacent to the library.

Arrival: When you drop off your child to Before Care, park your car in the parking lot of the Victorian Farmhouse and walk your child to the Before Care room entrance. Please be sure that a teacher is aware that your child is now in attendance.

Dismissal: When you pick up your child from After Care, park your car in the parking lot of the Victorian and proceed to the main entrance. Ring the bell, and a faculty member will let you in. Please wait quietly in the hallway for your child to finish their work. Please note that if your child arrives between 8:25 am and 8:45 am or dismisses between 3:15 pm and 3:30 pm, you are to follow the procedures stated under “Arrival and Dismissal for Students NOT Enrolled in Before Care or After Care.” Please inform the school of any changes to your child’s arrival and dismissal times.

For the Safety and Security of all, we ask that you:

• Model patience for your child during arrival and dismissal, as your child is not yet ready to understand or participate in hurried behavior. Patient behavior will give your child much calmer beginnings and endings to their day.

• Faculty members will not participate in meetings during carline arrival or dismissal. We will use the procedures written under “Communication.”

However, notes and other correspondence may be passed at this time.

• Inform substitute drivers of all arrival and dismissal procedures.

• Follow the car line guidelines outlined in the Parent Handbook.

Note: A faculty member will note the person picking up your child. If the person is not on the approved pickup list, that person will be asked to park their car and go to the appropriate administrative office to have their identity verified prior to allowing the student to leave with that person. A picture I.D. will be required. In addition, if the person picking up your child is on the transportation form, it is still necessary for parents to notify the teacher or School regarding a change in pick-up person. We appreciate your patience during the busy arrival and dismissal times.

Dismissal Procedures for Primary Students NOT Enrolled in After Care

• Parents are to arrive at School to pick up students no earlier than 11:45 am and no later than 12:00 noon for half day, and no earlier than 3:15 or later than 3:30 for full day.

• A faculty member and your child will greet you at your car. Drive your vehicle to the main entrance and stop in one of the four designated spots, passenger door facing the sidewalk, and await the faculty member and your child to greet you at your car’s right rear door. Please do not exit your car at this point. The faculty member will open the car door. Faculty members will not secure students in their seats. Once your child is seated and the door is closed, please pull into the first available parking spot. Please, DO NOT park in the designated no parking zones. After pulling forward, since many Primary students may not yet possess the needed motor skills to secure their own seat belts, you may exit your car to secure your child in his/her seat. Once your child is secured, proceed through the circular drive and exit.

• If it is necessary for you to visit the office at dismissal time, please park your car in the Victorian parking lot before you follow the above dismissal procedure.

Sharing

With the teacher’s approval, students may bring in special items to share occasionally such as appropriate books, natural science items, pictures, and newsworthy articles from newspapers and magazines. Please do not bring toys of any kind. Personal belongings such as money, accessories, balls, lipstick, cosmetics, toy cars, and dolls disrupt and can sometimes “disappear” and may not be brought to school.

Toileting

Primary students are to wear underwear to school. Should your child have a toileting accident, they are given a lesson on caring for themselves. Please follow through with this lesson specifically wiping independently at home. In addition, parents are recommended not to put pull-ups on their child during the day or night. Pull-ups can inhibit toilet training; it may be better for your child to experience the discomfort of the accident and the subsequent care that is required. This care includes removing soiled clothing, cleaning and dressing himself/herself, removing bed linens, and/or readying them to be laundered.

Shoes and Clothing

Please send your child to school in weather appropriate shoes and clothing with which your child can be independently successful. The goal is for children to dress and undress themselves. Children who are not ready to tie shoes are to wear shoes they can slip on and off. All shoes need to be closed-toed. Sandals are not appropriate for the playground. Children who cannot yet snap or buckle should wear elastic-waist pants and no belt so that they can be independent in changing clothes. Students receive lessons in tying, buckling, and many other dressing skills, when they are ready. When your child chooses clothing for the day, please keep in mind weather and school activities. Weather and temperatures may change throughout the day and although aprons are worn for both art and water works, students do, on occasion, “wear their work.”

Adornments or decals (such as characters, cartoons, etc.) are strongly discouraged on all clothing, slippers, shoes, or lunch boxes, as they often pose distractions to children. In addition, jewelry, tattoos, stickers, or stamps typically pose distractions and are strongly discouraged. Students will be asked to remove said items should they negatively impact the learning environment. All clothing your child wears to School should be labeled, as students may need to change and launder their clothing.

Backpacks

Please check your child’s backpack nightly, as it is used to transport papers in their folder, as well as dirty clothing, and lunch boxes. Create a special place near your home’s entrance/exit for your child to hang their backpack. Hanging it can be the first thing your child does upon arriving at home, and retrieving it can be the last thing they do upon leaving in the morning.

Packed Lunch Information

You may elect not to participate in the school’s lunch program. For those days, parents are to provide a well-balanced lunch. Our ability to heat lunches is extremely limited. Please keep items that need to be heated to a 1 minute limit.

Oak Farm Montessori School is a low-sugar school. We encourage families to turn to whole foods—organic and locally grown whenever possible—as the staples for your child’s nutritional needs. Remember that high sugared foods and beverages with labels containing more than the recommended 12 grams of added sugar are discouraged from lunches and snacks. Also, candy, cookies, fast foods (with the exception of Subway), or soda can NOT be included in lunches or snacks.

We suggest including fresh fruit as a dessert item. In addition, if packing yogurt, please pack yogurt that can be eaten with a spoon and is low in sugar. Please also be aware of additives and preservatives in the food your child eats. Please be mindful of healthy nutrition when packing your child’s lunch. Refer to the school parent handbook for more details regarding a healthy diet. If your child wishes to bring soup regularly to school for lunch, it should be brought in a thermos, since warm-ups are limited. Student-packed lunches are to be packed in a lunch box with your child’s full name written clearly and permanently on the top of the lunch box. Paper bags, plastic bags, and large, igloo-type lunch boxes may not be used. Please include an ice pack in the lunch box because ample refrigeration is not available.

In order to help make lunch-packing a pleasant experience, we have some suggestions:

1. Allow your child to participate in choosing food items and making their lunch.

2. Keep appropriate food choices in cupboards and drawers they can reach.

3. Keep cold food choices in a special place they have access to in the refrigerator.

4. Remember that most children enjoy small sandwiches and a few small portions of other items such as veggie sticks, crackers, cheese cubes, and fruit.

5. For a variety, limit your child’s lunch to several small-portion items.

6. Make your own “lunchable.”

Snack

Please feel welcome to donate a snack to your child’s classroom at any time. Items donated may be crackers, fresh fruit, and fresh vegetables. The students serve themselves water with snack. Please check with your child’s teacher for classroom food allergies.

Additional Lunch Information

Full-day students practice table manners and etiquette at lunch. Students set the tables, using cloth napkins, glass dishes, and silverware. We sit at the table and converse at mealtime. Students remain at the table until they are finished with their meal. Students clean up afterwards, including loading the dishwasher, washing dishes, and doing the laundry. Please follow through with these lessons at your family’s mealtime. The School provides water for students at lunch. In addition, the School provides condiments, tableware, and napkins. Parents are welcome to enjoy lunch with their child at school once or twice a year. Please call your child’s teacher ahead of time to schedule a lunch date. There are a few events or day trips this year when a lunch need not be purchased or packed. We will let you know prior to these days.

Communications

Open and continual communication between parents and teachers is very important. Please address any thoughts, comments, or questions directly to your child’s teachers and we will respond within 24 hours of a school day. In addition, please refer to the Oak Farm Montessori Parent Handbook, as it is also a valuable resource in answering many questions. When you need to communicate with us, please feel welcome to call, use Transparent Classroom or email. In addition, please communicate to us any changes in your household. This includes, but is not limited to, a birth, death, separation, visitor, vacation, parent trips, new caretaker, job change, or move. We kindly ask that you email classroom teachers as well as attendance@ oakfarmschool when your child will be absent, arriving late, or leaving early. You may also call in to the front office in lieu of email.

Television, DVD’s, Videos, Video Games, and Computer Games

Excessive use of screen time may adversely affect a child’s brain development. It is during the younger years that the brain is forming, so please be conscientious regarding both the content of and the amount of time your child partakes in these activities. For more information, please check our School’s library, www.tvturnoff. org, and www.limittv.org.

Field Trips

Students will enjoy field trips this year and we will send information home in advance of our trips. Each Primary classroom schedules its own trips and may or may not attend the same events. All kindergarten students will enjoy an end-of-the-year special experience to celebrate their time spent in the Primary program.

Classroom Parent Volunteers

Parents are welcome and encouraged to participate in the classroom in helpful ways. We may call upon you to help with such activities as gardening, material-making, sewing, cutting, sharpening, talent-sharing, reading, and cleaning.

Birthdays

We celebrate birthdays with a special ceremony called “Circle around the Sun.” A child will carry the globe around the sun the number of times of their age. Parents are welcome to join the classroom for this celebration. Our purpose is to aid the children in understanding our earth in relationship to time.

Your child’s classroom teacher will reach out to you with more information prior to your child’s “Circle Around the Sun”. Please do not send party invitations through the School, unless the whole class is invited.

Closing

Author

Maria Montessori

Kathleen H. Futrell

Aline D. Wolf

Jane Nelsen and Chip DeLorenzo

Terry Malloy

We are all very excited about this school year. We look forward to sharing experiences, smiles, and laughter as we commit to inspiring the children to reach their potential through meaningful work.

Thank you for all you do for your child and Oak Farm Montessori School. Oak Farm Montessori’s Primary Faculty

The Five Primary Curricular Areas continued

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