SJES NEWS October 2017
The Pet Blessing The Pet Blessing has to be one of my favorite events in the life of the school. It’s so much fun watching the children bring their pets to the playground and always especially touching to see them pray together for their pet. Mother Rebecca always takes time to talk to each child about their pet(s) which makes the experience even more precious. This year we got to pray over a variety of dogs, cats and lovies. We also prayed for a hamster, chickens, as well as the school Guinea pigs, fish and turtle.
Did you know that parents are always invited to join us for Chapel? We go to Chapel on Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m. Our songs and prayers will lift you and definitely start your day with a smile and a grateful heart. Blessings, Mrs. Loree
Dear MDO Parents, What’s not to love about October? The cooltemperatures are feeling really great! Halloween is here, with all sorts of pumpkin fun and pumpkin spice everything! Best of all, our new students have decided that SJES is just as great as their parents said it would be! They love to work and are truly joyful about it. We see them becoming more self-disciplined and able to concentrate for longer periods. Maria Montessori called this “normalization,” and it happens every year around this time.
er
Circle time has Marshall and June became fast been filled with friends this year! talk about the colors orange and black. We have learned the difference between “long” and “short,” and we have looked for things that are “square” in our classroom. We have talked about insects and had fun singing “There’s a Spider on the Floor.” Our Bible study has continued on in the book of Genesis, centering on the story of Adam and Eve. Ana is completely focused on her sticker work.
MDO
Halloween works are always a favorite of the children. We have scrubbed pumpkins, pounded in pegs, painted, counted and more! Outside time has been extra special with the beautiful weather. The children love visiting the blacktop playground and riding the “low slung� tricycles. Our Friday students enjoy visiting the garden and helping Mrs. Loree with the many chores involved.
Walker enjoys pounding pegs into the little pumpkin!
Isabelle patiently waited for a turn on the tricycle!
Best wishes and Happy Halloween to you all! We look forward to seeing many of you at the party on October 31. Love, Ms. Mary, Ms. Eva and Ms. Pamela
Luke and Walker made a great "rock scrubbing" team in the garden.
Hi Toddler 1 Parents This month has just flown by. We have managed to include so much into one month. We have seasonal works incorporated into our practical life, gross motor, circle time, gardening, playground time, sensorial works, and most of all our language and math. The children have stayed focused in choosing works that meet their needs. We also had a very special day of pet blessings with our own classroom pets. Buddy, the guinea pig, and Dory and Nemo, our beta fish were all blessed by Mother Rebecca.
In gardening there was pumpkin hammering, matching, and scrubbing. We have visited the pumpkin patch, counted pumpkins, and read a story about pumpkins. We were even able to chose a pumpkin from the patch to take home.
1 R E L D D O T
In the classroom, we have learned a song about pumpkins and Halloween, which included a felt board story. We are using paints at the easel in black, white, and orange. They are making bats, ghosts, and of course pumpkins. Sticker works, gluing, and play dough works all have a fun theme. We also had Jackson’s parents bring in a few leaves from a London trip for leaf rubbing. Thank you Austin family! Now that the weather is getting a little chilly in the morning, please be sure to bring a sweater or jacket for your child and PLEASE label all items coming to school. The children are learning the Montessori way of putting n their own jackets! Happy Halloween, Mrs. Anna and Mrs. Andrea
October means cooler temperatures are near and the mornings have an autumn breeze. It also means PUMPKINS, PUMPKINS everywhere! Toddler 2 students have counted pumpkins, sung pumpkin songs, and learned the life cycle of a pumpkin. The children have enjoyed a beautiful morning walk through the St. James pumpkin patch, and we also used our senses to smell and touch the inside of a pumpkin. During circle time, the children’s favorite story is the “Five Little Pumpkins.” The St. James toddler community reinforces each child’s sensitive period through observations and by the offering lessons that enhance that certain focus. Sensitive periods for movement and language are two we work on a lot in the toddler classroom.
Movement (coordination): carrying a tray of work, unrolling and re-rolling a rug, taking many trips to the shelf and to the rug to set up or clean up their work, balancing on the balance board, sitting on the sit and spin, and walking on the line.
Language: reading books, talking in
rhythmic voices, singing songs, working with the sound booklet, and matching. The control of the hand with the mind, allowing for independence with healthy boundaries, and allowing the child to focus, undisturbed, with maximum effort, is the main drive of each stage in birth to age 3. Now that the cooler weather is approaching, we will still go outside to play. Please be sure to label all jackets, mittens, hats, and socks for your child. Also, please bring some pants and long sleeve shirts to replace their summer clothes in their cubbies. Mrs. April, Mrs. Lilly, and Ms. Annabel
TODDLER 2
The Toddler 3 community is loving learning about the seasons! Fall seems to be one of their favorites! We are talking in circle time about Fall and Halloween. The children really enjoy all our pumpkin themed songs and finger plays, as well as the seasonal Halloween work that is on the shelves. We even got to tour the pumpkin patch and each child got to pick out their very own baby pumpkin or gourd! You can find fall inspired works all around our classroom this month. Some of these works include: 5 Little Pumpkins felt board story, Fall mystery bag, Halloween themed art work, along with our spooky spider sensorial bin. Our whole class is in the sensitive period for water, and they have been working hard on pouring water, pumping the soap, wiping spills, hand washing, and drinking ice water out of their very own cups! Our class has been very wet; the children have taken much pride in cleaning their spills.
Toddler 3 is loving community time in the classroom. Community time is such an important aspect of the Montessori environment. Circle time is the prime time we have community time; however, we also have individual lessons throughout the day that become group lessons. This happens when a child is working but attracts “observers.” The observers quietly stand with their hands behind their back to signify respect for the person working. The children are learning so much from observing one another. It is beautiful to see them have such focus with others working around them. Happy Fall! Ms. Coral, Amy, Brenda
TODDLER 3
Dear Toddler 4 Parents,
“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” –Maria Montessori In the Montessori classroom, we practice and encourage many instances of “Grace and Courtesy” with our toddlers. Not only does this help make our classroom environment respectful, peaceful, and safe; it helps prepare the children to interact in social situations. One of the first “Grace and Courtesy” lessons that we have introduced in the classroom is respect of others work space. The children are taught this skill by learning how to walk around a rug. There are so many wonderful lessons that can be used at home to help establish respect for self, one another, and the environment. Other lessons include: - How to listen to directions - How to ask for help - Asking for a turn - How to set a table - Using “Please,” “Thank you,” “Excuse me” - Offering help - Apologizing - Watering plants - Sweeping/dusting walkways October has been a busy yet exciting month for us all! As we continue our “Grace and Courtesy” lessons, we will focus on a specific color and shape each month. The colors of focus for this month are orange and black, and the children are learning all about squares.
TODDLER 4
Eleanor is offering to help Abby change her shoes
The children are enjoying new fall works in the classroom, including pumpkin scrubbing and strengthening the pincer grasp by using tongs to transfer spiders, colored balls, and bean “ghosts.” Most of the children are in a sensitive period for water. Water pouring, sponging, and mirror washing are examples of works being used on a daily basis. We have also started lessons on teeth brushing, which they absolutely love and enjoy practicing with their classmates.
Josephine transfers colored balls
James scoops and sorts the bean “ghosts”
Abby and John Tucker have been given a teeth brushing lesson
Along with the daily class calendar, days of the week, and the weather, we are incorporating Spanish into circle time. We are blessed to have a fluent Spanish speaking teacher, Ms. Anna, in our very own classroom! The children especially enjoy the Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See flannel story, which the book focuses on different animals and colors. After we read the story, we will sing the color song in English and Spanish. Red is Rojo, red is Rojo, Blue Azul……and so on. Spanish is incorporated through story time, singing songs, learning about different animals, as well as every day mannerisms. Some of the children have even shared their favorite books in Spanish for show and tell. As we finish out the month of October, the children will enjoy a delicious cooking project, baked apples, and will put their final touches on Halloween themed artwork! Thank you for your continued attention and support, Ms. Ashley and Ms. Anna
Penelope is proud of her finished artwork; gluing white tissue paper to a friendly ghost
Dear Primary 1 Families, October has been an eventful and fun month. The children had a great time in the pumpkin patch and we look forward to our Halloween party. The children have been very excited about the seasonal works that have been added to our classroom. Pumpkin scrubbing has been a big hit as well as counting spiders and sorting spiders. We have talked about the parts of the pumpkin as well, and collected acorns for nut cracking. Fall colored leaf matching is another popular work. There is a lot of joy in the classroom as they go about learning. While some of these works may seem like play they are in fact building hand/eye coordination, concentration, and order. Building these strengths will serve them well in all other areas of the classroom.
We are very excited about our new Waseca language program. The students have taken to it quite well. We continue, of course, with our traditional Montessori materials daily. We use sandpaper letters and numbers, and many of the children are drawn to the math beads. As we head into November we will be talking a lot about what it means to be thankful, for family and friends, and how to really be a good friend. The grace and courtesy aspect of a Montessori environment is invaluable to a peaceful environment. Here’s to Fall! Ms. Amaris Ms. Martha
M I PR
1 Y R A
Primary 2, October is such a wonderful month. We had our Fall Break. The pumpkins arrived in the Pumpkin Patch. We are singing Halloween songs in the classroom. The leaves started changing color. The children get to dress up for Halloween and we have our first classroom party. The weather is FINALLY starting to get cooler which makes recess all the more enjoyable. We are settling into a routine in the classroom. The children are happily making new friendships. The older children are proudly taking their roles as leaders in the classroom. They genuinely like assisting and being role models to the younger students.
Andrew creating beautiful art.
Left: Ford working hard at building a structure with wooden blocks. Right: Adam using the sensorial bin.
PRIMARY 2
The students are becoming normalized in the classroom atmosphere. In Montessori education, the term normalization doesn’t mean “average” or “usual.” It actually refers to a unique process we observe in the child’s development. We notice that when children are allowed freedom in a classroom suited to their needs, they gradually thrive in whatever they choose to do. It’s rewarding for us as their teachers to see the students so concentrated on everything they desire to do. We are looking forward to seeing their progress during the year. Caroline working hard with the Knobless Cylinders.
All the best! Mrs. Barrineau and Ms. Shayla
Left: Madeline focusing hard to fit all of the blocks in the tray. Right: Wolfe hammering small pegs to create a picture on a cork board.
Primary 3 parents, Welcome to November! The children are enjoying the cooler weather and are already looking forward to the holiday season. The younger children have been busy with our new fall practical life work. They are enjoying tweezing rainbow corn and scooping fall objects. The second-year children have been enjoying perfecting their handwriting as they begin the process of word building and reading. Our kindergarten friends have been engrossed in math this month and have been working hard on more advanced addition and subtraction with number lines and objects.
3 Y R A PRIM
This month we will continue to study our continent of North America. We will talk about specific states within the U.S. as well as countries that surround us. During this month, we will talk a lot about what it means to be thankful and how to show others love and friendship. This time of year, we really like to let the children drive the lessons. We will be giving them more responsibility and freedom with their works while letting them be creative in their environment. Thank you all for an amazing start to fall. We are so incredibly proud of all of the children and are really enjoying growing and learning with them. Blessings, Mrs. Eloise & Mrs. Anna
Dear Primary 4 parents, The month of October has been full of lessons on pumpkins, mammals, and Halloween themed Practical Life works. It’s always amazing to see how all-encompassing Montessori works can be. A simple lesson on the parts of a fruit, vegetable, or animal lead to the expansion of a child’s vocabulary and pique their interests in the natural world around them. We started the month with pumpkin scrubbing and hammering. The children delighted in the hammering work, choosing it multiple times each. It was amazing to see so many of them waiting patiently for their turn with the pumpkin. Once the pumpkin started to get mushy, we opened it up and had a lesson on the parts of the pumpkin. The children picked the seeds out with tongs and observed the parts with a magnifying glass. Some chose to pull out the three part cards to match the parts of the pumpkin to the vocabulary. We also talked about the life cycle of a pumpkin, how it starts as a seed, sprouts, forms a vine, flowers, produces a green pumpkin that turns orange when ripe, and then produces seeds to start the cycle over again.
PRIMARY 4
Building on our previous lessons of living and non-living, along with Zoology lessons on fish and reptiles, we introduced mammals to the class. We talked about how bats are among the only flying mammals and named the parts of the bat. We observed Jamie Maria and named the parts of her body. We read a book about the life cycle of the horse and discussed how all three of these animals are mammals. We also noticed a baby silver Molly swimming in our tank this month! The children were excited to see the life cycle of the fish happening in our own classroom. Socially the children have settled nicely into the classroom routine. The classroom is starting to become a whole with all three age groups. The children are working together to keep our classroom running smoothly. They remind each other of the rules and are quick to jump in and help if a child is struggling or forgets their job. With the holiday season just kicking off, the classroom will stay abuzz with excitement and learning. We look forward to all of it and welcome the learning ahead. Sincerely, Ms. Bianca and Ms. Brenda
Happy Halloween! The school year is flying by already, and it is finally starting to feel like fall. The children have been busy in the art room! The second level students have finished their study of Kandinsky with their Concentric Circles. I absolutely love how they turned out! Now, they are working with watercolors to create a fall painting with colorful trees and pumpkins. Watercolor is a very tricky medium to work with, and totally different than the acrylic paint they used to make their Concentric Circles. The students are experimenting with how much paint to use and how much water to use. They are learning that the colors will run into each other if they put wet paint on top of wet paper. It is a learning process, but so far, the paintings have turned out very well. The Kindergarten children are continuing to work on their hot air balloons. They have popped the balloon inside of the paper mache (their favorite part of the project so far!), and they painted the outside. Next, they will add a design to the balloon, and attach the basket! Look for them hanging in the hallways in the coming weeks!
In technology, the children are continuing to work on their mouse skills, and I have introduced them to the keyboard. Finding letters on the keyboard is hard, but the children are having fun with it! I have also begun working with the children one-on-one to draw digital pictures on the computer. They use a tablet and a stylus to draw their pictures, which is a challenging task. The tablet does not show you what you are drawing – you must look at the computer to see your work. This requires the children to use their muscle memory to draw a picture while keeping their eyes on the computer screen! When we are done drawing, we will take all the pictures and create a calendar for the children to take home! I hope you all have a happy Halloween! Ms. Hanna
& t Ar nology h c Te
October in the Children’s
Garden
With fall comes everything pumpkins to SJES! The children are memorizing the names of many varieties of pumpkins and gourds. Matching a card to an object is one of the very basic tasks for building language.
Pumpkin hammering is another fun activity that increases fine motor skills. Finally, the Primary students practiced “Sink or Float” with a large pumpkin. The pumpkin was so heavy but could float in the water because it is buoyant…it’s full of air!
Something else pretty exciting has happened at SJES… long time parishioners and advocates of our school, Pierce and Julie Noble, donated a playhouse from Casa to us! I made it into a Nature House and Casa actually did a feature article on it. https://www.dallascasa.org/dallas-casa-playhouse-finds-home/
After school care continues to be a buzz of activity. Everyone has settled into a routine and I see lots of smiles and hear lots of happy chatter during the afternoon. The toddlers love their circle time routine. They sing songs that they are familiar with from their classrooms. They also love colors and stickers. The primary children love crafts during ASC. Crayons, markers, and stencils are favorites! Blocks, Magna Tiles and our Magnetic Wall are also high on the list. The ASC staff certainly enjoys their time with your children. We like to keep their day similar to their classroom routines and that holds true for their snack time. We post the snack on the bulletin board outside the school lunch room area. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Just a friendly reminder that we are asking all ASC families to park in the back for pick up. Cooler weather is approaching - please make sure that your child has a jacket WITH THEIR NAME LABLED, thank you. Happy October, Lisa Wilson
ASC
Blessing of the Animals St. James is such a wonderful place to recognize the importance of all God’s creatures, and to have a special ceremony to bless those we call pets. We thank Mother Rebecca, and all of you who brought your special 4 legged members of your families. The kindergarten children are continuing to get comfortable in their chapel jobs. It is so special to hear the Lords Prayer led by a child. In our recent lesson on the Garden of Eden, and the tree Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat from, the children enjoyed telling the sneaky snake “no, no, no.” They learned that even though Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden, God will never leave us. Our next lesson was on Noah’s Ark and some of the kindergarten children got to bring the animals to our ark as we sang “Old Man Noah built an Ark.” Next, we learned about Moses and Pharaoh and how it is important to listen to God. I think the children liked singing “Pharaoh, Pharaoh, oh-oh. Let my people go! Yayayaya.” Blessings to you all, Ms Amaris
Chapel
Church in the Chapelat St. James?
Have you heard about
While children are welcome to attend any service at St. James, Church in the Chapel is designed especially for the young – and young at heart! This is a more casual, interactive service that is also shorter in length. Great care is taken to engage the children at every turn, from joining the procession, to gathering the collection, to ringing the small bells. The “Prayers of the People� are read by parents or older children, and general instruction is an integral part of the service. (We are currently memorizing the Nicene Creed, a few lines at a time!) Lively, familiar music completes the experience. We sing a little bit of everything, including fun bible songs, beloved traditional hymns, popular tunes, and MORE! Whether 2 years old or 92 years young, all will learn, enjoy and be blessed by attending a Church in the Chapel Eucharist. We hope to see you soon!
Sunday Mornings at 10 a.m. in the Small Chapel