Horse Room update 11/3/24

November 2024

Last month we learned more about our solar system.  We began with stars, added planets, then meteoroids and asteroids.   We did a little dance around the sun, and everyone played a part in our galaxy. Some of our third-year friends are making books of planets and dwarf planets.  We are all working on different types of painting and our 3- and 4-year-olds are practicing the cutting drawers. We will then cut our painted paper to make our own planet posters.

We will conclude this unit with a trip to the Parkland Planetarium on Tuesday, November 12th.  Our bus will leave promptly at 8:45 on that day.  Please drop your child at school between 8:10 and 8:25 to be sure they have time to use the restroom before departing.  We will also review bus and planetarium rules before leaving.  There we will see a show called Sun, Moon, and Stars in which our young stargazers will be introduced to the Earth, the Sun, and the night sky, plus pay a visit to the Moon. It is always a favorite field trip.

Also in November we will be having a Thanksgiving celebration. On Monday, November 25th we are asking each child to bring in one piece of fruit to share. Your child will peel, chop, or slice their fruit and add it to a large bowl. We will then have a fruit salad for a group snack.

During the month of November, we will be adding some advanced practical life activities to our shelves – orange juice making, cucumber slicing, and dish washing.  In December we will add carrot peeling and slicing and baby washing.

Birthday wishes go out this month to Amber and Henleigh who will both be turning 6!

Horse Room update 9/27/24

Happy Friday,

I wanted to let you know that I will be gone on Monday.  Ms. Repta will be assisted by Tina DeMoss on that day.  She has been a part of our aftercare staff as well as a sub for our school for several years.
Here is the October news note.  September photos will come next week.  Have a great weekend!  Julie Warren

Horse Room

October 2024

Each day we begin at 8:30 with calendar time.  We count to see if all our friends are here and put a gem in a jar to mark school days.  We counted to ten in English, Spanish, Chinese, and are now learning Korean.

This group seems to really enjoy the outdoors.  They play well together and are learning to take turns with the bikes, swings, and the wheelbarrow.  It is fun to watch them as they use their imaginations in our playhouse.  It has been an ever-changing restaurant serving popcorn, pasta, salad, pizza, and even “corn dog cake?”.

This month’s group presentations have focused on stars.  We pretended we were gasses and dust and then clumped together to make stars.  We learned that stars are different colors and that they seem small because they are so far away.  We have enjoyed hearing stories about the constellations and are now reading about our closest star – the sun.

A new group activity we started is Dr. Montessori’s “Silence Game”.  Too often we forget to slow down and bring peacefulness into our days.  Dr. Montessori knew that sitting quietly is an important part of growing our brains and bringing an awareness of what is around us.  Our Silence Game not only helps us find calmness, but it also strengthens memory, patience, and self-awareness.

The Sensorial Area of the classroom has been alive with creativity this month.  Popular works have been the pink tower, color boxes, and sound cylinders.  Unlike the Practical Life activities, the Sensorial materials are new to the child entering the Montessori Classroom.  After an initial presentation, the child will discover, explore, problem solve, and create.  These materials help to refine not only the child’s senses, but also their sense of order, exactness, self-correction, and reflection. We know that what goes into the child through the senses plays a vital role in neurological development.  Once the child can discriminate, order, and classify, the vocabulary is added.  Each of our sensorial materials can reach the mind of a 3-year-old and extend beyond the kindergarten year.

We will learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin and an apple as we prepare for our trip to Curtis Orchard.  Our trip is scheduled for October 4th.  We encourage any parents of new students to join us on the trip.  We will have room for 2 chaperones to ride on the bus and would love for 2 parents to drive and help us bring our small pumpkins back to the school.  You will receive a note soon about the details, but please drop me an email if you are able to chaperone on this trip.  Our next trip will be later in November when we go to the Parkland Planetarium.

October birthday wishes go out to Avery who is turning 4 and Keira who will be our second 6-year-old!  

OCTOBER DATES TO REMEMBER:

October 14th   –    Building Closed for Fall Conferences. You will receive a message from sign-up genius to select your time slot.  The conferences will last 15-20 minutes and will take place in the Horse Room.

October 21st     –    Parent Education Night. Come explore and hear about what goes on in our classroom.

9/19/2024

Sunset

Good evening,

Just wanted to let you know that our classroom fish passed away last night.     Many friends said what they like about our fish, and some drew pictures of “sunset“… Just in case your child talked about it, we talked about how we were sad but that there were people we could talk to when we were sad.  Hope you are all doing well.
Julie Warren

9/17/2024

Happy Tuesday

Hello,

I realize it is not time to send September pictures but I couldn’t help it.  Today was such a great day.  I am sending a picture of our class practicing their smiles for picture day.  Today we also welcomed a new 3 year old to our class. Here is a picture of Raleigh with her big sister Henleigh!
Side thought:  This class makes me so happy.  The future looks great with these friends leading the way.
Mrs. Warren

September 2024

Horse Room – AM

     I hope your child is enjoying the beginning of the school year.  My goal for these newsnotes is to keep you informed on the happenings in the horse room each month. If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me an email.

       Last week we chose our first special helper of the week.  Each week we will choose a new special helper.  We will make a poster of the child and place it on the door. This will help your child get better acquainted with their classmates.  The Special Helper will be responsible for closing the door at 8:30 to begin our day, placing the gem in the jar, choosing the word of the day, watering plants, and feeding the fish and frog. They will also be the line leader and will turn out lights.  Everyone will get a turn, but in the meantime, they will develop patience and kindness.

     In August the children were given group and individual presentations.  During a presentation a child learns to sit quietly and observe the teacher’s hands.   After that they are free to choose the work anytime they want. Presentations can be as simple as pouring or as advanced as the multi-step chair scrubbing activity.

     The children had a group presentation on the 1st color box which includes only primary colors.   Next, we began mixing the primary colors to make secondary colors.  Some of the kindergartners can now grade the colors in the 3rd color box from darkest to lightest.

      We are happy to see many of our first-year students spending time in the “Practical Life” area of the classroom. The children are often drawn to this area because of the water and small glass items. They have seen adults using similar items. This area is thought of as a bridge between the world of the child and the world of the adult. Here the child learns to choose a work, complete a work, and return a work to its proper place. This increases their sense of confidence, independence, and organization. Most of the activities are self-correcting and through concentration and repetition the children are able to complete the tasks on their own. Also, in this area the child is refining the small motor skills needed to do more complex works in the classroom such as multiplication beads, handwriting, and reading!

In August Teddy and Joaquin both turned 5!  In September, Owen will turn 4 and Sabrina will celebrate birthday number 6!

                  

 I will send some September photos soon, but if you wish to observe our classroom remember that we come in from the playground at 9:20 each day.  Also, it is good to NOT be in the hall when we switch classrooms at 12:45. Thank you.

SEPTEMBER DATES TO REMEMBER:

September 7   –    School picnic at Burwash Park from 12:00 – 2:00

September 17     –    Picture Day for our Horse Room friends

Julie Warren