Our Lovely Classroom

It is hard to believe this year is over!   So much remarkable growth has happened and we are so excited for our upcoming activities. Your child will be bringing home the required paperwork that we need for our Science Camp that will take place January 20 th -22 nd and Tonto Creek Camp.  We welcome chaperones who can stay all or part of the time there.  The cost is just $86 dollars per student or chaperone and includes 6 meals and wonderful lodging at the ASU training facilities. We have reserved 2 vans for both classrooms and will also need a couple drivers as well.  Chaperones and drivers will need to have all required paperwork turned in next week, in order to ensure it is all processed properly.  We will have a meeting for chaperones after carline on January 7 th .  Let us know if you are attending and your children can attend aftercare free of charge. We will have an informational meeting for all parents, about both extended trips we are takin...

This week, we are exploring Theodore Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) and working in groups to analyze various texts of each group's choosing.  Many of our groups are working on mastering long division and long multiplication, while others are extending their knowledge into ratios, proportions, and calculating unit rates. Our students are blazing through their math facts and I had to add yet another level to keep them moving up in algebra. We are also going to make candles this week, as requested by countless members in our classroom. Our 6th and 7th grade students have been so busy planning some wonderful activities for next week and next.  Please see the papers  that they have printed out, and also see here for more information: Holiday Gift Shop The students are going to run a fundraiser for our classroom for more science materials and also to help with expenses for our upcoming STEM science camp (January 20-22) Each group is going to meet to determine something to sell nex...

Dear Parents, We are so excited for our upcoming classroom Thanksgiving celebration, this Wednesday.  Every child is part of a group and will be responsible to work together to create a dish for our event.  Parents are welcome to come at noon, when all will be ready to enjoy.   Please have your child show the paper they filled out with their group that shows what they have agreed to bring to school on Wednesday.  We request that students stay at school long enough to clean up and enjoy some exciting science experiments after recess. Conferences Parent conferences are in full swing.  If you have not signed up for a time, please do so.  Please bring your child with so they can have an opportunity to show off their amazing work. SRA  Online Students have been enjoying our online language program that provides customized and individualized instruction according to reading levels and interests.  We encourage all students to try it at home...

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.  This Mercado was filled with wonderful lessons on teamwork, entrepreneurship, and math.  This week, each student balanced their Mercado work with lessons, written work, and Galileo assessments.  We are grateful for those team members who stayed until all cleanup and accounting jobs were done.   This weekend, the children have a practical life/math task  to count, sort and record data relating to the treats they collect for Halloween.  Your child should have these attachments already in their backpacks unless they left before Lunch.  Students only need to complete the first 3 columns of their data and we will work on the rest in class, unless they want to work ahead.  Children are also welcome to classify any other items they have in larger amounts, such as rocks, baseball cards, shoes, etc.   If you have any questions, feel free to email me.  This work is designed to apply math ...

We are so excited to see the wonderful efforts every child has put forth during these short weeks of research.  Our wax museum is this Friday, from 10-11:15am.  You are welcome to stop by any time to see every child put out their research for all the classrooms and parents to view.  Please make sure your child is not late to school that day so they will have plenty of time to set up their displays. Pictures for Presentation Boards Due  Tomorrow Students are welcome to choose their photos online and print them at home or email them to me in a google doc or word document, where they can printed at school.  All photos should be accompanied by captions that may be typed or handwritten.  Students are welcome to come in as early as 8am to use the computer before school. Mercado Next Friday, October 30th will be our school wide Mercado.  Students must be caught up on all their work to participate.  We hope to see everyone in the morning to e...

Our class is so excited to show some of the Montessori works and lessons tonight.  Our first session is from 5 to 5:45 and second session is from 5:45 to 6:30.  If you need to come early or stay a little later, please let us know. Also, we will pass out more information tonight about our upcoming events including our Mercado, Wax Museum, Phoenix Symphony trip, Science camp, and more. We are so pleased with how fast everyone is working with their research projects and many are getting work done ahead of schedule.  We thank you for supporting your child at home with discussions about their research interests.  We are pleased at the growth every child has shown in initiative and independence as they research, discuss, and write about the person they are studying.

We hope everyone has received the hard copy of this important information as well as the field trip permission slip that is due this Friday. This announcement was also sent via email and we ask you to check your inbox to ensure we have your email address in our system.  Ms. Kathy and I have been receiving error messages with some emails.  We will put all of our class announcements online and will send them electronically in the future and we want to make sure everyone is up to date on the latest news in our classroom.   If you did not receive this in your email, please send us an email at  MECrooom102@gmail.com   so we can make sure you are accurately added to our list!  Over the next few weeks, the upper elementary will be researching important people in current events and will create a living wax museum on the Friday before  Halloween (10-23-15).  Students will have time to work on this project in class, and  we will research the...

I want to thank everyone in the class for their wonderful attitude and strong support during my absence.  It truly felt like Christmas today as I read each gift of kind words and gestures that everyone created while I was gone.  It feels wonderful to be back and giving lessons with these amazing children after being in the hospital and doing intense physical therapy.  I am happy to report that every specialist is pleased with my rapid recovery and that makes returning to work feel that much better. I wanted to pass along the snack calendar that the children created this week.  Also, I am excited that the children will be researching a country and creating a map with the economic geography stamps over the next two weeks.  Feel free to ask your child questions about which country they would like to study for this brief research project.  The final copy will be 1-4 paragraphs for the report along with a map detailing the landforms and resources of the cou...

Dear Parents, I am thrilled to be part of the amazing team of professionals at Montessori Education Centre. This campus is truly a vibrant learning community. In my years of teaching learners of varying ages and cultures, I have learned that one thing stays the same: the individual children form the strongest fibers in a successful learning community. As a Montessori teacher, or guide, I provide the tools, but it is the children themselves who are actively building their own minds. Research has shown child-centered educational practices to be more effective in the long-term; a Montessori classroom better accommodates a wide range of learners. Here diversity becomes strength.  I try to allow children as many options as possible within the supportive structure we build as a class. This means that the children will determine the rules for the classroom as well as choosing work on a daily basis. They will help each other learn and work in harmony according to their group and ind...