Our Lovely Classroom

Due to some constructive feedback and revelations from parents, I have changed the homework routine to make it more concrete and specific.  Your child should be coming home with a homework plan that lists four areas of focus for the four hours of homework required each week. (1 hour per day, Monday through Thursday) They may choose work in each of three categories (practical life, language, math) and may choose a fourth activity in any category.  They must include some written documentation of their work (IE math problems, reports, written work, reflection of what was learned) and the bottom should be signed by the parent, if they witnessed the completion of the work stated on the form.  Feel free to not sign if incomplete--this does not impact their grade, and is a valuable piece to help build independence and responsibility. Homework must total up 4 hours each week, and if needed, homework may be completed over the weekend.  Thanks for your support in helping your...

Dear Parents, This Friday, December 13 at 1:30, we are having a gingerbread house extravaganza.  Parents are welcome to join us.  We are in need of donations of white frosting (4 tubs), Graham crackers, (5-8 packages) and any leftover Halloween candy, licorice ropes, marshmallows, etc.  We have quite a bit of chocolate frosting and sprinkles from Mercado that we are planning to use.  To avoid duplication, I will create a list at volunteerspot.com to sign up to bring items.  Please click on this link to see the signup sheet:  Here!   When you sign up for an item, others will know what items are already being brought. Also, we are making stockings in class, as well as hand-dipped candles over the next two weeks.  If you have any holiday fabric you are getting rid of, we would love to put it to good use in our classroom!  Also, if you have any small glass baby food jars, we would love to have them to make them into candle holders for our ...

Cannot wait to see everyone tonight!  Everyone has worked so hard for this night!  After the performance, we will have a brief presentation and time to enjoy the refreshments made by the children.  Here are some links for some good articles on parenting that support our Montessori approach as well as resources for homework: How to Land your Kid in Therapy Involving Children at Home Montessori FAQ Practical Life Kahn Acadamy Typing Web Watch Nova Science Online

This week, the children have been constructing arguments for a persuasive essay about something they would like to change about the school.  We have looked at the pros and cons of each issue and talked about constructing counter-arguments in order to form a solid persuasive position.  Next week they will continue to refine their work and eventually we will post our work online to vote on it!  If anyone is skilled in the area of web publishing, we would love your help and/or input with our project! Also today, the students formed groups to choose a recipe to make in class on Wednesday, November 27. They will be deciding on the recipe on Friday and may start bringing in ingredients as early as Monday, November 26.  Please encourage your child to choose a simple recipe that they could share with their group as a cooking possibility for next week.  We have crockpots, breadmakers, cooktops and the use of the oven for part of the day.  Parents are welcome to j...

I am proud to announce that students have an opportunity to learn to type at school and home via a website called typing web. Click here to find out more!  If anyone is interested in volunteering in the classroom, I am looking for someone willing to give private lessons to small groups of students for about 20 minutes per group, preferably in the afternoon or late morning.  To login to typing web, please use your first name and then mec for the username and 123456 for the password. For example, my username would be Lizamec and my password would be 123456.   Try it out with your child at home if you can.  The accounts are connected to my email account and I am able to track everyone's progress in learning to type!

Tomorrow we will be watching a science related movie in the afternoon because the children worked hard in class for weeks to be able to earn a reward of their choosing. Students are allowed to bring pillows for the movie as well as their own personal stash of movie treats (aka junk food) or enough to share with the entire class if desired. They may not bring out the junk food ahead of the scheduled movie or they will lose the privilege.   Please remember to sign up for conferences! Ms. Liza and Kathy

Parent Conferences November 25-December 6, 2013 Sign up sheets are located in the office, please email if you need a morning appointment, phone conference, or alternate time.   We are so pleased with the tremendous progress of each student, both socially, and academically.   We cannot wait for the opportunity for your child to show all the amazing work they have done this year!