Banyan May 2018 Newsletter
Dear Banyan Parents,
Thank you for all of your help, cooperation and time supporting your child’s growth in our classroom. I cannot believe we are almost in the last month of the school year. This school year walked – no ran – past us. Last month we had various events at the school and hoped you all had a great time attending them: Follow the child, Parent-Teacher conference and Parent Education nights. Among all of these events, we found that the first two events were accompanied by all the parents and only a few families participated in the last one.
Each education night we focus on different topics. Sometimes the topics may sound the same but will have updated content. Parent Education Nights are one of the opportunity to learn about the Montessori philosophy. In brief, it explains your child’s specific phase according to the Montessori method, how the particular year/age looks like in the classroom and at home, and answers questions and engages in discussion. As a parent, I never missed this opportunity to learn more about this child-centered education method to support my children in the classroom and help them at home. These education nights will help us connect with you and share our experience and knowledge that we have been learning with your children and by your children with you. It will give you a whole different experience to observe your child at home and help them cherish every moment.
This month will be a busy month for all of us at the school. As we always learn about different continents as part of our geography, this time of the year we focus our studies on a particular continent, and we will continue our research about Europe. May 18th will be our cultural Immersion day. I have sent out an email with more details about Cultural Immersion day and the names of the animals that your child had chosen to create the biome.
A few parents have requested from me ideas for summertime activities, and here are some ideas from my own experience as a parent and thoughts to have the kids engaged with what we do in the classroom.
Practical Life lessons
Helping in the kitchen while you cook: cutting, washing the plates, Table setting, cleaning the floor with small broom and dustpan, baking with your child, or sometimes they just want to be with you in the kitchen do their own pouring using the pots and pans and water and dry ingredients.
Helping with other house chores: Folding clothes, organizing the room and toys together, watering the plants, letting them be creative with making their own pouring lessons using the objects around the house (help them build the control of movement using their most potent instrument: “THE HANDS”).
Sensorial Lessons
Tactile sense: SAND – children love to touch different textures. Create bins of pebbles, marbles, sand and other objects for them to feel and walk on it. Use different colored sand trays to practice drawing and writing. Have them play with you, touching different textures using a blindfold.
Other Senses: Go for a nature walk with them and have them smell different types of flowers and leaves. Have them rub those leaves on a piece of paper using a crayon. Talks about different kinds of seeds; small, big, seeds that make noises seeds that fly on your nature walk. Gardening is a great way to spend time together in your backyard. Have them help you spot the stuff you need at the grocery store.
Language Lessons:
Storytimes are the best times for both the parents and children. Story time with objects is fun and stimulating activity for kids. Patterning with beads and other objects help them increase the visual discrimination. Have them listen to the stories from pre-recorded audio. It can be your voice – kids love to hear stories from your voice. You can play the audio again and again while you are busy, which helps them develops auditory discrimination.
Have small pieces of papers, color pencils, paper clips/rings, and colored construction paper covers in their work/play area to make their story/picture books. Keep small books with three or four-letter words in the reading area.
Math:
Count with objects found in nature and around the house. Write numbers in sand. Include them to help you measure ingredients for cooking. Talks about what time you are going outside/having breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Arts, Geography, Botany and Zoology:
Cutting and pasting are one of the favorite crafts young kids like to do. Collect various things (glue, tissue paper, cut construction papers, pompoms, pipe cleaners, glitters, etc.) in a box named “Bored box.” This will help them be creative when the kids say they are bored. Remember to change the things in the box once in a while. Look to the sky together on starry nights and talk about the planets, stars, and constellations. Gardening and tracing any types of puzzles around the house will help them understand different parts and develop the pincer grip. Painting and coloring are always fun!
Songs:
Music can efficiently stimulate child’s brain. Children can learn the concepts through music. Play the music that they love.
Nature and Outdoor play:
Nature always gives us enough nurture. Being connected with nature will provide them with vast varieties of options to explore in different ways. Help them connect to nature.
Encourage your child to make a picture/picture and word book about their summer trips.
“To confer the gift of drawing, we must create an eye that sees, a hand that obeys, a soul that feels; and in this task, the whole life must cooperate. In this sense, life itself is the only preparation for drawing. Once we have lived, the inner spark of vision does the rest.”
– Dr. Maria Montessori.
May and June Events
May 18 Cultural Immersion Day
May 24 Corporation Meeting @ 5:30
May 28 NO SCHOOL – Memorial Day
June 1 Kindergarten Graduation
June 8 Last day of School
Apart from the Europe continent studies, May and June unit studies will focus on social skills and team building.
Kind Regards,
Ms. Karthi and team
