January

Head of School Newsletter: January 2021

On behalf of all of us here at PFM, I hope you all had a festive time with your family over the holiday vacation!  We are ready to have a fantastic 2021 here at Pacific First Montessori and are so happy that you and your children are along with us for the ride.  The New Year is such a refreshing time to take inventory of what is important to us and to make goals to improve ourselves and our well-being. As everyone knows, this year it is especially important to make sure we are on the right path in taking care of ourselves since we have been through so much in 2020. While the health pandemic did not disappear at the strike of midnight on December 31 as I hoped it would (in my dreams), I have hope that the vaccine will make this year a lot easier to maneuver.  And I hope you do, too.

In December we enjoyed learning about celebrations around the world and the children especially enjoyed the holiday lights in the classrooms as well as the trees and decorations in our building.  

In January, we welcome Evelyn and Henry to the toddler room from the infant room.  We are excited to watch them navigate this new world with the older children! Cruz moves up to South Preschool and we can’t wait to see him tackle this with his confident and capable self. We also welcome Lihai into NP1 – it will be great to see Lihai get to know his new school and see how well the children help him along the way. 

This month, South preschoolers will be focusing their attention on winter themed ideas like animals that live in the arctic and Antarctic, and ice and snow. NP1 will study Alaska and the Northern Lights while NP2 learns about building and engineering with a winter theme in the background as well.  The toddlers are exploring dinosaurs! It is a fun time of year around here and I am sure you are hearing all about it at home.

I hope you have a wonderful month!


Teddi Blades

Director & Owner, PFM

Head of School Newsletter: January

On behalf of all of us here at PFM, I hope you all had a festive time with your family over the holiday vacation! We are ready to have a fantastic 2020 here at Pacific First Montessori and are so happy that you and your children are along with us for the ride.

In December we enjoyed seeing the downtown area all dressed up for the holidays. We took advantage of our location and went on walks to look at the lights, decorations, and other festive things at Westlake Park and the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton. This month we welcomed Quinn and Emery into preschool and Sebastian, Julian and Branca into the toddler room! We also welcomed new babies Harper, Evelyn and Henry into our infant room. Welcome everyone!

This month, preschoolers will be focusing their attention on winter themed ideas like arctic animals and ice and snow and the toddlers are exploring dinosaurs! Afternoon preschool has been turned into a winter wonderland full of ice blocks for building igloos and ice caves and they even have “skis” for pretending to snow ski. It is a fun time of year around here and I am sure you are hearing all about it at home.

The parent education piece this month is about healthy eating. Be sure to read the articles under the Parent Education tab to learn more about how to handle this if it is something your child struggles with. The password remains PFM2019 for the time being.

I hope you have a wonderful month!

Teddi Blades Director & Owner, PFM

Toddler January Newsletter

DINOSAURS

This month we’ll travel back in time to the land of the dinosaurs. Donning our archaeologist hats, we’ll dig through sand and ice and examine our excavations to reimagine what these creatures may have looked liked and how they might have lived. Based on our observations, we’ll match and sort them, determining whether they lived in sea, sky, or land and whether their diet consisted of meat or if they preferred the vegetarian lifestyle. As with any good mystery, questions will arise as to the true nature of these beings, so books and songs will aide us in our discovery, as will the fantasy of our imaginations.

 
 

 
What is a scientist?
We give the name scientist to the type of man who has felt experiment to be a means guiding him to search out the deep truth of life, to lift a veil from its fascinating secrets, and ... has felt arising within him a love for the mysteries of nature.
— Maria Montessori
 

Important Dates to Remember:

January 1st: PFM Closed for New Years

January 2nd: Back to School

January 20th: PFM Closed for MLK Jr. Day

Welcome Sebastian, Julian, and Families!

Birthdays!

January 4th: Lucy (2)

Happy New Year!

 
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North Preschool January Newsletter

ARCTIC ANIMALS

This month we will talk about arctic animals: polar bears, arctic wolves, arctic hares, and penguins.  We will have picture to object matching, 55 arctic counting, and matching to 1-10. As a science experiment, we will test various salts to see which one melts ice first. And we will dig away to free all the animals trapped inside blocks of ice. For geography, we will focus on the continent of Antartica.

 
 

 
Beauty lies in harmony. Not in contrast. And harmony is refinement. There must be a fineness to the senses if we are to appreciate harmony.
— Maria Montessori
 

Important Dates to Remember:

January 1st: PFM Closed for New Years

January 2nd: Back to School

January 20th: PFM Closed for MLK Jr. Day

 

cLASSROOM REMINDER…

Breakfast ends at 8:30. If your child would still like to eat after this time, you may eat with them in the lobby.

Welcome to Preschool Quinn!

Happy

New Year!

 
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South Preschool January Newsletter

ARCTIC ANIMALS

This month we will talk about arctic animals: polar bears, arctic wolves, arctic hares, and penguins.  We will have picture to object matching, 55 arctic counting, and matching to 1-10. As a science experiment, we will test various salts to see which one melts ice first. And we will dig away to free all the animals trapped inside blocks of ice. For geography, we will focus on the continent of Antartica.

 
 

 
The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.
— Maria Montessori
 

Important Dates to Remember:

January 1st: PFM Closed for New Years

January 2nd: Back to School

January 20th: PFM Closed for MLK Jr. Day

 

cLASSROOM REMINDER…

Breakfast ends at 8:30. If your child would still like to eat after this time, you may eat with them in the lobby.

Welcome to Preschool Emery!

Happy

New Year!

 
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Afternoon Preschool January Newsletter

Afternoon preschool themes:

Arctic Winter Wonderland

Winter Forest

Winter is upon us and your kids are ready to have some fun in the “snow!” This month your kids will start having their winter fun in an arctic winter wonderland. Here they will be able to walk through the glaciers, go ice fishing, and warm up by the fire. 

Afterwards they will journey to a winter forest. Here they will be able to see bears hibernate and catch some snow on the slopes.

 
 

 
Play is the work of the child.
— Maria Montessori
 

Important Dates to Remember:

January 1st: PFM Closed for New Years

January 2nd: Back to School

January 20th: PFM Closed for MLK Jr. Day

 

classroom reminder…

As the days are getting colder we would like to remind parents to bring gloves, hats, and warm jackets to school. If you have already done so thank you very much.

 

Happy New Year!

 
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January North Preschool Newsletter

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Hello January~

 
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This month, the North Preschool students will learn about famous artist, Wassily Kandinsky. They will create a Kandinsky-inspired masterpiece that will be available for purchase at our annual PFM auction! The students will also learn about penguins (a favorite topic of conversation) and “snowpeople.”

“The child has a mind able to absorb knowledge. S/he has the power to teach her/himself.”--Maria Montessori


Dates to remember:

  • PFM reopens after winter break on January 2
  • PFM will be closed Monday, January 21 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Quick Classroom Reminders:

  • Please be sure your child has extra warm clothes in his/her cubby

  • Please store rain gear (including boots, coats, hats, and rain pants) at school

 

 

 

January Birthdays:

Effie (3) January 7

 
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January South Preschool Newsletter

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Hello January~

 
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This month, the South Preschool students will study Andy Warhol’s artistic philosophy. They will create a Warhol-inspired masterpiece that will be available for purchase at the annual PFM auction! The preschoolers will also learn about arctic animals. What are they? Where do they live? What do they eat?

“Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his/her mind comes through his/her movements.”--Maria Montessori


Dates to remember:

  • PFM reopens after winter break on January 2
  • PFM will be closed Monday, January 21 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Quick Classroom Reminders:

  • Please be sure your child has extra warm clothes in his/her cubby

 

 

 

 

January Birthdays:

Evelyn (5) January 9

 
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