North Class Newsletter

Happy May!

Important dates this month...

May 1st PFM will be closed for In-Service

May 11th 7:30-9am Mother's Day Brunch

May 28th PFM will be closed in observance of Memorial Day

This May we will be learning about Butterflies! 

We will learn their nomenclature, their very special life cycle and tackle the concept of symmetry. Because there are a lot of artists in the classroom we will have lots of butterfly inspired art projects. We will also be purchasing some caterpillars to watch and discuss how they build their chrysalis and transform into butterflies. Last month we were able to see 1 hummingbird on the playground! Hopefully with more sunny weather headed our way we will see lots of butterflies! 

This month we will also be preparing for Mothers Day. We will be working on making a gift, making a card and wrapping it in a beautiful way. Our cards and gifts will be presented at the Mother's Day Brunch on May 10th from 7:30- 9:30. We will also work together to bake a yummy treat to serve at the brunch.

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“One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.”

— Maria Montessori

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sounds of the week...

• May 2-4 -Bb

• May 7 -11 Ii

• May 14-18 - Ll

• May 21-25 -Rr

• May 28- 31 - Tt

Birthdays this month...

May 11th Owen turns 5!

Toddler Newsletter

Hello April Families!

Monthly Unit : Spring!

 With winter finally over, we will be exploring the changes in nature that come with spring. This means some nature finding city walks, natural sensory experiences, and talking about different creatures that make their appearances in the spring! 

“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature”

— Maria Montessori

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Weekly lesson plan:

Week 1: Insect Sorting
Week 2: Grassy Field Sensory Bin
Week 3: "Flower Planting" Playdough
Week 4: Rainy Day Window Art  

Happy Spring!

Infant Newsletter

Happy April families!

Dates to Remember:
Saturday, April 21st 9am-12pm:
Baby Brunch

 

April news

As babies begin to move around
their environments more, we
provide them with opportunities
for movement. We have ample
classroom space for crawling,
rolling, and other movement and
dedicated work time to move
around freely. The wooden
climber and soft climbers also
help with gross motor
development.

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“Whilst learning to turn on the belly, to
roll, creep, sit, stand and walk, (the
baby) is not only learning those
movements but also how to learn. He
learns to do something on his own, to be
interested, to try out, to experiment. He
learns to overcome difficulties. He
comes to know the joy and satisfaction
which is derived from this success, the
result of his patience and persistence.”

— RIE Principal

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Staff Hours

Sosina: 7am-3pm

Bua: 8-4pm

Mimi: 8:45-4:45

Teresa: 10:30-6:30pm

Brenda: 2pm-6:30pm

Happy Spring!

South Class Newsletter

Hello April Families!

Welcome April!

April will be all about flowers this month as we see all the beautiful blooms around us. We will look at the parts of a flower, the flower life cycle, flower species and do lots of flower arranging to make our classroom look extra beautiful. We will be saving our old flowers to put into the flower press and use for all kinds of beautiful artwork this month.

We will also be learning about colors this month! We will explore primary, secondary, and tertiary colors along with the color wheel, color mixing, and color box 3 (tints and shades of color).

On the geography shelf we will look at the layers of the earth and discuss ways we take care of the earth as Earth Day approaches.

Happy spring,

Sarah

Can you name the parts of a flower?

 

dates to remember...

Friday April 20th: Tiny Tots

Week of April 16th-20th: South Class parent/teacher conferences (see sign-up in lobby)

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“In the ‘bosom of nature’ to heal and reflect, with fundamental experiences of how humans have organized themselves and constructed civilizations out of nature’s bounty, and with sensorial training in perceiving the subtle interdependenceies of nature and humans: children must learn to engage in the dialogue between the living organism that is the planet and its most interactive creatures- themselves. ”

— Laurie Ewert-Krocker

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binging the classroom home this month...

• Look for rainbows this month on those rainy/sunny days Seattle always brings us in the spring- if you find one, try to name all the colors you see!

• Arrange some flowers at home: have your child trim the stems, fill the vases, and place the flowers together to make a beautiful arrangement! When they’ve wilted, press between the pages of a large book.

• Find a flower outside to dissect: use some tweezers and a magnifying glass if you have one to inspect the parts of the flower. Take them out, look at them up close, you can even tape them to a piece of paper and label them!

• Mix up some colors: use food coloring and water, paint or different colors of playdough to mix. Start with the primary colors and see what new color you end up with!

• Celebrate the earth: with Earth Day coming up, what better time to take a moment to thank the earth for all it gives us. Talk about and practice recycling and composting at home. Discuss all the special things the earth gives us and ways we can give back to/take care of her.

sounds this month...

Our sounds have been put in order by the AMS sound groups- the easiest to pronounce and write to the hardest:

April 2nd-6th: Zz

April 9th-13th: Ss

April 16th-20th: Mm

April 23rd-27th: Aa

ways to help

We would LOVE fresh flowers for the classroom this month to help us learn the parts, learn how to arrange them, and press them for artwork.

Please feel free to bring us your fruit and veggie scraps for the bunnies!

birthdays this month...

Caption for image.

• Rose will celebrate her 4th birthday on the 9th
• Laila will be 5 on the 18th
• Olivia will turn 3 on April 25th
• Lincoln and Amelia will turn 5 on the 27th
• Jane will be 3 on April 28th

Happy Birthday friends!!!

Happy Spring!

South Class Newsletter March

Happy Spring!

Dates to remember this month:

• Saturday March 10th: PFM Auction at the WAC!

• Monday and Tuesday March 20th/21st: Bring your parent to school days!

 

Hello March!

This month we will learn about the bean seed and plant. With lots of opportunities for scientific discovery, we will be dissecting, sprouting and sorting all different types of seeds in the classroom.

We will also welcome spring this month by bringing some tree branches with buds on them into the classroom and this will inspire some still life drawing and painting in our art area, and sorting some spring pictures and flower bulbs.

In the math area we will be introduced to coins! We will learn about the value of each coin type and the different quantities that are equal to each other.

In practical life we will be exploring magnets! An initial sorting of magnetic versus non-magnetic will give us a great base for lots of magnetic sorting opportunities.

What a fun month we have ahead!

-Sarah

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“This is the secret: We must walk with the child, not the child with us. This is the practical help we can give to this very important period.”

— -Maria Montessori

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Sounds this month:

Our sounds have been put in order by the AMS sound groups- the easiest to pronounce and write to the hardest. We will reach the end of our sound groups this month so we will start right back at the beginning with Ss.

March 5th-9th: Xx

March 12th-16th: Vv

March 19th-23rd: Qq

March 26th-30th: Yy

Bringing the classroom home this month…

• Gardening: Hopefully the weather this month will permit some gardening time at your house, but if not sprout some seeds in cups to plant outside later!

• Magnets: Do your own tests this month at home with things around the house- pick up a magnet and gather your items then test each one to see if it is magnetic or non-magnetic.

• Spring: Pick some spring branches from around your neighborhood and examine their attributes. Talk about the tiny buds and/or flowers you see. Make a sketch of the branches or even paint them!

• Polish some coins: Gather your rustiest pennies and other coins and polish them using lemon juice or vinegar and some table salt. Place one coin at a time in a small dish and add the vinegar/lemon juice then a dash of salt and scrub with a q-tip.

• Roll some coins: Have your child help you sort through your coin jar. Sort the coins and then count and roll them up to take to the bank!

Birthdays and transitions this month...

• We will welcome James Volk from the toddler classroom this month

• Addi will celebrate his birthday this month on March 12th

Bring your parents to school day

This month we are offering an opportunity for you to come into the classroom and see some of your child’s favorite works. They are always so full of pride showing you their school environment and the care they take in their work and this will be a wonderful opportunity to see what the day is like. I will be putting out a sign-up sheet with different time slots throughout the day and you can choose a time that is convenient for you.

North Class Newsletter March

Happy Spring!

Dates to remember this month:

• Saturday March 10th: PFM Auction at the WAC!

• Monday and Tuesday March 20th/21st: Bring your parent to school days!

Happy march!

It is hard to believe it is already March! We are going to counteract any grey weather that comes our way by learning about rainbows! We will learn the colors of the rainbow in both English and in Spanish, when we can observe rainbows, and how rainbows are made. In the practical life section of our classroom we will experiment with color mixing, color sorting and making rainbow bracelets. Our classroom will be a colorful reprieve from the rainy gray that March typically brings to Seattle.

Our fish tank will be getting a new addition this month that may just inspire a zoological study. We will be adding 2 frogs to our tank! We will study this new creature by learning its different body parts, learning the life cycle of a frog and observing it in its habitat.

We will celebrating the Spring Equinox on March 20th by planting seeds both in our classroom and on our playground!

-Hope

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“The greatest development is achieved during the first years of life, and therefore it is then that the greatest care should be taken”

— -Maria Montessori

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Sounds this month:

                         March   1- 2 - Xx

                         March 5-9 -  Aa

                         March 12-16 - Ff

                         March 19-23 -Gg

                         March 26-30- Cc

Birthdays and transitions this month...

• Aidan turns 4 March 9th

• John turns 3 March 30th

Bring your parents to school day

This month we are offering an opportunity for you to come into the classroom and see some of your child’s favorite works. They are always so full of pride showing you their school environment and the care they take in their work and this will be a wonderful opportunity to see what the day is like. I will be putting out a sign-up sheet with different time slots throughout the day and you can choose a time that is convenient for you.