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.

Toddler Newsletter March

Happy Spring!

Dates to remember this month:

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

 

This month we will be focusing on transportation, whether it’s community vehicles like school buses or travel vehicles like boats!

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“It is after this that the child, who can now walk and feels confident of his strength, begins to notice the actions of those about him, and tries to do the same things. In this period he imitates not because someone has told him to do so, but because of a deep inner need which he feels.”

— -Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind p. 143

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weekly curriculum

Week 1: Train Track Basket

Week 2: Road Shape Works

Week 3: Car Color Matching

Week 4: Construction Vehicle Matching

Infant Newsletter March

Happy Spring!

Dates to remember this month:

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

 

Happy March,
Families!
All babies now are having snacks
and lunch together at the table!
Meals and snacks are served “family
style” which helps introduce babies
to a variety of healthy foods. We
provide babies their own utensils,
plates, cups, and bowls for fruit, this
way they learn to manipulate these
objects and become familiar with
themselves independently.
A warm welcome to Mimi to the
baby room! Mimi began in the
infant room when she first started at
PFM; she is very excited to be back!
As we say goodbye to Camilla who is
now fully transitioned to the toddler
room, we welcome baby Lars to our
classroom, welcome Lars! We are
very happy to have you!

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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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Weekly Focus:

March 1st-2nd Social/Emotional

March 5th-9th Fine Motor

March 12th-16th Sensory

March 19th-23rd Gross Motor

March 26th-30th Cognitive

Birthdays and transitions this month...

Happy 1st Birthday to
Lily who turns 1 on
March 2nd

Infant Newsletter February

Happy February Families!

Happy month of love everyone!

Dates to remember this month:

• Thursday Feb 8th: Valentine’s craft night (infant/toddler) 4-5:30pm

• Monday Feb 19th: closed for President’s Day

 

hello families, welcome to february!

This month we are very excited to be participating in the first ever PFM auction. We will be working hard all month on artwork for this upcoming event!
As we have more babies beginning to walk, we look for ample ways to provide opportunities for babies to use their new skills. One way we do this in the classroom is provide pushing work. Pushing work helps babies prepare for weight shifting between their feet, strengthens hand-eye and bilateral coordination, and is at the perfect level to encourage walking. We have several rolling carts and cars in our classroom that we love to bring out to encourage this beneficial skill.
Important Dates

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Afternoon Preschool Newsletter

Happy February Families!

Happy month of love everyone!

 

hi pfm families!

Throughout January we continued to work on our collage portraits and alas! We have reached the end of our project! Be on the lookout for auction information in the future as this is where/when they will be unveiled! We hope to see you there J

You might have also noticed our cardboard trees in the afternoon program, set beside our hot cocoa stand and icy blocks. Our little friends had so much fun working in our D.I.Y. dramatic play scene

This month we will be creating valentines and working on several projects to be displayed at our auction in March. Textured scrolls, wooden sculptures, and concentric circles, oh my!  As always, you’re more than welcome to check out our progress from 4-5pm at the art table in North Preschool!

                                     Thank you! See you soon!

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North Class Newsletter February

Happy February Families!

Happy month of love everyone!

Dates to remember this month:

• Thursday Feb 8th: Valentine’s craft night 4-5:30pm

• Monday Feb 19th: closed for President’s Day

• Friday Feb 16th: Tiny Tots

 

happy February!

This month our practical life shelves will be stocked with Valentine themed works. To celebrate Valentine's day we will have our Valentine Craft night for families to make valentines! It is a PFM tradition to make "Friendship Fruit Salad" on Valentine's day, and this year will be no different. On Valentine's day please bring 1 piece of fruit and we will prepare a friendship fruit salad for lunch!

Our zoology focus this month will shift from penguins to horses. We will learn the different parts of a horse's body, the names of different facial markings and explore the relationship between horses and humans. They say life is better viewed through rose colored glasses, but I say that life is better when you're learning about roses! In addition to our horse study, we will also be learning about roses. We will learn the parts of a rose, different species of roses and even make rosebud necklaces.It is a short month, but it will be a fun month!

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“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being”

— Maria Montessori

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Sound of the Week:

February 1- 3 - Dd

February 5-9 -  Rr

February 12-16 - Ss

February 19-23 - Nn

February 26-28- Xx

February birthdays...

*Amelia turns 4 on February 6

*Grace turns 4 on February 25th

*Meredith turns 4 on February 26th.

South Class Newsletter February

Happy February Families!

Happy month of love everyone!

Dates to remember this month:

• Thursday Feb 8th: Valentine’s craft night 4-5:30pm

• Monday Feb 19th: closed for President’s Day

• Friday Feb 16th: Tiny Tots

 

happy February!

This month in our class we will learn all about the panda bear! We will talk about their diet, the parts of their body, their life cycle, and their habitat. Along with our study of their habitat, we will learn about Asia as we get ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

We will also make our own valentines, learn about sink versus float, and refine our palettes with the tasting bottles (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter).  

It should be a fun month full of love and kindness! I look forward to sharing it with you all!

Sarah

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“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”

— Maria Montessori

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Ways to bring our curriculum to your home this month...

• Create a “kindness tree” in your home: Write kind and helpful deeds family members do for each other on small pieces of paper and attach to the tree with pipe cleaners to celebrate their kindness!

• Experiment with sink and float: Using the bathtub, sink, or a bucket fill part way with water and see what you can find to test- talk about your predictions and then test them out to see if it sinks or floats.

• Practice silence: Tell your child you’re going to play a game called silence. Sit with a timer set for 1 minute and just listen. When the timer is up, talk about all the sounds you heard and how nice it was to get so still and quiet.

• Do a taste-test: Make a plate of little bites of food to try together. Talk about the flavors you taste and if they are sweet, salty, sour, or bitter. You can also discuss where the food comes from (an animal, a plant, etc).

Sounds this month:

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

February 5th-9th: Kk

February 12th-16th: Gg

February 19th-23rd: Uu

February 26th-March 2nd: Jj

February birthdays...

Caption for image.

• We will celebrate Anneliese’s birthday on the 6th
• Hunter also has a birthday on the 6th
• Alex has a birthday on the 16th
• Avi’s birthday is on the 24th

other stuff...

• Please be mindful of the accessories your child brings to school…things like big bracelets, lots of hair clips, etc. can often be distracting in the classroom and often go missing. Sometimes these items are best saved for special weekend days.

• Please feel free to bring in any special books or resources you may have at home relating to our monthly curriculum! We would love it!

• Our bunnies LOVE veggie and fruit scraps. If you have any carrot ends, lettuce scraps, apple peels, etc. feel free to bring them in for the bunnies. The children adore feeding them throughout the day.