This Week in the Tulip Room
- At April 15, 2014
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
I just want to be sure that everyone knows about a couple of upcoming events this week. I’ve posted them to the calendar.
Chicago’s Pizza Night on Monday 5-8 pm in Bargersville and a What is Montessori? night on Tuesday at 6pm. For more information see Brenda or check the calendar on Compass or see Facebook. Hope to see you all at one or both events this week!
Your children may have told you that we are undergoing some changes in the classroom, new workplan systems, new daily schedule and a few minor things. Please feel free to email me with questions, comments or concerns (or stop in). We are hoping our new systems will create an environment of challenges with feelings of success. This week we worked on getting back together, learning our changes, writing poems and discussed the ocean and waves. See everyone on Monday! Those Women’s History presentations have been lovely!
Melissa
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At December 10, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
It’s a month of Holidays around the world! We’ve celebrated St. Nicholas day (German) on Thursday and Hanukkah today. We will continue the celebrations with St. Lucia Day (Sweden) this week and Los Posados and Christmas next week. Speaking of Christmas; in lieu of getting a gift for each other or for the teachers we ask that you “gift the classroom”. The children have made a list of things they would like to have in the room.
pencil top erasers
colored pencils
research (reference) books
constructions paper
dry erase markers (black)
liquid food coloring
spray bottle
straws
empty 2 liter bottles
magnets
playground or bouncy balls
no noise timer (United Art & Education)
balance/pulley/lever kit (United Art & Education)
dry erase boards
glue sticks
balloons
ribbon
sewing needles
fabric
pot holders/oven mits
pots, pans, cheese grater, child safe knives (kitchen supplies)
We are also wanting to purchase a classroom iPad and would love to have donations
Gift cards:
Home Depot
Joanne Fabrics
United Art & Education
Target
A student also requested stuff for our new adolescent classroom (12-18) that will open next year; Paper, big student scissors, lap desk, clipboards, pencils, pens, colored pencils, middle school/high school aged books and resource material (dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauruses).
Thanks you so much and see the special note below!
Saturday is our second field day and the children have decided they would like to go sledding and as a back up (in case the snow isn’t sledable) we will go Ice Skating.
Who: The Tulip Room Learners & Families
When: Saturday, December 14 2-4pm
Where: Glens Valley Nature Park – Sledding
Perry Park – Ice Skating (the school will pay for the kids)
Bring your sleds, snow gear and family!
*One adult is required to stay thanks!
***Compass news- when you receive an email and it says you have an Activity Report or Activity it means there is news about the classroom or about your child. This is the main way we are communicating, let me know if you are having any difficulty getting to this or have any questions.
One last final note is to mark your calendars! Indiana Montessori Community School will be hosting an open house for the Adolescent Program on January 18th from 2-4pm. If you are interested in viewing the new school and/or asking some questions/meeting Ms. Jennifer this is your chance!
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At November 12, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
Last week we had some amazing homework turned in, had a lesson on fabric printing, bluegrass/country/folk music, a lesson on the countries in North America, had a presentation on the Day of the Dead and worked on our Timeline of life Research Teams (these teams were suppose to research and present on their period and did so through food, slideshows, shelf materials, posters and games).
The best thing about my job is that I learn something new everyday! This weekend I learned that our school can benefit from parents shopping on Amazon. You just have to use the fundraising link and it takes you to Amazon and then when you buy we get credit…(there is some amazing cubing materials I’d love to have for the children, but these are so expensive, I hope to get them soon!). Also I learned that the magazine “Tomorrows Child” is available to us digitally, for free, through Compass, so we will not be ordering so many magazines (saving trees & money) and will just let you access it online through the parent resources tab.
Thank you to the parent volunteers who are coming into the room once a month and helping! I feel so blessed to have these people in the room and to be able to do so much more because of them! We are looking for parent volunteers to assist in our International Fair in the spring..look for more details soon! Thank you for allowing us to be with such awesome and interesting people everyday!
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At October 27, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
I hope everyone enjoyed their fall break! I don’t know about you, but to me it seems Fall decided that this would be the perfect time to appear and appear in full force! Please keep this in mind when your children get dressed. They will need to dress for the weather that will occur at 1:30pm each day. Also for running club, I recommend layers that can be taken off if necessary. Should they be dressed too hot or too cold I will have to ask them to stay back from running club. (ATTENTION- running club will break for this week in order to enjoy Halloween). Speaking of Halloween – we will be deciding as a class what to do this Monday during our class meeting time. Watch Compass for an update & more info. This weeks lunch team is a celebrity cook…..Ms. Kristen! She will be making Cuban Rice & Beans. Please send in $2 for this weeks lunch.
Don’t forget about homework Monday this week (grades 3-6)!! The children really enjoy getting to show their hard work to their friends. Watch for Novembers homework to come home this week!
Happy Fall!
Melissa
This Week in The Tulip Room
- At October 01, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
We continue our weekly lunch but a student realized..Friday is better than Thursday for us! We normally go to the field and the library on Friday but due to scheduling and space conflicts..it makes more sense to do our lunch and Yoga on Friday and Field and library on Thursday. So here is our weekly and daily schedule.
Daily
8:15 class starts
8:20 or 8:30 am Morning meeting – this is also when a lesson and follow up might be included so if your child is late they will miss the lesson and announcement for the day – please be punctual.
9 or 9:30 am Work Cycle begins depending on meeting and follow up length
11:10 cafeteria co-managers begin lunch prep.
11:30 Lunch
12:30 Reading Time
1:00 pm Back to work or continue reading
1:45 Outside
2:30 pm Rocket Math & Green Folder
3:00 pm End of the Day jobs
3:16 pm After school Care
Weekly
Monday- Nothing unusual
Tuesday- PE. We go outside at 1:30- stretch, learn a new activity then onto our normal outside time or continue the activity
Wednesday – Art 9:30 am
Thursday – Library at 1:45 pm and Field at 2:15 pm for Kickball, etc..
Friday 2:00 pm Yoga- Jasper is here to visit!
I love that the students can change the schedule. So sorry about a bit of lunch confusion, for right now we are going with Friday. When winter comes it might change, or it might not!
This week we talked about some classroom issues, allergies and national day of peace. We transcribed peaceful quotes and were reminded that we have a duty to pass along what we know.
By the way that is how we work. We work in the positive, so let’s focus on the “what we want” as oppose to stop doing… in our lives…I am still practicing this..so instead of “don’t push me” I could say “next time you want to be ahead of me please ask..I might say okay or I might ask you to get behind me and wait nicely” If we can only try to see the peace within all people we might better understand those things that don’t seem so peaceful and be able to assist our friends in their struggles….
Parent Teacher conferences are ready! Did you schedule? For those in years 4-6 we are asking the students to lead these and us to follow up! Bring your child, we will help them to be ready..the 1-3 students are welcome to input as well! Childcare will be available.
Hope you are all feeling informed and up to date! If you aren’t please let me know how I can help! Have a great week!
Watch for the first field day trip update soon! The children have chosen the Apple Orchard and we are waiting for confirmation from the orchard.
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At September 10, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At August 18, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
What a great week! This is our first year to have such a full classroom and to have so many grades, ages, levels and abilities! Whew! We are still figuring out how all this works with finally having the entire age range! But it’s a true testament to Montessori’s vision when we see them able to teach each other, work ahead, work in groups or alone, as well as have a say in their education, and do all this while learning to be peaceful, confident individuals. These people are awesome!
With the beginning of school each year, we also revisit the beginning! We tell creation stories, invent our own stories, work on constellations, planets, stars, galaxies and the birth and death of a star. I love this time! The new ones see awesome new lessons and the ones who have seen it before have a chance to delve deeper into this information.
Next week we will begin the timeline of life! We will also begin spelling tests! Yeah!
Beginning in the month of September we have organized homework for the 4th,5th & 6th year students, but everyone is welcome to join! Please let us know or have your child let us know if they would be interested in joining in on the homework challenge!
If you are having difficulty accessing Montessori compass please let us know as well! I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!
Cubby Clean Out!
- At May 21, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In CGM Parent News, Maple Room, Oak Room, Tulip Room
- 0
Wednesday, tomorrow, will be our last day in the building. Please be sure to gather all belongings. Papers, art and extra clothes need to be taken home.
We hope to see everyone at Westside Park Thursday!
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At May 20, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
It is happening and we can’t stop it! The end is near and everyone is moving up! If we had our choice this would all stay the same forever, but change is inevitable and it is about to happen to the Tulip Room. At 12:00 Thursday we will all grow again. What a wonderful and mournful time of year!
We have had a busy couple weeks, with finalizing our Spring Committee groups, having a booth at the Community Showcase, opening a Snack Shack during lunch, hosting the first ever CGM dance, penny race finale, as well as completing our daily work…how exhausting and fun for us all. We also prepped for our zoo trip with “Biome Research Teams” who researched plants & animals and biome info related to those we will see at the zoo. We also took a trip to an Indian’s Baseball game for Baseball in Education, where we watched a game and filled out a packet connecting baseball to curriculum areas. Then we rounded it off with some Wiffleball, to practice baseball skills/terminology.
We are celebrating “lasts” right now; we had our last library trip (except for a drop to do this week), our last Spanish class, our last Yoga class, our last Art class, our last full Thursday, our last “Fun Time Friday”, our last work plan of the school year…we are sad for lasts and ready for break!
Some calendar notes: Tuesday is cleaning day, we will be gathering things that need to go home for the summer, please help check your child’s cubby Tuesday and Wednesday for papers, slippers, etc. Wednesday we will be going to the zoo ALL DAY! Pack a lunch that doesn’t need warming, water bottle & sunscreen as we will be there all day. Also be sure if you are in running club that you have a water bottle, Wednesday will be our last run (we will try to run a complete mile). Finally Thursday will be our day at Westside Park on Main Street. We will meet from 8:30-12:00. We will enjoy time at the park as well as our “Mini-Relay” where, beginning at 9:30am, we will walk/run/have fun for 24 minutes to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and it represents the 24 hours a day that cancer patients spend with their battle. Join us for fun, a good cause and a great time! Pack a picnic lunch and bring the whole family!
We know we say this a lot, but we are really thankful and grateful to be a part of so many amazing people’s lives, both big and short. We couldn’t ask for a better place to be than where we are now! We are sad and excited to see this year end and a new one begin. Have a safe and happy summer! We will miss you tons!
This Week in the Tulip Room
- At May 05, 2013
- By CGMontessori
- In Tulip Room
- 0
Another big week! We are counting down the days until summer break, we are excited to sleep in and ready to be sure we fill these last few days together with all the things we want to do! Today we filled out our May calendar so the children can see all the fun filled days ahead , so they can see the few days we only have “normal” activities happening, because there are things they would like to fill them with. We are thinking a posted calendar of activities will become a norm in our classroom next year! But as we look at this calendar again we realize the small amount of time we have left together……everyone will be back next year, but with new friends and a year older and a grade level higher and so really, it will never be the same. This time will be over (and it was an amazing time) and another time will come and we are equally excited for this next time as we are feeling mournful for the time that is gone.
This week we spent time playing kickball and tag in the field and had an awesome visit from an Indy Parks staff person who gave us a presentation on reptiles and amphibians. We also made piñatas for our upcoming Cinco de Mayo (or should I say Siete de Mayo) celebration that we will have on Tuesday. We will be busting a piñata, making salsa and learning a Mexican hat dance.
We discussed and did activities that relate to skin safety, nutrition and being active, and the children were challenged to get 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week of activity, as well as to eat 5 fruits/vegetables per day and practice sun safety for the next 30 days. These are all part of our Relay for Life and American Cancer curriculum lessons. The children also planned three fundraisers they would like to host. One is a hat day! Coming up Friday, May 10th, the children may wear a hat to school for a minimum donation of 50 cents. We began a “Penny Race”, where we are racing the other classrooms to fill a jar with pennies. We are also seeing which class might fill the most jars. The children have decided they would like to have a school dance. So on May 17th, it’ll be a Beach Party dance at CGM, from 7-9pm. The children have decided they would like to have the option to invite an outside guest; whether from another school or from a primary room or a family member (it is an Elementary +1 event). Ms. Kristen and Ms. Melissa are working on putting together the dance songs, games & food, if any of you are interested in helping with the dance please see us, we would welcome the help. Admission to the dance will be a minimum $2 donation. We also began registering the children as members of the “Plunkett’s Pack” Relay for Life team so that they may ask friends and family to support them in this cause via email and Facebook. The website to access your child’s account is www.relayforlife.org/martinsvillein and their user names are their names along with your house number, with the password being their names. Look for info about the mini-relay to come home next week.
We also made our own laundry soap, as part of our “personal hygiene” unit that we are working on. Look for other personal hygiene work to come home, such as a hair shampoo that they will try and then perform a “focus group” activity with, filling out a survey and discussing likes/dislikes. Then a “keeping your body clean” activity including making our own body wash.
It was the second week of running club. We reviewed stretches and running manners then discussed action/reaction, in accordance with moving our bodies horizontally as opposed to vertically while running. We also learned a couple new and fun warm up stretches, “the mummy” and “the bottom kicks”. We ran 1 minute, walked 3 minutes to complete our mile and returned to the school sweaty and smiling. The children made and consumed fruit salad before their run as their “reward” for attempting the challenge and to load themselves with carbohydrates and healthy sugars. It’s so amazing to see their interest in hydration and nutrition and in making their bodies healthy! This next week’s challenge is to repeat the 1 minute run & 3 minute walk for 1 mile two separate times! Good Luck!
JUST A NOTE! Our last day of school will be a half day and will take place at Westside Park. It will include Mini-Relay for life activities and a 24 minute walk as well as fun and a picnic lunch. It will take place from 8:30-12:00. You are welcome to join us!!
Before that time, however, we have trips planned to the Zoo, to study the biomes, on May 22nd and an Indians game, for Baseball in Education, on May 13th. We need to know if you are planning on attending either of these trips with us, by May 10th for the Zoo and by Tuesday for baseball. We will also be sending 2 more sets of 2 students to the Refuge and will be taking some children on small outings to pick up supplies for their Spring Committee projects.
Mark your calendars for May 11th 1-4 pm; Center Grove Montessori will be hosting its first community showcase. At the showcase there will be local vendors, as well as Montessori materials and materials made by the children. The Tulip Room will have table selling homemade birdseed and snacks.
Elementary Encore must have 5 registered by May 10th and we are just one shy of that so please register soon! We would love to spend some extra individualized time with your child!
In the Tulip Room we are constantly striving to become more and more aware of the effects the adults have on the children, as well as the effects the children have on each other; through noise levels, expectations, daily schedule, cycles and external/internal motivators. In our minds this week we are letting go of the children meeting the expectation we have of them and encouraging them to expect more from themselves, we are letting go of making “excuses” as to why we “couldn’t “ do something (actually we discourage using the words “I can’t” in the classroom) instead we can use the words “I can” (i.e.” I couldn’t focus because of the noise” can be changed to “I can focus in the other room where it is quieter” or “I can move myself away from my friend who I was talking to in order to get my work done”) and we are looking at how we can speak differently to each other and we wanted to share some websites that, we have felt gave us some good advice about how we can speak kindly and effectively with the children. It is so refreshing and exciting to challenge ourselves to something new and to see things that we are already doing and feel good about them!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/12/dont.say.to.child.p/index.html
http://shine.yahoo.com/team-mom/5-things-parents-shouldnt-kids-171300904.html#!d7gKp
http://www.oakhavenmontessori.com/thoughts_speakingto.html
Have a kind and joyous week!