gms news - january 2013 volume 3, issue 2

GMS News

ciate returning to the familiar

routines and rhythms of our

“normal” lives. This is even

truer for the children.

Since returning a couple of

weeks ago, the children have

retreated to their classroom

sanctuaries. As always after

each long period away, they’ve

seemed to have “grown up”,

both in maturity and physically.

They buzz along working ever

so diligently as I would imagine

a professional would in their

office. Amazing!

In this GMS issue, the Montes-

sori article included touches on

the difference between helping

and doing for our little ones. I

must admit to you that as I

read the article, some of the

scenarios hit home with me.

Yes, while I have been im-

mersed in Montessori for many

years, I am also a parent. I

sometimes get caught up in

convenience, time restraints,

and not wanting my child to

fail. Thankfully, I have learned

to see the signs and lovingly

pulled back.

I have the advantage and pleas-

ure of seeing your children

working and socializing with

confidence on a daily basis. I

also see them sometimes strug-

gle to master bow tying, make

friends, read and write, and

other important milestones.

Yes, they get frustrated, feel

saddened, and even give up.

However, with a little encour-

agement, and “help” such as

placing their hands in yours to

tie their shoes, facilitating con-

versations by giving words

when needed, and allowing

them time to try again, the

amount of joy and self-

satisfaction they feel is invalu-

able. We must come to under-

stand that we are giving them a

gift by allowing them to make

mistakes. Empower them with

the confidence and self-esteem

it takes to try again. It is okay

to let them know when we,

too, make mistakes. We must

role model courage and inde-

pendence if they are to succeed

in their endeavors.

In the next couple of weeks, I

will be scheduling a Redirect-

ing Children’s Behavior work-

shop for parents and teachers.

The title is a bit deceiving in

that yes, we are redirecting

some of the children’s negative

behaviors towards positive

ones, but it embraces more

than that. It is about parenting,

supporting each other,

thoughtful conversations,

A Message from the Director

Garden Montessori School

January 2013

Volume 3, Issue 2

Happenings 2

Classroom News 2-7

Montessori At Home 8

Volunteer Corner 9

Employee Corner 10

Classroom Wish Lists 10

Free workshop 11

Calendar of Events 12

Inside this issue:

Dear GMS Families,

Happy New Year! I hope

everyone had a great Winter

Break. Amazing what two

weeks of vacation can do for

the mind and body! Though

the holidays can become hec-

tic, spending time with family,

making and sharing memo-

ries, and sleeping in a day or

two is food for the soul.

Oddly enough, the same

things can be said about re-

turning to our old routines

after having too much time

away. While we enjoy the

gathering of family, food

frenzies, mall madness, and

late night bedtimes, we appre-

choosing battles and being pro-

active. The instructor, Ms.

Jean, has been presenting this

paradigm shifting workshop

for many years, helping many

families. The course truly

should just be called Redirect-

ing Behaviors as it helps with

all relationships.

I want to thank you for the

opportunity to enjoy your chil-

dren all day, every day. It is

because of them that we must

all make the effort to educate

ourselves in how we can truly

“help” them.

Warmly,

Darlene

Kindergarten

Program

The kindergarteners are

excited to be back with

their friends. They look

forward with anticipa-

tion to Science Friday,

getting new school jobs

and special events that tie

into the curriculum. Last

month we went to Busch

Gardens to learn more

about African animals

during our focus on Af-

rica. This month, we ex-

plore “Down Under” in

Australia and are learning

about the history of the

Aborigines, exotic and

unique animals, Aborigine

Dot Art, and welcome an

in-house visit from musi-

cian Dan Liebman, fa-

mous didgeridoo player.

In Science Friday, Ms.

Deepali is leading the

children in experimenting

with how sound travels,

what alters sounds and

making our own instru-

ments to communicate.

In February, we put our

creativity into full speed

as we unleash our inner

artists! We have three

projects planned, one of

which will be displayed at

our upcoming American

Montessori Society An-

nual Conference in

March, and the other

being submitted to

Google Doodle’s annual

contest. For our third

project, we will pen our

own stories as young au-

thors and learn what it

takes to become pub-

lished! An exciting

month to say the least!

Be sure to follow up on

our adventures in emails

in the weeks to come!

Ms. Darlene

Classroom News

GMS News Volume 3, I ssue 2

Happenings Dear GMS Families,

We are excited to announce the

organizing of our very own library

this month! A library system has

been put into place and volunteers

have begun scanning our stock,

adding books, audio and video ma-

terial into the inventory. It is in-

deed an exciting step forward as

we continue to build our GMS

program!

In our efforts to meet the require-

ments of both AMS and the FKC

accreditation, and to support the

needs of the children and staff, we

will be purchasing and using vari-

ous publishing credits such as,

Scholastic order credits, for addi-

tional inventory the next coming

months. Currently, our focus is on

hardcover books, as we are re-

quired to maintain 100 per student.

We ask for your support in consid-

ering donating any new or gently

used age-appropriate hardcover

books your child may have out-

grown or have duplicated. All

books donated will receive a label

placed on the inside cover, recog-

nizing the donor! Please feel free

to contact me for any additional

information regarding content, etc.

Finally, please refer to the Volun-

teer Corner of the newsletter to

see how you can help with building

inventory or assist in maintaining

our library needs!

Thank you for your continuous

interest and support of your child’s

school, GMS.

Darlene

Butterfly &

Hummingbird

Room

Happy New Year! We want

to welcome back all of our

existing friends as well as

many new ones. Reflecting

back on 2012, we ended the

year with our Winter Pro-

gram. The children enjoyed

singing the Hanukah song

and Five Little Elves to all

of the families. The Tod-

dler Teachers would like to

give a big thank you to the

parents for such a wonder-

ful turnout at the program.

We hope everyone enjoyed

their winter break and

spending time with their

loved ones.

Now that we are back at

school, the month of Janu-

ary will be a busy one. To

help the students get back

into the swing of things, the

beginning of the month will

be a review of classroom

procedures. We will be cov-

ering the colors; white and

gray. Throughout our class-

room, you will find many

new lessons that incorporate

these two colors. In honor

of Martin Luther King Jr.,

we will be discussing the

topics of: peace, emotions

and unity. As the month

continues we will be intro-

ducing the continent of

Antarctica and the country

of Canada, as those loca-

tions have cold climates.

The children will receive

lessons on the places, plants

and animals of this conti-

nent and country. For fun,

the children will also get to

have a sensory experience

making, creating and playing

with snow as well as getting

to try on winter clothing

items

As we move into the month

of February, the children

will expand on the colors

pink and purple. These col-

ors will be implemented into

many lessons, activities and

art projects for the month.

Being that Valentine’s Day

is during the month, we will

be showing the children

different kinds of poems

and rhymes and even how

to create one. Some books

you may find in the class-

room are ones such as:

“How Do I Love You” by

Marion Dane Bauer and “I

Love You Through and

Through” by Bernadette

Rossetti-Shustak. These

books will show the chil-

dren how to express love

and affection. The month

of February is also Dental

Health month. We will be

having a speaker come in

and talk to the children

about our teeth and how to

care for them.

The next two months are

filled with many lessons

and activities that will ex-

pand the children’s knowl-

edge. We encourage you to

ask your children what they

learned everyday so that

you may continue the

learning at home.

We hope everyone has a

great 2013,

Sincerely,

The Toddler Team

Classroom News


Classroom News


The Robin, Macaw

and Bumblebee

Rooms

Happy New Year! We look

forward to exciting things

for the second half of the

school year. The children

seemed to have matured

over the winter break. Eve-

ryone came back refreshed

and ready to work!

In December, we learned

about the continent of Af-

rica. For the month of

January we are studying the

people, culture, landmarks

and animals of Australia. We

will also be learning about

and creating Australian Abo-

rigine dot art. We will dis-

cuss Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr.’s dream for all children to

be able to play and go to

school together. We will

celebrate his life by doing a

peace activity.

In February, we will celebrate

friendship, Valentine’s Day,

President’s Day, and Black

History. We will also have a

special morning for Dads.

Please save the date: Friday

Feb.15th. The children will

plan a special day for Dad’s

to come to school and

spend the morning with

their child. If Dad isn’t

able to come, another im-

portant person such as a

grandfather, uncle, etc. is

welcome to attend. Please

let us know if someone isn’t

able to attend.

Thanksgiving

Kindergarten Science Friday

Classroom News


Aiden lost the first tooth of the

year!

Holiday projects

Caterpillar Room

Hello Wonderful Caterpil-lar Families!

Hope that everyone had a fabulous winter vacation!

The Caterpillar classroom has been very busy since coming back from Winter break. We started the New Year off with a bang! We welcomed back our return-ing students, and we getting to know new friends with great excitement! During this month we will intro-duce two new colors, Grey and White, and we will continue with GRACE

and COURTESY lessons with the children practicing " Please” and “Thank You".

In Language we will focus on basic counting (1-5) as well as looking at number booklets. In Social Activities we will work on taking turns, sharing materials, imi-tating body move-ments, naming objects and reviewing colors and shapes will also be our focus.

For the month of February we will be introducing a new shape “Heart” as well as the color Pink and Purple. In Social Activities we will talk about recognizing and de-

scribing emotions. In Practi-cal Life we will introduce sorting and matching uten-sils as well as setting the places for meals.

We are looking forward to continue working on more advance lessons and intro-ducing new, fun and excit-ing activities for our chil-dren to experience.

Respectfully,

The Caterpillar Team.

Ms. Luisa and Ms. Sara

Classroom News


Classroom News


more by a desire to be independent

than by our desire to satisfy our

sweet tooth. Our actions communi-

cated that we weren’t asking for a

cookie. We were asking for help in

trying to feed ourselves. We were

asserting our independence.

In this odd way, by learning to ask

for assistance, we actually become

more independent. A request for help

in reality is requesting, “Help me do

it myself”.

As the adult we stand at the next

level of independence for the child.

As mentors, we help other adults get

to the next level of accomplishment

in their lives. Asking for help isn’t a

sign of weakness, but one of strength

and confidence in new or challenging

situations. Seeking assistance helps

child an adult connect to people who

can help us past our limitations.

Let’s teach our children a tenet of

successful people: Connect to others

through asking for assistance in a way

that reinforces independent thought

and action.

When our child says, ‘Draw a circle

for me.” We can rephrase the request

to “Would you like me to show you

how to draw a circle? To get help, all

you need to do is ask.”

When we see tears and frustration on

our child trying to button her coat,

we can ask, “May I show you how to

button? If you would like some help

all you need to do is ask.”

Show or do. One is help; the other is

a hindrance.

Help me do it myself.

Montessori at Home


Asking For Assistance

Can you help me, please?

These five words seem to be hard for

many people to say. In airport check-in

lines, at fast food restaurants, or in

grocery stores, dissatisfied customers

react negatively when someone has

neglected to ask, “May I help you,

please?”

At those times when we feel that no

one is trying to help us, we need to ask

ourselves, “Did I ask for assistance?”

Teaching our children how to ask for

help can help them avoid frustration

and dissatisfaction. This is different

from asking permission to do some-

thing. It is also different from children

asking for help and in the process

learning helplessness, for example the

six-year-old who asks you to tie his

shoes instead of trying to do it himself.

Asking for assistance in many ways

follow the adage, “Give a man a fish

and you feed him for a day. Teach a

man to fish and you feed him for a

lifetime.” When our children ask for

our help, they are asking us to “help

me help myself”. Our assistance when-

ever possible should be in the form of

teaching self sufficiency.

Human beings have an internal drive

to become independent and have a

built it reticence about asking for help

or permission. How many of us

climbed the kitchen cabinets to get to

the cookie jar on top of the refrigera-

tor? Yes, we wanted the cookie, but

more so, we wanted to get the cookie

by ourselves, without asking for per-

mission or assistance. We were driven

Learning to ask for assistance is

part of the path to independ-

ence.

Maren Schmidt, an AMI trained

elementary teacher, is author of

Understanding Montessori: A Guide for

Parents, and writes the weekly syndi-

cated column, Kids Talk. Visit Kid-

sTalkNews.com and Maren-

Schmidt.com.

Friday, March 22nd. Similar

to the Fall Festival, we need

volunteers to help with set-

up the day of the event and

clean up afterwards. If you

are available to volunteer for

this event, please email Nad-

ine Sessa with your availabil-

ity (set-up, clean up or both)

at Moongod-

[email protected].

Also for the Spring Party, the

food station is comprised of

potluck dishes. Each family is

asked to provide a dish based

on the classroom assign-

ments below.

Caterpillar- Desserts

(muffins, cupcakes, cookies,

brownies, etc.)

Hummingbird- Sides

(potato salad, pasta dishes,

salad, hummus, etc.)

Butterfly- Fruit and Veggies

(raw veggie sticks, fruit salad,

bananas, grapes, etc.)

Bumblebee- Snack Items

(chips, pretzels, trail mix,

cheese and crackers, etc.)

Robin- Main dishes

(sandwiches, casseroles, vege-

tarian and vegan options,

etc.)

Macaw- Drinks (individual Ga-

torades, juice boxes, teas, lem-

onades, etc.)

There are two additional volun-

teer opportunities in the kinder-

garten program- biweekly sci-

ence projects for the month of

May and weekly IT courses

(about 1 ½ hrs) by a degreed

IT/Computer Sciences major

using newly purchased tablets.

If you are interested in either of

these or would like additional

information, please contact Erin

Meredith at em-

[email protected]. Lastly,

our Core Volunteer group is

seeking a member, particularly

from the Caterpillar classroom.

We meet monthly to plan and

assist in organizing upcoming

school events. If you are inter-

ested in joining this fantastic

group, please email Nadine

Sessa at Moongod-

[email protected]

That is all for now. We appreci-

ate all your help and support!

Core Volunteer Group

Volunteer Corner


Happy New Year from the

Core Volunteer group! We

are excited to share with you

upcoming events and volun-

teer opportunities at GMS.

The school's library is nearly

complete. Beginning in Feb-

ruary, each Early Childhood

classroom with be visiting the

library weekly and the Tod-

dlers bi-weekly. We are seek-

ing volunteers on an ongoing

basis for 1-2 hour sessions on

Wednesdays and Thursdays

to return books, reshelf them

and keep the library organ-

ized. You may pick one ses-

sion or many sessions to help

out. If you are interested,

please contact Erin Meredith

at [email protected].

Our annual Father's Day

Celebration will take place on

Thursday, February 14th for

the Toddler Classrooms and

on Friday, February 15th for

the Early Childhood Class-

rooms. You will be hearing

from your classroom parent

about volunteer opportunities

prior to the event and volun-

teer opportunities for moth-

ers the day of the event.

The Spring Party will be held

tional Psychology. I have chil-

dren ages 12, 8, and twins that

are 2. Outside of school I am

also very busy, as a family we

love going to the beach, zoo

and spending time outdoors. I

love working with children and

watching them learn and grow.

I could not see myself in any other

career that I would find as reward-

ing”!

We are thrilled to have Ms. Amy

join us as a GMS member!

Employee Corner


This edition, we feature GMS

newcomer, Amy Selover, Amy

is the Early Childhood 3-6

teacher in the Macaw Room.

She writes:

“Hi, I am from Cooperstown

New York and have B.A in so-

ciology with a minor in Educa-

Caterpillar/Butterfly/Hummingbird:

(2) ipods (used)

(2) ipod docking stations (used)

Tricycles (used)

Push or Pull toys

Balls

Indoor plants

Plant stands

Bumblebee:

Pastel colored buttons

Pastel colored ribbon (thin)

Spring/Easter material (1 yard

per print)

St. Patrick’s Day material (1

yard)

Robin:

Books about feelings

(preferably hardcover)

Macaw:

Oranges

Small potted plants

Classroom Wish Lists Any donation is always greatly appreciated!

Garden Montessori School

6845 Boyette Road

Wesley Chapel, FL 33545

Phone: 813-991-6335

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.gardenmontessorischool.org

February- Crossing the Bridge to 1st Grade Meeting- TBA

Tuesday, Feb. 12th- Library Field Trip for Kindergarteners

Thursday, Feb. 14th- Toddler’s Father’s Day

Friday, Feb. 15th- Early Childhood’s Father’s Day

Monday, Feb. 18th- President’s Day NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, Feb. 19th- Parent/Teacher Conference Day- NO SCHOOL

Friday, Feb. 22nd- Core Group Volunteer Meeting

Tuesday, Mar. 12th- Library Field Trip for Kindergarteners

Friday, Mar. 15th- Teacher Planning Day- ALL DAY PROGRAM ONLY

Monday, Mar. 25th – Friday, Mar. 29th- SPRING BREAK; NO SCHOOL

Monday, Apr. 1st- Teacher Planning Day- NO SCHOOL

Planting the Seeds

for the Future

Calendar of Events


gms news - january 2013 volume 3, issue 2

Documents

gms issue

classroom news

spending time

time restraints

couple of weeks

dear gms families

gms news ciate

classroom sanctuaries