Parent Newsletter November 2017

Toddler At ToTH, the children see the same classmates and volunteers routinely. Procedures and transitions are predictable, favorite works and songs are available, and the children now feel at home. It's about this time in the year that your child has formed strong friendships (or not so much) to classmates. An attachment to a particular teacher might be evident. An enticing work is repeated again and again. Often, it’s from this base of stability and predictability that a young child will test boundaries. Now that everyone is settled and phased in, your lead guide’s focus will be on supporting the toddlers during their social interactions, finding words, problem solving, growing their frustration tolerance, and choosing and completing work in an orderly way. Through consistent and positive redirection, toddlers are learning to handle themselves with more grace.

Normalization

By No vember, the process o f normalization should be observable i n Mo n te s s o r i c l a s s r o o m s everywhere, worldwide. Your guides are noticing that the children are more independent, more joyful, m o r e co n f i d e n t , a n d s t a b l e friendships are forming. Maria Montessori borrowed the term “normalization” from the field of anthropology and it describes what happens when a person becomes a contributing and reliable member of a group. Because of the freedom and responsibility incorporated into Montessor i environments , i t ’s necessary the children reach stages of normalization as the year goes on.

Characteristics of Normalization

There are many personality types of course. However, when children enter the process of normalization the same characteristics appear.

There are four characteristics that are a signal that the process of normalization is happening:

(1) Love of work

(2) Concentration

(3) Self-discipline

(4) Sociability. 

Parent Newsletter November 2017

“The Tag to Toes Method”

It's true that a 16 mo. to 6 year old can put on her own coat! Ask your child to place her jacket in front of her body on the floor and put the tag right in front of her toes. Now get on your knees, making sure tag is correctly placed like this photo. Ask child to slide her hands and arms about halfway into the sleeves and then FLIP the coat back over the head. If you practice this a few times on your own, and if this is how the adults put on their coats, children will follow. Within a week your child will be putting on her own coat. We will also practice at school.

“The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one’s self.”

― Maria Montessori

What to expect this fall:

We have now refined our skills to enjoy pumpkin sorting, native corn pinching, sponge painting, mum p lant ing , and of course , the mastering of coats! With the cold season approaching, it’s also time for the classic Montessori hand washing work. We wil l begin polishing glass, dusting shelves, sweeping, and scrubbing our own floors. Toddlers love to care for their environment so if you do not have a small dustpan and broom at home, please invest in one and let your toddler practice sweeping up crumbs. The toddlers are learning to put their work away and to use only one material at a time. Please follow through at home by asking your child to put activities away after use, and refrain from doing for the child what she can do on her own.

Maria Montessori observed that the skills of problem solving and peace making are within reach of the very young child. We often hear from other parents or specialists that during the “terrible twos” children are especially challenging and they need constant intervention and assistance. Montessori guides have found the opposite. When given an opportunity to exercise trial and error, to experiment with boundaries, to express likes and dislikes, and to look for guidance from a loving and trusted guide, toddlers can acquire the same grace and courtesy we see in older children. The predominant need is simply more joy. And then some practice. Yes their bodies and brains are still coming into order and sometimes what we observe is aggressive or defiant. But with time and patience, toddlers can learn to wait patiently, take turns, check on a hurt friend, use words to express a desire, and even apologize sincerely if a mistake was made. Ask a Montessori trainer with 40 years experience, “What happens when you show a child the proper way one thousand times and they still don’t get it.” and she will say, “You show them one thousand and one”. It’s hard work being a toddler and making new friends, and learning to sit and eat, and wait, and share space. However, we believe the hardest lessons of all actually fall on the adults who attempt to practice nonjudgmental observation of life itself, which is what must happen if we aim to practice nonjudgemental observation of the children, a necessity in an authentic Montessori environment.

“It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.”

― Maria Montessori

Parent Newsletter November 2017

Primary Did you know that in Montessori environments, teachers do not force sharing, nor do we time how long a child gets to use an activity? There is an important rationale for this and it’s based on the observation that concentration and time are critical experiences on the road to mastery. Let’s imagine Albert Einstein at his desk using his notebook and a penc i l . Would he ha ve accomplished his work in relativity and general relativity if there were allotted times that he was given the desk and the pencil? Imagine if two time Nobel Laureate Marie Curie would have had to share her lab materials? Or if Michael Jordan had to share the ball? What if we ask Uma (pictured right) to walk away from her counting work because she’d already spent 25 minutes working on it and it was someone else’s turn? Research tell us that skill and learning require uninterrupted time. At ToTH the children are given uninterrupted time during their work cycle to concentrate and complete activities, and to enjoy themselves while doing it.

“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.” - Maria Montessori

Notes from Ms. Gwen: It’s during this time of the year the children begin to learn about being a community helper. Many have come to me and let me know what things they do in their own home or community in an effort to become a community leader in their society. Our very own Mr. Barry ( Van Ness Crossing guard) will be coming with Mr. Eddie Hall ( who is in charge of the overall crossing guard program) and speak to the children about safety, how to cross a the street safely, safety in the neighborhood, and what being a crossing guard in the community entails. We can’t wait!  

We would also like to send out a huge congratulations to Arielle and Alice on becoming big sisters!

Welcome to the world baby Annika and Regulus!!

Parent Newsletter November 2017

The primary class will have a Fall Feast on both Thursday Nov. 16 and Friday, Nov. 17 and you’ve all received information about that via email. Please mark your calendar’s and please bring a dish of your child’s choice and get ready for a good time!

A few classroom requests: Please make sure that your child has a change of shoes or slippers when wearing boots. As the weather is changing please be aware that your child will not be permitted to wear boots (rain or snow) in the classroom (and if their shoes are wet they will be asked to remove them and put on another pair). Also, every child needs a placemat/cloth napkin ( for lunch) and blanket (for nap) everyday please. Starting this FridayALL blankets will be sent home every Friday to be laundered. Thank you so much in advance for helping me to keep the Montessori lines of communication open! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns moving forward. 

Spanish Notes from Nathaly Toddler This month I have brought Spanish to the table. We enjoy a shared snack from our snack containers, with the purpose of practicing our new language acquisition.As toddlers get interested in trying different flavors, I model sentences like ¿Me das? - Gracias - ¡Me gusta! - No gracias - Sientate - A la mesa.

We sing each day in Spanish and our circle time songs introduce concepts like:Arriba/Abajo - Sucio/Limpio - Sube/Baja - Vámonos/Llegamos - Abre/Cierra in all our daily activities. 

This week we have seen incredible verbal responses from children, some of them are spontaneous and also repetitions of my chanted words. If you see your child communicating with you in a new way, this is probably the Spanish they are learning at school.

Primary We start each afternoon with a Spanish "get together". The greeting song is one of our favorites. We have spent several days recognizing the parts of the face, making a face with rocks and gluing it to paper. Your child is probably ready to sing the song with you or name some parts of his/her face. This month we learn farm animals and the family members. We end the day at 2:40 with routine clean up and goodbyes, and all preparations to go home are done in Spanish. What a fun way to end the day!

Parent Newsletter November 2017

Upcoming Events

(5 things to put in your calendar)

1. Toddler Parent Ed Wednesday Nov 15th @ 6pm (In Toddler Classroom, Adult Only) Topic: Positive Discipline and Montessori Language at Home

2. Primary Parent Ed November 3rd @ 6pm (In Primary Classroom, Adult Only) Topic: Montessori 101

3. Thanksgiving Feast in Primary November 16 & 17

4. Thanksgiving Break November 20th-24th - No School in Toddler or Primary

5. Primary Open House for Toddler Parents: Thursday, November 9th @ 9am at 1000 5th Street S.E., Washington D.C. 20003 in the Capper Community Center

Reading List

What We Say Matters The Joyful ChildNurture ShockQuiet

Website Resources for Montessori Parents

Montessorium (Primary) The Family Alliance (International Montessori Council)RadicleBeginnings (Toddler) The Parenting JunkieThe Kavanaugh Report

Recent Articles of Interest to Parents

https://aleteia.org/2017/09/20/the-montessori-teachers-rule-that-changed-the-way-i-parent/

https://www.parent.co/the-french-method-that-completely-shifted-my-parenting/

http://pickanytwo.net/the-train-analogy-that-will-change-how-you-see-your-crying-child/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09Y-huCMjIc