Dear P3 Famlies,

We are concluding our studies on the Solar System, Antarctica, and Polar animals. The children have really enjoyed our January themes, and have been busy putting space puzzles together, making planet books, and learning about all things Antarctica and the North Pole. In addition to our cultural, language, and math studies, many friends have been working on a variety of extensions with the Sensorial materials. This area has started to become a favorite in our classroom!

The Sensorial area in the Montessori classroom is far more than what it seems. Its purpose is to refine the child’s senses and to give them a proper foundation for future academic studies. Sensorial materials teach children to sort, classify, and categorize. For example, the red rods give them a visual sense of length discrimination. It encourages students to create order, observe patterns, and comprehend properties of three dimensional masses (wide/narrow/short/long). This is crucial for them to understand their physical environment, and ties in with mathematics, physics, the arts, etc. We encourage you to explore the Sensorial area with your child during our upcoming Parent/Child night!

The Kindergarten children have also been working with Green our Planet, and have been working on their green thumbs. They are planting eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and their beets have sprouted! The broccoli planted a few months ago has also been transferred from the greenhouse to the garden. Such great fun!

Here are your children hard at work!

Important Dates:

Friday, 2/1: PTO Family Dance: 5:30-9:00pm

Tuesday, 2/5: Parent/Child Night: 4:15-5:00 last names A-M & 5:00-5:45 last names N-Z

Friday, 2/15: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service Day

Monday, 2/18: NO SCHOOL, Presidents’ Day

February Studies:

Oceans

Fish and Marine Life

People, Plants, and Animals of Australia

Stay Warm!…Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Families,

Welcome back! We hope you all welcomed 2019 with a BANG! May the Year of the Pig give you lots of health, wealth, and happiness! It is so nice to see the children back fresh from the holiday break, it’s amazing how some of them have grown so much!

Before school resumed, the teachers had an amazing In-service day on “Developmentally Appropriate Practices.” We learned so much information to put in place in the classroom, and we would love to share some new ideas with you by recommending the following books:

Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline by Becky A. Bailey

I Love You Rituals by Becky A. Bailey

The Importance of Being Little by Erika Christakis

Becoming Brilliant by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff

The children are getting settled into a routine again, ready to take on the second half of the year. We have begun our studies on the Solar System, Antarctica, and snow. We also welcomed two new friends, Nicolas and Saarth, who have already adjusted beautifully to our P3 community.

Nicolas also celebrated his birthday with us on his first day of school! Happy Birthday!

A big THANK YOU as well to Clark Porter for sharing a story with the children. May the Force be with you too!

Along with this cold and wet weather come the sick germs. Please practice and talk about the importance of thorough hand-washing with your children. We are doing the same in the classroom, along with practicing the proper way to sneeze and cough (into the elbow) and using a tissue. Lastly, please make sure they bring a labeled jacket until the weather warms up. Thank you for your help in keeping our classroom healthy!

Important Dates:

Mon, 1/21: MLK Jr. Day, NO SCHOOL

Wed, 1/30: Kindergarten Re-Enrollment Information Night 5pm

Thurs, 1/31: First Grade Re-Enrollment Information Night 5pm

Fri, 2/1: PTO Family dance 5:30-9:00pm

Tues, 2/5: Parent-Child Night 4:15-5:00 last names A-M, 5:00-5:45 last names N-Z

Fri, 2/15: Teacher In-service Day, NO SCHOOL

Mon, 2/18: President’s Day, NO SCHOOL

February Studies:

Fish and Marine Life

People, Plants, and Animals of Australia

Oceans

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team