Mother's Day Tea

Having family members come into the classroom is such a treat!  We like to make our guests feel special and welcome.  For Mother's Day the children hosted their Moms for a lovely "Tea."  We pressed tiny violets and blue bells for cards, 'podgeyed' colourful pots for beeswax tea lights and baked the most delicious, lemony loaf....all to show our Moms how much we love them!  :o)
The final touch was choosing some work to "teach" our guests.  Each child picked a few favourites they wanted to present.  The children were absolutely giddy with anticipation!  Finally...the Mother's Day Tea arrived.  I was so glad to be there, camera in hand, to capture the joy, love and fun that filled the classroom.  It was a beautiful day.

Special Visitor

Welcome Officer Arnett

The month of March brought all kinds of excitement!  One highlight was our visit with Police Officer Arnett.   He brought Jr. Constable stickers.  He brought police "surprise" bags.   He brought his Police Cruiser.....and even let us sit in it!!  Most importantly though, he brought a warm and friendly smile.  The children felt comfortable right away and asked many, many questions.  Officer Arnett patiently answered them all!  Then he let the children know that Police Officers were there to help them and those they love (even their pets!) whenever they needed it.  He explained how Police Officers help to keep communities safe by reminding people to follow the rules.  He highlighted the important details of his uniform and even let the children try on his vest....much to their delight...to feel just how heavy it was!  He gave the children a personal connection to an important presence within their community.  Long after we said goodbye to Officer Arnett, the children talked of his visit.  What a wonderful, positive impression he made.  Thank you Officer Arnett!
Having visitors come in to the classroom is a lovely, comfortable way for the children to get to know their bigger world; outside the classroom walls.   Chatting with these visitors and being able to ask them questions allows children to feel connected to their community and safe within it.

Maple Syrup Day

Spring is in the air and we are sooooo ready for it.  We gave a nod to French-Canadian heritage with a "Cabane a Sucre" inspired day of play outdoors.  Though Bonhomme was still busy in Quebec, his spirit of fun was alive and well here!  The children loved playing hide & seek in the snow with their "ice gems" that we made.  Then it was on to some colourful snow artwork.  We finished off with maple syrup taffy...which was more like maple syrup slushie but just as tasty.  Welcome March!

Celebrating Culture

Despite the ch-ch-chill outside we have been warm and bright indoors at MFS!  We sent the month of February off in style with our Lunar New Year celebrations....Gung Hay Fat Choy!  (translation:  Have a prosperous New Year!)  The fun included exploring with all of our senses.....listening & dancing to Chinese music; smelling & tasting delicious foods (like dragon fruit, kumquats, green tea, long noodles and more....); feeling silk; tracing Chinese characters and admiring beautiful, Chinese art work.  The Practical Life Shelf was a busy place with lots of popular, Chinese-themed pieces of work.  The children enjoyed applying their geometry knowledge in a creative way with a Chinese Tangram art activity.  In The Chinese Teapots Lesson the children loved matching the tiny lids to the proper, ceramic teapots.  They also became quite adept at using chopsticks by practicing the Chinese Noodles work!   Celebrating special, ethnic holidays and festivals throughout the year allows us a joyful gateway into the world's cultures.   By exploring foods, music, arts and languages of the world, children are able to realize that they live on a planet full of beautiful colour and ideas!  Trying new foods or smelling new spices becomes fun and interesting thus paving the way to an open attitude toward traditions and cultures which are different from our own.  Here at The Montessori Family School we love to explore the world and its many, diverse cultures!

Help me to do it by myself!

One of the key principles in Montessori education is to support children toward independence.  In the classroom this includes presenting lessons from the 'Practical Life' area.  These lessons may include: 'The Dressing Frames' (Button, Zipper, Snap, Buckle & Bow), 'Pouring into a Glass,' 'Spooning,' 'Slicing Fruit,' etc...  When such skills are broken down into their logical, step-by-step components and presented in a simple, quiet way, children love to practice and perfect them!  Being able to perform such tasks and care for themselves brings children a lovely sense of joy and confidence! Feeling capable allows children to be ready to try other new tasks and meet challenges with an "I can do it!" attitude.  What a wonderful foundation for life!

Old Friends

There are few things in life more precious than a hug from a good friend.

The Montessori Family School is a nurturing place for children to build friendships, experience the magic of the natural world and develop the joy of learning.

Call to arrange a visit and see why our school is a beautiful place for your child to grow!

We have ONE space left for September, 2014.

Back to school!

Well!  Here we are - back in action!  It feels so good to have our little, school community together again.  I love watching the dynamics of old friends reconnecting.  We are also lucky enough to be welcoming a new friend into our Montessori family!  There have been lots of hugs going around for everyone.  We have enjoyed oodles of bubble blowing, trike riding, bird watching, flower picking, carrot & cucumber harvesting, soccer, tag and laughter on the playground!  In the classroom the children were ready to dive back into their work with fervour!  Older friends are enjoying giving younger ones lessons.  We have also been treated to story reading from our Grade 1 friends at circle time.  On Friday we harvested the end of the garden basil and made a tasty pesto to have for our snack.  It's amazing how delicious fresh basil, toasted sunflower seeds, salt and good olive oil can taste!  YUM!!