SHOW AND TELL
Bring a white thing and a black thing.
Topic: How We Help
What one person can do.
The value is compassion, which means we feel sorrowful for the suffering or trouble of other people. It also means we take action to help fix suffering or trouble.
For ecology, we’ll make winter bird treats.
Outside, we’ll make the song We Wish You a Merry Christmas an active body movement.
The songs we’ll be singing are When You’re Happy and You Know It, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty the Snowman, and Oh, Christmas Tree.
Creative dramatics is pantomiming giving and sharing.
Our art activities are Christmas angel, string ornaments, Christmas cut-out, shredded wheat ornaments, and Christmas bells.For motor development, we’ll work on strength and relaxation exercises. For motor planning we’ll run a mini-obstacle course, blow cotton balls, play wormy, and do s-h-h rolling
Here and In the Not-too-Distant Future
The future is a big deal to those of us who are raising people who will only live in the future. How are we going to deal with it? How are we going to teach our kids to deal with it? Here are some thoughts from Seth Godin on education (search Stop Stealing the Dream): The world has changed, of course. The current structure of our education system, which seeks a low-cost uniformity that meets minimum standards, is killing our economy, our culture, and us. We can teach people to make commitments, to overcome fear, to deal transparently, to initiate, and to plan a course. We can teach people to desire lifelong learning, to express themselves, and to innovate. And just as important, it’s vital we acknowledge that we can unteach bravery and creativity and initiative.
The next century offers fewer long-lasting institutions (as in religion and industrial bases) to be replaced instead with micro-organizations with individual leadership, with the leveraged work of a small innovative team changing things far more than it ever would have in the past. As we build a new economy and a new world, they will be
Connecting people to one another.
Connecting seekers to data.
Connecting businesses to each other.
Connecting tribes of similarly minded people into larger, more effective organizations.
Connecting machines to each other.
Connecting leads to an extraordinary boost in productivity, efficiency, and impact. Most of all, the connected world rewards those with an uncontrollable itch to make and lead and matter. Commitment will be essential. Do you want to learn this? Will you decide to become good at this? The only people who excel are those who have decided to do so. Great doctors or speakers or skiers or writers or musicians are great because somewhere along the way, they made the choice.
The challenge is that the connected economy demands people who won’t hide, and it punishes everyone else. Standing out and standing for something are the attributes of a leader, and initiative is now the only posture that generates results. School, then, needs not to deliver information so much as to develop kids who want to find it.
Today, dumb is a choice, one that’s made by individuals who choose not to learn. The goal has to be creating a desire to know what’s true, and giving people the tools to help them discern that truth from the fiction that so many would market to us. When we teach a child to make good decisions, we benefit from a lifetime of good decisions. When we teach a child to love to learn, the amount of learning will become limitless. When we teach a child to deal with a changing world, she will never become obsolete. When we are brave enough to teach a child to question authority, even ours, we insulate ourselves from those who would use their authority to work against each of us. And when we give students the desire to make things, even choices, we create a world filled with makers.
Montessori has been at the forefront of the practices of critical thinking and personal initiative for over half a century. In our preschool environment, we are striving to make society’s improved connectivity personal and communal so that our children will have roots as well as wings.
On the Calendar
Practically Perfect Children – Remember that we’re really trying to internalize good manners in our children? A part of that is a proper greeting in the morning and a proper goodbye when we leave in the afternoon. Please encourage your child to shake the teacher’s hand upon entering in the morning and especially upon leaving in the afternoons. Afternoons get hectic, and this little ritual has fallen by the wayside at times. We’re trying to refocus the ritual.
Giving Project – For the second year we are partnering with DePelchin Children Center in support of their annual toy drive. Many of the children they care for are in the age range of our students. Allow you child to fully participate in the giving project explain the importance of giving according to their understanding. Look for the drop off box as you enter the school along with a list of items most wanted and items most needed. We’ll end the toy drive on Thursday December 22. All items must be new and unwrapped and be non-violent toys. Especially appreciated are games, toys, and clothes for children above the age of five.
Be Aware – When arriving at the school you are encouraged to turn off your car and lock your doors. In past years cars have been broken into in our parking lot while dropping off in the morning and we like for you to be aware and take the proper precautions to keep you and your things safe.
Music – In conjunction with our enrichment curriculum on music Emma’s mom and Coen’s dad give our toddler and primary students a lesson on the instruments they play. Emma’s mom played a violin and Coen’s dad played a guitar. The students were told about the various parts of the instruments and they were attentive as they listened to their requested songs being played. We are very appreciative to the parents who volunteered their time to give our students something special.
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