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Friday, December 8, 2006 Calendar 12/12 Ginkgo …
Friday, December 8, 2006
Calendar
12/12 Ginkgo & Jacaranda Sing-A-Longs 6 – 7 pm
12/13 Sing-A-Longs: Mulberry 5 – 6 pm, Live Oak & Magnolia 6 – 7 pm
12/14 Sing-A-Longs: Camellia 5:30-6:30 pm, Juniper 7 – 7 pm
12/15 Redwood Sing-A-Long 6:30-7:30 pm
12/18 – 12/29 Holiday Break – childcare provided by registration
1/1/07 New Year’s Day – school closed, no childcare
1/8 Elementary Information Night 7 pm
FINANCIAL AID
Financial Aid paperwork for the 2007/2008 school year is available from the business office. Email Nancy Haskins at nancy@grandlakemontessori.com, or call her at 510-622-0259 for more information. Paperwork for new families is due back by 2/1/07; deadline for current/returning families is 1/1/07.
CHILDREN, COOKING AND GERMS
When asked by a preschool teacher about children spreading germs by cooking food together, Parade columnist, Marilyn vos Savant answered:
“Fresh food always contains microorganisms, and cooked food is almost never sterile. Food is safe to eat after being cooked at temperatures much lower than boiling. Most pathogens – including common cold viruses, which are unable to multiply in food anyway – are destroyed between 140 degrees and 165 degrees. A hamburger must reach an internal temperate of only 165 degrees F to be safe to eat. Assuming that the baking temperature is at least 325F - to make sure the innermost portion of the food gets hot enough – the children aren’t going to catch anything from their school-baked goodies. They’ll just catch things the usual way: from each other!�
 2006 vos Savant. Initially published in Parade magazine. All rights reserved.
NEW TUFF TUMBLERS CLASSES
Another session of Tuff Tumblers will begin on Dec. 13 (Wednesday class) and Friday, Dec. 15 (Friday class). Registration forms have been distributed to Parent Pockets. These classes fill up very quickly and children are added on a first come, first served basis. We will try to accommodate specific day and time requests.
TAKE A BREAK
Another “round� of TAB has begun, starting last week and ending Feb. 16th. Please sign your child up in advance for the pizza lunch (Wednesday before the Friday that you wish your child to participate) as pizzas must be ordered Thursday morning based on the number of children in the program. Forms were put in all parent’s pockets/cubbies, and are available in both offices. Shopping for the melons and carrots is also done in advance. Thank you for your cooperation. Volunteers are also needed.
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that contains with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound for next week is “M�, as in Maple, Mountain, and Measles.
BABYSITTER AVAILABLE
Andrew Nelson, former Casa student, is looking for evening and weekend babysitting. He is 15 yrs old, a student at Bishop O'Dowd, and a Boy Scout first aid training. He is available to baby sit on weekends, and an occasional weeknight, homework permitting. We live in the Rockridge/Temescal area. He is a lot of fun and great with young kids, just ask his little brother, Sam, in Magnolia. Email mom, Roberta Cunningham, at roalc@comcast.net.
LUCCIOLA & GLM
We've noticed that there is a lot of talent in the Magnolia classroom, and not just in the little ones. One exciting example is Delilah's Mom, otherwise known as Elise Lebec. Right now you can purchase her new CD, “Possible Dreams� at Lucciola Children's Book Store (on Piedmont Avenue) and 10% of the purchase will be donated to Grand Lake Montessori. "Elise's original piano style mixes hauntingly-beautiful melody lines with tempo changes and stunning dynamics to create an absolutely unique sound."
Through December 31st, Lucciola bookstore will donate 10% of all purchases by the GLM community* to Grand Lake Montessori, which the teachers will use to purchase books for the classrooms.
This is a great way to support our school while stocking up on beautiful, high-quality books for holiday, birthday, and other gifts. In addition, you will be patronizing an independent, local, multicultural, women-owned cooperative business in Oakland. How can you beat that?!
Tell all your friends and family to come out and patronize them too—and to mention GLM at the counter so we can raise lots of extra funds, and bring some wonderful new books into the school.
*Patrons must identify themselves as Grand Lake Montessori family/friends in order for this contribution to be made, so don’t forget to let them know at the counter.
Lucciola Children’s Bookstore is on Piedmont Avenue near the corner of Monte Vista.
CHILDCARE NEEDED
I am looking for childcare for two days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) for my two daughters, ages 5 and 9. Both have after-school activities and would love to have a fun, caring person with a car take them to their activities. The hours would be from 3:30pm to 6pm. Please contact Celeste at crgrinage@yahoo.com if you can help or have a referral.
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Our class got a new tetherball this week! The children have been having so much fun playing with it on the blacktop. The tetherball is great for upper body strength and hand-eye coordination. They have also been playing four-square a lot. Thank you to Noemi and Scott for purchasing the new balls for our class and the rest of the school!
The children have been singing away! They are so excited about their holiday sing a long next Friday. They have been coming up with dance movements to do while they are singing. Don't forget to sign-up for refreshments.
This week the after-care art class worked with clay. They had a great time making miniature figures and mixing the clay.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the canned food drive a success! The children are preparing to deliver their canned goods on Monday.
This week the fourth years made fossil replicas with shells and air hardening clay.
The fifth years are studying the melanin in skin and so they have chosen an area of their bodies to put a band-aid on to see how ultraviolet light plays a part in the amount of melanin your skin has and how long it will take for the skin to change back to its original color.
The third years are busy retracing the trip of Marco Polo.
The first years are finishing up their first long research project on the Pisces vertebrates!
JACARANDA
The younger Jacaranda children helped to plant the school gardens with winter greens last week: lettuce, kale, and cabbages. The older children planted lettuce and arugula seeds earlier this week outside the Jacaranda classroom. The seeds receive frequent watering!
Thank you for your time and focus during conferences earlier this week. We hope everyone was able to have their questions answered, or at least to have continued the dialogue during the time with Ms. Leck.
This week, the traditions of Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and Solstice are represented on the cultural shelves. Also on the cultural shelves, the flags of North America have been replaced with the flags of Europe. The children take the flags to a table and draw the flag on a piece of paper with a blank flag template on the paper.
On the cultural calendar that the older, non-napping children follow in the afternoon group time: the puzzle map of Europe (part of the study of Europe that goes with the and other materials such as books, songs, dances and other traditions); a study of moon phases including the full moon; and an introduction to reptiles.
If you have not already, mark your calendars for the Jacaranda Holiday Sing-a-Long,
JUNIPER
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thank you to all of the Juniper parents for attending the conferences. The Juniper teachers all feel that they went very well, and we value the opportunity to converse with each of you at length. It is a rare chance for us to exchange ideas and thoughts with one another, and it helps us a great deal. Thank you! Also, we encourage continued communication with us for things big and small. Whether you'd like us to remind your child to blow their nose or a parent will be traveling for an extended period, please let us know anything that could help you and us better assist your child's growth and development. We can be reached through quick communications during drop-off and pick-up, email, and by phone. If there's anything that needs to be discussed more extensively, please contact us to set up a time for a conference.
Compass Needed!
The children in Juniper have been how to read a compass, and as their proficiency grows we'd like for them to use a real, heavy-duty compass (the current one is kind of toy-like). So if you have one you're not using we'd love to borrow it!
Spanish Experiences to Increase
Upon Mrs. Velasquez's return from her trip abroad, she will be devoting more time to giving three-period lessons in Spanish to children in Juniper and Jacaranda using the Montessori materials. Listen for your children using Spanish and encourage them to tell you what they're learning.
Art with Ms. Owens is on the Move
With Mr. Sheen in Ginkgo full-time, Ms. Owens has been freed up to resume doing art with the children in each class. Look for the many wonderful creations your children will soon be bringing home!
Family Sharing Bonanza!
We've had a great response from Juniper parents who want to share their holiday traditions with the children, and there's ONLY TWO SPACES LEFT! If you would like to share with the class, the only days remaining are Monday, December 11 and Friday, December 15. Reserve your time now before they’re all gone!
LIVE OAK
Thank you all so very very much for coming to observe our classroom and attending the conferences. All of us in Live Oak are feeling so connected to all of you now and hope the feeling is mutual. Thanks for all the words of praise and encouragement. It means so much.
The children celebrated the first of our festivals of light today. Friday we will celebrate our second. We are busy learning lots of new holiday songs for next Wednesday’s Sing-along. Please come. It will be a great way to begin your holiday season with your children and families. Sign up for drinks and food is on the clipboard.
Thanks to all the parents who have found the time to come volunteer and be present to the children during the holiday season. It’s been great.
GINKGO
The holidays are upon us!
The children are busily preparing for the Sing-a-long. They have not only chosen the songs for our evening but they have also been happily practicing them. The children have been making classroom decorations and surprise holiday gifts for our parents.
During the Sing-a-long, children will be singing songs with family members and friends. A program, with the lyrics to each song, will be available at the event. We encourage families and friends to have fun and sing along with the children.
Happy Birthday to Zacary! He has turned four this year. Thank you Maria and Zacary for the gingerbread muffins with green Z icing on them.
Tana, Neil, and Izzadora taught the children about the moon festival. They brought a beautiful book with amazing photographs of the moon and astronauts. The children also got to try moon cakes.
Parent observations and conferences have come and gone. We sincerely appreciate all our parents for their participation and support. It has been a joy working all the Ginkgo families and children. We also wanted to deeply our families for the wonderful gifts. You have touched each
MAGNOLIA
The children have all been enjoying all of the festive holiday jobs we introduced this week. Cutting strips of paper and stapling them into circles to make paper chains is very popular. We also have a luminaria-making work in which the children poke holes with a pin on a paper bag and make different designs that the children are enjoying. We will put candles in bags in the alleyway to light our path the night of the sing a long. The children have been singing their little hearts out in preparation for the sing a long—it promises to be a big night. A huge thank you to Katie Anderson who came in this week to help us with special surprise present for all of you. A big Magnolia welcome to Winston Ingalls and his family, He officially joined the Magnolia family last week.
MULBERRY
This week has been a busy week with conferences and birthdays. Monday we celebrated Nicolas’ birthday with muffins. On Friday we will celebrate Milan's birthday and next Monday Blair's birthday!
We've been singing our holiday songs and reading holiday books. Some of the children have been decorating wreaths to decorate the classroom. Wednesday Dec. 13th, from 5-6 pm is our Holiday Sing-a-Long. We are asking everyone to bring finger foods to share.
Now that it is colder we have lots of coats that are the same so please label all coats and hats. If it is a reversible coat you can write your child's name in the pocket.
Quote of the week: Avoid Perfectionism- Avoid the adult tendency for perfection. Spills will happen, so keep small cleaning cloths handy in a place known and accessible by the child. Small fragments of eggshell mixed in scrambled eggs can be easily overlooked, especially as the child beams with pride watching her family enjoy a breakfast she prepared.
Song of the week:
Put a song in your heart for Christmas,
‘Tis the season of love and light.
Hang a wreath, trim a tree as we carol merrily.
Put a song in your heart for Christmas.
CAMELLIA
We would like to welcome Molly O'Neill to our Camellia family. The older children are showing her around the classroom and giving her lessons.
Camellia Sing-a-Long celebration is Thursday, Dec. 14th, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. There will be a sign up sheet to bring snacks to share. Everyone is welcome so please come and join us. We have been singing our holiday songs. If you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or have any special celebration your family participates in, we welcome you to come in and share it with the children. Or if you just want to do a cooking project, read a book, or sing a song let us know!
We've entered the second week of December. Everyone is back from the long Thanksgiving break, focusing and concentrating on their works; apple cutting, baby washing, mirror polishing, water color painting, and more. The outside classroom is very busy, too. The children enjoy kicking balls, walking on the balance beam and climbing up the structure and sliding down. It's been very cold outside so please remember to put an extra layer of clothing on your child.
Camellia, along with the primary classes, is doing a toy drive. If you have any toys that your children are no longer playing with please, bring them to the Brown Cottage. All toys are donated to Bananas and will be distributed to Bay Area kids. The deadline is Dec. 15th, next Friday. Thank you.
Quote: Last week we talked about SLOW DOWN. This week: OFFER SUPPORT
Food preparation is usually a collaborative effort with the young child, especially at first. And often, if you leave the child too quickly, he will lose interest, but if you interfere too much, he will protest. Giving your child support is a constant balancing act. Knowing when to be there and when to stand back requires that you continually observe your child, who changes from day to day. It is as if he were a new person everyday. In the kitchen, the adult and child work side by side. Eventually the child will do some tasks independently, but he will still appreciate the presence of a loving co-worker nearby.