Lower Elementary Winter Gala & Holiday Fun

The lower elementary students have been participating in some special December activities.  At the beginning of the month each of the students helped to make ten fleece blankets that are being donated to patients at Memorial Children’s Hospital.  

​Last Wednesday, December 10, many of the students and their families attended the first lower elementary Winter Gala. Everyone listened to stories, shared a snack of delicious treats provided by the parents, and played several games. From the challenge of trying to draw a snowman on a paper held on top of their heads, to dancing the reindeer pokey, or to trying to pass the hot cocoa packet before the music stopped, the families enjoyed spending time with our lower elementary community.

During the past week the students have had fun creating gifts for their parents and making greeting cards to accompany the gifts.

The students in Room 106 have been very pleased to welcome special visitors into our classroom. In the past two weeks we have had both Grandparents/Special Visitors’ Day and our cultural morning to share what the students have learned in their researches about the countries of South America.  Grandparent’s Day gave our students the opportunity to share their classroom and school environment with their grandparents and other special visitors. They were excited to show the work that they are doing and demonstrate how to use the materials. It also provided us with an ideal time to practice making introductions as the students introduced their grandparents to their friends and teachers. 

Our South American cultural morning was a celebration of all of the work our students had done in researching a country.  Each student prepared a poster of the country that they had researched. They practiced reading their note cards to one another with older students coaching the first year students who were giving their first big presentation.  On Thursday all of the students very proudly presented their research posters to their parents and classmates before enjoying tasting the foods that each student brought to represent their countries.  The students are already looking forward to the next time that we will welcome visitors to our classroom!

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Book Fair

TMA’s annual Book Fair Blizzard will soon be roaring into town, matching Michiana’s early winter weather! In the Library, however, everyone will be able to enjoy pleasant temperatures as they browse the blizzard of books. In a beautifully decorated setting, there will be books for all ages: picture books, beginning readers, biographies, favorite series, books on science, sports, mysteries, world records and more!

Our Book Fair Blizzard begins on Wednesday, December 3 and will be open through Friday, December 5, 2014. Hours each day are 8:20 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. However, on Wednesday, December 3, the Book Fair will not close until 7:30 p.m., to coordinate with the Upper Elementary’s Chili Supper. Be sure to mark your calendar, come to the Fair, and find some books to share on a cold winter’s night!

GRANDPARENTS AND SPECIAL FRIENDS DAY

We look forward to seeing you and/or your child’s guests on Tuesday, November 25th from 8:45 to 11:30 a.m. for Grandparents and Special Friends Day! If you or a loved one are not able to attend, we will be streaming the program portion of the morning live at the following website:http://www.twitch.tv/tmastream There is no password required. The page is simply “unlisted”, so it can only be viewed by people who have the direct link. Please note, the link will only be active during the program portion of the morning from approximately 9:30 to 10:00 a.m.

Art Connection

All work in upper elementary connects with art. End projects, assigned creative lessons that go along with the daily work, as well as individual break outs  into other areas of interest for creative purposes  come back to inspire us all.

Holidays

It seems that the holidays start earlier each year. In our Lower Elementary classrooms, celebrating the holidays and festivals is an important and exciting study for the students that focuses on the tradition and rituals of celebrations.

Our goal is to provide our students with long lasting lessons that reinforce the idea that people around the world have distinctive yet similar celebrations. Students retain the joy of holiday celebrations as they learn about a variety of cultural observances. Learning about the holidays of different cultures embraces the Montessori principals of inclusion and peace and helps students understand that celebrations have had a great significance to people throughout time and across all cultures. Holidays are a way that people come together to worship that which they hold dear, to rejoice, and usually to feast with their community and families. The message is clear: it is wonderful to be different and honor what is unique about each culture and person. Let us celebrate living peacefully together.

Recess

Whether you are playing basketball, football, soccer, tetherball, raking leaves, or just hanging with friends, there is always something fun to do during UE recess.