Diary of a First Year Montessori Kindergarten Teacher Week 1



Photo by Cel Lisboa on Unsplash


THE FIRST FULL WEEK OF SCHOOL

Hi Montessori Kindergarten Families,

I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Please forgive the long email. There is a ton of information that gets communicated at the beginning of the year because well there is a ton to keep you informed about 🙂

Personal Items:
Please make sure to label all personal items including lunch box, back pack and water bottle SEPARATELY. Also, you may want to put a sweater, long sleeve shirt or hoodie in your child’s back pack for times when it might be a little chilly in the classroom. Please make sure that all toys are left at home.

Snack Calendar:
I have attached a snack calendar for the month. Those not on this month’s calendar will have a chance to contribute in September. As we get rolling, we usually find that we will have excess snack leftover so we will be able to take Fridays off and offer snack from our excess so as not to be wasteful. We will try our best to make sure the snack bag goes home with your child as a reminder that it is your family’s snack day.

P.E.:
Please be mindful about the type of shoes your child is wearing to school. We have P.E. every day which means closed toed shoes are best. Sandals and some of the shoes that are slip on tend to come off when the student is running so have your child practice running in the shoes they are wearing to ensure maximum comfort. We only have 20 minutes of P.E. time and we really want the students to have the full amount of time without having to stop to put on shoes. Thanks so much for tending to this detail.

Montessori Parent Night:
Montessori parent night is this Thursday August 16, 2018 from 5:30–7:30pm. We will meet in your child’s classroom). The first 30–45 minutes will be spent discussing the areas of the classroom, giving a lesson on one of the works in each area of the classroom and then having a Q & A time about Montessori and expectations for this year. We hope you are able to attend.

Homework:
Reading 15 minutes a day with your child is the standard homework assignment at the beginning of the year. At our parent connection night sometime in October, we can tweak the homework opportunities based on your family’s expectations. You will find that I will give ideas of ways to extend the learning going on in the classroom a few times a week which I hope will compliment family bonding time and deeper connections with the conversations we have in class.

Communication:
Starting this week, I will sending a weekly newsletter that you should expect by Saturday evenings. If you need to connect with me during school hours, you can call the school office. I check emails in the evening and will make sure and respond to them same day. I will send reminders for extended learning events or activities going on that might be of interest outside of that once a week window.

Extracurricular Activities:
Did you know there are Fall Clubs that your child can participate in after school right here on campus? Please make sure and open your email from Mrs. E; sign ups start this week.
I will send one more email shortly about what to expect tomorrow.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Norgren