Parent Night
Parent Night 2018 – Ms. Laura
Everything is on our class website so please check it often!
This also will serve as our classroom portfolio which will have lessons and general information about our classroom to help keep parents in the loop. http://www.Laltmaier.weebly.com
You might find yourself in a similar situation as many of our parents, who choose a Montessori education for their children, yet had been educated in a more traditional school setting. For that reason we have compiled a brief overview of what you might observe in a Montessori classroom and how you can extend the Montessori experience into your home, if you wish to do that.
* One of the primary underlying principles of the Montessori philosophy is that as teachers we follow your child, which essentially means that every child in our classroom has an individualized education plan. No one is working on the same lesson at the same time. You will be able to observe an enthusiastic work environment when you step into a Montessori classroom.
* In reality, every child’s learning proceeds at the pace adequate to the child’s development. In a Montessori classroom you will find materials that will guide the children from the concrete into the abstract. The time your child will spend with a certain material will vary from the time he/she spent on the previous material or the time another child spends on that material.
It is important not to compare your child. Everyone learns differently. Your child’s teacher will monitor your child’s progress continuously.
We talk about “filling someone’s bucket” each day. After we read the story we encourage children to try to fill another person’s bucket every chance they get. This is a great way for you to have conversations with your child when you pick them up. Instead of “how many works did you do?” or “what did you do today?” try asking them if they filled anyone’s bucket today.
* In contrast to traditional classrooms your child will stay with the same teacher for a-3-year-cycle. This not only lets us adequately guide your child’s educational progress, but it also offers your child the ability to assume different roles within the classroom community.
As a first-grader your child will be able to observe advanced lessons older children are engaged in, sparking his/her curiosity and acting as a motivator. As an older student in the classroom your child will have the opportunity to strengthen his/her knowledge by helping younger children with their work.
* Another important aspect of a Montessori education is that we don’t do for the child what the child can do for him or herself. In keeping with this principle we allow the child to gain confidence and independence. In your home that could be implemented by expecting your child to clean up after him or herself; for example, at mealtimes, in his/her room, and similar situations.
* Your child will have no teacher-directed homework to complete at home. Much of the work your child will do requires particular Montessori material which is available to him/her during class time. We have two continent research projects that are done at home and then presented in class. We do ask that the child read to you at least 30 minutes a day (you should still continue to read to them daily).
If you desire to have your child do homework, teach them manners at the table, how to open the door for someone at a store, pay for their own purchases using their own money, doing chores without being asked, etc. Practicing math facts is another great thing to work on at home since it is simply memorization.
We look forward to an enriching year with you and your child!
2. Drop off/pick up Please drop off your child at the gate and allow them to take responsibility for their bags and communication folders. When picking up in the afternoon, please pull up as far as you can and have your child’s name in your visor or some other visible area. Please do not send your child back into the classrooms once they are picked up unless you are with them. The classrooms are often empty at that time of day and the children would be unsupervised. Please use the name tags especially for the first few weeks while staff gets to know your cars. Keep the signs up until the child is in your car!! Some parents keep it on the visor and just put it down when they pull up in carline.
3. Pizza Friday starts on August 31st– Please sign up for sides through Sign Up Genius
4. Parent volunteers – Please update the cover ONLY if you already have a packet filled out in the office. Please fill out the entire packet if you do not have one in the office.
Parent Coordinator: Reminder emails, coordinate parent volunteers and oversee activities that are created or run by parents.
Laundry: Laundry consists of placemats, rags and other random items. They will be sent home on Fridays and we need them back on Monday prior to lunch time.
Tax Credit Coordinator: Call parents (you will be trained) and tell them about the credit near the end of the year.
Field Trip Coordinator: Gather info and contact people to arrange field trips for the class fill out driver information and make sure everyone has correct and updated paperwork.
Going Out Driver: Drive small groups on mini-field trips when children show an interest.
Weekly Going Outs for Pizza Friday: We also need someone willing to take children each week to pick up sides and pizza (Friday around 11:00).
First Grade Mentor Parent: help new parents adjust as their children adjust to their new surroundings.
Pencil Sharpening: Sharpen a small amount of pencils at home. Again, this is a rotation so we can send home several bags of pencils to different people when needed.
Party Coordinator: plan parties for the class, organize volunteers, shop for anything needed and help at parties. (Usually Halloween, Gingerbread houses, Valentine’s Day)
Halloween/Fall Carnival Coordinator: Work with the Carnival/Festival staff to get volunteers for booths etc. See website and flyers!
Cooking: Cook with the children (very simple, easy to create things that can be done without a full kitchen)
Reading Buddies: Read with children, play phonogram games, share literature, have them create plays from literature (really whatever you would like to do!)
5. Homework We do not give homework at this level but do expect children to read as much as possible at home. If they read aloud to you, please make sure you are watching them so they are not making up words. Math fact memorization is also something you can work with them at home on. There are some ideas under ‘homework’ on the website. Ideally, I believe homework should be pulling weeds, setting the table, helping with dishes, etc. They work hard in school on their academics.
6. Birthdays Birthdays are celebrated with the creation of a special book for the birthday child. Each child makes a page with a picture and a special birthday wish. We put them together in a book for the child. The child walks around the sun, once for each year of their life and then their classmates share their birthday wishes with them – very sweet. NO BIRTHDAY TREATS – this is a school wide rule now.
Vision / Hearing tests September.
7. First grade adjustment There is no harder transition (other than the twelve-year old) than the entering of elementary school, specifically first grade. It is very different from Kindergarten. They have lots of expectations and older children that ‘know the ropes’ giving them a lot of ‘help’. It is also the time of great social development. They are suddenly eager to work with others and collaborate on projects.
This is part of their developmental growth at this age. Children in Montessori schools have so many more opportunities to develop socially, both in class and at playtime. With this huge amount of new social development, disagreements and arguments are inevitable. Each elementary classroom has a peace table for this reason. Please know that if your child seems a little anxious or if they are very tired, this is completely normal. Each year first grade parents are also anxious – then just when you think it will never end, it does, and your first grader blossoms into a confident, independent, and social little person. There is a PowerPoint on the website that shows Maria Montessori’s Planes of Development which explores the transition in detail.
First grade parent mentor.
8. Discipline Rubric Reflection room – during recess and lunch depending on the issue.
9. Illnesses Please call the absentee line when your child is sick. Please don’t tell your child to tell the teacher if they’re not feeling well. They will tell us all day. Please let us know, but don’t share that with them
10. Reading Reading is absolutely essential. All of our cultural materials have loads of reading attached to them. The reading is sometimes at a much higher level than your child may be reading at. We stress the importance of reading books that the child CAN read – they will not get anything out of trying to read a book that is six levels higher than what they can read. We also have a rule in this classroom that no one can say anything about anyone else’s reading level or the books they are reading. Reading a big book is not ‘cool’ in our classroom but reading a book that the child is capable of reading is. We talk about this daily. When our Accelerated Reader program is up and running the children will take quizzes on the books they read. This will let us know if they comprehend what they are reading.
11. Classroom routines There is a daily schedule on the website but here it is in a nutshell.
7:45 drop off begins
8:30 School begins
8:30-11:15 work time (except Fridays when the children will have specials from 8:30 – 10:00).
11:30 lunch
12:00 recess
12:30 – 1:30 math fact practice and reading
1:30-2:30 work time and reading groups
2:52 dismissal (to be out at carline at 2:54 to ensure all 12 classes are on time.
Each Tuesday at 2:00 the children will have PE.
Art will now be held on Friday afternoons. Ceramics will be incorporated into the art schedule.
12. Record Books The children have record books in which they write their goals, the time they start a work and then highlight that work when they are finished. This is a big step for first graders but they do get the hang of it quickly. In fact, most of our first graders are already doing very well with this! We have a three week cycle and then repeat that three week cycle throughout the year. The first two weeks are regular work weeks. During week 3 we also have a mini-conference with each child that needs it and at that time they reflect on what they need to be working on more and how we can help. This is the time they will go through their work and decide what goes in the portfolio. Anything they don’t want in their portfolio will go home. The children keep their finished work in school until week three.
The portfolio is a wonderful keepsake for you that will contain assessments, work, notes from the child about the work, and photos. You will be able to take it home at the end of each year but are encouraged to come in and look at them on occasion. I would wait until mid-year so they can get the hang of this firstJ
We also have a classroom economy which includes a store, paid jobs which are earned through an application process as well as regular classroom jobs to keep the environment beautiful (unpaid).
13. Conferences. We are holding goal-setting conferences in early September to come up with goals and expectations for your child. There will be a conference in January and a regular conference at the end of the year when your child will show you his or her portfolio.
14. Balance and brain research At the beginning of the year and also throughout the entire year, we talk a lot about balancing their learning. We use the scale as an example and ask them what they come to school to learn. They all say many things like math, reading, writing, planets, the Earth, plants, countries, etc. We use that to show them that they need to reach out to the many, many different areas of the classroom to balance their learning. Their record book is a great source for them to look at and see if they are balanced.
JoAnn Deak has a wonderful book called The Fantastic Elastic Brain. I have met and listened to her speeches many times at Montessori Conferences. She refers to neurons in our brains as rubber bands. We are given millions of these at birth – some are small and some are large. No one has the same amount of either and we can all stretch our small rubber bands by reaching out and learning things that make us uncomfortable or what we feel we aren’t good at. A child who loves art and is good at art will always gravitate towards that but we remind them that their ‘art rubber bands’ are big and they can use that gift to help them stretch their small rubber bands in other areas. For instance if they struggle with reading but are great at drawing pictures, we may suggest they read a book and then create new illustrations for it. This brings in their passion but encourages them to reach out and try new things. I share with them that botany is a very short rubber band for me. I told the children that I would work on getting some more botany work over the summer and I did. I still can’t keep the garden alive, but I’m working on itJ
15. Attendance/Tardiness It is extremely important to have your child here and ready to learn at 8:30! We usually begin the day with a group lesson and give out important information during this time. If your child walks in fifteen minutes late they will miss a lot! They will also feel lost – imagine yourself walking into a meeting fifteen minutes late and having to ask another person what was said and what is going on. If you plan on missing more than two days please ask Margo for permission so your absences are not unexcused.
16. Fund Raising - Villa is a private school education with public funds. Though we get some funds from the state there is still a $1,600 deficit per child for Villa’s education. We have various fund raisers to make this Montessori education possible. The auction, capital fund (Club 33 and Club 83) and tax credits. Club 83 = $83 per month for three years. Club 33 is $33 per month for three years.
17. Closing We are hoping for a great year and that you will stop in and observe. Six to eight weeks is the usually time in which normalization occurs. Please sign in at the main office when you observe and they will give you a visitor’s pass.
Again, any questions – please ask. We hear lots of stories - I’m sure you do too. If something sounds off, please ask – or bring your child in to ask us. It’s good for them to get in the habit of being able to reach out if they feel something is not right.
Thank you!
Laura Altmaier & Patsy Taylor
[email protected]
Everything is on our class website so please check it often!
This also will serve as our classroom portfolio which will have lessons and general information about our classroom to help keep parents in the loop. http://www.Laltmaier.weebly.com
- Montessori
You might find yourself in a similar situation as many of our parents, who choose a Montessori education for their children, yet had been educated in a more traditional school setting. For that reason we have compiled a brief overview of what you might observe in a Montessori classroom and how you can extend the Montessori experience into your home, if you wish to do that.
* One of the primary underlying principles of the Montessori philosophy is that as teachers we follow your child, which essentially means that every child in our classroom has an individualized education plan. No one is working on the same lesson at the same time. You will be able to observe an enthusiastic work environment when you step into a Montessori classroom.
* In reality, every child’s learning proceeds at the pace adequate to the child’s development. In a Montessori classroom you will find materials that will guide the children from the concrete into the abstract. The time your child will spend with a certain material will vary from the time he/she spent on the previous material or the time another child spends on that material.
It is important not to compare your child. Everyone learns differently. Your child’s teacher will monitor your child’s progress continuously.
We talk about “filling someone’s bucket” each day. After we read the story we encourage children to try to fill another person’s bucket every chance they get. This is a great way for you to have conversations with your child when you pick them up. Instead of “how many works did you do?” or “what did you do today?” try asking them if they filled anyone’s bucket today.
* In contrast to traditional classrooms your child will stay with the same teacher for a-3-year-cycle. This not only lets us adequately guide your child’s educational progress, but it also offers your child the ability to assume different roles within the classroom community.
As a first-grader your child will be able to observe advanced lessons older children are engaged in, sparking his/her curiosity and acting as a motivator. As an older student in the classroom your child will have the opportunity to strengthen his/her knowledge by helping younger children with their work.
* Another important aspect of a Montessori education is that we don’t do for the child what the child can do for him or herself. In keeping with this principle we allow the child to gain confidence and independence. In your home that could be implemented by expecting your child to clean up after him or herself; for example, at mealtimes, in his/her room, and similar situations.
* Your child will have no teacher-directed homework to complete at home. Much of the work your child will do requires particular Montessori material which is available to him/her during class time. We have two continent research projects that are done at home and then presented in class. We do ask that the child read to you at least 30 minutes a day (you should still continue to read to them daily).
If you desire to have your child do homework, teach them manners at the table, how to open the door for someone at a store, pay for their own purchases using their own money, doing chores without being asked, etc. Practicing math facts is another great thing to work on at home since it is simply memorization.
We look forward to an enriching year with you and your child!
2. Drop off/pick up Please drop off your child at the gate and allow them to take responsibility for their bags and communication folders. When picking up in the afternoon, please pull up as far as you can and have your child’s name in your visor or some other visible area. Please do not send your child back into the classrooms once they are picked up unless you are with them. The classrooms are often empty at that time of day and the children would be unsupervised. Please use the name tags especially for the first few weeks while staff gets to know your cars. Keep the signs up until the child is in your car!! Some parents keep it on the visor and just put it down when they pull up in carline.
3. Pizza Friday starts on August 31st– Please sign up for sides through Sign Up Genius
4. Parent volunteers – Please update the cover ONLY if you already have a packet filled out in the office. Please fill out the entire packet if you do not have one in the office.
Parent Coordinator: Reminder emails, coordinate parent volunteers and oversee activities that are created or run by parents.
Laundry: Laundry consists of placemats, rags and other random items. They will be sent home on Fridays and we need them back on Monday prior to lunch time.
Tax Credit Coordinator: Call parents (you will be trained) and tell them about the credit near the end of the year.
Field Trip Coordinator: Gather info and contact people to arrange field trips for the class fill out driver information and make sure everyone has correct and updated paperwork.
Going Out Driver: Drive small groups on mini-field trips when children show an interest.
Weekly Going Outs for Pizza Friday: We also need someone willing to take children each week to pick up sides and pizza (Friday around 11:00).
First Grade Mentor Parent: help new parents adjust as their children adjust to their new surroundings.
Pencil Sharpening: Sharpen a small amount of pencils at home. Again, this is a rotation so we can send home several bags of pencils to different people when needed.
Party Coordinator: plan parties for the class, organize volunteers, shop for anything needed and help at parties. (Usually Halloween, Gingerbread houses, Valentine’s Day)
Halloween/Fall Carnival Coordinator: Work with the Carnival/Festival staff to get volunteers for booths etc. See website and flyers!
Cooking: Cook with the children (very simple, easy to create things that can be done without a full kitchen)
Reading Buddies: Read with children, play phonogram games, share literature, have them create plays from literature (really whatever you would like to do!)
5. Homework We do not give homework at this level but do expect children to read as much as possible at home. If they read aloud to you, please make sure you are watching them so they are not making up words. Math fact memorization is also something you can work with them at home on. There are some ideas under ‘homework’ on the website. Ideally, I believe homework should be pulling weeds, setting the table, helping with dishes, etc. They work hard in school on their academics.
6. Birthdays Birthdays are celebrated with the creation of a special book for the birthday child. Each child makes a page with a picture and a special birthday wish. We put them together in a book for the child. The child walks around the sun, once for each year of their life and then their classmates share their birthday wishes with them – very sweet. NO BIRTHDAY TREATS – this is a school wide rule now.
Vision / Hearing tests September.
7. First grade adjustment There is no harder transition (other than the twelve-year old) than the entering of elementary school, specifically first grade. It is very different from Kindergarten. They have lots of expectations and older children that ‘know the ropes’ giving them a lot of ‘help’. It is also the time of great social development. They are suddenly eager to work with others and collaborate on projects.
This is part of their developmental growth at this age. Children in Montessori schools have so many more opportunities to develop socially, both in class and at playtime. With this huge amount of new social development, disagreements and arguments are inevitable. Each elementary classroom has a peace table for this reason. Please know that if your child seems a little anxious or if they are very tired, this is completely normal. Each year first grade parents are also anxious – then just when you think it will never end, it does, and your first grader blossoms into a confident, independent, and social little person. There is a PowerPoint on the website that shows Maria Montessori’s Planes of Development which explores the transition in detail.
First grade parent mentor.
8. Discipline Rubric Reflection room – during recess and lunch depending on the issue.
9. Illnesses Please call the absentee line when your child is sick. Please don’t tell your child to tell the teacher if they’re not feeling well. They will tell us all day. Please let us know, but don’t share that with them
10. Reading Reading is absolutely essential. All of our cultural materials have loads of reading attached to them. The reading is sometimes at a much higher level than your child may be reading at. We stress the importance of reading books that the child CAN read – they will not get anything out of trying to read a book that is six levels higher than what they can read. We also have a rule in this classroom that no one can say anything about anyone else’s reading level or the books they are reading. Reading a big book is not ‘cool’ in our classroom but reading a book that the child is capable of reading is. We talk about this daily. When our Accelerated Reader program is up and running the children will take quizzes on the books they read. This will let us know if they comprehend what they are reading.
11. Classroom routines There is a daily schedule on the website but here it is in a nutshell.
7:45 drop off begins
8:30 School begins
8:30-11:15 work time (except Fridays when the children will have specials from 8:30 – 10:00).
11:30 lunch
12:00 recess
12:30 – 1:30 math fact practice and reading
1:30-2:30 work time and reading groups
2:52 dismissal (to be out at carline at 2:54 to ensure all 12 classes are on time.
Each Tuesday at 2:00 the children will have PE.
Art will now be held on Friday afternoons. Ceramics will be incorporated into the art schedule.
12. Record Books The children have record books in which they write their goals, the time they start a work and then highlight that work when they are finished. This is a big step for first graders but they do get the hang of it quickly. In fact, most of our first graders are already doing very well with this! We have a three week cycle and then repeat that three week cycle throughout the year. The first two weeks are regular work weeks. During week 3 we also have a mini-conference with each child that needs it and at that time they reflect on what they need to be working on more and how we can help. This is the time they will go through their work and decide what goes in the portfolio. Anything they don’t want in their portfolio will go home. The children keep their finished work in school until week three.
The portfolio is a wonderful keepsake for you that will contain assessments, work, notes from the child about the work, and photos. You will be able to take it home at the end of each year but are encouraged to come in and look at them on occasion. I would wait until mid-year so they can get the hang of this firstJ
We also have a classroom economy which includes a store, paid jobs which are earned through an application process as well as regular classroom jobs to keep the environment beautiful (unpaid).
13. Conferences. We are holding goal-setting conferences in early September to come up with goals and expectations for your child. There will be a conference in January and a regular conference at the end of the year when your child will show you his or her portfolio.
14. Balance and brain research At the beginning of the year and also throughout the entire year, we talk a lot about balancing their learning. We use the scale as an example and ask them what they come to school to learn. They all say many things like math, reading, writing, planets, the Earth, plants, countries, etc. We use that to show them that they need to reach out to the many, many different areas of the classroom to balance their learning. Their record book is a great source for them to look at and see if they are balanced.
JoAnn Deak has a wonderful book called The Fantastic Elastic Brain. I have met and listened to her speeches many times at Montessori Conferences. She refers to neurons in our brains as rubber bands. We are given millions of these at birth – some are small and some are large. No one has the same amount of either and we can all stretch our small rubber bands by reaching out and learning things that make us uncomfortable or what we feel we aren’t good at. A child who loves art and is good at art will always gravitate towards that but we remind them that their ‘art rubber bands’ are big and they can use that gift to help them stretch their small rubber bands in other areas. For instance if they struggle with reading but are great at drawing pictures, we may suggest they read a book and then create new illustrations for it. This brings in their passion but encourages them to reach out and try new things. I share with them that botany is a very short rubber band for me. I told the children that I would work on getting some more botany work over the summer and I did. I still can’t keep the garden alive, but I’m working on itJ
15. Attendance/Tardiness It is extremely important to have your child here and ready to learn at 8:30! We usually begin the day with a group lesson and give out important information during this time. If your child walks in fifteen minutes late they will miss a lot! They will also feel lost – imagine yourself walking into a meeting fifteen minutes late and having to ask another person what was said and what is going on. If you plan on missing more than two days please ask Margo for permission so your absences are not unexcused.
16. Fund Raising - Villa is a private school education with public funds. Though we get some funds from the state there is still a $1,600 deficit per child for Villa’s education. We have various fund raisers to make this Montessori education possible. The auction, capital fund (Club 33 and Club 83) and tax credits. Club 83 = $83 per month for three years. Club 33 is $33 per month for three years.
17. Closing We are hoping for a great year and that you will stop in and observe. Six to eight weeks is the usually time in which normalization occurs. Please sign in at the main office when you observe and they will give you a visitor’s pass.
Again, any questions – please ask. We hear lots of stories - I’m sure you do too. If something sounds off, please ask – or bring your child in to ask us. It’s good for them to get in the habit of being able to reach out if they feel something is not right.
Thank you!
Laura Altmaier & Patsy Taylor
[email protected]