Greetings Families!
During drop off and pick up, children have been observed running into the parking lot and between parked cars. Our goal is to keep everyone safe at all times! Please make sure you have your child with you as you enter and exit your vehicle. Also, please make sure you are entering and exiting the parking lot slowly and carefully.
It seems like “winter” in here to stay although it doesn’t officially begin until December 21, 2018! What happens in the event of severe weather? Our first priority is the safety of our families and staff but we make every effort to remain open for our families. How will you know if we are closed or on a delayed opening? Families will receive a message from REMIND and an email. You can also check the local news stations as it will appear there as well. If you’re not signed up for our REMIND text messages, click HERE to do that.
UPCOMING DATES TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR:
Thursday, December 20, 2018- The Winter Festival Recital from 6:00-7:00 pm at the Novi Civic Center. The Center will CLOSE at 3:00 pm for staff to prepare for the event.
Monday, December 24-January 2, 2019- The Center is closed for the Holiday. We re-open on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Thursday, January 17, 2019 is our Center Peace Celebration. More information to follow.
The Center is closed on Friday, January 18, 2019 for Parent/Teacher conferences. More information will be provided closer to the date.
We will be closed on Monday, January 21, 2019 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is an in-service day for teachers.
Here are the highlights for the week from the Cedar Room-The theme for the week involved the study of dinosaurs, how a fossil is formed and the difference between vertebrate and invertebrate. Songs about dinosaurs were sung and dinosaurs were created from clay! Dinosaurs and seasonal objects were added to the Practical Life area. The children practiced their songs for the recital and created Christmas trees from popsicle sticks! For the math presentation the children were exposed to the clock and time and what also the value of American coins.
Last week in the Pine Room the children enjoyed working on Thanksgiving projects, the children enjoyed putting their hands on the large turkey that hung on our classroom door. Highlights from this week include discussions of the human body, parts of the body as well as dental care. We introduced teeth brushing with our giant set of teeth. Children are also enjoying water activities in the practical life area. We continue to work on our song and dance for the Winter Festival recital. The children are also exploring all of the extensions in sensorial with the Pink tower and the brown stairs and all of the knobless cylinders together. Our language presentations are the continuation of of our work on beginning sounds. The older children are working in workbooks and making sentences while also working on verbs. During our science presentation we introduced the five senses, the children are working with three part cards and work sheets. Our grace and courtesy lesson is a continuation of putting our coats on and zipping along with hand washing and nose wiping. We continue our study of South America, coloring the map push pinning and working on the large puzzle map. The children are working with land-air-and water three part cards. The children are working on the different objects/pictures to find where they go. In math the older children are working on the 45 layout, addition and carry over addition. Other children are working on number recognition as well as counting up to 50 and some children up to 100! Our Winter Festival is December 20, the children will be singing a song and dancing to one. Please have the girls wear a holiday, festive dress, boys wear a red or green plain shirt with black pants. Any questions, please let one of the teachers know. We would like to welcome Ms. Vikia to our classroom in the afternoons.
This week in the Toddler Room the theme of the week was Fruits and Vegetables. The children practiced large body movements by going up and down our set of stairs and our indoor slide, they also enjoyed rolling a ball. The books the children enjoyed were “The Way I Feel” and “Garden”. The sensorial presentation involved introducing colors and textures of different fruits and vegetable to the children. The children enjoyed fruit and vegetable printing as well as color mixing. Please send in your child’s winter clothing so that they are comfortable when outside. Toddlers go outside twice per day as long as the weather conditions are conducive to outdoor play. Please write their names on each item so it goes back to the right child!
In the Maple Room the children studied land forms (isthmus and strait), practiced bow tying with the dressing frame; the children especially enjoyed learning about the magnifying glass and it’s purpose. They were very excited when looking at each other and various objects in the classroom. The metal inset (2 and 3) was also introduced from the pre-writing area. The layers of the earth were introduced as well as the 10 board in math. We continued to learn about North America.
We will celebrate many child birthdays during the of December !! On Monday, December 3rd, Advika from the Maple Room and Aditi from the Pine Room. On Tuesday, December 4, Vincent from the Maple Room will celebrate his birthday and Akhil from the Maple Room will celebrate his birthday on December 7th!!
A new Parenting Group is forming! Amanda Pullukat is hosting an 6 week group that will meet Wednesday evenings from 7-8:30, beginning January 16 at Novi Woods Montessori. The group will focus on parenting strategies at home and is not connected with your child’s enrollment at Novi Woods, so consider inviting others who may want to join! At this time there will not be child care so consider one parent attend or alternate weeks. There will be resources to share with your parenting partner at the end of each session! If are interested, please fill out the Parenting Group Registration Form
Some samples of children engaged in their work!
