Dear Parents,

Montessori classrooms can seem very anti-technology and, well, old-school at times. If you ever want to hear my full-blown tirade against video games for children younger than 6 years of age, please come visit me in my office and I would love to chat with you for way longer than you want me to 😉

I will be the first to admit, however, that technology is the new “practical life” of our age. While children still need to learn the basics of self-care, peace and respect, our society is changing to favor those who are technologically savvy.

This week is “Computer Science Week” and Code.org is hosting a free, hour-long class for people ages 4-104. Learning to code depends on creativity and problem solving–it’s so much different than just playing a video game! I haven’t had a chance to tinker with it yet, but I hope it’s fun!

If you’re interested, the website is https://hourofcode.com/us.

The bake sale has been a huge success. The cost to send the kindergarten class to the Austin Nature and Science Center was raised (times two!). Thank you, Parents, for your support and generosity. 

…and we can play outside. Yes! The big freeze won’t be here until tomorrow morning! 

Sometimes, your body just needs a physical outlet before you are ready to work. And that is OK!

Dear Parents,

The kindergarteners and their families made batches of delicious goodies for today. We sold a tremendous amount, but we still have a lot left over. The desserts will be available for sale in the afternoon with an honor box. 

Thank you all for your support this morning!!

Please help support your kindergarten class tomorrow at their early morning bake sale!

I also want to challenge all parents to allow their children to hang up their jackets independently. They can do it and work their fine motor skills–or they can practice their polite social skills and ask a friend for help!

Hope you all had a toasty warm day with a fluffy jacket and hot cocoa! Here’s to outside playtime tomorrow–hopefully 😉

Important dates for December:

7^th: Kindergarten Bake Sale!

9^th: Kindergarten trip to ANSC

16^th: Classroom Book Exchanges

20^th: Safe Place Toy Drive ends

Wow, the month of December can be a little crazy. I want to thank all of you for helping support our bake sale, participating in our book exchange and, now, bringing toys for our annual Safe Place toy drive.

Every year, the classrooms set a goal to raise a certain amount of toys for the children at Safe Place (I think all the classrooms voted on a 50 toy goal this year). Safe Place is a location where spouses who are being abused can escape with their children and start a new life. Often, the children have to leave very suddenly and they may not be able to take anything with them. Clothing, toys, pets–it’s all left behind.

When we introduce the toy drive to the children, we do not go into detail about why the children must leave. But we do tell them that these children often have no toys and they may not receive any presents because they have had to move very quickly. We invite our students to act as Santa Claus for these children. They love this idea and are very willing to share what they have.

Our toy drive will end on December 20th when I make the drive to Safe Place. We usually raise so many toys that it takes three huge bins to transport everything from my car to the warehouse!

Here is Safe Place’s wishlist:

http://www.safeaustin.org/get-involved/give/donate/wishlist/acswishlist/

They accept both new and gently used items.

Thank you so much, parents, for your giving hearts this holiday season!

Our newest poem is one of my favorites for this age group 🙂

Dear Parents,

Kindergarten parents, today your child and I discussed what we are going to bring to next Wednesday’s bake sale (December 7th). 

Primary parents, get ready for a deluge of goodies, hot chocolate and coffee to purchase to support our kinder program’s learning journey! 

Thank you, parents, for all your support!