October 8, 2018
“We must help the child to act for himself, will for himself, think for himself this is the art of those who aspire to serve the spirit.”
Dr. Maria Montessori
Upcoming Dates/Events:
- Parent Education Night-Thursday, October 11, 6:00-8:00 PM, Child Care available
- Speech Screenings – Monday October 15th, 9:00 – 11:30 AM
- PTC Meeting-Tuesday, October 16, 5:00-6:00 PM
- Halloween Carnival-Saturday, October 27, 3:00-5:00 PM
- Parent/Teacher Conferences-Thursday & Friday,November 8 & 9
- Veteran’s Day-Monday, November 12, No School
- CMS Walk-A-Thon November 14th 10:00 – 11:30 AM
What is the Halloween Carnival?
This is a PTC sponsored social family event. It is from 3:00-5:00 and there is no cost to attend. Adults and children come in costume where there are games, food and an incredible opportunity to mingle with other CMS families. There is a spooktacular haunted house, jumpy and a costume contest! It is held on the south part of the property in the staff parking lot. It is an enjoyable time for everyone.
CMS Spirit Wear
- Official spirit wear orders will be in this week
- More information coming soon!
Safety
- Please remember not to reverse once in the parking lot during arrivals and dismissals
- Please keep your children buckled until a teacher receives them at your car
Speech & Language Screenings
Therapies for Success will be offering speech & Language screenings at CMS on Monday October 15th. If you would like to have your child’s speech and language skills assessed, please feel free to sign up for a screening.
These screenings are available for $50. A certified and licensed speech-language pathologist will assess your child using a standardized screening protocol. You will receive a brief summary of the results and suggested follow-up.
Please complete the Screening Authorization form (found in resource documents on RenWeb) if you would like your child screened. Completed forms can be returned to the office along with your check made payable to Jodie Schuller by Friday October 12th.
CMS Walk-A-Thon
We are very excited to be hosting our annual CMS Walk-A-Thon on Wednesday November 14th. The Walk-A-Thon is a wonderful way for students and families to get involved and help support our fundraising efforts for school security upgrades, new lunch tables and the Building Our Future Campaign.
This year we will be using a website to manage all our Walk-A-Thon donations. Each family will need to register their child(ren) at The Get Movin Crew, simply click here. You will be prompted to create a free account. Once you create your account, log in and from the home page you will click +ADD STUDENT. Here you will type in Country Montessori School for the school name, select either Early Childhood or Elementary, then select your classroom, input your child’s name/ gender. A student goal and fundraising message will auto populate but you are welcome to edit the message to create your unique personal message. You are also able to upload a photo. When all the information is complete you will click ADD.
Once a student is added it creates a unique Walk-A-Thon page for each child. This page can be shared with family and friends via Facebook, Twitter, email or by simply copying the website address and texting it to friends and family.
Donations can be made by credit card directly through the student Walk-A-Thon page.
Any family who sets up their child’s Walk-A-Thon page before October 22nd will receive 1 service hour, just for registering early.
Best of all it can all be done from your phone!
Special Thanks to our Walk-A-Thon Sponsors:
www.
By Staci Jensen
As a parent and a teacher in a Montessori Early Childhood classroom, I have noticed a glaring disparity between my 7-year-old daughter’s behavior at home and at school. She does fine, in- dependent work in her Montessori school environment, yet, when handed a broom after a mealtime at home, tear- fully claims she does not know how to sweep.
At school, skills are introduced from the simple to the complex, with new elements added gradually. Challenging new work still contains enough familiarity so that the child can succeed. For example, children in my classroom practice tasks such as dry pouring, sponge squeezing, wet pouring, tray wiping, filling and carrying vessels of water, and mopping, all in advance of easel painting. Prior experience creates comfort, confidence, and skill in the child; this structured approach helps each child to work to her fullest potential.
In this pursuit of independence, a child’s home and school environment can be each other’s greatest asset. How- ever, creating a Montessori classroom in my kitchen and living room is simply not practical, though the two environments can provide mutual support as philosophical extensions of the same principles. The gifts we can give our children are adequate time, an economy of age-appropriate and well-communicated expectations, and trust in their innate capabilities, which are the same principles that support Montessori’s educational philosophy.
Very young children are capable of independent work at home, though they must be provided enough time and space to “do it myself.” For example, 3- and 4-year-olds can wipe and dust tables, fold towels, and sort silverware. Older children can clear dishes from the table, fold a wider variety of clothing, and wash windows. Tasks presented without time pressures inherent to modern life give children an opportunity to focus on the job at hand and use their available coordination to attack it. Children require little more than to be kept company while working. However, we parents must be less judgmental and more willing to accept less-than-perfect results as tasks are performed to the best of the child’s abilities. Finally, our children deserve to experience the small struggles that often accompany skill acquisition. In my home, a high-pitched wail signals distress but not the genuine need for assistance. Despite my intellectual knowledge and training, I still suppress the urge to rush to my daughter’s rescue at the first sign of frustration. We rob our children of valuable learning opportunities when we step in, and worse still, may reinforce their sense of helplessness.
I vowed to try a different approach with my daughter, remembering a quote from The Montessori Method: “The child who does not do, does not know how to do” (Montessori, p. 109). I began by analyzing the sweeping task and removing any sense of time restriction; we swept instead of taking a bath that evening. I asked her to fetch a broom and was surprised to see her return instead with a small hand broom and dustpan. Apparently, these were the tools she had used in sweeping her own small area of her classroom. I had erroneously assumed that she knew how to use a regular broom to sweep a large area. After showing her how to use a child’s upright broom for this task, I walked away to give her space to work, despite her protests that it was “too hard.” Half an hour later, she finished the kitchen and offered to sweep the living room as well. While not a perfect job, the smiling child in front of me was visibly basking in the contentment of her independent endeavor.
I cannot say that my child has blossomed into an efficient, joyful sweeper of floors. However, that evening she began learning a valuable skill, and more importantly exceeded her own internal expectations. For me, this experience was a reminder that parents and teachers share the common goal of raising confident, independent children. If we as parents can take the time to provide better opportunities for children to do for themselves at home, we are assisting them as they grow into independent, competent adults.
Reference
Montessori, M. (2010). The Montessori method.Readaclassic.com.
STACI JENSEN is a lead teacher in the Primary Division of Westminster School in Oklahoma City. She has worked in several Montessori schools around the country and has a certification in music education from the University of Oklahoma. She is the parent of 2 children, ages 3 and 7. Contact her at sjensen@westminsterschool.org.