Let’s Talk About Peace!

We can’t believe we’re already three weeks into the school year. Wow how time flies! Your children have truly been doing such an amazing job with all of the transitions and seem to be well adjusted by now.

Every week friends have a new spot to sit in the classroom. This gives them the opportunity to sit in a different area, and to sit with new friends they might not have spent time with before. We do our best to switch up young friends with older friends and girls with boys.

Lavate los manos= wash your hands! Ms. Jessie has taught everyone all of the parts of the hand in Spanish. We’ve talked about just how important it is to wash EVERY little part of your hands. From your unas (fingernails) to your palmas (palms). Everyone is working so hard to make sure they are properly washing their hands. We wash our hands when we come into the classroom in the morning, before snack, after recess, before lunch, and before snack again (and of course after using the restroom)! They are getting lots and lots of hand washing practice and are professionals by now!

We’re learning that sometimes we feel an emotion but we aren’t able to put it into words. We’ve been talking about many different feelings and what can make us feel those feelings. Sometimes we’re disappointed, astonished, angry, sleepy or excited. Talking about our feelings helps us to cope better when our emotions get super big. We’ve been learning about feeling cansado (tired), muy fantastico (very fantastic!), and molesto (mad).

Ms. Sadie taught a lesson on conflict resolution and how to use the peace rose. We talked about how sometimes our feelings can get hurt or we can feel mad at another friend. When that happens, the child can go get the peace rose and bring it to that friend to talk about the problem. Whoever is holding the peace rose gets to speak. The children take turns holding the rose and saying how they feel. At the end, when the problem is resolved, both friends hold the rose at the same time and say “friends.” We encourage our friends to solve their own problems as much as possible. Of course we are happy to guide them through the process, especially when problems are too big for a peace rose talk.

We’ve also been busy exploring the four seasons and what delights each season brings. Whether it’s the drizzly days of spring, the beach days of summer, pumpkins in the fall or snowmen in the winter we’re learning that each one can be fun. We encourage children to think about what their favorite season might be and why.

You can view pictures from the last two weeks at this link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14CdyAWZ1GbuOkPlmqV3DF_1W1oLbh3s5?usp=sharing

The following link has some great lunch ideas in case you need some fresh ones!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y6simNytdZ-wE_yOXNDuHArFe-mwymvmR3UwWhYaAAQ/edit?usp=sharing

Upcoming Dates to Remember:
September 7 – Labor Day – NO SCHOOL
September 8 – Teacher in Service – NO SCHOOL

Love,
The P2 team

“Peace is what every human being is craving for and it can be brought about by humanity through the child” ~ Maria Montessori

Welcome to P2!

We are so excited to be back at school and see everyone again! We hope that you all had a rejuvenating, and fun summer spent with your family and friends. We truly missed each and every one of our students and have enjoyed getting to know our new friends!

This summer, Ms. Jessie got to spend two weeks in Mexico visiting with her family as well as spending time teaching summer camp. Ms. Sadie spent her summer taking the Montessori Training and is super excited to share all of her new information with everyone. She also got a new puppy named Finn! Ms. Julie spent some time in Utah at Lake Tahoe with her family. She enjoyed hiking and visiting the museums there. We all had a lovely summer but are ready to be back at school.

We know that this first week of school has been filled with so many changes and we cannot thank you enough for your patience, trust and understanding as we figure out this new normal together. We are doing everything we can to keep your children safe and healthy. There are so many extra procedures and precautions in place, and lots of extra cleaning to ensure their safety. Please keep in mind that while it is mandatory for kindergarten friends to wear a mask, it is not mandated for our younger pre-k and pre-school friends. We highly recommend and encourage them to wear it, but it is not mandatory.

Our first week was SO busy! We’ve been getting to know your child, and friends have been getting to know each other. We’re starting to feel more comfortable with each other and new friends are getting used to the classroom. For some friends this is a big change and it does take time to adjust. We are so proud of each and every one of them for how well they have adapted to this new environment and to these changes. They are AMAZING!

We started this year by reviewing classroom procedures such as how to walk around another friend’s work, how to ask for help, how to sit at circle and how to practice grace and courtesy. We’ve been working on saying please and thank you, and how to have a conversation at lunch. Our friends have also been learning new procedures like taking their shoes off when they enter the classroom, sitting at a designated table with their name, wearing a mask, and lots of hand washing. We are so proud of how hard everyone is working!

You can view pictures from the first week of school at this link:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XFebe8qd1l19wiuy-VxNJBKdgaO7AIGQ?usp=sharing

“Education cannot be effective unless it helps a child open himself up to life.”
~ Maria Montessori
Love,
The P2 Team