Halloween!

Wow! What a day!The morning started off with some Halloween "stations" where the kids did different crafts, such as making bats or putting together a candy (Fruit Loop) necklace. Carol supervises the most popular stop:

Then the large group gathered for a visit from dentist Melissa.  Melissa reminded the children of proper brushing habits, especially around Halloween time.  She also brought a special guest....

..the Tooth Fairy!!

Then Mary worked her magic, showcasing some of the songs from Music Together.

Teacher Amanda rocked her costume.....she was a basket full of dirty laundry!

Then Trick or Treating began!

The celebration finished off with a potluck with some amazing dishes and desserts brought in by parents. Thank you to all for such a great day!

P.S.

Don't forget to bring some treats for the trick or treating that will happen at the festivities on Friday! Total number of children at the school: 35

Potluck on Friday

Don't forget to sign up to bring a healthy snack for this Friday's Halloween potluck. Parents are encouraged to come by the school after 10am to see the crafts and activities that the children will be doing. The potluck will begin at 11am.
Happy Halloween!

A few from the rainy day on Monday:

Works of the Week

The Pink Tower:
The Pink Tower is a work designed to help a child visualize differences in dimension. The Pink Tower is ten cubes of varying sizes. It starts with the smallest (1 cm) to the largest (10cm). The Pink Tower is in the sensorial part of the classroom. It helps with concentration and independence, and is a pre-math work!



The Number Rods:
This is a math work to help children prepare for counting 1 through 10. The math rods are a group of ten red and blue rods, varying in length. The shortest is one, the longest being ten. The rods are sectioned into 10cm sections, each painted in alternating colors- red, blue, red, blue, etc.

Picture Retakes

Retakes will be on Wednesday, October 27th!

Birthday Circle

Birthdays are important at ALRM, celebrated with a Birthday Circle.

The birthday circle starts when all the children have a seat, criss cross applesauce.  The birthday child receives his or her crown, usually with his or her name and age on it.  We place lit candles in the middle of our circle, one for each year of the child's life.  These candles represent the sun.  The child will then hold the earth (a small ceramic globe) in his or her hands.  The child slowly walks around the length of our circle rug, while everyone says, "And the seconds went by, and the minutes went by, and the hours went by, and the weeks went by, and the months went by and Sam turned one years old."  Then we sing, " You've been around the sun one time, you've been around the sun one time, you've been around the sun one time, you've been around the sun one time."  These two steps are repeated until the correct age is reached, at which point the child is asked to sit next to the sun.  We sing Happy Birthday and blow out the sun.  After this, the birthday child chooses a special helper to pass out plates and napkins, and the birthday child passes out his or her special treats.  In true Montessori tradition, the birthday child often gives a book to the school on his or her birthday.

Future ALRM grad....

Preschool 2 Update

Hello Parents,

We have finished our special study of the apple and are nearly done with our pumpkin work. The children learned the parts of the apple- skin, flesh, seed, stem and calyx or crown.

The pumpkin work consists of the life cycle of the pumpkin- the seeds, the vine, the flowers, and then the pumpkin. We were lucky enough to have a real pumpkin to cut in half and see the seeds and stringy pulp. Teacher Bettey brought us a pumpkin vine with flowers on it for us to see. We should be completing this soon.

The children have been busy doing math and language works as well. We have all had lessons in the math rod and the pink tower, and we are still working on our French colors! We would love to have any books that focus on pumpkins, autumn, or Halloween to read at circle time!

A few reminders- our Halloween celebration will be on Friday, October 29th. We will be having a potluck. Please sign up at the front hall at the school with a healthy dish. The children are welcome to wear their costumes to school, but should also have a change of clothes. If you would like to bring treats or candy to share with the group, please feel free. No peanuts or nut trees, please.

Our parent teacher conferences will be on Thursday, November 11th, Veterans' Day. There will be no school that day. A sign-up will be out soon!

Happy Fall!
The Preschool 2 Team

School pictures are ready!

Photographer Michelle Goodearl has school pictures in an on-line viewing gallery.

Go to this link and use the password alrm2010 to get into the gallery.

If you have any questions about the images, please contact Michelle directly at mgphoto@metrocast.net

Payment forms have been sent home with students. On the form, you indicate which image you would like and what size/quantity for that image. All payments should be brought back to school on or before next Wednesday.

Fire Safety Day

Today, the New Hampton Fire Department stopped by for an educational visit. They brought information and fire helmets for the students and gave them tours of both the fire engine and the ambulance. Students especially enjoyed seeing the lights flashing!

And, of course, more fun on the playground after lunch:

School pictures are tomorrow!

Check out Michell Goodearl's work at http://michellegoodearlphotography.blogspot.com/

A few from yoga....

Jen begins yoga with a book.

yoga 014, originally uploaded by ALRM.

yoga 011, originally uploaded by ALRM.

yoga 020, originally uploaded by ALRM.

yoga 021, originally uploaded by ALRM.

The elusive Miss Carol....

Way back in early September, this post introduced you to the ALRM staff; however, Miss Carol's bio was absent. This elusiveness is so Miss Carol! We have since persuaded her to share some information with you:

Your name:
Carol Abromowich
What the students call you:
Miss Carol
Education and relevant training (include how long you have been with ALRM):
BS in Biology
MA in Health Care Administration
Been at ALRM since 2009
What do consider the school’s greatest strength?
The individual learning pace that each child is allowed.
A goal or hope for this school year:
Help each child gain independence and create a welcoming school environment for all the children.
Any personal info you might want to share with our blog readers:I have lived in Meredith for 6 years with myhusband, Decran, and two kids Grace, 6, (ALRM graduate) and Ben 4, (ALRM student) and dog, Molly (who likes to visit ALRM)
I like hiking, reading, gardening and skiing.

Music Together!

On Wednesday, Mary brought Music Together to ALRM! She quickly engaged the children with her fantastic voice, singing, "Hello, everybody! So glad to see you!" to each child individually. The children were enchanted for the entire time as they sang, moved their bodies, and tried out different noise makers.
















Mary is offering the Music Together class for the year. Each child was sent home with information on the class as well as a DVD and CD. Soon you will be hearing "Hey, Lolly, Lolly" throughout your home!

Letter from the Director

October 05, 2010

First, I would like to take a moment and welcome all of our families both old and new! In every part of my being, I know that this is going to be one of the best years that I have enjoyed as a Montessori Educator!

Our school community is so strong, both with the families we support and the staff exists this year. If you notice all of our staff and the excellence that each brings to the school, you will notice how diverse each member is. Yet, we all fit nicely together and bring a little something extra to your children and to the school. I would like my staff to know that I value them as individuals and that I really am grateful for all of there dedication to the school and to the families that we support!

Sometimes, quite often, people say to me: “I don’t know how you do this job?” I always respond the same way. This isn’t my job. This is my life. I am a Montessori Teacher down to my being. It is as much a part of me as anything else. I learn something new from the children, the families, and the staff every single day! I believe, like our children, we grow each year. Maybe not, physically I hope anymore, but intellectually and spiritually. I believe this year, with all of our exciting changes will be better than any we have yet experienced and it is my wish that it will be for all of us!!!


With Peace and Love,
Teacher Robyn

Classroom 1 Update

October 1, 2010
Classroom 1 Update

Well, we back to the basics in our class! We are enjoying learning and relearning how to use all of our beautiful and fundamental Montessori materials.

We are currently in the process of finishing up our study with the red rods and parents will see the support material, booklet, in your child’s take home bin. We have already enjoyed lessons in the pink tower, and we have learned three of our geometric solids: sphere, cube, and the cone. In addition, the class has had their first lesson, or a reminder lesson, with our intro to Golden Bead work: 1, 10, 100, and 1000.

Our first special study is of the continents and many versions of the support material will be sent home as your child completes it. In addition to the continents, we are reviewing daily our alphabet sounds and have been introduced to some French colors and some sign language.

As I tell most parents, we begin our school year “normalizing” in our environment. This is an important part of building a very secure foundation in the classroom.

With Peace and Love,
Teacher Robyn, Teacher Jen, and Miss Amanda