Sunday, January 9, 2011

Ringing in the New Year!!


 A December to Remember
 Our Christmas Program was a HUGE success!!  The kids performed their Christmas themed songs we had practiced and a group performed a dance - everyone did wonderfully!!  As usual, we can't thank all the parents enough for coming to support our little learners!  Later that evening, we had our Christmas party at Lin's Restaurant.  It is always great to see our families get together and get to know one another better.  Thank you so much to those of you that attended!  To those of you that could not attend - You were missed!  Thank you all so much for an AMAZING year!
**By the way, if any of you have pictures from the Christmas program or the Christmas party (we only had a couple), please e-mail them to tasmontessori@yahoo.com and we'll make sure to get them on the blog!

Happy New Year!
   
 It’s 2011!  We had such a fantastic year in 2010 with the children filled with lots of fun and learning! We know that 2011 will be just as great.

 We wish you and your family all the best in the coming year, and look forward to sharing it with you!


We’re Out of this World!
Our intrepid little explorers have been hard at work exploring the vast world of our solar system for the past two months!
They have shown such a passionate interest in the subject of outer space, and have picked up on terms and concepts quicker that we could have ever imagined, even at times educating us!
Because of their interest in the subject, we thought we’d have some fun with it by having the children build their very own personal solar system that we will hang all over the school.
We will design and build the solar systems at school, however we do ask that you please provide the Styrofoam balls that will make up the planets.
If you could bring 10 Styrofoam balls that are the appropriate size for each of the planets including the sun and the moon by Friday January 14th, we can get started on the fun as quick as possible!
Once we are done, we will hang them all over the school for you to see!
We have been singing the Planet Song with the children during circle time, and if you would like to sing it with them at home here are the lyrics!
The sun’s a hot star
Mercury’s hot too
Venus is the brightest one
And Earth’s home to me and you!
Mars is the red one
And Jupiter’s really wide
Saturn’s got those icy rings
Uranus spins on its side
Neptune’s really windy
And Pluto’s not a planet
Now we know our planets
And now we know them all!


MLK Holiday
  We will be off from school on Monday, January 17, 2011 for the MLK holiday .We will resume school on Tuesday.
We hope you have a great holiday!


CIRCLE TIME!
This month we are working on learning the parts of the body. Specifically we are focusing on the bones and muscles. We are also learning the parts of the turtle and fish. We are learning to count by 5’s and 10’s. We have introduced the counting chains to work with this concept.
We continue to work with the continents; and we will be introducing the animals from different continents we will also continue learning the flags of different countries.
We continue to learn our geometrical solids and constructive triangle. We are also continuing our unit of space. We will also be working more with language, focusing on movable alphabets along with the Object Box. Of course we continue to go over the calendar, months, days of the week, phonics and numbers on a daily basis.


Proper Hygiene!
  This month we are focusing on using proper hygiene in our everyday life! Practicing proper hygiene is critical for everyone, but is especially important for young children. Illness spreads among children very quickly and easily, and we must encourage them to use the proper hygienic practices to prevent that, as well as instilling a sense of cleanliness in them from a young age.
  Some of the things we are encouraging include:
·    Brushing our teeth when we wake up and before we go to bed
·    Taking a shower/bath every day
·    Making sure our clothes are neat and clean
·    Washing our hands with soap and warm water after using the bathroom and before eating
·    Covering our mouths and noses when we sneeze and/cough
·    Throwing away all of our trash (in the trashcan)
Whose Is This?
  As a reminder, we ask that you please be sure to write your child’s name on all of the personal belongings that you send with your children.
  This includes jackets, sweaters, extra clothes, backpacks, lunchboxes, sippy cups, etc. This will allow us to identify items more quickly, and reduce chances of mix ups!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Things to Know from December

'Tis The Season
The Holiday Season has finally arrived!

To celebrate, Tas Montessori School would like to invite you and your family to our annual Holiday Party on Wednesday, December 15th.

We are in the process of securing a location to hold the party, and will let you know the details as soon as arrangements are made.

Be sure to keep an eye on the podium for the announcement and keep the 15th open!

We look forward to celebrating the Holidays with you!


Observations
  The Texas Tech community has taken a great interest in our school, and your bright children!
  On Wednesday, December 1st, we had students from Texas Tech come to the school to observe the children as they are working.
  The children got to demonstrate what they have been learning! A great time was had by all!

Holiday Break!
Our Christmas break will begin on Monday, December 20th and continue until Friday, December 31st.
We will return to school on Monday, January 3, 2011.
Whatever your Holiday plans may be, we wish you the safest and happiest holidays and New Year.                     

Parent-Teacher Conferences
Last month’s Parent Teacher Conferences went really well! We really appreciate the time that you took off to come and speak with us about your child’s progress. We hope that it was as beneficial to you as it was to us.

Your child is our first priority, and if you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know!

Show and Tell!
Beginning every Friday, we will be having Show and Tell! The children will have the opportunity to show off their favorite things and give us a short explanation on why it is so important to them.

Please be sure to send something that is not easily lost or breakable. We would also like to see something with educational value.

CIRCLE TIME!
Circle time is a crucial learning time in your child’s school day. We go over every major concept as a group, and it is very beneficial for them to be here by 9:30 a.m. every day so that they may benefit from it.
This month we will be learning the parts of the frog and fish. We will also continue our unit on outer space and South America. We will be going over the second leaf tray in the leaf unit, as well as the second row of flags.
We continue to learn our geometrical solids and will soon move on to the constructive triangle. Of course we continue to go over the calendar, months, days of the week, phonics and numbers on a daily basis.

Holiday fun!
 The children are hard at work practicing for the annual Holiday Concert that will be performed at our party.
  The following is a list of songs that the children will be performing:
·          Santa Clause Is Coming To Town
·          Deck the Halls
·          Jingle Bells
·          We Wish You A Merry Christmas
·          Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer 
If you would like to practice these songs with them at home so they will be ready for the concert, it would be great!

Make sure your child is dressed in his or her Christmas best!

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Halloween Fun!


Halloween Fashion Show
Our Halloween Fashion Show and party was a HUGE success!  Thank you so much for all of the delicious goodies that parents brought.  The students modeled their costumes down the "runway" and then sang some Halloween songs they have been practicing.  Then, students and parents got to have all kinds of items that were brought in by our parents.  We had a huge turnout and students loved getting to show off for their parents.  Thank you for all of the help and for making the day great fun!

Circle Time Observation with Frenship High School

Circle Time Observation with Frenship High School
We had some Frenship High School students came to visit our school and observe what we do during circle time.  This was a great opportunity for the Frenship High School students to see the Montessori program in action.  It was also an excellent opportunity for the Tas Montessori School students to show the Frenship students what they have learned and how they work with the Montessori materials.  LOTS of learning took place!

Fire Safety Presentation

Group with the Fire Truck
The local fire department came to visit Tas Montessori School to teach us a little bit about fire safety.  The firemen talked to us about what to do in case of a fire and showed us what a fireman would look like in all of his fire safety clothes.  Then, we got to see a REAL fire engine!!  We got to hear what the siren sounded like and even got to spray the waterhose.  WOW!  What a fun day we had!

Tas Montessori School Mission Statement

The goal of Tas Montessori School is to provide a sound foundation upon which the child can reach thier full potential in all areas of life. The Tas Montessori objective is to create a contructive educational environment established by Maria Montessori.

About Ms. Tas

Administrative Directress, Tasleem Mirza is a certified Montessori Directress and a member of the International AMI Montessori Association. She has a Montessori teaching experience of over 20 years, including a teaching tenure in Moscow, Russia, and over five years in Chicago, Illinois. Tas Montessori school is in its 6th year of operation happily serving Lubbock County. She also attended the following International AMI refresher courses:
              --Dyslexia
              --Theory and Practice
              -- Art Techniques and display material
              -- Relationship and uses of Montessori materials
              -- Monstessori project material making
              -- Theory into advanced math, science and sensorial