Merry Mayhem

So... the Holiday party. That was a doozy, wasn't it?

I mean, I hadn't experienced crowd density like that since the last time I saw the Rolling Stones. Crikey.

Rest assured we're busy thinking up ways to accommodate this size of crowd - 4 times bigger than last year's, FYI - more comfortably (maybe split the event over two nights with younger kids going the first night, and bigger kids the second...singing upstairs, Santa downstairs...filming the kids as they perform at school and then sending everyone a link to the video so we can all stay home with spiked egg nog and watch the show in our jammies...etc). If you have a brilliant idea we might not have considered, please let us know. 

The kids seemed to have a great time getting their gifts from Santa. If you didn't manage to grab your own picture, I put the ones I took over the on the school's SmugMug page - you can always click the camera icon on the right side of this blog to reach it. You should be able to drag n' drop 'em, or click n' save, or link to 'em on facebook, whatever. Let me know if you run into any tech issues there.

I especially loved that Ciaran brought an illustrated list of everything he wanted from Santa, just in case he didn't get enough face time with the guy. That's brilliant, kid, and I wish I'd thought of it myself.

I think when the event started to wrap up, and we all regained a little personal space, this is how we all felt:

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear the kids sing and see them spend time with Santa; you're helping to build a sense of community at the school, and we appreciate it.

Speaking of appreciation, thanks to the volunteers who came early to set up chairs and decorate and assemble the buffet.

I hope you all have lovely holidays with your families. Santa's been too busy to do much shopping for our house, I'm afraid, so he's considering filling the kids' stockings with toys they haven't played with in a while, along with a note from the elves that reads, "Santa thought these things deserved a second look." We'll see how that flies.

Ho ho ho.

Brooke

December Newsletter

(as scanned from the hard copy available at each sign-in table). 

Teacher Gifts

I've had a few people ask about Christmas gifts for teachers. For me, at least, it's always been a little confusing because there are so many great people who interact with my kids on an average school day. Sure, they have primary teachers, but you don't want to discount the other teachers who take over in the afternoons...but that's like five people and now I'm overwhelmed and broke and blah blah blah I give up. 

So this year, I turned to Katie for an affordable but meaningful suggestion, and here's what she came up with for the parents who might be considering giving a gift to a teacher this year (keep in mind this is totally optional, and just meant as a helpful tip) - 

After school on Dec 20th - the last day of school before the Winter Break - the teachers are going to be having a staff party. If parents would like, they can contribute something for the party: chocolates, a bottle of wine, a cheese tray, a second bottle of wine, etc. That way, your one contribution could be shared and enjoyed by many teachers. You can bring anything you'd like to contribute to the school on the 20th. Also, teachers always appreciate a nice note from their students, so encourage your little ones to draw/write/paint a card for their favorite teachers. 

Of course, you can also do whatever else strikes your fancy, or nothing at all. In case it's helpful to anyone, here's a current list of the teachers:

POLLEN

Michelle

Whitney

Judy
Courtney

Emel

Reggie

SEEDS

Cassidy

Kari
Ashley

Yael

Riley

Faith

SPROUTS

Teacher: Anna

Helper: Mariah

Teacher: Jenn

Helper: Madison

SUNFLOWERS

Teacher: Sam

Teacher: Indima

Katie, Hanna, Jena, Kaci, Lillian

Teacher: Reina

Ione, Julie, Jena, Kaci, Zarha, Lillian

ELEMENTARY

Alison

Cheryl

Kacie

Lillian

Manda

Feel free to use the comments section below if you want to get together with other people on a larger item, or you want to be sure no one else is bringing an armadillo-shaped red velvet cake... it's always so awkward when there are two of those. 

-Brooke

HOLIDAY CONCERT INFO

Sunflower typically hosts a holiday concert before the winter break, and this year is no exception. Here's all the info on the event:

1) The concert will be held on Thursday December 19th at 6pm at the Seeds Building. For those who attended previous years' holiday events held at the Elementary school, you know they were cramped affairs without enough seating for all the parents and family members who wanted to attend. The new Seeds building has an actual stage and plenty of room to accommodate all the Sunflower families.

2) EVERYONE is invited and encouraged to attend (Pollen, Seeds and Sprouts - this means you), though only the Sunflowers and Elementary students will be performing.

3) After the kids sing their holiday songs, everyone's favorite fat man in a red suit will "Ho Ho Ho!" his way onstage to surprise the kids with presents.

4) For your child to receive a present from Santa, you must bring a small, wrapped gift in advance to the school to be opened by your child during the event. The gifts will go into Santa's bag, so nothing fragile or valuable, please. Make sure your gift is clearly labeled with your child's name. Katie/Correy will collect these gifts and have them ready for Santa to distribute.

5) Every child will have a chance to talk with Santa and have his/her picture taken.

6) Because the event is occurring during dinnertime, there will be a mac n' cheese (and salad) buffet downstairs, with lots of varieties to sample (gluten-free option provided).

7) "But guys, this event has always been during the school day before - what gives?" Well, in previous years, the event was held on the morning of the last day of school. Parents were required to attend, and school was dismissed for the day after Santa's visit, because it was too difficult to maintain an orderly learning environment after Santa had been by. This required many parents to miss a day of work. By moving the event to the evening, school will be open all day as usual on Friday the 20th.

8) We're looking for a few volunteers to help set up chairs for the audience and do some minimal decorating before the event, and additional helpers to pick up gift wrap, etc after the event. If you're able to help, please let us know. 

Also let me know if I'm leaving any info out that you would find helpful, and I'll add it!

-Brooke

Illness Exclusion Policy

Ugh at the weather today. 

With cold/flu season approaching, I thought it would be helpful to post the school's official Illness Exclusion Policy so everyone will know "how sick is too sick" to bring your special snowflake to school: 

____________________________________

The decision to exclude or dismiss a child from child care will be based on the child’s signs and symptoms and/or the diagnosis of a health care professional as outlined below:

a.  The illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in the routine activities of the school

b. The illness results in greater care need than the childcare staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children

c. Signs or symptoms of possible severe illness such as lethargy, uncontrolled coughing, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, wheezing complaints of severe pain. 

d. The child has any of the following signs or symptoms of contagious illness:

1) Fever accompanied by behavior changes, oral temperature of 101 degrees or axillary temperature of over 100 degrees or greater.

2) Vomiting: 2 or more episodes in the previous 24 hour period.

3) Diarrhea: increased number of stool, watery stools, stools with mucous or blood and/or stools that cannot be contained by a diaper or clothing and are different or more frequent than the child’s regular pattern.

4) Bacterial infections listed until treated for 24 hours with antibiotics and the child feels well enough to participate.

a. Conjunctivitis

b. Strep throat

c. Impetigo

d. Skin infections or draining burns

5) Lice or scabies until after treatment and no nits present

6) Generalized rash with fever or behavior changes or jaundiced skin color until medical evaluation determine that symptoms do not indicate communicable disease

7) Chicken pox until 6 days after onset of rash or until all sores have dried.

e. Readmission to child care: after an absence, the family needs to share pertinent information with the child care staff regarding the illness.  A release from the health care provider is required after a serious illness or diagnosis of a communicable disease.

Curriculum Notes: DECEMBER

This month the Seeds will be talking about snow! We will look at pictures of snow, learn the sign for snow, and we will learn the song “Little Snowflake”. 

Our special book this month will be The Snow Man Just Named Bob by Mark Kimbal Moulton. In Practical Life, we will be introduced to using scissors. In science, we will talk about hot and cold.

Now that all the sprouts a proficient at dressing themselves we will be playing in the snow this month! Our song will be “Little Snowflake” and we will read the book The First Snow in the Woods by Carl Sam.

For Practical Life, we will be practicing throwing snow balls (the bean bag toss) and in science we will watch snow melt.

In Ms. Reina’s class the study of Europe will begin. We will read “The Nutcracker” by Susan Jeffers and learn the song “Frere Jacques” from France.  In Practical Life, we will be building a snow village. In Science this month, we will talk about the different states of matter and watch snow melt to learn about evaporation.

This month, Sam’s class will be studying South America with a focus on ancient civilizations.  A special book they will be reading is A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Pratt.  Our new song will be “Los Pollitos." In science, we will be talking about vertebrates and invertebrates in the rainforest and our new practical life skill will be sorting different grains and legumes from South America.

Ms. Indima's class will be studying Asia.  Our song will be “Anilae Anilae” from India, and a special book we will read is A Quail’s Egg: Folk Tales from Sri Lanka.  We will learn many great things about Indima’s home, culture, and language.   In science we will continue to look at vertebrates and invertebrates focusing on insects of Sri Lanka.

Our elementary kids will begin a two month journey around Europe. Along with many great seasonal songs, we will be working on "Weggis Zue" (Swiss Hiking Song). That’s right: we are yodeling!  Our special book this month will be The Wish by Lori Evert. We will be focusing on cultural traditions of Europe for the holiday season and sampling some new cuisine.

Did you know Missoula is the tenth cloudiest city in the nation? This month for science we will discuss weather and clouds. Our new practical life skill will be knitting. We also have many great new Spanish books to share including Como el Grinch Robo la Navidad!

A Day In The Life: SUNFLOWERS

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SUNFLOWER

Drop off for the Sunflowers is between 7:30 and 8:45. After saying goodbye to their parents, many Sunflowers like to wave goodbye out the big window. They hang their belongings on their hooks and put their shoes on the shoe shelf. The Sunflowers help themselves to cereal, pour their own milk and visit with their friends in the kitchen. As they finish, they scrape their bowls and wash their bowls in the child-sized sink and head to their classrooms. 

By 9:00, the Montessori work period has begun. During this period, the children are free to explore the carefully prepared environment. The children work with many different materials throughout the work period. They can refine their practical life skills by scooping grains or pouring liquids back and forth. They build towers with the sensorial materials while learning about gradation and if a three year old boy is involved: gravity! 

The math materials provided begin with simple number recognition and graduate up to counting to one hundred. The students can also explore addition, subtraction, multiplication, division... The possibilities are endless. Children begin to learn to write and recognize letters in the language program seamlessly leading to learning how to read. Science, geography and culture are studied using the Montessori maps and our very own teachers' cultural backgrounds and world traveling experiences. 

Around 11:30, the work period wraps up and the kids gather for their circle. In circle, they talk about the monthly geography curriculum, sing songs, read books and play games. Everyone is excused from circle to wash their hands and join their friends at the tables for lunch.  Lunch is served family style. The lead teacher talks about what is for lunch and shows how to serve oneself. As food is passed around, each child practices their manners and serves up lunch. "Bon appetit! Now you may eat!" 

After lunch, everyone gears up for some outside time. Around 1:00p, everyone returns to the classrooms for rest time until snack time.  Snack is prepared by fellow Sunflowers in the morning in practical life activities and served up buffet style in the kitchen; as each child gets up from rest time they serve themselves snack and visit with friends.  

Between 3:30 and 4:30p, the Sunflowers enjoy a specialist activity. Depending on the day and the month, kids enjoy art, music, dance, gymnastics, and language. From 4:30 on the kids enjoy some free time doing art, playdough, or blocks.  Our day is over at 5:30p, when the students head home to practice their new skills.