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OCTOBER CALENDAR  

1st Day of School Pics!

  

  • Monday, October 12th: SCHOOL CLOSED / NO DAYCARE for Staff Development Day
  • Thursday, October 15th 10:17am: Great California Shakeout Earthquake Awareness
  • Saturday, October 17th 10am-2pm: Community Building Day
  • Thursday, October 22nd: MESA field trip to Rhythmix 
  • Friday, October 23rd 9am: Encinal Campus Fall Photo Day
  • Monday, October 26th: North American Cultural Unit begins
  • Monday - Friday, October 26th-30th: Parent Observation Week
Our Schools
In This Issue
:: Pacific Campus
:: Taylor Campus
:: Encinal Campus
:: Music with Mr. Steve
:: MESA
From Cindy's Desk

At Orientation night, I shared with parents,  that I was engaged in reading a book called "The Art of Pilgrimage," by Phil Couseneau  (I lead a choir in Marin, and I was reading the book for musical inspiration for the songs we are singing this weekend).   However, I couldn't discard my educator sense of being, and my thinking quickly began to segue into thoughts about how 'deep' parenting is a pilgrimage.  

I think there is a difference between 'deep parenting' and just being a parent.  It reminded me, as the author suggested, that there is a profound difference between taking a vacation and going on a journey.  There is the tourist model of a vacation, where you have a blast, and visit all of the touristy sites, see the shows, live in and out of the car, at some point taking pictures for the sake of taking pictures, and you get home tired and happy, and not so sure you are ready to embark on a return to the daily grind the next day (laundry to do, things to put away or toss ("why did I bring that back?") and no more time to go back to the memories of the trip, other than when answering the typical questions regarding your vacation.  However fun - it is possible that you actually never got to speak to the native residents, or see what their lived experience was - only the experiences that are manufactured for tourism.

Then there is the journey or pilgrimage model - I went on one years ago when I traveled to Jamaica. We went to a resort, Michael Bolton was performing there, and so was every food one could imagine, and beauty all around! However, one day, I had a brief conversation with one of the employees, and he said something in Jamaican dialect, and I wanted to know more about the history of the language.  He told me that it was difficult to explain because language, he said, lives inside of the people.  I asked him where those people were, and asked him to take us there.  He said he was not allowed, but eventually, we bribed him with a pair of shoes, and met him around the back of the resort, and went on a journey to the 'other' parts of Jamaica, where there are no resorts, but where there is poverty and orphans - and people who amid their lack, move their bodies and voices in almost constant song - the music of reggae.  That was an experience indelibly imprinted in my memory on many levels including the gift of calling upon music to move one through challenging moments.  The people, their spirit and the way music moved them was inspirational.

And so is deep parenting - it is moving, and like being on a purposeful journey.  One can certainly move through the daily grind of having family - clean the house, feed the children, go to work, bathe, schlep, change, discipline, and repeat.  Those are the 'daily criticals' of parenting.  However, in the midst of those 'daily criticals' lie stunning moments in time - never to be repeated in that way again.  From the funny ones (like the day my granddaughter who has limited language, opened the refrigerator door for the first time, and said, "Ooh! Baby, baby!" - to the sweet words (like today, when Annelise Vaughan came into the office, and said, "Cindy, do you know what? I just want to tell you - my dad is the greatest!" - or to the phenomenal moments in time when our child has learned new information, or passed a milestone, or shown themselves to be a leader.

I think deep parenting is like the difference between racing through time and walking through time, feeling the earth beneath the soles of your feet - the difference between having the trip, or longing for and living the experience.  When we move through life with our children, through our children and because of our children, the distraction of current events and daily 'stuff' matters not.  When we balance out the amount of good news does our child hears in a day, rather than the rhetoric of the challenges of the day, we feed them with hope. 

Deep parenting involves neurological steps to give us permanent impressions of our child's experience, as they are giving it to us verbally or experientially: giving our child moments of real listening, mentally recording what we've heard (especially since we only remember 20% of what we hear) - creating a visual memory of what our child is saying so that we hold onto its importance; interpreting it, so that it is not just a passing observation, but an understanding of what they are saying and feeling.  When that occurs, we will even begin to notice some living synchronicity - series of events that are markers in our child's growth, occurrences that mirror our lives as a child or as an adult (dual synchronicity in which you see the same markers in two parents or relatives). 
Once we begin to see those things, it becomes easy to pay attention and to ask ourselves - to what do we give our lives away?  Any time that we spend doing something is time (seconds, minutes, hours) that is taken from our lives.  Deep parenting will help to ensure that we've made conscious choice about giving precious time to ourselves and our children.  We then learn to say no to negative moments, no to the beliefs of others that do not serve you or your family well, and no to the things that are not important in the life of your child.  And with that no, we are freed up to find meaning in the experiences we have or that we observe with our child. We are no longer being a tourist parent, but a parent on a journey of constant discovery.  Rather than doing things to keep our child busy (and there are those necessary times, believe me), we also seek the places and times of meaning.  We researched a field trip for the students for pumpkins in October, and I couldn't find a place nearby that had pumpkins that they could actually cut (or watch someone cut) from the vine.  "Startling!" I said to the person after the 10th call.  So although the Primary students will have a wonderful experience, I am reminded that as adults, we forget that they need is deeper - experiences to help them move from the act of narcissism to empathy, from 'me'ism to helpfulness; from helplessness to resilience.

Enjoy this journey this year.  In October, we have Parent Observation Week - we encourage you to come and observe your child in class.  We are asking parents to research the meaning of your child's name and/or a story that has to do with their name.  Please record it in some form, discuss it with your child and allow them to bring it to class.  Find and read the book, The Discovery of the Child by Montessori, or Montessori, the Elementary Years to refine your reason for having your child here - and to assist you to experience your child's experience - as a journey.

Blessings,
Cindy
,
PACIFIC CAMPUS 

Toddler Class
Ms. Rose & Ms. Merle   

Dear Parents,
 
Welcome to our new school year! We really enjoyed seeing all of you who made it to our Parent Meeting and our School Picnic!
 
Some students are still acclimatizing to being at school, but everyone is having a great time.  We have been working in our Practical Life area, mostly on gross motor, and the beginnings of fine motor, with whole hand grasp transfer (aka. put and takes).  Working with water (sponging, pouring, and our mini baster transferring work) has everyone happy as clams. We have also been experiencing our Sensorial works, most notably our pink tower, brown stair, red rods, and knobbed cylinder blocks.  Rolling rugs is popular, and often you will hear children singing "roll, roll, roll, smooth, pat, pat, pat, smooth, pat, pat, pat" at all times of the day.
 
At circle time, we have been singing lots of songs, including "Going on a Bear Hunt", "Sleeping Bear", "Wheels on the Bus", and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider", with their Spanish counterparts "Brilla Brilla, Estrellita", and "Araña pequiñita".We have been reading "The Peace Book" and "The Family Book" by Todd Parr, and talking about who is in our individual families.
 
A huge thank you to the Baldwin Family for bringing in 7 Todd Parr books for our classroom library! Thanks also goes out to the Wehman-Brown Family for the donation of coffee beans, to the Goldin family for the beautiful coffee grinder and the Musson/Mascorro Family for bringing in coffee canisters to make new works for our classroom!
 
To help out with our class needs, please check out our class need list and amazon wish list.

Thank you,
Ms. Rose and Ms. Merle 
 
Pre-Primary Class
Ms. Mari & Ms. Zoe
 
Dear Pre-Primary Families,
 
We welcome you to a wonderful and exciting new school year. We have been very busy in the classroom and off to a great start.
The children began our school year learning about themselves and their families.  We learned the word, "unique" which means special and unlike any other. In circle time, we had discussions about what makes each of us us unique. We talked about the ways in which we are different and/or similar and how these made us special. The children made self portraits and this was furthur proof of our "uniqueness".

We incorporated this theme into our unit on the family. We each got a special turn to lead circle and share our own family pictures. (We are continuing this into this week). The children got to tell us who was in their family picture, who is not in the picture but is still a part of their family, and what makes their family special or an activity they like to do with their family. We read many different books about different kinds of families. Todd Parr's, "The Family Book" was definitely one of our favorites.The children are enjoying making family trees! They could put anyone they choose to in their family tree.

The children had their very first earthquake drill, preceded by an interesting and informative discussion in circle about what to do in the event of an earthquake. The children learned to, "Stop, Drop, and Hold On". They were also taught how to duck and cover, and get under the safety of a table if possible. Stay tuned for our up and coming fire drill and discussion. It is important that children know what to do in the event of an emergency. Please be sure to talk about and even practice these procedures at home.

Last Friday we enjoyed our first walking field trip to McKinkey Park. The children are really enjoying their time together in class.
A special thank you to Nancy Schreiber for donating lots of fun and interesting activities to our class! Thank you to John Danza for helping make our campus beautiful!

We are in need of a CD player with Aux capability, a beautiful oval rug, and a fish specialist to help with our class fish tank!  Please let us know if you can help!

Thank you,
Ms. Mari & Ms. Zoe 

TAYLOR CAMPUS
 
Toddler Class 
Ms. Porshia & Ms. Sara 
 
We started the year with several presentations for the children, demonstrating the correct way to walk in the line, push in your chair, roll the rug and pour water. Learning these skills will allow for smooth transitions for the rest of the year. We also had great fun sharing and discussing the history of each child's name.

We are learning new vocabulary words this month, like: earthquake, autumn, September, North America, red, yellow, child,  blue, community and family. The children loved drawing portraits of themselves and their families too.

The students have enjoyed reading together the following books: "The Family Book." by Todd Carr, "Don't Push That Button," by Bill Cotter and "I Took the Moon for a Walk," by Carol Curtis and Alison Jay. Students are learning the beginning letter sounds this month of a,m,c and t.

The children have been introduced to the numbers 0-3. They are also learning how to use the following Sensorial materials: the red rod, bionomial cube, and brown stairs. The love the color and texture of these materials and are learning works for each one.

Practical Life is also an exciting new area as students do works with transferring, from whole hand grasp of pouring beans with two plastic glasses to the whole hand grasp bean transfer and paper tearing. This improves wrist and small muscle movement as well. 
   
Thank you,  
Ms. Porshia & Ms. Sara  

Primary 3 Class 
Ms. Nina & Ms. Nicole
 
Dear Primary Three Families,

Welcome to the 2015- 2016 school year! We are so happy so see new and returning families in our classroom.

We've been talking about the ground rules in the classroom, cleaning up after ourselves and making sure that the works are ready for the next person, as well as using grace and courtesy by using kind words to each other.

Practical Life materials are being used to focus on whole hand grasp using whole hand transfer works with beads, tong work with big pom poms, dry pouring, scooping with beans and having fun with play dough. The children love the walking on the line activity, which promotes their concentration skills and improves their balance and gross motor skills.

As part of learning about care of the environment in Practical Life activities, we will be cleaning, sweeping and scrubbing our lunch area every Wednesday afternoon. We have cleaning materials that students can use (the carpet sweeper happens to be everyone's current favorite) so that they can can enjoy learning how to take care of their environment. 

The concepts of gradation of size and length is being reinforced with the use of Sensorial materials such as the pink cubes, brown prisms and red rods. The children are very creative in building their own designs and some are really fascinated in making a maze using the red rods. 

The children also like working with the power of two, binomial and trinomial materials. These works prepare them to understand and experience the concept of algebra. We are learning and reviewing the numbers 1-10 and teens using the numerals and counters, number rods and the teen board. Some children are even working on addition (sum up to 10). As part of Math, we are counting to 100 for the 100th day of school by doing a paper chain every day. 

The Language works are being done to prepare the children for reading and analytical thinking. Such works as the picture to picture matching, patterning and what doesn't belong are great fun. We are also learning the letter sounds s, m, t and a. 
The children are engaged in doing different kinds of metal inset extensions. We are reading "Charlotte's Web," by E.B. White, a true classic!

We have just finished our discussions for the child and family cultural unit. The children shared their family pictures and discussed their family members to their friends. We also discussed the parts of the body using a puzzle. In addition, we learned all about living and non-living things. We have now begun the world cultural unit  and will be talking about the 7 continents of the world. We are going to search and discuss the home countries of each of the children's families.

We celebrated International Peace Day by visiting our friends in the toddler and elementary classrooms and singing the song, "Light a candle for Peace" (with sign language). We also gave out Peace Flowers that the students created, to all Taylor friends. 

Thank you to the Tomasulo family for donating wash cloths, an indoor plant and a fan and the Biggs family for donating a fan, and thank you to the Hu and Dean families for donating indoor plants and the Sadaskaus family for donating a sand table. And thank you to the Rodgers family for washing our work rugs over the weekend. We have such wonderful parents!!!

Please make sure to label all your child's belongings. We also need more indoor plants, a net book and assistance cleaning the fish tank.

Thank you,
Ms. Nina and Ms. Nicole
ENCINAL CAMPUS 
 
Primary 1 Class
Ms. Alondra & Ms. Kwan  
 
First and foremost we would like to welcome all new and returning families to our class.  We are very excited about the year ahead of us and are looking forward to getting to know you all better.  Primary One is all about family.  Come join us for lunch, share your special talent, or simply read a book to the class during circle time.  Thank you to all parents who attended the Parent's Night your presence and time was greatly appreciated.
 
The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to establish the ground rules of the classroom. The ground rules are what keep everyone safe both inside and outside of the classroom. In Primary One, we are focusing on the 4 P's, which are: peaceful, polite, patient, and positive. Children are learning to be peaceful with their own bodies, their friends' bodies, and the classroom materials and environment. Slowly but surely Primary One inhabitants are remembering to walk while in the classroom, push their chairs in, wash their hands, and return materials neatly to the shelf. We have already begun learning the song, "Teaching Peace" by Red Grammer. 

In  honor of diversity and varying family structures, as a class, we have read, "Shades of People" by Shelley Rotner & Shelia Kelly, "Who's in a Family" by Robert Skutch, and "A Rainbow of Friends" by P.K. Hallinan. 
 
In the coming week, children will begin memorizing their address and phone number of one parent or guardian. Please submit your preference if you have not done so already.  Additionally, a book about students of Primary One is being made. Please complete the form with your student and return as soon as possible. 

The fall season is almost upon us, it is the perfect time for kids to discover the pumpkin family and study the life-cycle of a pumpkin.  They will learn the parts of a leaf and participate in various art projects involving leaves. Our class wish list is posted above the class sign-in be sure to check it out.  

Lastly, we would like to thank Natasha Andrade for volunteering to wash our class work rugs and Michelle and Anthony DeVito for donating plants and flowerpots to the class.

Thank you,
Ms. Alondra & Ms. Kwan
 
Primary 2 Class
Mr. Joseph & Ms. Verise & Ms. Isabella 

Here in Primary Two, we have been very excited to welcome in the new school year and the TCU families!

Speaking of families, last week marked the beginning of our unit on "Child, Family and Community."bWe have been reading stories about families around the world and celebrating the diversity of family structures and cultures that we're finding both in our books and in our own homes. As such, we request that the children bring in items related to the families they love for our Wednesday sharing circles this month as well as a picture (or multiple pictures) of each person in your family to be photo copied and used in projects.

When not busy doing class projects, the children have been happily engrossed in a number of new works on the shelves of our classroom. They've been practicing their small gross motor skills by transferring various small objects with different tools, such as a spoon, chopsticks, and tongs. The weather has been hot, so the children have been doing various water play projects to cool down, such as water bucket transfer and scrubbing our fence with water and soap.
 
Math works range from opportunities to practice writing numbers to skip counting, to multiplication.

We are practicing our hand writing and increasing our comfort with the pencil grip by using stencils and tracing our name cards. We're preparing for reading by identifying patterns, ordering sequences of events and identifying the beginning sounds of words.

We've introduced new Sensorial works to our shelves such as the geometric solids, how to match different solid materials while wearing a blindfold and a bell. This assists the children to improve their skills to check their balance and grace while walking around the classroom rug.

Our circle times this month have been filled with lessons on grace and courtesy; discussions about our families and practice reading a calendar in English as well as in Spanish. During these Spanish session, we're also learning new Spanish songs base off of nursery rhymes.  

All the best from
Mr. Joseph, Ms. Verise, and Ms. Isabella

Music with Mr. Steve

 
The students are off to a great start. We have already spent time learning how to write note heads, stems and beams. They have learned all the notes on the spaces of the musical staff and will be writing them down all week.
 
We also started learning how to play the baritone ukulele. Students should all know what notes the instrument is tuned to and how to play a G Major chord. There are also finger
exercises that the students should be working on. Pressing down each fret up the neck of the ukulele and making sure to get a tone out of each one.
 
This month we will be working on ukulele basics, as well as the basic foundation for reading and writing music. And hopefully we will be singing songs by the end of the month.
 
Special thanks to Fatma and Carrie, for stepping in and supporting the music class at TCU.
 
Thanks, Steve
MESA (Montessori Elementary School of Alameda)
Ms. Fatma

 
I would like to welcome all the new and returning students to the MESA classroom. It is going to be a wonderful year!
 
This month, each day begins with silent reading. This allows the children to settle down and get ready to concentrate. We use a similar technique to get back into an academic mode after lunch, when I read to the entire class. Each child has their own language learning plan for reading and writing, which will develop as I get to know them better.

The students enjoyed doing creative art, which included cutting, gluing, printing and tracing. Their work allowed me to learn about their skills and needs so that I can guide and assist them each appropriately. 

The children are having fun going to the Farmer's Market on Webster every Tuesday to purchase snack for the entire Taylor campus. In this way, they are able to use the math skills they learn in class for practical purposes, like addition, subtraction and multiplication. They write the snack list, figure out how much each child will eat per day and then calculate how much will be needed for one week. We get out and about to select and pay for it. In addition we calculate how much time they will need to do everything, as well as how much change they will receive after purchases, if there is any. They carry it back to school, wash it and keep it ready for all the other children at the campus. I am so proud of them. They even make sure they taste every little thing that they can at the market. They don't miss a chance! LOL!

We tend to go out to the park as much as we can for scientific exploration. We talk about seasons, as well as hibernation. The older children learn about the types of leaves they find and the name of the tree to match the shape of the leaf. The students also enjoy using the Sensorial works to refresh their senses.

During this month's Cultural Studies, we learned to sing a song about peace for International Peace Day. Here is a link on YouTube for the song. Play it in the car and see let me know their reaction. 

We sang to the younger children who enjoyed it and were happy that their older friends played their Ukuleles for them. Some children are also learning about Ghandi and Maria Montessori and how they influence thoughts on peace.
 
Special Thank You's go out to each one of my wonderful parents and their lovely children (and my co-workers). You are all so nice and friendly! I had expectations for the type of help and support I would receive when I first came to the U.S., but what I am actually receiving is so much more than what I expected. Thank you all for your love and support. Thank you for your lovely smiles. Special thanks to Sheri Smith who just makes everything and anything happen for the children and for the class!

P.S.: We are preparing for our first great lesson. Some children are working on preparing the items we need but I haven't said a word about what will it be. It is going to be a great surprise and I hope they enjoy it.

Thank you,
Ms. Fatma
 ANNOUNCEMENTS
   
Congratulations to Mei-Ling and her husband: Kayden Tasashi Jenks arrived on Friday, September 11th at 6:06am. 6 lbs 7 oz, 20 inches long. He is looking forward to meeting his TCU family soon.


And congratulations to Pauline Sigg on becoming a big sister! And to her parents, Marion and Antoine on the birth of their baby girl Mathilde!
       
TCU Wish List:
*Zucchinis from your garden. We have a parent who has graciously offered to bake zucchini bread from donated zucchini for the children's snack. Please let us know if you have zucchinis, so that we can co-ordinate.
*Tablets or laptops for the teachers for classroom management
*Fruit from your back-yard tree for the children's snack
The Child Unique Montessori School & The Montessori Elementary School of Alameda (MESA)

Main Office:
2226 Encinal St./Alameda/CA 94501
(510) 521- 9227 /
(510) 521-9246 fax

Taylor Office:
1400 6th St./Alameda/CA 94501
(510)521-0595

thechildunique@yahoo.com