New Website for Hopewell Montessori School

We have updated our website at www.hopewellmontessori.com. Please check out all of the new content we have, including resources, forms, our calendar, FAQ's about Montessori and about our school, and much more. All of our news items (formerly found here on our blog) will be incorporated into the new website. Please visit often!

Summer Camp 2008

Summer Camp is in full swing at Hopewell. This past two week session was circus themed - the children learned to juggle and walk the tight rope, to tame lions and perform acrobatics. The grand finale of the camp was a clown parade around Hopewell. We had quite the collection of clowns!

Car Seat Safety

With so many types of car seats for children and ever-changing guidelines for what type of restraints to use to keep your child safe, it is hard to keep up and ensure that you are always as safe as possible. There will be a Car Seat Safety Inspection on Saturday, May 31 from 10am-2pm at the Days Chevrolet, 3693 N. Cobb Parkway in Acworth. You can have your car seat checked or installed by experts in car seat safety, ask questions, and gain a little peace of mind. Dianna Vaughn, Danielle's mom, is a Safe Kids representative - if you have any questions, she should be able to help.

Hopewell's "Wish List"

Some parents have asked us what is on our “wish list” for Hopewell. We always welcome gifts and donations of any kind, from art supplies to books to music to nature and cultural items. We love an ever-changing variety of items to learn about and explore.

Some items we can think of that we would love to add to our classrooms are:

· Butterfly Kit (watch caterpillars grow into beautiful butterflies)

· Bird and Frog “IdentiFlyer” (learn to discriminate bird and frog songs)

· Squirrel Feeder (a corn feeder that resembles a windmill would be fun to watch!)

· Drum or any rhythm instrument

· Kids in Motion CD

· Carlos Nakai CD (Native American flute music)

Spring Pictures!

We will have Spring Pictures on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. We will do a group picture at 10:30 if your child is not in school on Tuesday and you would like to be a part of that. Thanks to Rebecca Cook of Sugar Bella Photography, and mommy of Bella, for providing her photography expertise.

Hurray For Spring...Graduation and the End of the Year

The beginning of new life
Flowers, insects, chicks...
The end of the school year
Swimming, summer camp, family vacations...

This time of year is always bittersweet for me. I observe the growth and maturation of the children in my class and know for some it is time for them to leave the nest. We will celebrate Taze Lamb, John Gormley, Carley Schwelling, and Elizabeth Hicks, as they have completed the work in the Montessori primary program. We will hold a short graduation ceremony during our family picnic on Saturday, May 17 at 4:30. All of the children will be a part of this celebration through song and fellowship.
The family picnic will be a group pot luck event from 4:30-6:30 on May 17. Friends and extended families are welcome to join us to celebrate the end of a great year at Hopewell. The families of non-graduating students will host the picnic for the families of the graduates.

If your child is 2 or 5 years old, please bring drinks.
If your child is 3 years old, please bring dessert or a fruit dish.
If your child is 4 years old, please bring a main dish or vegetable dish.

Also on May 17, we will be holding a community open house between 10am-2pm. If you know of any families who might be interested in learning more about Hopewell Montessori School, who have a child between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years, please stop by the office to pick up an invitation for them to the open house.

Seeking References for Hopewell

Parents, we are in the process of updating our marketing materials, and would love to ask a favor of you. We would love to include references from some of our parents at Hopewell in the information we give prospective parents. If you feel that you have something to say to a parent deciding on a school for their child, I would love for you to email me at lorien@hopewellmontessori.com.

We really appreciate all of the support that you, our families, have shown us over these past few years - thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We could not continue to grow and thrive without each of you.

Spring Break

Have a wonderful Spring Break, school will be closed April 7-11! We look forward to the warm weather when we return!

Mom and Dad, Look at Me!

We enjoyed the parent and child open house last weekend very much. Thanks to all who attended! The children were able to give lessons to their parents and wow them with their skills, knowledge, grace, and courtesy. Here are some pictures of our parents learning as the children do...

Parent/Child Open House This Saturday!

Please join us on Saturday, March 29 between 10:00-12:00 for our Parent/Child Open House. Your child will give you lessons on the work they do in our class and give you a little insight into their daily activities. Please let your child be your guide through your time in the classroom with us. Plan to spend 30-45 minutes in the classroom between the hours of 10-12.

Infant and Toddler Program Coming Soon!

We are very excited to announce that we are expanding and adding an infant and toddler community at Hopewell in mid-April. We will have a small group of children beginning at 6 weeks old. These children will work primarily on motor skills, social interactions, and language development. If you have an infant or toddler and are interested in more information, let me know. Please help us spread the word about our new program!

Summer Camp

Hopewell Summer Camp Information

For current students, we have two options for the summer months. You may choose to continue your school year schedule throughout the summer sessions at the same monthly payment, due on June 1 and July 1. This represents a discount for our returning families for continuing with us through the entire summer.

You also may choose to pick summer sessions "a la carte" if you would like to join us for only part of the summer. In this case, the schedule and prices are listed below, with the camp fees due on the first day of each session. We will waive the camp deposits for our current families. We have current student registration forms available in the information boxes outside. Please register soon as space is limited!

Ages 3-9 (all current students are eligible)

Session I: Shake, Rattle, and Roll

May 26-June 6

Session II: Just Clowning Around

June 9-June 20

Session III: Discovering The Artist Within

June 23-July 3

Session IV: Habitats at Hopewell

July 7-July 18

Session V: Olympic Size Fun

July 21-August 1

Each session is two weeks, Monday-Friday

Half Day Program

8:30am-11:45pm

$265/session

Full Day Program

8:30am-3:00om

$350/session

Extended Day Program

8:30am-6:30pm

$475/session

Mornings

7:00am-8:30am

$50/session

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

We will introduce the children to the joy of music-making through a wide variety of activities including singing, clapping, moving to rhythm and playing simple instruments. The children will make music constructing instruments with flower pots, bamboo rhythm sticks and musical hose. We will create our own orchestra and learn songs to sing. Parents and friends will be invited to join us the second Friday evening for a backyard sing-a-long.

Just Clowning Around

This session is going to be a three ring circus! The children will have a blast this session learning to balance like the tight rope walkers. We will practice walking heel to toe along a line and proceed to develop our balancing act by carrying items like a ball in our hands or a book on our heads. We will learn to juggle using scarves and soft juggling balls. We will put on plays for each other acting out as lions and lion tamers, elephants and their keepers, and of course, clowns. On our final Friday of this session the children will be invited to wear bright colored clothing and we will paint their faces in clown make-up and, just for giggles, we will have our clowns parade around campus.

Discovering the Artist Within

Last year our exploration of the great masters was such fun we have decided to play it again. We will revisit some of our favorite artists from last year such as Mondrian, Picasso, and Kandinsky. We will also meet some additional artists including M.C. Escher with his stairs leading nowhere, Henri Matisse and his brightly colored paintings and Georgia O’Keefe with her giant flowers that cover the whole page. We will study these masterpieces and create some of our own! Looking at art with children is a wonderful activity, as they are so honest and direct about what they like and why. Parents are invited to an art exhibit and snack on the last day of the session.

Habitats at Hopewell

This session we will explore our campus and discover the different areas that our native creatures call home. We will learn about the specific things that help the butterflies, chipmunks, squirrels, birds and worms feel at home and find ways to make them happier here at Hopewell. We will work in our butterfly garden, we will compost our vegetable and fruit scraps and add worms to help the compost move along and we will use our field guide to help us identify the diverse variety of birds attracted to their habitat here at Hopewell. Our large campus is the perfect environment for nature walks, bird-watching, and exploration.

Olympic Size Fun

We will hold our own Summer Olympics at Hopewell. The children will run races, throw for distance, practice the long jump, tumble and dance. The children will have great fun as they develop strength, coordinate their movements and increase their stamina. In true Montessori form, our Olympics will be a competition with ourselves. We will look at how often and far we can run and jump on the first week and compare it to how well we do on the last day. Parents are invited to join us for closing ceremonies Friday evening.

The topics we focus on in each session are a part of the daily life of a Montessori classroom. We are choosing to highlight them individually during our summer camp. The other materials that are a traditional part of a Montessori class will also be available to your child during the camp sessions.

Parent Meeting Thursday!

Thursday, March 6 6:30-8:00pm

The Mathematical Mind

Mathematics is more than counting to one hundred or learning one’s addition facts. A mathematical mind is one that can calculate, investigate, measure, and be exact. When the mathematical mind is fostered, it enables the child to be logical, to imagine, and to create uniquely original ideas. These abilities will help your child with his ever changing future. Learn more about how your child is developing a Mathematical Mind with each day here at Hopewell. Please feel free to bring a friend or family member.

Child care is available for $5 per child, please RSVP for your children by Wednesday, March 5. We will provide pizza and fruit for the children.

Upcoming Events and a Calendar Change

Our Parent/Child Open House was scheduled for Saturday, February 16. We will be rescheduling this event for Saturday, March 29 due to a continuing education conference next weekend!

February 11-15, February 18, 19 - Parent Conferences If you have not scheduled a parent conference time, please do so soon! This is an opportunity for us to sit down with you and discuss your child's progess one on one.
February 18-22 Winter Break - School is closed!

Valentine's Day

We will celebrate this holiday with a class party during which the children will be invited to exchange valentine cards. Valentine cards that are homemade are a delight to receive! Making cards can be a great way to spend a gloomy winter day. Whether your child creates his own cards or wants the packaged ones from the store, exchanging valentines is a tradition. When preparing the valentines, please write (or have your child write) his or her name on each card. Please DO NOT address the cards to individual children; we will make sure that each child receives a card. We have 32 children in our class, so please send enough for each child. The children will enjoy an art activity where they will create a valentine mail bag in class at the beginning of the week. For children not in school on Valentine's Day, we will send home their Valentine's bag on their next day at school.

Australia

I returned to school today after an 18 day trip to Australia (I apologize about the tardiness of this newsletter!) I shared some pictures and experiences from my trip with the class, including the wildlife and art that I encountered.

I brought home a didgeridoo, an aboriginal musical instrument made of tree branches hollowed by termites. The didgeridoo is the world's oldest wind instrument. The children all laughed at the deep resonating sound the instrument makes. The instrument will join our music shelf in the class, and we will have an ongoing art lesson to create didgeridoos of our own. If your child would like to design his/her own didgeridoo, please send a paper towel roll to school.

Teaching Peace

From Buddhism – “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga 5, 18).

From Hinduism –“Do not unto others what would cause you pain if done to you.” (Mahaoharata 5,1517).

From Judaism –“What is hateful to you, do not do to others.” (Talmud, Shabbat 3 id).

From Taoism - “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” (Tai Shang Kan Ying p’ien).

From Christianity – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12).

From Islam – “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.” (Sunnah).

This maxim, in any of the above wordings, serves as a base for acquiring common virtues we want to develop in the children of our classroom community: love, compassion, forgiveness, honesty, truthfulness, kindness….

We develop these virtues in our class not by lecturing the children but by letting the children put these virtues into practice. The children interact with one another moving about the class calmly, speaking to one another with words and tone that are respectful, helping one another when needed, teaching a friend a new lesson one has mastered and comforting a friend who is sad or hurt. The adults in the class act as role models in the class we treat the children as we want the children to treat one another. The adults move about the class the way we want the children to move about and we speak to the children and each other the way we expect the children to.

Last week a parent came to observe our class and wrote this on the observation form: “I’m afraid my daughter will be too disruptive for this class.” Keep in mind the incredibly calm class she was observing was in the first week back after the holiday break and we had several new children in the class. I know many of you felt the same way when you observed and your children have successfully joined our community without causing chaos.

We have focused the past two weeks on teaching peace and learned a little about our school’s namesake, Dr. Maria Montessori, and how important she believed children are in the future of peace on our planet. We also learned about Dr. Martin Luther King who devoted his life to helping all people be treated with respect and dignity. Dr. King made great changes in our world and he did this through peaceful exchange of ideas. The children celebrate peace in our class in honor of these two leaders who long before they joined the world worked toward helping us have a peaceful environment to live, work and play in.

One of our favorite songs is called Teaching Peace:

Teaching peace all the world around.

You and me, every city, every town.

One by one, in our work and in our play.

We are teaching peace by what we do and what we say.

It’s up to us to show we care reaching out to every body everywhere

So take my hand and come along, it’s time to teach the world a brand new song.

Teaching peace all the world around….