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I trust that you will find our classroom an exciting, attractive, lively and engaging place to be. Together we will create an atmosphere that is fair and just, and allows us to develop to our unique potentials. I am excited to share this journey and all of the promises that it holds with you. Onward we go, with flexibility and love! Jaime JaniszewskiJaime@traversechildrenshouse.org _ Room Parents |
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Classroom Highlights
December 16, 2024
Dear Willow Families,
In Montessori pedagogy, you will hear the term "second plane" when talking about elementary children. This term refers to the second of four planes that Maria Montessori observed and noted about children's growth and development.
You might be familiar with the term absorbent mind, a sponge-like capacity to absorb information, which is an extraordinary sensitivity or superpower, that children in the first plane of development (0-6) have that other age groups do not. However, as your learner moved into elementary, the second plane of development, they no longer possessed that absorbent mind but have a new exceptional sensitivity, which is their superpower: IMAGINATION!
We recognize that nature has made this a period for the acquisition of culture, just as the former was for the absorption of the environment. We are confronted with a considerable development of consciousness that has already taken place, but now that consciousness is thrown outwards with a special direction, intelligence being extroverted. ~ Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential
You have probably noticed that your Imaginative Explorer wants to know the how and why of everything. They create other lands and worlds, and they are time travelers. You have likely observed that your elementary child can be wherever they want to be in their minds and often are. They have never-ending questions and what-ifs that let you know their imaginations are always at work. You've likely experienced your second-plane child's love of telling, writing, and drawing stories, some based on real experiences and some on their own created adventures.
It is a great honor to spend my days with your explorers. Taking into consideration their unique imaginative superpowers, we are talking about how early humans spent most of their time outside. We have discussed and imagined how early humans relied on the light of the sun to meet their fundamental human needs to find food, create shelter, make clothes, and other requirements for survival. Your imaginative learners have traveled through time to explore the magnificent discoveries of revolution, rotation, and the earth's axial tilt, leading to discussions about equinoxes and solstices. We have acknowledged the scientific explanation for the seasons, and we will celebrate the cultural importance of the winter solstice this week.
I hope you will take a moment over the winter holidays to immerse yourself in your explorer's imaginative worlds. In a few short years, they will transition into the third plane of development, adolescence, with a new set of sensitivities and superpowers. My winter holiday wish for all of us is to capture a bit of that child-like imaginative magic. Immersion in their worlds is often a gift to our adult hearts and minds but equally thrilling to our children.
I wish you love, light, and joy this holiday season! See you next year!
November 21, 2024
Dear Willow Families,
It was wonderful to see all of you for Parent Visiting Day. The lead-up is fun and exciting because the children are enthusiastic about sharing their work and proud of the new things they are learning. I also enjoyed meeting with each of you during conferences to discuss your young learners and all the unique ways they are developing. It is an important time of reflection for all of us.
We will soon turn our focus to winter. We are on a three-year cycle of winter celebrations, with Festivals of Light, the Winter Solstice, and Christmas Around the World. This year, we will learn about the Winter Solstice. We will focus our lessons on geography to study the occurrence of equinoxes and solstices due to the Earth's axial tilt and elliptical orbit around the Sun. We will also learn about Winter Solstice traditions, foods, and crafts.
Thank you for the books you generously donated to our classroom from Shop Your Community Day at Horizon Books. The children have already begun to enjoy them. Our current read-aloud book is from our gifted books, Mouse and His Dog: A Dogtown Book by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko.
The story follows Mouse who lives in Dogtown, a shelter for real dogs and robot dogs, where the kibble is plentiful, and the rafters hide a secret community of mice. His unlikely best friend is Buster, a big-hearted real dog who attracts trouble like a burr to fur. Determined to help Buster find his forever home, even if means losing his best pal, Mouse embarks on a bold quest with three of Dogtown’s “unadoptables”: Buster, Stewie--a huge, lovable dog whose ex-owner said he was mean, and Smokey--a robot dog hardwired with a smoke alarm he can’t control. But Mouse is just a mouse, and the world is big and complicated. How’s a little guy supposed to find homes for the dogs he loves?
The anticipation of our upcoming play, Stone Soup, on Monday, Harvest Feast on Tuesday, and Thanksgiving Break beginning on Wednesday has the room buzzing. The children are excited to share their play with you.
A note about the play: The actors should wear all black on Monday and Tuesday or bring all-black clothes to change into for the play, if they have them. They will have small costume pieces but not full costumes. The "final dress" performance for parents will begin at 2:45 pm on Monday, November 25th, and is only 10 minutes long.
Following our Harvest Feast in the gym on Tuesday, November 26th, we will spend our afternoon together before break playing board games. The children are welcome to bring a board game to share with their classmates.
Montessori said “Joy, feeling one’s own value, being appreciated and loved by others, feeling useful and capable of production are all factors of enormous value for the human soul.”
I hope you are all looking forward to a time of family, food, fun, rest, and rejuvenation in whatever way your family chooses to celebrate.
October 16, 2024
Dear Willow Families,
Hosting families in our classroom Thursday night to discuss How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Holmes was delightful. We began by watching the Ted Talk and then split into groups to discuss various topics from the book. One passage that stood out to me was on page 166 when she quotes psychologist Madeline Levine, "Don't do for your kid what your kid can already do, or can almost do." This sentiment aligns beautifully with Montessori's philosophy and her statement in the early 20th century, "Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed."
On page 167, Lythcott-Holmes supplies detailed lists of expectations broken down by age. Your children are capable of much more than what is on that list. One way to support this idea at home is the expectation of family contributions. It helps them to feel like they are a critical part of the family unit and that the family wouldn't work the same without them, fostering belonging and significance. We are scaffolding that at school as well. Each of your learners is a valuable member of our community, and our classroom needs them.
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How to raise successful kids -- without over-parenting By loading kids with high expectations and micromanaging their lives at every turn, parents aren't actually helping. At least, that's how Julie Lythcott-Haims sees it. With passion and wry humor, the former Dean of Freshmen at Stanford makes the case for parents to stop defining their children's success via grades and test scores. Instead, she says, they should focus on providing the oldest idea of all: unconditional love. |
We finished our read-aloud, Violet and Jobie in the Wild, and the students loved it. We will begin The One and Only Ivan this week. We cast the parts in the Stone Soup play, and your young performers are excited to start rehearsing. We will have a performance on Monday, November 25th, at 2:45 pm in the gym for all of you, and then they will perform on Tuesday, November 26th, for elementary, jr. high, and admin prior to the Harvest Feast.
We are excited to return to the High Rollaway Observation Deck for our Fall visit this Friday. The colors are glorious, and I can't wait to experience them with the children. They will need a water bottle and a good breakfast. We will have a filling snack, but they will not have lunch until 12:30 pm. Please ensure they dress for the weather, it will likely be chilly.
Volunteer Opportunity: If you are interested in helping with Pumpkin Fun Day, which will happen on October 31st, please contact Emily Modrall (emily.modrall@gmail.com) and Lauren Magnatta (ljmagnatta@gmail.com). They could really use parent support - this is a lower elementary event. It is something the children LOVE and look forward to each Fall.
A note from the specialists
Gym:
The Willow and Birch groups have been having an especially good time in the gym with parachute games and obstacle courses. We have used these activities to have conversations about self-control and kindness, both of these activities work best when the entire group can exhibit these strengths.
Art:
Afternoon art in the Willow and Birch classrooms have been focusing on making their personalized placemats for the year. This is an annual first art project event and it is taken very seriously by the students. They are able to first design, using whatever theme they choose, and then paint their canvas placemat. When everything is painted with two coats of acrylic paint, the students then have the option to add details with Sharpie. It is a really wonderful tradition that really displays the personality and character of each student.
Music:
So far this year the Willow and Birch classes have been working on their note reading skills in order to begin our instrumental cycle on Orff instruments. We have begun working on the Kookaburra song as the entrance into melody and harmony, this will then be translated onto the Orff instruments
September 16, 2024
Dear Willow Families!
It has been wonderful being back in the classroom with the children. It has been a delight getting to know all the new students and reconnecting with our returning students. The third years are stepping up beautifully in their mentor roles, and all your learners are getting into the rhythm of our school day's work cycle and routine.
We had such a lovely day at Camp LOC on Friday. As always, the students loved their time there, and we returned to school exhausted and happy. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our class picnic on Friday evening and loved the excitement of the children as they saw each other. It was as if they had not just spent an entire day together at LOC!
We've learned a lot of songs, played games, and heard giggles as Jana and I acted out how to be (and not to be) a positive member of our community. We've had lots of lessons outside and begun to talk about how we want to feel in our classroom and how to create an environment that supports everyone's learning. Our read-aloud books currently focus on how our government works, the different branches of government, early champions of hard-earned rights, and how voting works. We've discussed how children can make a difference in our world even though they can't vote yet. They have had such profound questions and thoughtful comments.
Montessori said "The child, that 'forgotten citizen' must be appreciated in accordance with his true value. His rights as a human being who shapes all of mankind must become sacred." My hope is to instill in the children that they can change our world for the better.
I managed to capture a few pictures during the first two weeks, and I wanted to pass them on to you. Thank you for sharing your children with us each day.