May your holidays be merry and bright! This month we are brightening up our community through giving to the others this season. We have been discussing all of the things we have in our lives that we are thankful for, and this month it is time to give back to others. We are learning about community helpers for the month of December, and we will be discussing all of the ways we can help people within our community for the giving season. We will be doing a giving tree, which will be filled with ornaments that list donation items to be bought for local families in need. Trees on the main and toddler decks will have tags with a child or adult and a Christmas gift for them. You and your child can choose a special ornament, pick out gifts together, and drop them off at school UNWRAPPED by December 15th!
For our community helper theme this month, we will be learning about what it means to be a part of a community and those that positively impact our neighborhoods, schools, and the groups we are a part of. Our works for December will be all about different occupations, vehicles, and tools. The children will learn the names of different community helpers and the tools and vehicles they use through “go together” and categorizing activities. We will also have out different tool works such as, peg hammering and nut and bolt boards. We will be discussing how we can all be helpers in our classroom community and will have out different Practical Life activities to go along with this. Some of these activities to promote responsibility and doing our part in our school will include dishwashing, chair washing, sweeping, and table crumbing. These Montessori works allow the students to practice real life skills that will aid them in helping our classroom community. For the holidays, we will be doing fine motor activities such as cinnamon grating and we will be using the ground cinnamon to sprinkle onto sliced apples and to sprinkle into homemade oatmeal for food prep activities. The children have been working together on classroom jobs through their job charts, so the kids can continue to take more ownership and responsibility of their roles in contributing to their classroom. This month some of our students will have the chance to apply for new classroom jobs. They will make a resume and interview for the job they would like to have for the month. We will also have various community helpers like a doctor, the Ocean City Police Department, and the Ocean City Fire Department coming in to teach our students about their jobs.
For our continent exploration this month, we will travel to Europe and explore the animals that live there and the famous landmarks that make it so special. Some of the unique animals that come from Europe include the Eurasian wolf, the European badger, the European viper, the European boar, the Eurasian lynx, the European bison, the brown bear, the moose, and always a favorite is the reindeer! There are so many beautiful sites in Europe such as, Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Acropolis and Parthenon, the Sistine Chapel, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Palace de Versailles, Notre Dame, Stonehenge, Grand Bazaar, Grand Canal, the Alps, and Sagrada Familia. This month, we will also be continuing our geography focus and sorting means of transportation by land, air, and water.
We will learn about the various holidays celebrated this month through stories and traditions including, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza. We will also learn about Christmas traditions in Europe like Christmas crackers from England, the Gherkin in Germany, and Italian Christmas bread called panettone. We will discuss Hanukkah enjoy latkes for snack the week of
December 11th through 15th to celebrate, and if anyone would like to send in any items to celebrate their Hanukkah traditions that week please feel free to do so! We will have our Holiday celebration on Friday, December 22nd. This year will be The Grinch themed, and the children can wear their favorite holiday jammies. We will send out a sign up list should anyone want to contribute food items. We can’t wait to spread the holiday magic throughout our school and community this month!
December Songs
Community Helpers
Verse 2
The dentist cleans our teeth, cleans our teeth, cleans our teeth
The farmer grows our food, grows our food, grows our food
The teacher teaches us, teaches us, teaches us
The construction worker builds our homes, builds our homes, builds our homes
Community Helper Hop
Reminders:
- December tuition is due at your earliest convenience before the end of the month. All tuition can be paid through check, or Venmo @RMA20. *This will be the last month we accept payments through Venmo and will be transferring to QuickBooks payments*
- Giving Tree will be on the main deck and toddler, so don’t forget to stop by and pick out a tag to donate by December 15th!
- December 11th through December 15th Hanukkah (students may bring in special food, books, etc. to share their Hanukkah traditions with their class)
- Holiday Party on Friday, December 22nd! (students only)
- NO SCHOOL Monday, December 25th through Monday, January 1st for Holiday Break!