Dear Community, Friends, Neighbors, and Parents,

We are THRILLED to announce that Salado Montessori and Keep Salado Beautiful are the 2018 recipient of the Keep Texas Beautiful Native Demonstration Garden grant!  

In addition to the grant, Home Depot and Terra Living have both generously donated or committed the supplies and design work!  We are so excited and grateful for this gift.

Over the next few weeks, you'll see lots of work being done in the grassy patch in the center of our circle drive (now called our Center Circle).  Plans are still in development, so now is your chance to share your favorite native butterfly plants for consideration.  

And, please note that our

Volunteer Day is November 10 from 12-4

This is one week later than we had originally scheduled, as you will see on the school calendar distributed at the beginning of the year.

We hope all our families and friends will be there to get the flowers into the ground!  The day will be spent putting the finishing touches on the garden (soil, compost, plants, mulch), as well as taking care of some general classroom needs.  Also, TexAppeal Magazine will be on site taking photos for their April/May edition, in which the garden will be featured.  

Observations

It was such a pleasure to see so many of you last week for your observation.  

Observation is an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of each individual child.  It is practiced in the classroom by Ms. Webb in order to understand each student's natural drives interests.  

"Observing is the ultimate education on what matters most...the children themselves. It gives the necessary understanding to serve the child on his or her own unique path. Whether you are a teacher or a parent, observing can foster more positive relationships, allow for independence and growth in your child, and ensure greater satisfaction and fulfillment for you.  

"For teachers, it is the most important work as we attempt to ensure that each child is getting the lessons needed at the right time and take care of all else that needs to be done for the classroom itself. 

"As parents, observing can be tough.  Its hard to be objective, it can be hard to hang back, and it can be the last thing on our minds as we are busy multi-tasking and managing a busy family life. Yet, observing is truly the most illuminating gift—the gift of understanding our children."  (Taken from Observing Your Child)

For a first-hand account of a parent's observation, here is one father's description of his first opportunity to observe.

Learnings Sounds

Sa Sa Snail

Ta Ta Tiger

Ba Ba Box

Here in the Salado Montessori classroom, we spend each day working on phonemic awareness, or phonics.   However, the ABC song is not part of that work.  Why?

50% of our language is phonetic and follows predictable rules, which children love. "They are drawn to find the logic and order within our world. The human tendencies for order and precision are very strong in the young child and the phonetic half of English is compliant in this respect. It is systematic and predictable. There are rules that, when followed, hold the key to cracking the code of English.  We begin by teaching the child these rules. We teach them the sounds of each letter and of key phonograms. We encourage them to build phonetic words, and later, when they are ready, to read phonetic words. This process slowly builds the child’s confidence. It lays out the patterns of English. It presents the rules the children love to follow and gives them opportunities to practice applying those rules, to practice hearing the sounds in words, saying the sounds of each letter, writing letters, using those letters to build words, and reading phonetic words. Then, once the child has confidence, once the child believes she can crack the code of English, we slowly reveal the non-phonetic half of English... the words which don’t follow any rules at all. Wow! Words that don’t follow any rules at all? That’s interesting! And learning follows interest."

Follow this link to read  more about the Montessori Language Program

The ABC's, sung to a melody composed by 25 year old Mozart, remains a favorite during Thursday piano time, though!  

Butterflies and Caterpillars

We have been LOVING the caterpillars, butterflies, and flowers on campus.  Please keep an eye out for milkweed and other host plants that might have caterpillars and chrysalises and share these experiences with your family.  

Have a lovely evening!

Ms. Webb, Ms. Alissa, Ms. Hammond (now Mrs. Mayo!), and Ms. Ashley

PS - our wonderful Classroom Assistant, Ms. Hammond, got married!  She is now Mrs. Mayo.  Feel free to give her a huge hug the next time you see her.