February 2016

January brought wonderful opportunities to welcome and meet new friends. We had two new students join our classroom, and several other new children joined us on the playground from other toddler classrooms. The older toddlers enjoyed helping new friends by demonstrating works in the classroom, and helping their new friends get shoes from their cubbies. A great example of the mixed age groups of Montessori having strong benefits for all the children. The month of January was also filled with an emphasis on math. The toddlers of Celeste enjoyed counting songs with finger play, as well as using the cubes of the pink tower to work on identifying the concept of small, medium, and large.

The month of February will start off with conferences for the parents of Celeste. This will give us the opportunity to further bridge home and school together by talking about all of the wonderful ways the children have been working on self-help skills and other developmental milestones. The month also brings Valentine's Day, and an occasion to celebrate our friendships' with one another. Toddlers don't quite understand the concept of passing out Valentines, so they will be sharing a friendship fruit salad instead. This allows the toddlers to work on chopping, peeling, stirring, and serving one another fruit. The end of the month will also hold a parent night focusing on how to deal with difficult behaviors in toddlers. Another great opportunity to build a stronger relationship between home and school.