I hope you've enjoyed the long weekend and that heart-breaking/breath-taking/amazing Seahawks game yesterday!

This past week in Turquesa, we pursued many different subjects with interest, curiosity and vigor. What I really mean is that children showed how insatiable they are when it comes to learning and doing new things!

Students are particularly enjoying our Sentence Analysis lessons recently. We are taking apart sentences, learning how the words work and what the different parts of the sentence are called. In Montessori, we take a systematic, investigative approach to diagramming sentences that really helps the kids engage deeply in the process. Although the different grade levels are focusing on different aspects of sentences, there is a shared buzz in the classroom about predicates, subjects, direct and indirect objects and more. It's amazing what happens when learning is fun.

This upcoming week in Turquesa, we have a shorter time together due to MLK, Jr. Day and the field trip on Friday. When this happens, we always have to shuffle lessons around a bit. This week students will not have new Sentence Analysis lessons. Instead, they will have the opportunity to practice what they are learning and deepen their own understanding through independent study. This is an amazing thing in a Montessori classroom: we don't need to rush. We place high value on practice and repetition because this is how people create deep, personal understandings of concepts.

We have an amazing field trip planned for this coming Friday. We are going to Cedar River Watershed to launch our winter-time ecology studies. We will leave school at 9:30 and return by 2:00. We will be outside most of the time and children will need to dress in warm layers with careful attention to having waterproof outside layers. We'll send home a detailed email later this week with specifics. We would love to have you join us on our trip. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Nicole

I hope you had a restful and fun Winter Break. I had a lovely, relaxing break and came back to school feel energized!

This week in Turquesa, we were back in the groove. The highlight of the week were the students' Continent Folio presentations on Thursday afternoon. We invited the Morado community to join us, and spent a wonderful hour together exploring the world. The students inspired each other, and enjoyed teaching each other. At the end of the session, every Turquesa student took the time to evaluate their own projects using a rubric that was created several years by the Upper El students. We talked about how important it is to assess your own work honestly, and to openly acknowledge to yourself both successes and oversights. This is how we grow! A small handful of students were not ready to present this week, so they will present their folios next Thursday instead.

We have several significant events coming up. First, we are going to the library on Wednesday, Jan. 14. We need drivers for this jaunt. On Friday, January 23, we are going on a field trip with Morado to the Cedar River Watershed. We are starting to learn about the watershed with a focus on environmental studies. This field trip will be a mini IslandWood-style expedition for us. I hope you'll join us!! In fact, we can't get there without you.

On January 30, we are hosting our first Continental Breakfast of the school year. This is a time for you to come into the classroom, to see your child's work, have a cup of coffee and a breakfast pastry, chat with other parents and teachers. Please plan on joining us from 9:00-10:00 on that Friday.

Homework this week should include Wordly Wise Lesson 9 (just Part 1), literature book reading, Choice Book reading (project guidelines are coming home next Friday), and spelling practice. Also, several students have Continent Folios to finish over the weekend so that they are prepared to present next week.

Have a great weekend!
Nicole and Khavitha