Summer vacations are coming to an end and the school year is almost here. Now that we’ve all got that summer glow, it’s time to start the back-to-school preparations. Take your chances with to improve your results. We know that simply the thought of it can be overwhelming—especially the financial side—and we understand why. It’s expensive!
In fact, an article from nbcnews.com states that parents are spending on average about $1,000 on back-to-school supplies, “nearly the same as the average U.S. monthly mortgage payment.”
Yikes! Parents, we feel for you. It is for this reason that we decided to put together several articles, all you have to do is visit company website, with information that can help you through this transition period with ideas and suggestions that you can employ that should make things bit a easier.
So, we’ve compiled tips to help you keep some of your cash inside your wallet.
1. Take inventory and recycle. Go through the backpacks that have been sitting stagnant in your kids’ closets all summer. Check closets, bedrooms, and office spaces for what supplies you already have on hand so that you don’t end up making unnecessary purchases. Don’t be afraid to reuse folders, binders, and notebooks. Just tear out the old, used notebook pages and put a sticker over the old subject name written on the outside cover. I found these to be the best deals for mohawk superfine paper.
2. Team up with other moms. Buy in bulk at Costco; divide and conquer.
3. Check the Dollar Store. They have a variety of school supplies, and their pencils write just as well. The Dollar Store is the perfect place to stock up on poster board as well. Every year there seems to be a project that pops up at the least opportune time, and it inevitably requires a poster board. Having some on hand will save Mom from running to Walmart after dinner.
4. Take advantage of the tax-free weekend. If you want to find out whether or not the state you live in participates and, if so, what dates.
The average family spends $1,000 on back-to-school expenses. We’ve compiled 7 tips to help you keep some of your cash inside your wallet!
5. Coupons. Always check the store’s website, Facebook page, or app (like the Target app) for coupons before buying. In fact, I find that it’s better to check these out before even going inside—it’s a time-saver!
The Elementary students and teachers got acquainted with each other, the classroom and procedures. Old friends and new friends came together to hear three of the Great Stories: “God Who Has No Hands”,” The Coming of Life” and “The Coming of Human Beings”. More info is here on to change your life. These stories engage the Elementary student’s imagination to grasp the amazing ideas of how the Earth, plants, animals and human beings came to be and ultimately depend upon each other within the laws of the universe.
Singing, book making and poetry reading have all commenced for the year. Students have received lessons in all of the areas of the classroom: History, Physical Education, Music, Art, Biology, Language, Geometry, Geography and Math. Excitedly, our class held its first “Community Meeting”, kicking off the year with a formal forum for students and teachers to come together and create our environment through peaceful communication, creative solutions and abundant opportunities for all.
Week 2
After a fun holiday weekend with families and friends, Elementary students returned to school ready to work! Excitement built over the weekend as the previous week, students have dreamed up a goal: Beating the World Record of the longest finger knitting rope in the world. Thank you for all of the generous family donations to the students to support their knitting dreams.
The last two Great Stories piqued the interest of many students: The Story of Our Alphabet and The Story of Our Numerals where students learned the historical development of human recording of communication and amounts. All of the students have been brushing up on old Math concepts lost over the summer break and filling their Personal Dictionaries with new words to learn.
Taking advantage of our beautiful weather, students have learned how to play Australian Dodge Ball and tried their skills at Ultimate Frisbee. An experiment in States of Matter was observed and discussed by the students as we continue to develop an understanding of the Laws of Our Universe. Also, our class had the opportunity to enjoy our school garden’s generous reaping of carrots and tomatoes during lunch one day.
Week 3
Recently, students have been discussing “The Fundamental Needs of Human Beings” which consist of Material Needs [Nourishment, Protection, Housing, Clothing, Transportation] and Spiritual Needs [Religion, Vanity, Art/Cultural] that all people share in their own unique ways. Students have been quenching their “Art Needs” through the use of Geometry tools and designing with our Metal Insets used for Math and Geometry lessons.
The Elementary study of the Earth and Life on Earth has commenced and students are looking forward to the opportunity of conducting Science experiments that parallel this focus. In addition to classroom lessons, our additional experts that joyfully share their knowledge have started visiting us: Music, Latin and Art. Our first class for self-defense (Tae Kwon Do) located at our Tallmadge campus has also begun.
Speaking of new starts, our classroom celebrated our first birthday of the year! Birthdays will be celebrated in a new approach and we hope you can assist your child with preparing for his or her birthday celebration. Each child will bring 3 pictures that define him or herself to class on the celebration day to share with us. None of the pictures have to be pictures of the student as each student’s perception of this will be unique. Unique is great! Your child will discuss each picture and fellow students will be able to ask questions about the birthday child. Our class will be gifting your student with blessings/good thoughts and compliments as a birthday gift for his or her special day. Do not worry. We will remind you as your child’s birthday nears.
Week 4
After a long discussion of Science Experiment Safety, the students plunged eagerly into the new Human Body Science Experiments. Experiment Cards will appear on shelves throughout the year in all the areas of study, Biology being first. Many materials have been graciously donated by parents for our Science Experiments. The Elementary class as a whole would like to extend a huge “Thank You!” for past and future donations to our mad scientists at work!
Also, this week, students have started selecting words they would like to learn how to spell. On Fridays and Mondays, as applicable, students take a quiz on their self-selected words. Beware, your student may ask you to spell words; such as, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” or “galluses”. We are all learning new, interesting and unique words!
Lessons have continued in all areas of the classroom. A new interest has sparked in the classroom: Sewing. Some students have learned how to sew a button on fabric and others are making bean bags for our classroom to use during “Walking on the Line”. Measurement lessons have been paralleling this work. Students have been measuring things in the classroom with Small-Non Standard Units, i.e., identical paperclips, to relive how people may have measured things with everyday identical objects to communicate mathematical amounts predating our current standardized method of measurement. In the Story of Geometry, students also got to help demonstrate how the “Rope Stretchers” or “Harpenodapta” of Egypt returned the farmer’s fields to the correct size and space after the annual flood of the Nile through historical surveying processes.
Though students have been learning all kinds of skills and games in relation to Physical Education so far this year, they were excited for the first official class on Friday. With that said, we would like to personally remind parents to ensure that your student brings his or her water bottle to school every day and especially on Fridays. We have had some students forget their water bottles. We want to keep your student properly hydrated to promote their success in health. Students perform physical exertion daily at recess, spontaneous lessons and work; and also, more importantly, during scheduled classes. We like to keep the students moving to promote a healthy lifestyle!
Week 5
This week, students have finished up their Hero letters and donned red, white and blue in our class picture for the troops. They shared personal thoughts and appreciation to our heroes overseas. Students have been busy working on the four basic operations of Mathematics: Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division. Some students are working on Fractions and Multiples, as well. The students have also been working on some basic Language skills, reading Poetry, Writing Creative Stories/Books/Plays and conducting basic Research on various topics.
Students are starting to show Mastery in new lessons. If your student shares his or her success about “Mastering” a lesson, rest assured, it is a big deal! This “Mastery” is one of the many things that make Montessori so different from the traditional approach of education. The teacher in traditional education gives information to his or her students to learn. Then the class as a group is assessed or tested in some fashion to see if the student has retained or learned that information. Whether all or some of the students have learned that information, the teacher is required to move on to new information as schedule in the traditional method.
Switching methods, in the Montessori method of education, the teacher shows the student how educational learning materials are used, tells stories, offers support, creates an environment conductive to learning and inspires. The student self-guides his or her learning at his or her pace and direction. The teacher observes the student and records the student’s progress. Mastery is attained when the student has mastered the concept or use of a material, lesson or idea. The next step of the learning process for the student is teaching and leading others. The students come to the realizations that there are always new heights learning can take place in and learning is for life. This idea is what separates the two methods vastly. Students do not “move on” when they do not understand information and students gain a self-propelled approach to learning that will last for life!
Latin
The two Latin classes have started a new year. For the first-and second-grade group the focus in September has been on learning basic vocabulary, especially words related to the Roman
family. The students have also learned to form and translate simple sentences using various forms of the verb “sum.” In the area of culture the class became familiar with maps of the Roman Empire and Italy.
In the third- and fourth-year class the emphasis has been on reviewing vocabulary first presented last spring. In addition, the group has investigated various aspects of ancient Roman food and
dining. The students helped construct a model of a Roman dining room, complete with Gumbius figures. Finally, the class participated in a banquet featuring foods from ancient Italy.
We started off our school year focusing on grace and courtesy to teach and fulfill our student’s innate need for order. Every student has a need to know and to absorb the social structures in order to be
more at ease in their environment. Grace and courtesy lessons give the student the vocabulary, actions, and steps required for them to build their awareness and responsiveness of those around them. We worked on walking in the classroom, using our inside voices while in the school building, using kind words to one another, using safe hands, how to clean up our area when we are done working and how to use our words to express our feelings.
The third week of school we talked and learned about community helpers. We had many of volunteer community helpers come into the classroom and talk to the children. They briefly described their occupation, by talking about where they work, what they wear, tools they use, and tasks they perform. I would like to thank all of the volunteers who came into the classroom! It was a wonderful learning experience for both the students and myself! The fourth week of school we discussed families and the students shared their family trees with their friends. Their family trees included their name, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. The students also brought pictures of their families either on the family tree or hard copies for the children to share with their friends. The children enjoyed learning more about their friends and where they came from. It was great to see the students discover the differences and similarities in all of the families and accept every family for who they are. We ended the month of September talking about feelings and emotions. The students brainstormed things they could do when they were angry, happy, sad, frustrated, and excited. Then they discussed with one another whether the reaction they came up with was a good choice or a bad choice. The students did a great job learning how to manage their emotions. We role played how to process, identify and appropriately express their emotions as much as possible. After a few days of talking about feeling and emotions it was great to hear the students tell their friends what they were feeling and why on their own.
Kindergarten
We kicked off Kindergarten with a lot Geography. The students learned about the seven continents, fun facts about the continents, and a few countries in each continent. The students became very familiar with the cardinal directions, the equator, the prime meridian, and the hemispheres. We took a look at our home state of Ohio and the surrounding states (their abbreviation and nickname). Make sure you ask your child all about Ohio! They will be able to tell you that the cardinal is the official bird, scarlet carnation the official flower, lady bug is the official insect, and tomato juice is the official drink. They learned how we are the buckeye state and that the official rock and roll song is Hang on Sloopy.
Art
The first month of school flew by, and the students have already learned so much in art class with Ms. Michele. Her first unit of study is “What is Art?” We learned what an artist is and what they do. The children will get to explore the color wheel and art terms. They will be learning key art rules and how to use the art materials.
Ms. Michele kicked off her unit with a project called “My Favorite Animal” inspired by Eric Carle. She read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and then discussed the techniques Mr. Carle uses in his illustrations. He uses overlapping colors of tissue paper to create the wonderful pictures in his books. The students then made textured rubbings on tissue paper and glued them together on a piece of paper to create their favorite animal.
The next concept the students learned was about primary colors. They learned that these colors are blue, red, and yellow. These colors can be mixed together to create other colors. The project for the second week was “My House.” Ms. Michele was inspired by Piet Mondrian’s “Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow” due to his use of the three primary colors. The students mapped out their house using black Popsicle sticks to create the same shapes that Mondrian used in his art piece, and red, yellow, and blue paint.
Our last lesson of the month was entitled “The Best Playground Ever.” Ms. Michele showed the students pictures of different playgrounds. One was a typical playground we see in our neighborhoods, one was made completely out of nets, and the last one was shaped like a whale. The students discussed the different shapes and lines of the equipment and discovered that art isn’t just flat. They were then allowed to create their own playground by twisting, bending, crimping, and rolling pieces of paper and then gluing them to a base.
We all want to thank Ms. Michele for bringing in her wonderful, creative ideas and are excited to learn more next month!
Science
For our first science experiment of the year the students learned how liquids like water and milk have a property known as surface tension. We used soap, milk, and food coloring to experiment with reducing the surface tension to see what would happen. The students first put food coloring in the milk and noticed that the drops of food coloring just sat on the surface where we placed them in the milk. We discovered that is because food coloring is less dense than milk, so it floats on the surface, and the colors do not mix because we didn’t stir the milk. Then the students wanted to see some action so we added a drop of soap. The soap reduced the surface tension of the milk by dissolving the fat molecules and the food coloring started to move with the surface!
Music
“It’s music time today. Time to sing and play. It’s lots of fun to sing and learn. It’s music time today.” The students have learned that this song is true for music class with Ms. Lisa. At the start of every music class, Ms. Lisa sings this with the students to get them excited and ready to learn. Our returning students were so thrilled to start music class and our new students have found out what a joy it is to spend time with Ms. Lisa.
During this past month, the children met our wonderful music teacher, Ms. Lisa and were introduced to many musical concepts. They have experienced how to use rhythm sticks, egg shakers, and tambourines. The class learned what a whole, half, quarter, and eighth note look like and how many beats each one receives. Ms. Lisa also shared with us some fun classics, such as “London Bridge,” “The ABC’s,” “The Hokey Pokey,” and “I’m a Little Tea Pot.” The students always enjoy having Ms. Lisa come each week and we can’t wait to learn more next month!
Our Academic Enrichment time is daily from 12:00-1:00pm. This time is specifically designed for our Kindergarten students to join together as a group to work and progress through the advanced materials and lessons in the Montessori primary curriculum. Throughout the school day in their classroom they are still working individually with their classroom teacher on these and other materials at their level.
9/29: Biggest (Solar System) to Smallest (your home)
Review hemispheres
Introduction to solar system and planets
Our continent, our country, state and county
City, street, address and phone numbers
10/6:Landforms
Island/Lake, Isthmus/Straight
Bay/Cape, Peninsula/Gulf
Archipelago/Chain of Lakes
Use of landform cards, and water trays
10/13: Telling Time
Parts of the clock
Telling time to the hour
Telling time to the half hour
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
10/20: Telling Time
Telling time to the quarter hour (quarter past/ quarter till)
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
10/27: Telling Time
Review telling time to the hour, half and quarter hours
Telling time to the minute
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
Letters of the week 9/29: Dd 10/6: Ee 10/13: Ff 10/20: Gg 10/27: Hh
Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:
Practice telling time on the clock at home. When you sit down to dinner, ask them to tell you what time it is, when they go to bed, have them check the clock. Have fun with Time!
Our Academic Enrichment time is daily from 12:00-1:00pm. This time is specifically designed for our Kindergarten students to join together as a group to work and progress through the advanced materials and lessons in the Montessori primary curriculum. Throughout the school day in their classroom they are still working individually with their classroom teacher on these and other materials at their level.
09/29: Biggest (Solar System) to Smallest (your home)
Review hemispheres
Introduction to solar system and planets
Our continent, our country, state and county
City, street, address and phone numbers
10/06: Landforms
Island/Lake, Isthmus/Straight
Bay/Cape, Peninsula/Gulf
Archipelago/Chain of Lakes
Use of landform cards, and water trays
10/13: Telling Time
Parts of the clock
Telling time to the hour
Telling time to the half hour
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
10/20: Telling Time
Telling time to the quarter hour (quarter past/ quarter till)
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
10/27: Telling Time
Review telling time to the hour, half and quarter hours
Telling time to the minute
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets
Sight Words of the Week: 09/29: from he 10/06: you his 10/13: for with 10/20: she were 10/27: use your
Synonyms of the Week: Try to find each word in books as you read to your child. 09/29: ACTIVE, lively, energetic, dynamic, vigorous, hasty 10/06: CALM, peaceful, quiet, inactive, serene, slow 10/13: HOT, burning, scorching, blazing, boiling, sizzling 10/20: COLD, freezing, chilly, frigid, frozen, cool 10/27: NEW, novel, fresh, original, unique, current, unused
Things to do at Home this Month:
Practice telling time on the clock at home. When you sit down to dinner, ask them to tell you what time it is, when they go to bed, have them check the clock. Have fun with Time!
Mr. John will be sending homework home to reinforce these lessons. Please turn homework into the orange box outside of Mr. John’s classroom. Please email him if you have any questions: jkotradi@thesmarterkids.com.
Themes of the Week (in addition to Montessori Work time)
09/29: All About Apples
Johnny Appleseed
Life cycle of an apple
Apple graphing, apple tasting and cooking with apples
Preschool lesson (afternoon) We will be reviewing the letter “Ee” and will learn the ASL sign for “E.” Students will be making different apple crafts.
10/06: On The Farm
Jobs found on the farm
Animals found on the farm, categorizing animals into groups
Food from the farm
Machinery found on the farm
Preschool lesson (afternoon) We will be reviewing the letter “Ff” and will learn the ASL sign for “F.” Student will be making different farm crafts and learning about farm animals.
10/13: All About the Fall
Four seasons
Leaves and chlorophyll, leaf graphing
Nature walk
Acorns and squirrels
History of the scarecrow
Preschool lesson (afternoon) We will be reviewing the letter “Gf” and will learn the ASL sign for “G.” Students will enjoy fun fall crafts.
10/20: All About Pumpkins
Properties of a pumpkin
Life cycle of a pumpkin
Use our 5 senses to observe/communicate about pumpkins. Conduct a buoyancy experiment to discover whether a pumpkin will sink or float in water.
Preschool lesson (afternoon) We will be reviewing the letter “Hh” and will learn the ASL sign for “H.” Studets will be learning all about pumpkins and will enjoy making pumpkin crafts.
10/27: History of Halloween
History of Halloween
Halloween themed works, activities and lots of fun!
Halloween Party Friday, October 31st!
Preschool lesson (afternoon) We will be reviewing the letter “Ii” and will learn the ASL sign for “I.” Students will enjoy Halloween crafts, activities and will even write their own Halloween story.
Letters of the Week: Try to find objects that begin with each letter wherever you go with your child. 09/29: Ee 10/06: Ff 10/13: Gg 10/20: Hh 10/27: Ii
Sight Words of the Week: Try to find each word in books as you read to your child. 09/29: And 10/06: He 10/13: She 10/20: Has 10/27: For
Things to do at Home this Month to reinforce our themes:
While reading a book have your child point to all of the letter of the week she/he can find. Have them do this with the sight words as well. Play I‐Spy using things that only start with the letter of the week/ sight words.
Go apple picking! Cut an apple in half and create apple prints. When you cut an apple, count together to see how many seeds there are. Every day you can create a new apple dish (applesauce, baked apple crisps, apple pie, etc.) Enjoy the Fall!
Make a collage from pictures in magazines of items you would find on a farm
Go on a “Fall Walk” together. Talk about what colors you see, the sounds you hear, and what the air smells like. Collect leaves and take them home for leaf rubbings. Go to a pumpkin patch and find a pumpkin together. Guess how many seeds are in‐ side your pumpkin. When you clean out the pumpkin count the seeds together.
Themes of the week (in addition to Montessori Work Time)
8/26 and 9/2: Ground Rules
Learning to greet others.
Learning to have conservations.
Learning to speak to others.
Learning to listen to others.
Learning to respond to others.
Learning to say please and thank you to others.
Learning to observe others.
Learning to respectfully interrupt.
Learning from others.
Learning to open door for someone else.
Learning to recognize situations in which to help others.
Passing in front of another respectfully.
Learning how to say excuse me.
9/8: Community Helpers
The students will learn about police officers, fire fighters, mail carriers, soldiers, bakers, farmers, doctors, and teachers throughout the week. They will not only learn about these community helpers; they will also be able to explain in detail why each one is very important to our lives.
9/15: My Family
The students will illustrate a picture of their family.
The students will have a discussion on the importance of families to each of us and the students will be able to identify one reason why their family is important to them.
Create a family tree together (Due Friday September 12th)
9/22: Feelings/Emotions
The students learn how to identify, handle, and understand the things they may feel and how to act about them.
Letters of the week
9/8: Aa
9/15: Bb
9/22: Cc
Sight word of the week
9/8: the
9/15: of
9/22: an
Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:
Try to find objects that begin with the letter of the week wherever you go with your child.
Encourage grace and courtesy when you see your child displaying it to another or you.
Talk about the importance of 911 and when you should call and practice dialing it.
Practice dialing your telephone number with your child.
Start a family tradition by setting a night a week aside for a family movie or game night.
If your child displays an emotion they are unfamiliar with talk about it and how to handle it together.
