It was a great, hands-on experience for all of us who participated, but for those who were unable to attend, here's a nice overview with some helpful resources, to get you up to speed.
Remember, every parent is a member of our Parent Teacher Organization, and we value your involvement and your support. So, please take time to review this information, and we welcome your feedback and input.
Thanks,
Heidi & Drake
CMS
PTO Minutes 01/14/2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Attendance: 12 PTO officers, parents, staff, teachers
Fundraising
Updates
-
School earned $323 in credit from the For Small
Hands fund raiser.
-
We will not have a February PTO meeting but will
do a fundraising night at Columbo’s and/or 3 Spoons instead.
-
PTO account (non-profit account) has a balance
of $5,178.64. The balance on this account has increased by about $165 since
November.
-
SCRIP account has a balance of approximately
$1,700. We made approximately $115 in December and $8 in January.
-
Looking into setting up an “in-house: field trip
with the Critter Keeper using PTO funds.
Greenhouse
Update
-
The school would like to get a greenhouse using
PTO funds. Drake will be discussing this project at the March PTO meeting.
-
We already have enough funds for a small
greenhouse that would have to be replaced every 2-3 years.
-
Some catalogs with ideas for greenhouses were
circulated at the meeting and given to the school administrators.
Plant
Sale
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Scheduled for April 19, 2013
-
Need plastic or foam egg cartons and plastic
yogurt cups (6 oz size). Yoplait yogurt
cups cannot be used.
-
Publicity for the plant sale will be discussed
in March when we have an idea of how many plants will be available.
Important
Dates
-
January 21 – MLK Day – No school or childcare
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February 18 – Professional Development Day – No
school or childcare
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March 18 – 22 – Spring Break
-
School is still working to securing a date for a
spring performance to replace to winter program
Sensorial
Presentation – Presented by Natalie and Susan
-
Watched a video clip from Dr. Steve Hughes, a
pediatric neuropsychologist, Montessori researcher and Montessori parent. The clip was titled “Why 20th
Century Educational Methods Won’t Work in the 21st Century and What
We Can Do About It”. The clip is
available for viewing on Dr. Hughes website: www.goodatdoingthings.com
-
Montessori provides a developmental method of education
that is highly personalized.
-
Montessori is based on an integration of
culture, method and materials.
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This is a “Brain Based” approach to education.
The brain needs experimental interactions with the environment.
-
A tremendous amount of the brain’s geography is
devoted to the hands. Hands are the instrument of the mind.
-
Focus on a refinement of the senses. Montessori materials are precise and
scientifically based. Manipulation of
these materials builds the foundation for reading/math.
The 11
Senses (as identified by Maria Montessori)
1. Visual
2. Chromatic
3. Tactile
– eye to discriminate textures
4. Auditory
5. Baric –
weight
6. Thermic
7. Kinesthetic
– eye to recognize 2D shapes; move from 3D to 2D
8. Olfactory
9. Gustatory
– taste; recognize that different areas of the tongue taste different things
10. Equilibrium
– balance within the body
11. Stereognostic
– ability to determine 3D shapes with muscle memory of the eye
Sensory
Materials
1. Contain
a control of error/self-correcting
2. Aesthetically
beautiful à attractive
3. Specific
language/corresponds with concept being taught
4. Self-teaching
à
independence
5. Progressively
challenging – helps refine the senses in a logical sequence
e.g. The Brown Stair work refers
to the blocks as “prisms”. Introduces the concept of thickest and thinnest and
uses very specific vocabulary.
Moving from concrete to more
abstract concepts.
Aims
of Sensorial Materials
Direct:
1. Provide
a sense of order, observation, concentration, attention, reasoning,
decision-making, ability to make judgments, comparisons (science/math)
2. Isolation
of senses/concepts (touch, sight, taste, bigness, length, thickness)
3. Strengthen
motor skills (writing)
Indirect:
1. Teach
abstract concepts tangibly
2. Repetition
à
mastery
3. Endless
possibilities for explorarion/discovery
4. Prepares
for math by refining the idea of relationships (little to big, correlates to
operations in math; short to long à bead cabinet; ten parts
leads to the concept of base 10)
5. Prepares
for language development by training child to work for left to right
Montessori uses correct
vocabulary for the materials – quatrefoil, prism, ellipse, etc.
Montessori materials are very
scientifically precise. In the Pink Tower work, the children get to explore the
heaviness of the largest cubes and the lightness of the smallest cubes. Each
cube in the tower has a 1 cm difference in the length of the sides. The
smallest cube is 1 cm long so the children can use this cube to check their own
work and see if the cubes are arranged in the correct order. The materials
engage more than one sense.\
Tactile learners need to touch
more than a screen. A screen does not
engage all of the senses.
Anderson
Independent Mail article on “The New Kindergarten”
"The
standards soon to be adopted by public schools hint at ones the Montessori
education method introduced more than 100 years ago."
http://www.independentmail.com/news/2013/jan/10/not-your-fathers-kindergarten-naps-cookies-out-hom/
Minutes compiled by Nadia Moysey, PTO Secretary
