Weekly Newsletter 

The Week of August 5th

Welcome back to Charles Ellis!

We are happy to welcome back so many smiling faces to the Learning Community! We met many new friends as well and are looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you. 

Remind.com

We often use the Remind app to communicate with families. Please use the following code to sign up and receive messages from us via text.

https://www.remind.com/join/ac3c9

Class Pet

Our community has been gifted a leopard gecko and we need supplies in order to provide an appropriate habitat for our new friend. An aquarium has already been donated, but we are asking for Petsmart gift cards to buy food and other necessary items. Please donate to our new class pet if you are able.

Birthday Celebrations

As is customary in the Montessori classroom, our students celebrate their birthdays by “walking around the sun” for each year they have been alive. Parents and families are invited to come and tell their story, one year at a time, through the presentation of personal timelines. This can be done on the student’s actual birthday.

 As far as treats go, we prefer healthier treats such as fruit cups etc, but if you would like to send in something on the sugary side we do ask that they are mini cupcakes or perhaps a cookie per student etc. Please do not send in goody bags. Because we will have around 45 students in our community, we will have a monthly celebration with treats for the birthdays for that month. We will do this on the last Thursday of each month, unless something comes up that would necessitate a change in day. On this day we ask that if parents wish to send in a treat, that they send in 25 treats, and the students will choose one or two treats depending on how many birthdays we have.

Personal Timelines

We would love for students to share their personal timelines when we do their “walk around the sun” on the day of their birth. Timelines are used in the Montessori classroom extensively in the cultural and cosmic curriculum, first seen in the Great Lessons. This preparatory activity of creating their personal timeline readies the students to work with the extensive timelines that are presented throughout elementary.

Personal Timeline:

1. A timeline can be as short as one page or as long as a wall.

2. To make a short timeline, draw a vertical line down the middle of a sheet of paper.

3. Write your child’s birth date on the left side of the line at the top of the page. On the right side of the line, write the corresponding event. (“I was born!”)

4. Add other important dates and events, such as when your child started to walk and talk, when siblings were born, when your child started preschool, when you took family trips, and so on, in chronological order.

5. To make a long time line, cut a length of paper from a large roll or tape several sheets of paper together. Draw a horizontal line across the middle of the banner.

6. Write the dates and events of your child’s life from left to right.

7. Glue on photos or let your child illustrate each event. 

Read Nightly
All students in our community are expected to read for at least 20 minutes a night. 

 The Learning Community Wish List (bold items are more pressing)

PETSMART gift cards

Model Magic-all colors

Guinea pig and hamster food

Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile soap

Seventh Generation dish soap

Water colors

Oil pastels

UPCOMING EVENTS

August 8-The Gifts Parent Workshop 6-8 pm

August 30-August Birthday Celebration

August 31-Maria Montessori's 148th Birthday