Welcome Back to School,
We hope everyone had the restful or adventuresome March Break you wanted. Easter is following closely on the heels of March Break and Lyonsgate will be closed on Friday, March 7, and Monday, March 10, for Good Friday and Easter Monday, respectively.
We have a quick reminder to ask that parents please do not share photos from your children’s classroom Seesaw to other social media platforms; some families have requested that photos be shared to Seesaw only. Thank you.
Please see below for updates, including information about LRS conferences for Elementary families.
Hello Toddler Families,
Welcome back and welcome spring!
We are observing signs of spring in our environment and signs of rapid development in the toddlers, specifically language development. Somewhere between 16 months and 2 years, most children exhibit a period of language explosion. This is an amazing period of rapid development and in Montessori we call this the sensitive period for language.
“Between birth and adulthood children learn around 60,000 words, an average of 8-10 a day.” The Guardian, ‘Psychologist explains secret of children’s word explosion.’
This is a universal phenomenon. Children acquire language around the same time of development, in the same way, across the globe, no matter how complex their native tongue happens to be. This is all possible because of the nature of the absorbent mind, something that Maria Montessori identified.
Children begin with naming the people and things that are dear to them to being able to use language to express their needs and desires. Around the time of the language explosion you will notice young children exhibiting an understanding of concepts such as “open,” “closed,” “empty,” and their ability to string words together in short phrases increases: “Mrs. Gervais, would you please open that door?” is my favourite from last week. As the child approaches the age of three, story telling and more complex conversations can be enjoyed.
It is remarkable how quickly, and seemingly how effortlessly, young children can master complex languages during this stage of development. We can support and enrich their developing lexicon by providing them the opportunity to hear a rich and nuanced language in their environment — expand on their interests, find out more about construction vehicles, dinosaurs, how the appliances work, whatever tickles their fancy. You might even learn something new along the way!
Ms. Gervais.
Bonjour tout le monde!
Bienvenue au 3ème trimestre scolaire.
Nice to see everyone back; we heard lots of lovely stories from our students. It sounds like everyone had a wonderful March Break.
We are all waiting for the sunshine of spring. The sun is still hiding in the morning so we need our students to be dressed for the weather. Please keep sending your children with hats, mittens, and splash pants in their backpacks.
The students are working on hot/cold activities in French. Spring is the perfect time to talk about the weather:
“Madame, il pleut aujòurd’hui — plic-ploc, plic-ploc” while pointing to the tops of their heads (plic-ploc).
“Il fait chaud” (it’s hot!).
“Il fait froid” (it’s cold!) – Brrrr!
Self-care/Weather
We are giving our students the tools to be more independent and the tools to solve small problems on their own. When the child expresses being too hot or too cold, we encourage them to think of ways they could solve their discomfort.
It is wonderful when they have a t-shirt under their sweatshirt to dress down when they are too hot.
If they have mittens in their pockets and their hands become cold they can slide them on.
By giving them the tools and encouraging conversation with them to care for themselves they become more independent and confident within themselves.
Best regards,
Mme Murati.
The Elementary students were excited to return to school last week, catching up with their friends and re-engaging with their work. The students dove into making booklets, calculating circumferences, and working on fairy tale plays in French. They loved ending the week with a mac-and-cheese community lunch before their final cricket lesson with Coach Stu. We look forward to learning more about Passover, Easter, and Eid throughout the month of April.
Our Montessori summer camp registration is OPEN for this coming July, and we encourage interested families to sign up soon. While we always include a variety of classic camp activities and waterplay, as well as adjusting our plans to camper interests, each week will also focus on a specific theme. Please click here to register for summer camp! Payment can be made to accounts@lyonsgate.ca
Week 1: July 10-14 Art Explorers: Draw, Sculpt, Shoot!
Work with a variety of mediums, photography, and video equipment to create a short movie. Clay, papier mache, and underwater filming are just a few things we have planned for this week!
Week 2: July 17 – 21 Around the World: Exploring the Seven Continents
Gather stamps in your Montessori passport each day as we explore the seven continents, learning about distinct biomes and human cultural developments such as games, art techniques, spices, and foods!
Wishing you a great week ahead,
Marissa and Michelle.
LRS Conferences
The Elementary campus has a PD day on Friday, April 28. [The Primary campus for Casa and Toddler students will be open]. If you received a report from the Elementary Learning Resource Specialist, Kim Fiocca, please schedule a 30 minute conference. There are also a few afterschool spots available on Thursday, April 27, and Monday, May 1. Please click here to book an LRS conference with Kim.
