Hello Lyonsgate Community,
Your children’s Casa and Toddler Montessori guides will host Parent Education events on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Primary campus. (Elementary Parent Education is Feb. 23).
For both Parent Education Sessions we ask that parents please enter and exit through the grey door (where we do drop off and pick up on rainy days).
Students are welcome to stay on the playground during the Parent Education sessions. Please avoid the urge to pop your head in and say “Hi” when you arrive. Thank you.
- Toddler: 3:00-3:30. “Understanding Toddler Behaviour: How to be a Gentle Leader and Create More Peace in the Land.”
- Casa: 3:45-4:30. “Practical Life and Math — How Are They Connected?”
Reminder: Friday, Feb. 17, is a PD day and Monday, Feb. 20, is the Family Day holiday. Lyonsgate is closed both days.
Please see below for updates from the last week at Lyonsgate.
Greetings Toddler Families,
At times, life with young children can be very challenging. During the toddler years things can get a bit messy. It is a time of rapid brain development, rapid growth, and self-discovery. You are living in a construction site. It takes enormous effort and cooperation to balance the adult world with the world of the small human under construction. Our role as the gentle leader is to bring order in the chaos and to trust in the process.
Please join us for our Parent Education session on Thursday, February 16th, from 3:00-3:30 p.m.: “Understanding Toddler Behaviour: How to be a Gentle Leader and Create More Peace in the Land.”
“Let us leave the life free to develop within the limits of the good, and let us observe this inner life developing. This is the whole of our mission.” Maria Montessori.
Hello Casa Families,
When I first became a mother-to-be, I read What to Expect When Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff. I read this book needing guidance about what was happening, never realizing that, in those trimesters of pregnancy, knowing what was occurring still gave me no control over what was actually happening.
As the years have passed and my children have entered the 4th Plane of Development (18-24yrs), I realized I should have reached out for understanding instead of control. We can only reach that moment of meeting the child where they are when we release them from where we want them to be. It is only then when we can form the basis of a relationship and trust, through taking the time to understand their needs instead of our own wants and desires. I wished my children all great intelligence and happiness, but it was only made possible through understanding that “Hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence” (Dr. Montessori’s Absorbent Mind, pg. 27) — understanding that they must do for themselves, and that it was never in my control how they relate or engage as they grow.
This means I could set the table, but I couldn’t make them eat; I could feed their quest for all things, but the actual doing was their own. Like the womb and the home, I was the housekeeper, but they made this world their home through all four stages of development. Maria Montessori was very wise when she called these periods the “Constructive Rhythm of Life.” Life is just a song our bodies dance to, that no one can hear; a song our bodies know the move to, but if you are lucky, you can dance alongside that person for a short period. This is how I view motherhood, and a belief I take into our classroom each day.
I thank you for blessing me with the opportunity to dance to the rhythm of your child’s life as they pass through this first plane of development (0-6yrs). I encourage all of you to step back and witness their bodies in motion as they put their boots on, eat with a spoon, clean up after themselves — always remembering back to when they couldn’t do any of this. It really wasn’t long ago. Blink again and they will blow your mind with all their achievements. The days are long, but the years pass ever so quickly…
Ms. Canessa (on behalf of the Casa teams).
Last week, we continued our work in biology by defining the characteristics of different classes of organisms. Some students explored the characteristics of different classes of vertebrates, and others deepened their knowledge of the body systems of mammals. As part of our investigation of the work of the digestive system, students experienced the action of enzymes in their mouth by trying to detect the change in taste as the starch in a cracker was broken down into sugar. Other students prepared models of the digestive system and created a stop-motion video. We are looking forward to a variety of body system presentations this week from our fourth-year students!
Wishing you all a wonderful week,
Marissa and Michelle.
