April 2010 NEWSLETTER
Dear Parent(s),
With the Spring Break behind us, we can now look to all the wonderful events of April – June! We want you to know that all ten of FCD Staff who attended the Montessori Conference in Boston two weeks ago came away refreshed and excited to be in the company of like-minded educators, but also realized the importance of Montessori parent education and understanding, and a renewed appreciation for your support of Montessori pedagogy. You know that something wonderful is happening with your child, and you have made that choice to inspire life-long love of learning and education of the body, mind, and spirit in your child’s daily experiences at FCD, and in your home. The Staff were able to purchase some new materials for the classrooms, participate in dynamic workshops, and meet some of the most respected and knowledgeable Montessorians in the world.
As Peacemaker, the Puppet, I am always on the lookout for new ideas to bring peacemaking skills into the classroom; a few years ago I introduced a virtues curriculum for the year, with ideals such as being thankful, peaceful, loving, etc. as a part of knowing about feelings and how to deal with them, both positive and negative. While at this year Boston conference, I spent time with a company called “Onionhead” who have put together age appropriate materials for ‘learning what to do with what you feel’……lessons on 26 feelings, one for each letter of the alphabet. In the next few weeks, my staff and myself will be introducing this curriculum during peacemaking lessons.
The premise for the main character, Onionhead, is that he looks different on the outside (an onion) from us, but once you peel away what makes him (us) different, we can see that we are all the same in the inside, regardless of our gender, age, race, or religion. Onionhead, through stories and discussion, reveals his feelings, beginning with A = being accepted, B = being brave, and C = being calm, and so on. So, it will be the ABC’s of feelings, with many opportunities for the children to express how they feel, and how to act upon these feelings. We are excited to add this component to our curriculum, a nice way to add more positive energy to the end of the year activities. We also look forward to any suggestions or ideas you might like to share with us that have been successful for you as the parent.
This week we will have a display table set up in the foyer where you may look over some of the materials we use for our peace education lessons, including Peacemaker, the puppet, Marco the Montessori Mouse, various peace book resources, and the newest Onionhead materials. As your child is introduced to Onionhead, I can imagine the stories will travel back home to you……I can’t wait to see the surprise when each child is presented their very own Onionhead to take home!
(Hopefully, it will find a place to rest peacefully…..remember, it’s real!)
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I had a visitor to FCD last week who spent the day here, and when leaving, she said she missed the calmness and peacefulness of being at FCD. It was a nice moment, something I guess we might take for granted, but, its presence is felt. I hope that you feel it, too.
Thank you. Ms. Louise, Director