Village Montessori Academy
Village Montessori News
Volume 9, Issue 3
October Calendar
October 11th, Monday
Columbus Day
Awaiting Autumn….
(School is in session)
We were fortunate to
have had a mild summer
and only a few very hot
days. Anticipation of
cooler, shorter days of
autumn brings us all a
feeling of calm. It prom-
ises an atmosphere con-
October 20th, Wednesday
Field Trip to ducive to concentration
and study.
Heritage Park
October 24th, Sunday Heritage Park
United Nations Day
On Wednesday, October
October 25th, Monday 20th, our whole school
Pablo Picasso’s will be off to Heritage
Birthday
Park for a tractor ride
through the citrus groves,
a tour of the farm and its
animals, a visit to the
pumpkin patch, a sea-
sonal craft and a picnic in
the park! Parents are
welcome to join us!
Halloween Parade
and Party
October 29th, Friday Friday, October 29th, the
Halloween
Costume Parade,
Tick-or-Treat &
Classroom Party Change of Clothing
Although many parents
have provided a complete
change of clothing for
their children, some still
do not have an extra set
of clothing here at the
school.
With the change of sea-
son, you may wish to
change the clothing to
October 2010
children will partici-
pate in a costume pa-
rade and Trick-or-
Treat through our
neighborhood. The
morning will also in-
clude a classroom
party. Please watch
for a sign-up sheet
if you’d like to help. our center for permitting
us to ‘trick-or-treat’, and
We ask that the chil- for providing treats for
dren’s costumes be safe to our children.
walk in. Due to the age of
Please mark a bag with
the children, and for their
your child’s name so he/
safety, we do not permit
masks or any weapons. she can collect treats!
The children may not eat
You are welcome to send any of the goodies they
a change of clothes for collect until you, their
your child. The teachers parents, see them.
will assist the children in
changing. Please watch for a sign-
up sheet in the office, if
You are very welcome to you’d like to help with the
walk with us as we tour celebration.
the neighborhood. We
truly appreciate the kind-
ness of the merchants in
Our policy requires that if
your child needs a change
of clothing, we can only
items more suited to the put on the clothing you
fall/winter season. have provided.
Please check with your In the event that you do
child’s teacher to see if not have extra clothing
you need to bring a here at school, and your
change of clothing. child needs be changed,
we regret that we must
Equally important is to
call you to have you bring
label each garment, sheet
appropriate clothing for
or blanket with an indeli-
your child.
ble marker.
PAGE 2
The Ladybug Class
The Ladybug
Class is very
busy with many
different activities.
In the mathematics area, many of
the children are learning to work
with the Golden Bead Materials.
These materials begin to introduce
our decimal system (units, tens,
hundreds, thousands, etc.), using
beautiful golden glass beads. The
process always begins with learning
the quantity, then, separately, the
symbols of the numbers and then
the association of the two.
After the children have had ade-
quate experience with the materials
they begin to add, subtract, multi-
The Bumblebee Class
The children have been showing
such good progress and many of
them are now ready for new, more
advanced work.
In the Sensorial area, some of the
children are now ready to begin
work with the Metal Insets. The
Metal Insets consist of two wooden
racks that hold a variety of metal
geometric shapes. The child is able
to draw lovely shapes to shade and
All That Glitters!!!
As a part of the children’s work in
the area called ‘Practical Life Skills’
the children polish a variety of
items– including silver, brass, cop-
per, glass, mirrors, shoes and wood.
We are in need of little items you
may be able to donate to the school
for the children’s use. Items you
may no longer need could delight a
V I LLA G E MO NT E S S O R I NE WS
ply and divide numbers. The re-
lated games accommodate the need
of the children to work together and
to investigate the processes and find
the answers. At this point there is
no need for written work. Parallel
to this concrete work, the children
learn to write their numbers as a
separate activity.
All of the work in mathematics pro-
gresses from concrete experience
and leads eventually to abstraction.
A great deal of time is given to help-
ing the children understand the
value of numbers, the processes in
the operations and to discover the
rules through experience.
In the area of language develop-
color his draw-
ings. The work
prepares for
writing and art
as it emphasizes
proper grasp of the writing instru-
ment, drawing curved and angular
lines, and posture.
In the area of Language Arts the
children are enjoying learning the
names of animal groups, the ‘voices’
child. For example, a pitcher, a
spoon or fork, a bell, dish or bowl
that is tarnished could be polished
by a little child to a brilliant patina.
This work is very important as it
provides an opportunity for the
child to develop better concentra-
tion, better eye-hand coordination,
the ability to follow a specific se-
V O LU M E 9 , I S S U E 3
ment, the children work to enrich
their vocabulary, to play sound and
letter games, to learn to communi-
cate graciously and to listen effec-
tively.
The sandpaper letters introduce the
graphic symbol of the sounds they
are already familiar with. They
trace, with great care, the form of
the letter exactly as they will even-
tually write it. All the lower-case
letters, in cursive style, are offered
as phonetic sounds. The vowels are
first offered as short vowel sounds.
The children are learning new
songs, poems and stories and show
delight in their work.
of the animals and the homes of the
animals. For example, a dog lives
in a kennel, a group of dogs is a
pack and the dog barks (his voice).
This work is a part of the enrich-
ment of vocabulary.
In geography, the children are
learning the basic land and water
forms - the continents, islands,
lakes, bays, peninsulas, etc.
Halloween offers great fun and lots
of art opportunities. We are looking
forward to our field trip and to our
Halloween party.
quence of actions and to complete a
task. These are skills that carry-
over to all the other areas of their
exploration in the class. Addition-
ally, they become quite independent
and able to care for their own envi-
ronment. They are
having so much fun
with this work!
 V O LU M E 9 , I S S U E 3
The Butterfly Class
The children are beginning to notice
the changes in the light, the leaves,
and the temperature as the fall sea-
son begins. We will take advantage
of these observations to study sev-
eral aspects of fall.
The children are fascinated to ob-
serve the leaves. They notice the
different shapes, textures, margins
and colors. This is an opportunity
for an introduction to botany!
Throughout the month there will be
special art opportunities for the
children. We are discussing the
tradition of ‘Trick-or-Treat’ and look
forward to our Costume Parade, our
Halloween Party, and our field trip.
All-School Halloween Celebration
On Friday, October 29th, the chil-
dren may come to school dressed in
their Halloween costumes. You are
welcome to send a bag with a
change of clothes for the regular
school day. We will go out to ‘Trick-
or-Treat’ our neighbors at 10:00
a.m.
The children may wear a costume
but we do not permit the children to
wear a mask. The masks may pro-
hibit them from seeing properly as
Special Topics of Exploration
During the month the children will
all learn about the life and voyages
of Christopher Columbus. Special
crafts will help the children with
their appreciation of his historic
discoveries. Columbus Day is Octo-
ber 11th.
October 24th is designated as
United Nations Day and Interna-
tional Children’s Day. The children
continually learn about the many
V I LLA G E MO NT E S S O R I NE WS
Please watch for a sign-up sheet in
the office if you’d like to help by pro-
viding treats for our party.
During the month of October the
children will learn about the life,
voyages and discoveries made by
Christopher Columbus.
Books are always a treasured part
of the children’s environment. We
bring to the children books that are
based on reality rather than anthro-
pomorphic books. This helps the
young child establish a foundation
in the real world. Later, when a
little older, the child can be intro-
duced to fantasy, myths and leg-
ends.
we walk and they are very often
uncomfortable to the child. Some of
the children can become very fright-
ened and this would spoil the fun
we intend to have!
Please be sure your child is able to
walk safely and can use the toilet
independently. Our staff will be
happy to help, but there are many
little ones to tend to….
After our Costume Parade, we’ll
nations and cultures of the world,
with special focus on the children of
the world. Part of their exploration
is to learn about the different
homes, languages, foods, music and
arts of the various cultures.
The children love working with the
puzzle maps and the flag materials
in their classrooms. Often the chil-
dren will see something on the news
and come to school the next day to
PAGE 3
The class is working hard on their
language and mathematics materi-
als and love their maps and science
work.
Our little library is so
attractive it calls to the
children to come and sit
and relax with a book.
The lamp, plants and
rug make a cozy nook
for the children.
return to the classes to have a
party. Each directress will post a
list of party treats in the office if
you’d like to help provide an item
for the party.
tell us there was a significant event
in one of the places they learned
about in the classroom. This happens
also when they see flags, outside of
school, and recognize the nation it
represents.
Pablo Picasso’s birthday is commemo-
rated on October 25th. We will be
learning about his life and his works
of art. This should lead to a creative
surge of art throughout the school!
VILLAGE MONTESSORI ACADEMY
23431 GOLDEN SPRINGS DRIVE
DIAMOND BAR, CA 91765
909 860-4001 FAX 909 860-5076
Visit us on the Web at villagemontessori.net
Special Services Schedule
Monday: Chinese language 3:15 & 4:00
Young Rembrandts 3:00 & 3:50
Tuesday: Chinese language 3:15 & 4:00
Webby Dance 3:00 & 3:45
Tae Kwon Do 4:40
Wednesday: Chinese language 3:15 & 4:00
Sunshine Generation 3:00-4:00
Thursday: Chinese language 3:15 & 4:00
Gymnastics 3:15 & 4:00
Friday: Keyboard 3:15 & 3:45
Celebrations In The Montessori Environment
Throughout the year the children learn about the history
and traditions honored by various peoples of their
planet. This is done with respect for the personal beliefs
of our multi-cultural community. We discuss the maps,
flags, foods, music, heritage and traditions of cultures.
We discuss how they meet the various physical, spiri-
tual, social, mental and artistic needs of man.
As a non-denominational school, we do not teach a relig-
ion but defer to the rights of each family to instill their
personal beliefs to their children. We do, however, dis-
cuss that various peoples have unique personal beliefs.
For example, with our celebration of Halloween, we do
not present any fearful aspects of the holiday. We permit
the children to participate in a cultural event that is
filled with fun and silliness. As the children mature we
discuss cultural myths, legends and traditions.
We wish to honor each child’s ancestral culture and tra-
ditions. We appreciate your input to enrich the experi-
ence for the children. Your tremendous support is a joy
for us all!

The Dragonfly Class

The month of October is just filled
with opportunities for fun and ex-
ploration. Already the children are
well into the fun of the fall season.
This past month, and continuing
through October, the children have
been learning about botany. They
began their study with work to un-
derstand the parts and functions of
the leaf, root system, shoot system,
the leaf, flower, seed, and fruit. We
have brought in many leaves and
flowers to compare how varied they
can be. The children are also learn-
ing to classify leaves by their mar-
gins.
We have had some interesting les-
sons on the various movements of
the earth, related to the change in
the season, the measurement of
time and day and night. We ob-
served the autumnal equinox, on
September 22nd, and have learned
about the rotation, orbit and axis of
the earth.
October just invites a good study of
bones - the human skeleton! Of
course, we have to sing ’Dem Dry
Bones’. We will also learn about
bats and spiders. One of the chil-
dren’s favorite songs is ‘Spin, Spi-
der, Spin’. It is a song that has a
lovely melody and a message of re-
spect for the harmless spider.
We will learn about the life and the
explorations of Christopher Colum-
bus. The children will learn about
his voyages to ‘The New World’ and
study the maps of Europe and
North America.
Halloween myths, legends and tra-
ditions are fun for the children to
explore. We do not emphasize any-
thing that would really frighten the
children, but offer a light-hearted
approach to the traditions.
In art we have been exploring the
art and life of a variety of artists.
One of the children’s favorites is
Georgia O’Keeffe. The children love
to try to imitate her style and her
appreciation of nature.
Music is an important part
of our curriculum. Work in
music includes work with
the Montessori Bell Materi-
als, recorded music, percus-
sion instruments and the
keyboard. We have enjoyed
the works of Rimsky-Korsakov,
Vivaldi, Gershwin, Saint-Saëns,
Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Rossini and
Copland.
The children love to learn about the
composer, the music and to move to
the rhythm of the music. They are
learning to identify the instruments
they hear and to assign them to
their part of the orchestra.
Music is said to be the language of
the soul. Often in the classroom
you will hear children playing the
bells, keyboard or softly singing.