Dear Parents:

Greetings from my home to yours! I want to be a resource for all of you while we navigate this new territory together. On Friday, I started researching resources to share with you, but by Sunday I found myself completely overwhelmed with suggestions. So, after considering the unique approach our Children's House teachers take, I hope to do three things:

(1) act as a clearinghouse for resources

(2) create ways for us to connect as a community

(3) provide some age-appropriate suggestions for your children

On Tuesday, you will receive an email from your child's teacher with an At-Home Work Plan. I would like to emphasize that these are suggestions. We want only to support you and your child, and not add more to your plate. We are also planning on bringing you some virtual yoga, story times, and sing-alongs from our talented teachers.

As Montessorians, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of routine. Young children (and some of us adults!) crave routine. It helps lessen anxiety and preserve some sense of normalcy. Here is one example of a routine for your family. Yours will likely look different! Involving your child in the day-to-day household maintenance offers many meaningful opportunities for your child. Montessori tip: You might choose to make a visual schedule of your day. Get creative! Your child could draw pictures, or cut pics out of magazines.

• Breakfast

• Get dressed

• Story reading time

• Snack

• Outdoor play

• Lunch

• Nap or downtime

• Free play (outside or in)

Again, this is just one example, your routine could look totally different. I also want to say that it is absolutely a healthy and age-appropriate expectation for your child to work independently for short periods of time.

Montessori teacher tip: we love timers! Check out this iPhone app for Time-Timer

May we all remain calm, find comfort in our community, and together redefine the meaning of connection.

Wishing you all good health,

Kristen Mark

Dear Sassy Family,

I hope this message finds you safe and well. I wanted to let you know that I'm virtually here for you at this time and would like to support you in any way I can. I will be checking my email often. To help keep our school routine at home, I'm writing our schedule and some activities that can be easily done from the comfort of your home. The schedule and activities are suggestions in case you find yourself in need of "works" to do with your child. Please don't feel pressure to complete everything. I know parents will have to balance working from home with childcare and it is not my intention to overwhelm you but to offer help and support!

8:45- 9:45: WORK PERIOD

Practical Life

• Pouring- their own milk or water.

• Spreading- butter on toast. Jelly on crackers!

• Spooning- cereal, yogurt.

• Transferring- water with a dropper, baster or sponge, peas with a spoon, beans with tweezers, ice cubes with tongs.

• Washing- their breakfast area. Tables, chairs, windows, doors. You can have designated towels like we do in class. We do pink for tables,chairs and shelves and blue for the floor. Have a place for your child to hang or place the towels.

• Food preparation- Involve your toddler in preparing your meals! They can wash, peel, cut, add ingredients. Don't be surprised when some food goes missing!

Language

• Read books- ask questions about the books and wait for your toddler to answer. Have a conversation. You can do art after reading the book (draw or paint.)

• Matching cards- I know it might be challenging to print cards so do what you can! Opposites, things that goes together, facial expressions. One activity that every toddler love is matching the photo of their classmates to their name. You can get photos from our blog and if you have an ABC puzzle, you can get the first letter of the child's name. It's a hit!

Sensorial Activities

• Sorting:

  • Different shapes- Find different shapes around the house. Name them.

  • Different size objects.

  • Different colors.

• Puzzles

• Rough and smooth.

• Mystery bag (when you toddler reaches inside the bag, tell them not to peek and make it a game- they really enjoy thinking they are tricking you!)

Math

• Numbers- Association between a symbol and it's name. Combining symbol with quantities.

Art

Painting, gluing, stickers, any kind of art is fun!

9:45 - 10:00- BOOKS AND MUSIC

Dancing, playing instruments, playing games, singing!

10:00- 10:30 - BATHROOM AND SNACK

This "break" might be a good time to potty train your toddler. Wink wink!

10:30- 11:05- FREE PLAY

• Get some fresh air if possible- have your toddler put their shows on, jackets, hats and mittens. Follow the appropriate guidelines and stay safe.

• Inside gross motor play: Throwing and catching, hide and seek, follow the leader, pretend to be an animal and race.

I think that's probably enough information for now! Pinterest is another great resource for fun activities. Let me know if you have any questions.

This will be posted in the Sassafras Classroom Folder for easy printing!

In partnership,

Fernanda