In February we spent as much time as possible outside – even during the many rain showers! All children are encouraged to bring rain boots and rain pants to school. It’s wonderful to see them learning to use the outdoor space differently during inclement weather and what new and exciting games they can come up with.

On a sunny day we harvested some lemons and a Buddha’s hand citrus from our garden. We also tasted a lime, a Cara Cara orange, and a Supernova mandarin. We talked about sweet and sour flavors and took a vote on which was our favorite citrus we tasted.

A very popular new activity was the juicing work. Everyone got two halves of a mandarin to squeeze out some fresh juice to drink.

For Valentine’s Day we planted Gladiolus bulbs in our garden, in anticipation of Spring coming soon. The class wrote letters and mailied them to their families. They love seeing their cards arrive at home a few days later.

Towards the end of the month we took advantage of a nice bit of continuous sunshine and planted potatoes in our garden, with three varieties of white and purple colored potatoes. We looked at a picture of various colorful potatoes and learned there are over 5000 different varieties of potatoes that exist in the world. The class discussed how potatoes grow and what part of the world they originally come from.

The class also harvested the last of our carrots and we used them as part of a carrot chopping work in the classroom. We made a plan to plant more carrots this spring.

As we have started to plant in our garden, we have been talking about farms and where food comes from. One of our new works this week featured photos of farms from every continent, including Antarctica!

To round off the month we had a couple of special visits from parents. We learnt all about construction, including how buildings are made, different kinds of construction vehicles, safety gear, and how buildings are made to withstand earthquakes. The class had many questions and was very enthusiastic about the subject!

Another parent came in to talk to the children about exercise. We had great fun doing jumping jacks and squats, and learned about the importance of stretching and moving our bodies. Parent participation is such a valued part of our school and we are so grateful to our community for sharing their interests and experience with us.

Coming up in March we have bi-annual parent teacher conferences, a celebration of Spring gathering with our families, and a field trip to the Watsonville Wetlands.

Sarah

Ps. We are accepting applications for the school year 2024/25, with our first spaces available in May – please do reach out if you’d like to come and tour the school. Our website now has a booking form to enable you to book tours directly.

You are receiving this newsletter because you joined our waitlist or contacted us through our website. It is a snapshot of the weekly emails that our headteacher Joe sends out to all parents at school, keeping them updated on life in the classroom. Previous month’s newsletters can be found on our website.​
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sarah@midtownmontessori.com

A: 987 Bostwick Lane, Santa Cruz, CA

P: (831) 423 2273

C: (858) 226 3107

CCL #444417036