November 2025
The year is moving quickly, and as we race into December. This newsletter offers a recap of November. Our Student-Led Conference days, held in mid-November, gave children the opportunity to act as tour guides and offer parents a glimpse into a typical day at school. These hands-on experiences provide valuable clarity for all of us, young and old. We hope every parent left with a deeper understanding of what daily life in a Montessori environment entails. We truly enjoy welcoming parents into the classroom and sharing these meaningful moments with their children..
We began our studies of North America in October with an exploration of First Nations. As we travel across continents, our main focus is on animals. Each continent features an animal workbook of indigenous wildlife and a related craft. This year, the children made a cuddly mini black-bear stuffie. Booklets are sent home when completed. When you compare the books at year’s end, you will be able to see the story of your child’s progress. Hand-eye and fine-motor exercises this term included lacing bear and owl shapes, as well as sewing buttons. Our North America study wrapped up with Hawaii and Mexico, touching on their cultural events and clothing. During the final week, the children made mini-Mexican street-festival pennants (more lacing practice) and prepared nachos for snack (Juanita chips—yum!). The changing season and autumn have also continued to guide our November lessons, art projects and Circle discussions. We studied weather and its effects on humans, animals, and plants, as well as migration and hibernation, again highlighting North American wildlife. Continent puzzle maps and land-and-water forms have become classroom favourites. European studies and winter projects will begin in the new year. Projects can be seen on our Instagram page.
November also includes Remembrance Day, for which the children made poppy cards. We speak about Remembrance Day in age-appropriate terms, focusing on remembering important people we cannot be with.
Classroom materials change for seasons, special events, and holidays. Practical Life and the water-work areas continue to be popular hubs of activity. These are often natural gathering spots where children form small sewing circles, beading groups, or gather to watch water activities. Children love to be included in family-style tasks such as setting and wiping the table and sweeping the floor. They may not comment in the moment, but children will absorb everything around them. Practical Life builds skills, self-confidence, and a deep sense of belonging. A few breakages are natural parts of learning consequences.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of literacy. It unlocks so many stages of development. Children love to explore books, turn pages, and use their imagination for the stories. They especially love being read to. We teach the alphabet phonetically. First-year children begin with sound games, whereas most second-year children have progressed to sound blending. Children will play sound games independently and with classmates, and you will likely see them doing the same at home. As they learn each letter’s sound, they begin to blend sounds into words, and reading follows naturally. They are currently working with the sandpaper letters and the movable alphabet. * Please use only lowercase letters when practicing at home, except for the beginning of a sentence or a name.
Scholastic Books mini-catalogues go home about every six weeks. The website offers even more selections. Our Class Code is RC173207 for online orders. Thank you for supporting our school through your Scholastic purchases.
Every child develops at their own pace. If we observe delayed development or concerning behaviour, we reach out to parents to begin discussions. These children are still very young and are learning the boundaries of the classroom, health and safety practices, new friendships, and new environments. Testing boundaries is natural, and transitions require time and patience. Preschool is about much more than academic readiness; it is about social and emotional development, learning how to interact appropriately with others, and understanding how to make and keep friends. These are the essential building blocks for kindergarten and beyond. Learning happens through belonging, well-being, engagement, and expression. When children feel safe and have a sense of well-being, they feel confident to take risks in learning. Confident, happy children learn better, and this sense of well-being supports all areas of growth.
Severe-weather protocol notices are being sent home this week. We hope we won’t need them, but it is always best to be prepared. We play outside every day—rain or shine—but also have indoor alternatives such as balance platforms and yoga. Miss Stacy and Miss Ainsley have taught yoga for many years, and this year’s class seems especially enthusiastic. The children will need warmer indoor and outdoor clothing as the weather gets colder.
Information regarding the year-end concert was emailed last week. A sign-up sheet for potluck contributions is available at the door during pick-up. Please ensure everyone has eaten lunch before arriving so the potluck snack can be shared fairly (we have 21 children and 42 parents attending). The potluck is an afternoon snack, not a meal. We hope every child and parent will attend, even if the child does not normally come on Thursdays. You may already be hearing the songs at home! The concert will be short but very sweet. It is important for everyone to arrive on time (or a few minutes early). We cannot delay or pause the concert for latecomers, as a room full of waiting adults can cause anxiety for the children. More reminders will be sent as the date approaches.
Items to Note
- Home baking: Please send a list of ingredients whenever you send in homemade food. If a child has a reaction during the day (such as hives), we must be able to pass accurate information to families. A screenshot of the recipe emailed to us is perfect.
- Concert Day is Thursday, December 18th. We wish for all children to attend the concert. Children who normally attend Thursdays will have the usual drop-off time (please send them in with a lunch). Children who do not normally attend on Thursdays should arrive around 12:30 after they have had lunch at home. Parents may drop off their potluck contribution and come back at 1pm.
- Last day of class: We will close at noon on Wednesday, December 24th.
- School re-opens on Friday, January 2nd, 2024. Thursday, January 1st is a holiday.
We say goodbye to November as we welcome in December
