Linda’s class made butter by shaking milk for a good long time! And what goes better with butter than fresh baked bread – so Rob, my husband, brought in his fresh-baked rosemary bread and the children had their snack – yum!
Francie’s dad Aaron, a Skratch Labs chef, came in to finish the pumpkin job he’d started in October. With his help, the pumpkin he’d frozen was turned into gnocchi, made by the children. Aaron was so organized and patient with the children it was a joy to see! Thank you Aaron!
A new Tonka truck became a lesson in civic responsibility and voting; should the truck be donated to the Share-a-Gift box or kept for our sandbox? We voted and, almost unanimously, the sandbox won! Iris, Nash and Hank are ready to give the truck its first run in the sand!
The Children’s Annual Thanksgiving Feast was a bountiful success. The tables were arranged end to end so all the children could sit together while they feasted on the goodies they’d made the day before – applesauce, corn muffins, sautéed carrots and gnocchi, of course!
It was a crisp and sunny day as families gathered to watch all our MMS students, now princesses, animals, astronauts, super-heros and more, march around the trike path for our annual Halloween Parade. (And actually, the “march” was more like wandering down the path, as they took in all the various characters attending school that day!)
In October we had our Back to School nights where children bring their parents to school to show them their favorite lessons. We had a Mom’s night and a Dad’s night and everyone was excited to share and learn about what goes on during a typical day in the life of a Montessori child!
Our first Family Social included our Yonana Bar – delicious ice cream made only with fruit! Children played, parents mingled and everyone enjoyed Yonana ice cream!
We started our summer replacing the ash trees that we lost to the city-wide emerald ash borer infestation. With grant money, we were able to purchase 3 pear and 1 linden which seem to be doing very well! As Davey Tree was planting, we were prepping; all staff took the belay-review course at Movement Gym to be ready to belay our campers. Some children scamper to the top without a moment of hesitation! Our swim lessons at the Louisville Rec Center are well organized and allow children to relax and learn while having fun.
This spring we had several special events. First, we got a woodchip topping in January. The children waited patiently as they watched the woodchips get blown into the playground. When all was ready, they were given the green light; you can see their delight in the video. Needless to say, it was a fun experience! Then, in February we had our Valentine Family Social. The children made special treats and hot cocoa and everyone had a great time sipping and socializing at pick-up. In May we got our playhouse remodeled (by my son Drew) and we celebrated 45 years at our annual MMS Birthday Party. With games, prizes and food donated by ABO’s Pizza and Nicki Thebault (Francie’s mom) of Skratch Labs, and the children (who made tons of hummus!) a good time was had by all. We finished our year with a wonderful picnic and moving up ceremony. Each class prepared songs to sing and we had a rousing performance by our Angklung Band. At the end of our ceremony, each child walked over the bridge to signify their moving up in our school, to be mentors for younger students in the fall.
We finished our year with a wonderful picnic and moving up ceremony. Each class prepared songs to sing and we had a rousing performance by our Angklung Band. At the end of our ceremony, each child walked over the bridge to signify their moving up in our school, to be mentors for younger students in the fall.
On the Monday of Thanksgiving week, the children started preparing muffins, kale chips, apple crisp and squash that they would share the next day at their Annual Thanksgiving Feast. Luckily, the weather cooperated and, with sun and mild temperatures, we were able to feast outside. Each class talked about things they are grateful for. At the top of Linda’s class’s list: MMS and their school buddies. At the top of Angelarose’s class list: family, dog, cat, school, friends and lastly, toys!
Halloween brought some colder weather but that didn’t stop our Halloween Parade; we made one long chain of adorable costumed children and looped through the two classrooms about a dozen times. At first it was a bit shaky with the younger children not really understanding that they were supposed to go into the “other” classroom but after a few loops, they had their rhythm! After the event the costumes went home with the parents (whichever staff member thought that one up deserves a medal!) and we continued on with our day in a fairly “normal” fashion.
Wes Sheeter’s grandmother Amy Haywood delighted us with song at our November Family Meet-up. Amy, a two-time Parent Choice Award Winner for children’s music and story recordings, is the founder of Music Kids, a preschool music program; she also writes children’s songs and stories. All the songs were new to us but that didn’t matter because Amy has a wonderful way of bringing everyone into the song. We look forward to having her back!
Back to School Nights are a wonderful way for parents to get a peak inside the daily lives of their young children at school. It’s always fun to see how excited the children are to show parents their favorite lessons; sometimes it’s a lesson they’ve been working on and sometimes it’s totally random! After the work time, parents and children participate in a circle time and we sing some of our favorite songs together. Thanks for participating in this fun event!
Wes’s dad Daniel organized a Bike to School event for October 4th’s National Walk and Roll to School Day; several families participated in the fun!
On Oct 10th Heloise’s dad Garrick, a firefighter, came to MMS to talk about fire safety. He brought all his gear, explained what everything was and allowed the children to try it all on. When he’s fully dressed, clothing, mask and oxygen tank, he’s carrying about 200 extra pounds! He also brought a fire hose, attached it to the fire hydrant and allowed each child to take a turn. They got to feel the power!
What a great summer we had. Movement Climbing Gym (new for us) was an easy walk for the children – it’s right on Valmont and 28th. The instructors were wonderful with the children and because they trained us, we were pretty good at belaying! As you can see, some of our kids made it to the top – spider monkeys gone wild! Then, when the YMCA canceled us for lack of lifeguards, we ended up at the Louisville Rec Center and loved it! Both Bill at Movement and Danny at the Louisville Rec Center welcomed our group with open arms and top-notch instructors. Thanks to both of you for your warm welcome and fun instruction. Barbara Curtis our clay teacher, Nina Berezina our story-teller, Hilary Tulloch on Spanish and Linda Kilanoski on dance all added their talents to our program, as did our amazing teachers. And of course summer at MMS wouldn’t be complete without an occasional flooding of the sandbox! It’s amazing to see the teamwork of the children as they work collectively through the magic of water! Thanks to everyone who helped make this a summer to remember!
On Monday, June 12, 2023 we experienced a thunderous storm that left mountains of hail (still there two days later) by our front door! We filled a bin with the cold pebbles and set it on a classroom table with a few spoons and cups. It was an instant hit, to say the least!
