This month in Mountain Laurel Cottage...

I hope you are all enjoying the cooler temperatures as much as we have been in the classroom. Working outside on the porch has become very popular as the weather has gotten nicer.  
I am excited to share with you that we had a new student join our class this month; his name is Alex Andrulis. Alex moved up from Foxtail Cottage and is adjusting beautifully to our community.
Early this month, I told the last of the 2 Great Stories of the Montessori Curriculum. As I mentioned on our first Parent night, back in August, the Montessori Curriculum starts with the Great Lessons every year. I invite new students to the lesson, but when returning students hear it is one of the Great Stories, they love to join. For Geography, Biology, and History, the Great Stories are the opening door for many, many lessons. However, for Language and Math, you can begin lessons and then tell them the Great Stories. The children heard the Story of our Alphabet and saw the progression to what it is today. They also enjoyed listening to the Story of our Numerals and were all given the homework to question you about Arabic numbers…. I wonder how many of you learned something from your children ;-)
Our classroom continues to be like a busy beehive, and our 20 beloved bees move from one lesson or task to another. We have had lessons on the composition of the earth and the states of matter, which involve cool experiments with different substances. We have been understanding the Force of Gravity and learning about the Planets of the Solar System.
Some students have been playing a US capitals memory game; others have been researching specific States and some economic geography facts. 
We are fortunate to have Ms. Pat, who comes weekly into the classroom to show students some cool art projects. This month, everybody sewed and stuffed a cute little turkey. 
In geometry, some children learned about angles; older students learned how to measure angles and build an angle when given its measurement. Other students are learning the parts of the circle and the relationship between lines in a circle.
For read-aloud, I like to alternate between fiction and nonfiction books. This month we read a book with stories about the Underground Railroad. The week before the Fall break, we read about the first native Americans that lived in the North East. The children learned about the different tribes, how they lived before the colonizers came, and how they helped the Quakers adapt and survive to their land. 
Thanks for coming to the classroom play last month. We raised funds to pay for most of the Black Strip (a Montessori timeline). The school covered the remaining balance, and we should receive the material very soon. 

What’s coming?
Parent night 12/09/21: 
The Elementary guides will be having an Introduction to Elementary Parent night talk about the Montessori Curriculum and how it evolves throughout the 6 years. Please come ready to learn and ask all your questions. This night is our early holiday gift to you 😉

Elementary Bonfire 12/16/21: 
Imagine you are between 6 and 12 yrs old, now imagine you are a student at Cedars, and you get to play in the school at night with all your friends! Sounds good, right? Well, this awesome Cedars tradition is back! Because of bad weather and the pandemic, we haven’t been able to have the elementary bonfire in the last couple of years. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather will be on our side this year, so we can all gather by the fire to mingle and enjoy each other. Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 16th. 
Serenade
Has your child been coming home singing holiday songs? The holiday spirit is vibrant in our community. The children are planning to serenade you before the winter break. Please save the date for Friday, December 17th at 11:45 am. It is early dismissal that day (12:15), so come a little earlier 😉.

It is our tradition in Mountain Laurel to do pajama/games and fun day on the day before the Winter break
Ways to help our classroom

• If you would like to donate something from our classroom wish list, here is the link, and thank you!
  
• If you haven’t signed up to donate flowers, please sign up here  
  

Scroll down and enjoy the photos.
Warmly,
Maya