Class Photos!

I haven't uploaded all the pictures to the Photobucket account, but you'll see them soon.We had a great day! I really enjoyed this first day back at school!

Social Networking

I am flattered that I've had several requests from Montessori parents to be Facebook friends! However, I choose not to utilize Facebook for professional networking. I think it's important that I keep my professional life separate from my personal life.

Thanks for your understanding!

--Amy Perrien

First Day of School

Just a few days left until the first day of school! The Waukazoo teachers had a busy week back at school: preparing classrooms, working on lesson plans, learning about curriculum and testing changes, and getting committees and activities ready for the upcoming school year.

As the children prepare for their day I do have a few things for them to keep in mind:

• The Upper Montessori students line up at the 4th and 5th grade door (same as last year). They will need to line up at the painted "P". Please consider letting your child ride the bus (if possible) on the first day. The Waukazoo parking lots fill quickly!
• If students are ordering school lunch on Tuesday they will need to have a positive lunch balance; the lunch program is a prepaid program. Parents may send cash or a check or their may call the West Ottawa Food Services office and use a credit card.
• The students will NOT be able to use snack tickets on the first day of school. At this time we do not have any snacks in the snack cupboard.
• Binders will be needed on the first day. Just a reminder that I do have binders available at school for those students that do not bring their own.
• If your child took home a "Getting-to-know-you" brown bag please bring this back (filled) on the first day of school. Those that did not get a bag will receive one on Tuesday.
  
• Students will have their music special on this first day! Please make sure that all students have gym shoes in school by Thursday.
• Remind your child that we will do a lot of talking and whole class work these first couple weeks. The Montessori workplan does not begin right away as I prefer to do team building activities and also set classroom norms.
  
• It is COMMON for the 4th graders/new students to miss their old teacher, their old class, their old routines. They sometimes are sad about the change to a new classroom, new teacher, new responsibilities! What should parents do? Be positive about the new environment and be supportive of their ability to get used to the new routines! (Remember how scared we parents all were when we started middle school, high school, college...it WILL get better!)
• Finally, PLEASE put them to bed early [enough] on Monday night so they are bright-eyed on Tuesday morning. I will meet all students at their classroom line outside!

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

--Mrs. Perrien

Back to School

Welcome back to the classroom blog! Parents will continue to receive classroom news and will be able to access the blog from home or work. Please remember to bookmark this page!

Once school is back in session please make it a practice to check the blog every few days for news. I will also send out an email whenever a new blog posting is created.

I am excited to offer this classroom blog as a way for parents to stay in contact with classroom news. Should you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to ask!

A Back-to-School parent/student information packet is in the mail and should be arriving in a day or two. After reading through the packet, please let me know if you have any questions.

If you are the parent of a student who is now entering the 6th grade I will be updating my address book at school Friday and will remove your email address at that time. Feel free to visit the blog anytime, though!

Enjoy these last few days of summer!

Amy Croel-Perrien

One Last Reminder

It is almost time to delete the pictures at the Photobucket photo sharing site! Just a few more days...

Photobucket

Parents-

All of the photos taken during the school year are in the Photobucket site. If you would like to order pictures please do so before the end of August.

I will be deleting the contents of the Perrien Photobucket site at the end of August in preparation for the new school year.

Thanks!

Summer--what to do?

During the summer vacation my kids are allowed to be "school work free" for the first two weeks of the break. After that...mom has a plan!

My girls each work on their handwriting (cursive for Evelyn) skills over the summer. This is done through thank you letters (or other types of written correspondence) to family and friends. They also will be keeping a summer journal.

They will also be working on a summer skills workbook. I have chosen a grade level workbook from Barnes and Noble. My goal is for them to practice the skills they learned during the last school year (not to introduce something new and potentially frustrating) so they don't appear "rusty" in the fall. They work on these workbooks for about 30 minutes per day. (They will be quick to remind you that they don't work on the weekends!)

We also do occasional flash card practice (to keep those basic math facts fresh) and we READ EVERY DAY. Reading in our home usually is done before bedtime. My husband or I read a chapter from a book chosen as a family story. Then the girls read for 15-20 minutes on their own in their bedrooms. Reading is a great way for them to wind down and relax before it's lights out!

Other Summer Activities:
Go to the beach!
Get outside and play
Turn OFF the TV
Visit with family and friends
Go to the zoo (the John Ball Zoo is Grand Rapids is inexpensive)
Spend time together as a family!

Have a wonderful summer! If you have any questions for me I am always available through email at croelperriena@westottawa.net.

Thanks!

Mrs. Perrien