Welcome to November! It’s a busy time as always in Primary 3, as we prepare for winter and the celebrations that surround us. It’s hard to believe that we have been together for two months already.
Clothing concentration –
This reminds us that for some children in the classroom, their extra clothes supply is more suited for summer. Please be sure that your child has weather-appropriate clothes in his or her supply box. Sometimes those lunch-time spills require a change of clothes and cooler weather is upon us.
And speaking of cooler weather. When I started my car this week one morning, it was 31 degrees. Colder days which require mittens and hats will arrive with November, and before long, it will be snow pants season. Please try to think ahead, as we do play outside all year – even in the snow! If your child doesn’t have snow pants, he or she will find waiting on the sidewalk less enjoyable than snow angels.
Birthday celebrations –
We have many birthdays to celebrate this year, and we look forward to family visits as we take that trip around the sun for each year. We do want to remind our families that you don’t need to bring trinkets or treats for our classmates. While it can be joyful to share, it is also a distraction at a time of day when focus is important. We ask that all gifts for classmates – however small – are left at home.
Special Persons Day –
I am sure you received information in your family mailbox about Special Person’s Day, our annual celebration that will be held Friday, Nov. 21. It’s a great time for your child to show their Special Person their classroom, their work and meet friends. Please let our office know who your child would like to bring and we will look forward to meeting them.
Conferences –
For those who have not signed up for conferences, we have day’s designated next week for that purpose: Oct. 30 and Oct. 31. Please make a point to meet with me – you will learn so much about your child’s development and our environment. I always enjoy talking with parents and look forward to seeing you!
Sensorial – How the senses help us learn
Each month, we like to highlight aspects of our classroom to help educate our families about the benefits of Montessori. This month, we feature the Sensorial area of the environment.
The Sensorial area of the Montessori environment is focused on appealing to the child’s need to touch, smell, taste, hear sounds and see various objects in their environment. Paula Polk Lillard states in the book “Montessori – A Modern Approach,” “the aim of the sensorial materials is the education and refinement of the senses: visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, thermic, baric, stereognostic and chromatic.” (Page 71)
What this means is the development of these senses is of the greatest importance in a child’s education, especially at the primary level, for it is through our senses that we interpret and evaluate the world around us. By allowing a child to experience and refine his or her senses at the point in his development that is most open to sensorial materials, what we call the sensitive period, we establish the foundation for more advanced learning.
Some of these materials are the pink tower, sound boxes, touch tablets, smelling bottles and baric tablets, to name a few. All of these materials help the child order and understand his or her environment.

Trish