Greetings, Garden Greats!


In the Garden 🌱
We are looking forward to a super-successful Garden Day tomorrow: rain is in the forecast, but with a little luck it will hold off until the afternoon, sealing our hard work with nature’s own irrigation system.  Garden Committee worked hard this morning to prep beds and organize seeds/starts for an efficient work period tomorrow.  Garden bags have been assembled so everyone who comes by tomorrow will receive a take-home treat.  Many hands make light the load so even if it’s just for an hour, we’d love to see you or your family represented at the event. Thank you for your participation!

Ms. Natalie organized a super-fun harvesting project this week, showing the children just how much our Garden has produced this season and over the break.  They delighted in carrying basketfuls of leafy bounty, and were even able to take samples home to share.  We talked about how this harvest is from our Winter garden and next week we will plant for Summer.  Showing children the rhythm of planting, harvesting, flowering and re-planting is something we want all of our little gardeners to begin experiencing at this tender and impressionable age.

In the Classroom 🏠
Our children were overflowing with joy this week seeing the new Spring work items their classrooms.  Along with incorporating the theme of rebirth, we are discussing the change of seasons and exploring metamorphosis of plants and insects in the garden.  Broccoli is bursting with yellow flowers; bees are pollenating and butterflies will soon emerge from chrysalises.  Springtime is magical, and the children can feel the anticipation.  The weather is beautiful, we are wearing shorts and skirts instead of pants, days are longer -- it’s evident that something big is happening outdoors.  Many children will begin a growth spurt this time of year and can enjoy charting their progress with a measuring stick on a wall at home.  Encourage eating harvested greens to help them grow strong - we know our JG children will be eager to meet the challenge!

Children in Main will have a Spring Egg Hunt this week to celebrate the changing of seasons while in Casa, parent-led crafts with a Springtime theme have been planned.  Hay House and YCC will dye eggs this week.  Celebrations using the egg as a symbol of rebirth is an easy and exciting way for children to make the connection, especially with first-hand knowledge of where eggs come from!

Administration Announcements and Important Dates

• Garden Day is Sunday, March 25th from 10 - NOON

• We will hold our 3rd Community Sing-Along Thursday, March 29th, at 9:30 AM; please bring your youngster to school on time so they won't miss a beat of the fun!
• **Reminder March 29th is the last day for returning families to submit their contracts for Fall 2018**
• Summer invoices and schedules will be released this week so be on the lookout if your child is enrolled in Summer School
• Be sure to check the online calendar for upcoming Compost Care Duties; this month our parent helpers are from the Casa classroom
• Our Book Fair at The Book People is April 13th
• April 16th Session 2 of Spanish Mondays with Ms. Courtney begins!

Book Drive Begins on April 1st 📕
Guides are compiling library wish lists and everyone is getting super excited for the upcoming Book Drive.  Each of our 3 communities (Hay House/YCC will be combined) will compete to see which house can collect the most suggested titles during the 30 days of April.  Make your book donation special by adding an inscription that includes your child’s name and the year they began at Julia’s Garden.  Don’t forget to stop by our Book Fair and purchase a title at The Book People on South Lamar where 20% of the price will go to the Julia’s Garden Fund.  We can’t wait to see the outcome from this event!

New Programs for Fall 2018 🗂
This week we announced two new programs that will begin later this calendar year: Early Arrival and Extended Day Clubhouse.  Early Arrival is for children who need an earlier drop off time and takes place at 8:30 AM.  Extended Day Clubhouse will offer care for students who have weaned their nap and are ready for a longer day of school.  Details on these programs can be found in a flier delivered to your inbox this week, please email administration for information on how to enroll.

Beginning Fall 2018 we will be incorporating Spanish and Mandarin Classes weekly in both Casa and in the Main House during the work period.  We are committed to the advancement of language exposure our children receive each week at Julia’s Garden.  Language exposure from age 0-6 lays a foundation for later mastery of foreign languages; it also helps expand knowledge of their mother tongue by building vocabulary and pronunciation, facilitating reading in later years. In short, the more language in, the more language out, and this is the time to maximize opportunities.  Be sure to have your 2+ year old join us for Session 2 of Spanish Mondays with Ms. Courtney starting April 16th!

I hope you enjoy these candids and I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

Kai is mastering the art of mandarin peeling and Liam’s bananas come out perfect; Violet knows her way around this kitchen, diving right into baking work during the morning Work Period.  The guitar is still a favorite of Senna's and we see Violet exploring shamrock gluing above.

Orion is thrilled with the success of his gradation work and Penelope shows us she’s capable of both fine and gross motor work. India, Preston and Hunt engage in chicken feeding and the Tuesday/Thursday YCC crew enjoys the new playground work.

Hay House and YCC LOVE the new dome - thanks to our Fund Drive which continues to enhance outside spaces this Spring. Jane tests her strength on the monkey bars and friends Sloane, Penelope, Kai, Orion and Jane share sweet moments at playtime.

Casa friends enjoy daily Circle with Ms. Elisabeth and a delightful community snack; Ollie helps to clean up before the feast.

Ms. Natalie’s Casa garden helpers were over the moon with the harvest they gathered this week! These days the view of the Hay House is Spring-tacular.

Violet, Max and Ella (not shown) enjoy muddying up the kitchen making “chocolate” muffins while Felix works hard on smoothing out the landscape.

A re-cap of Ellis’ 5th birthday circle and the joyful carrot harvest the week before our break.  Main House knows how to have a healthy good time!!

WOAH!  That is some serious leafage!  Ezra and Ruairidh show off their strength by carrying these extra large heaps of harvest in for washing.  Ellis, William, Fiona and Max enjoy the process of pulling the last of our winter crop out for everyone’s enjoyment.

Katherine Parlette
Founder, Director
Julia's Garden Montessori 🌸
(512) 790-4094
juliasgarden@me.com
www.juliasgardenmontessori.com
​
“I did not invent a method of education.  I simply gave some little children a chance to live.” - Maria Montessori

Greetings, Friends!


In the Classroom 📖
It’s the last week of school before Spring Break, a turning point in our semester.  You may have noticed your child is more accustomed now to the routines of pick-up and drop-off and looks forward to a morning ritual of coming to class. Traditionally this time of year work periods become heartier and learning peaks.  8 weeks into a semester means that transitional behaviors melt away and children feel confident, embracing their experiences at school and enjoying a feeling of ownership.  It is this time of year that we open our doors to parent observations. Parent observations for Casa and Hay House start March 26th on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:30 - 10:00 AM; observations for the YCC are after Spring Break upon request.  If you would like to make a reservation to observe in one of these communities, please email administration directly and will get you on the books! The children look forward to showing you their classrooms and all they have achieved so far this year.

In the Garden 🥗
March 25th is Garden Day! Please be sure to contact Garden Committee Head, Megan Kendrick, to participate in upcoming meetings on planning and plotting.  Garden Committee members can expect to donate about an hour of their time to meetings and about 2 hours the day before Garden Day.  It’s super fun and you will learn about what it takes to create a successful garden.  BONUS: tons of greens are up now and Garden Committee gets first dibs on crops.  Don’t miss out!!

Garden Committee 🍅
Ist Meeting: Thursday, March 8th @ 11:15 AM 
in the Casetta
Megan Kendrick, Garden Committee Head 
(mama to William & James Murphy)
mekendrick@GMAIL.COM

🌱Garden Day, March 25th 🌱
10-NOON
Bring the family and let’s GROW something GREAT together!!

BOOK DRIVE 📚
We are building a library in the Casetta and we need your help to make it amazing! April is BOOK MONTH at Julia’s Garden: we are holding a contest from April 1st - April 30th between our 3 Communities: YCC+Hay House, Main House & Casa.  Teachers will compile a comprehensive wish list of literature they would like to see in our inventory and each house will then have four weeks to donate books on the list from whichever source they desire. Books donated can be used as long as they are in good condition.  

We are also teaming up with The Book People on South Lamar that will have many of our titles available to purchase online and at our Book Fair which will take place on Friday, April 13th.  If parents wish to show additional support for our school they can purchase books under our account and The Book People will donate 20% of all purchases to the Julia’s Garden Fund.  At the end of the Drive, we will announce the winner and that house will be rewarded with a party at El Mercado on S. 1st Street.  Woohoo!!🍹

Administration 📝
The March calendar is up!

http://www.juliasgardenmontessori.com/calendar.html

Please take note of important dates below
March 8th: Last Day of School before Spring Break
March 12th - 15th: Spring Break, School is Closed
Contact Ms. Elisabeth or Ms. Teri for childcare opps on campus!
March 25th: Garden Day, 10-NOON
March 29th: Fall 2018 Re-Enrollment Deposits and Paperwork Due
April 13th: Book Fair at The Book People
April 26th: Tuition Due for Fall Semester 2018
April 30th: Book Drive Ends

Birthdays 🎈
March birthdays are a-plenty!  In the Hay House, Violet turns 2 years old on March 11th, Liam will celebrate his 2nd bday on March 25th and Penelope hers on March 27th. In Casa, Max’s birthday is Wednesday, March 7th, Ollie’s turning 3 on the 13th and Juno will be 3 on March 23rd. In Main, Ellis turns 5 on March 15th.  Happy birthday to all of our March birthday friends, we couldn’t be prouder of you!

Notes n’ Totes 🎼
We have a Spring Break parting gift for everyone: Julia’s Garden Tote Bags!  These bags are for carrying our water bottles, wet bags, clothing and any parent-teacher communication to and from school each day.  A tote and a lunchbox are all that is needed for class and we know our children will embrace the school spirit and ownership these bags offer.  The first bag is a gift; additional bags may be purchased from administration for $10 each.  Inside of these totes your child will find the Julia’s Garden Community Song Book so that everyone can practice singing garden tunes over the break!

Enjoy these awesome candids and I hope everyone has a fantastic break next week!

Sincerely,

Katherine Parlette
Founder, Director
Julia's Garden Montessori 🌸
(512) 790-4094
juliasgarden@me.com
www.juliasgardenmontessori.com
“I did not invent a method of education.  I simply gave some little children a chance to live.” - Maria Montessori

Elijah enjoys petting a bunny as Varenna tries make friends with another 4 legged companion.  The whole gang is together doing art then, it’s time for music with Ms. Natalie!

Oscar explores bristle block building on the Hay House porch while Indie checks out the swing.  Some lucky chicken got a mealworm meal out of this garden visit!

Orion works to get our table ready for some good, scrubby fun with the YCC class last week.  Working with shaving cream is a favorite outdoor sensorial activity!

Fine motor work is taking off in the Hay House: Harvey and Violet engage successfully and independently in paper cutting and bead stringing work.  Musical mayhem abounds as the children get ready for SXSW: Liam checks out how he looks holding a guitar (nice!) as the other boys participate in an impromptu Drum Circle. Are these Austin Kids or what??

Senna helps mix our daily baking concoction while Sloane whips up some eggs.  Elijah exercises his hand strength during Hand Washing and Liam and Harvey share a secret outside, admiring the garden’s greens.

Butterscotch tastes the morning dew on rainbow kale; it look like the bulbs Ms. Phoebe’s class planted before Christmas have started to sprout!  Hay House children form a line to visit the Casetta for Community Sing Along.

Elisabeth gives Ella a lesson on the Number Rods; Ollie matches cards with words successfully, a great pre-reading activity.  Anders enjoys play dough work while Ethan manages Cutting Work with great success.
Juno, Zahra, Sam and Hazel all enjoyed watercolor work last week; Findlay works on refining small motor skills as he chooses bead stringing work.  Zahra finds joy in spice grinding during the Work Period.

Sam enjoys cutting work, Violet gets a lesson on the Trinomial Cube and Zahra helps roll towels for hand-washing work.

All of the children are enjoying the new animal puzzles on the shelf - thanks so much, Community, for donating to the Fund Drive that helped us purchase these great materials!

Findlay and Ella show off their dinosaur-sorting abilities and, later, Findlay and William collaborate on the map of Europe.  Aspen gains mastery of pouring precision and Theodora shows us she is truly in the Sensitive Period for Tactile Exploration as she traces a “h” with Ms. Lindsay.

Bodhi engages in watercoloring, Lion and William work with Number Rods, Ms. Lindsay supports Lana’s dressing Frame efforts.  The children enjoyed meeting Maestra Courtney last week - her Spanish Class is a hit!

Here, Main House children walk into Casetta for our monthly Community Sing Along.  We hope you enjoy practicing school songs over the break with you children!

Don’t forget to volunteer for Garden Committee!  We can’t wait to share the harvest with you.