Julia's Garden Newsletter ?: Garden Day Fun, Spring Has Sprung! Book Fair April 13th, Fall Tuition Reminder, Save the Date for Last Day of School Celebration and More!

​Greetings, Green Thumbed Community!


In the Garden 🌱
We are still celebrating that fantastic turnout we had on Garden Day - what an event.  Our starts and seeds are taking off due to the longer light hours and all of the love offered by our volunteers.  Three cheers for Megan Kendrick and the entire Garden Committee! We now anxiously await the crops that will soon emerge: tomatoes, squash and basil will replace rainbow chard and cilantro . . . our herb beds have never looked better, and all JG children are hoping for a strawberry or two.  Peaches will ripen in the May sun next month and a dewberry harvest is very soon on the horizon. Stay tuned for Springtime sweetness!

Our Spring Egg Hunt was also a super success, many thanks to helpful parent, Jenn Aquilia, for hiding those eggs in record time. It was excitement overflow as they scrambled across the morning dew for the first of many egg hunts over the weekend.  Another thank you to Casa parents, Jennifer McKeon and Amina Garrison who brought the craft supplies for their Spring Egg Hunt and Bunny-Making activity.  I think it’s safe to say that all JG kids had a ball welcoming Springtime!

In the Classroom 📚
All of our children have been beautifying their cottages with the sweet smell of flowers.  These days, each little table has a poppy or rose bloom to adorn it: the practical life activity of Flower Arranging keeps small hands busy with a sensorial, multi-stepped activity that is rich in color and experience. This work also involves the independent act of going outside during the work period to collect flowers.  At this point in the school year many of our children are capable of this responsibility.  If you would like a peek at the beautiful work your children have been doing this is a great time to sign up for a classroom observation.  April will be our final month to schedule parent observations so if you are interested participating please contact administration so we can be sure to get you on the calendar.

In the Community ☀️
Our Book Drive is in full swing!  Thank you to everyone who jumped on board and signed up to donate titles this week.  Remember, you have until April 30th to bring books to Ms. Natalie at drop-ff.  Some houses have gone the extra mile and put their sign up sheets on realtime GoogleDocs to keep track of their inventory.  This is going to be close one, but in the end everyone is a winner!  

Don’t forget to attend our Book Fair this Friday 13th at The Book People from 3:00 - 5:00 PM. Attending the book fair is a great way for you and your child to choose titles together for the school’s library.  The titles highlighted in yellow are for sale at The Book People and 20% of each purchase will be donated to the Julia’s Garden Fund.  We also are encouraging you to make an inscription with your child’s name and the year he/she began at Julia’s Garden as a forever keepsake of his/her time spent with us.

We ordered custom bookshelves for our library over the weekend, thanks again to the Julia’s Garden Fund for providing our school with this opportunity.  We hope to unveil both books and shelves on May 24th at our final community singalong of the semester.  Community singalongs this semester have been a student and staff only event so far, but on the last day of school parents are invited to attend.  Please note that dismissal for all communities will be at 1:30 PM that day.  Mark your calendars and get ready to sing and celebrate!

Last Day of School Community Sing-Along Celebration
May 24th, 12 NOON - 1:30 PM*
Casetta & Pavilion of 1702 S. 3rd Street
Lunch and Music Served
*early dismissal at 1:30 PM for entire student community

Birthdays 🎈
April rains birthdays!  This month, we celebrate Ms. Elisabeth’s birthday on April 4th, Ms. Savanna on April 7th, Ella McKeon’s birthday is April 16th, Ms. Louise’s birthday is April 27th, Beau’s birthday is April 28th and Nixon’s is April 30th. Happy birthday to all our April amigos!

Spanish Mondays 💃🏾
Speaking of amigos, Spanish classes with Ms. Courtney have added enriching cultural exposure to our children’s weeks.  Colors, numbers and animals are all lessons being built upon and since most of the class is presented entirely in Spanish, children are also beginning to understand simple words and phrases. Our second session starts April 16th. If you would like your child’s Spanish experience to continue, please be sure to let administration know this week.  !Gracias!

Announcements, Dates and Reminders📝
Friday, April 13th Book Fair at The Book People 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Monday, April 16th Second Session of Spanish Begins
Thursday, April 26th Fall Tuition Due
Monday, May 1st Book Drive Ends
Thursday, May 24th Last Day of School, Singalong Celebration at 12 NOON, Early Dismissal at 1:30 PM

Enjoy these candids and the week ahead!

Sincerely,

Katherine Parlette
Julia's Garden Montessori 🌸
Founder, Director
(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

Garden Day recap!  Thank again to everyone for their organization and participation!!
Everyone always looks forward to singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” with Ms. Natalie; Indie and Hunt join hands and sway along to the beat. After singing, it’s time for homemade play dough at the work table with friends.  But the biggest hit at the YCC this week?  Cardboard building boxes, of course!

YCC and Hay House friends both enjoyed wet n’ wild fun with bubbles and splashing around the grounds; after all the waterworks, Orion puts all of the dampness out to dry.  Jane enjoys Spring-themed collage work and Penelope delights in a whole basketful of fresh farm eggs to share with her friends.

Violet mixes up some rosemary and olive oil in preparation for a special snack time treat. All Hay House youngsters delighted in harvesting artichokes and Liam washes up after the harvest.  Jane teaches Violet how to fist-bump above.  Lessons given from older children to younger ones is one of the most precious gifts of a Montessori education.

Frankie finds joy in exploring the Red Rods this week and the children in Casa are more focused than ever on their lessons. Friendships are solid and practical life activities are engaged upon impulsively and with fervor.  Here we see Sam, James and Max all grabbing a tool and pitching in to clean up after snack while Juno clears.

More springtime fun!  Zahra collects eggs for muffin-making, then Juno, Max, Sam and James help stir the batter. Carrot muffins were a hit, but the best part was washing dishes outside in the beautiful spring weather with friends.

Poppies are sprouting all over the Garden and the children delight in selecting them for flower arranging.  Birthday Girl Ms. Elisabeth gets a cameo shot from the other birthday girl, Ms. Savanna, and Juno, Max, Zahra and Felix all experience the scent of fresh picked flowers.

Egg and bunny crafts then an egg hunt to follow. Casa kids delighted in these carefully planned activities that celebrated the arrival of Spring.

Eggs were the theme across the board last week and these children collected their share of pastel prizes.

More eggs!  Lion gathers yet another basketful; the chickens are surely happy in their new nesting boxes! In the Main House this week we had a gorgeous turnout for our final Wine + Wisdom event of the year.  Mrs. Meagan delivered insight on the importance of having patience, along with the growth, that occurs between ages 3 and 7 in a Montessori classroom.  Thank you, Meagan, for the inspiration, education and the entertainment. It was a magical night in the Garden!