Julia's Garden Newsletter ?: Peach Harvest Yumminess, Front Yard Fence, Book Drive Winners, Last Day of School Celebration and More!

Greetings, Garden Parents!

Welcome to our second-to-last newsletter, and to the very last month of the school year.  The children continue to impress us by showing off their independence and skills in new ways.  Last week, Ms. Phoebe’s valiant efforts to eradicate a plant from the garden ended tragically, taking her out of class and returning the next day on crutches.  But did this stop our Hay Housers?  Not at all.  In fact, they rose to the occasion, demonstrating just how capable they are of running their community independently with little to no help during the entire Work Period. Hay House children, we couldn’t be prouder of what you have show us this past week.

Independence is truly the theme for our tot communities as we see the YCC class continue to exercise their newfound toilet skills each morning.  In order to support their efforts, please dress your YCC youngster in shirts and pants instead of dresses or rompers.  Thank you!

Celebrations 🎉
While Ellis’ birthday was being celebrated in Casa, both Beau and Indie turned 2 in the YCC. More birthday fun was had when Nixon turned 4 in the Main House and he and his friends enjoyed a Montessori birthday circle with snack time treats to boot.  This month, we honor Violet’s 4th birthday on the 20th and Ezra’s 5th birthday on the 23rd.  

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our last day of school singalong in Casetta, May 24th.  All parents and siblings are invited.  We will begin the celebration on the pavilion at noon where we will enjoy sack lunches together (please pack one for yourself and one for your child).  Afterwards, we will head inside for songs and special performances.  The party ends with an early dismissal for all communities at 1:30 PM.  We can’t wait to celebrate the close of this amazing school year with all of you.

The Giant Peach Harvest 🍑 
Peaches by the dozens were harvested last week and gobbled up during snack time by happy staff and children.  Each community enjoyed these southern treats in their own way: the YCC sliced theirs fresh, Main House made a peach crumble, Casa kids created a peach cobbler and Ms. Phoebe’s class enjoyed baking mini peach pies.  Sounds like peach-y good fun was had by everyone as the children made the most of this year's bountiful harvest!

Summer School Update ☀️ 
Summer school welcome emails will be coming your way next week, stay tuned for info on what to bring and what we will be exploring in the garden this summer!

Book Drive Winners 🍹
Congrats to our Book Drive Winners, YCC & Hay House, led by House Mamas Rosina Castellano & Kelly Kalyan. These communities collected 74 books towards their goal of 100 - an amazing job! They will be enjoying themselves later this month at El Mercado soaking in sun, fun, the sweet taste of victory . . . and margaritas!

Announcements 🏡
We have a new fence in the front yard where children and parents can relax and chat before and after pick up at 1700 S. 3rd Street.  All communities are welcome to use the space during school hours and adult sized chairs/benches are coming soon to complete the experience.  Thank you for observing the posted front yard rules and we hope everyone enjoys the new area!

Our baby chicks are already living in the triangle coop at the school!  My, how fast they grow . . .

Dates to Remember 🎗
Teacher Appreciation week is upon us: contact your House Mama to learn how to shower your child’s amazing teacher with gifts of gratitude this week ❤️
May 24th: Last day of school and Community-Wide Singalong at 12:00 PM; Early dismissal for all communities at 1:30 PM
June 4th: First day of Summer School!

Indie mixes, and Hunt blows . . .  days later, Beau’s birthday is celebrated with fresh sliced peaches and a homemade cake.  Happy birthday to both of these sensational two year olds!

Poppy seed harvest! These little bulbs are super fun to shake out - look at how many seeds we got!

Making petite peach pies delighted our Hay House littles last week.

Zucchinis are in bloom and Phoebe’s children took full advantage of the harvest making these lovely spiced squash muffins.  Will strawberry bread be next??

Zarah assists Penelope with her shoes during Extended Day; Ellis gets a birthday treat at Snack Time and our freshly picked peaches are made into a cobbler that delivers smiles to all Casa kids last week.

Main House has been loving these sunny, outdoor starts to their days by getting their wiggles out and enjoying the company of good friends.  We also spotted the mama bird’s nest - she returned to lay her eggs again this season!

First, the children learned about the parts of the peach with “peach pie work” made by Mrs. Meagan in her training last summer. Then, peach crumble was concocted, served and dishes sudsed up by Ella & Ellis.

After a morning outside, Main House children can be found busying themselves with art, fine motor work and, above, mathematics and bead stringing.

Teacher appreciation this week and mama appreciation this weekend!  Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms at Julia’s Garden!!!

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