Laguna Niguel Montessori Center - Students field trip to Tanaka Farms in Irvine

Our students enjoyed their very first field trip of the season to Tanaka Farms in Irvine.  There they were treated to a hay ride through the vegetable gardens where they were welcomed to pick carrots, green onions, radishes and green beans.  Of course they also wandered through the pumpkin patch choosing one from the vine to bring home!  Once back at school, many of the classrooms used the freshly picked vegetables to make a wonderful homemade soup.  The smell through the school was delightful and the children really enjoyed chipping in to help prepare the soup using their very own freshly picked vegies.

Our annual Book Fair and Fundraiser is in full swing.  As you may know, this is an event that we do each year to raise money for books to donate to Toys For Tots during the holiday season.  100% of the proceeds earned are used to buy toys, books and other items for needy children right here in our own county.  To date, we have donated close to 5,000 books.  It’s doubly special because the children participate in the events.  Our hope is that by introducing the students to giving at an early age will help start them on a life long journey of charity.

We are looking forward to our Halloween parade on October 31^st at 10:00. 
Everyone is welcome.  Our older students will be performing songs for the Sea Country Senior Center that morning which is always fun for young and old alike.

Laguna Niguel Montessori Center -Upcoming Events 2012

All the children are settling in nicely to the routine of school and the parents seem to have a sense of relief as well! The children are busy making new friends and getting new lessons on our wonderful Montessori Materials! While all this is going on, I’d like to point a few events that are coming up so that you can mark your calendars accordingly.

Back to School Night:   Week of September 17^th

School Pictures:            October 3^rd and 4^th

We are looking forward to the beginning of the holiday season. To start with we will be having our annual field trip to Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to get out of the classroom, climb on a tractor and tour a real working farm. Besides picking their own organic vegetables, they’ll be able to pick a pumpkin from the vine to bring home. We’ll also be looking forward to our Halloween parade. This is a favorite event that brings back alumni young and old! Come dressed in your costume and after the parade, the classrooms will have snack parties for all.

Lastly, don’t forget about our hot lunch program being offered through Lunch2you. This is a great way to provide your student a variety of healthy hot food for a very reasonable price. Lunches can be prepaid for the month or week. 

 

For more information on these calender events you can visit our Montessori Education Center @ http://www.ocmontessori.com  or you can reach us directly at 949.643.1200.

Finding a Montessori School

Now a days Montessori education is at fast growth because of their advantages. With this regards a common question that arise is “How can I find a Montessori school near me?”

Here is a blog that details the answer for the above said question.

Search for Montessori

The first recommended thing is to Google search for Montessori school with your city, state and zip code. Since now all schools list their details in the website, Google can easily list the schools in your area. On the other hand there are many schools that have separate “Google Place pages” that are different from actual websites. These pages will have all the detailed information like location, hours of operations and rating of other people. You can also ask the neighborhood or community if they any experience with the school or any info they can provide you.

Finding the school is only the first step in the process. Once selecting the school we need to find the quality of the school and the Montessori methods they are practicing. They are many ways to check the quality of the school. One way is to observe the school by you. Most of the Montessori schools have open doors policy where the parents can walk in and administer the school classrooms and they can meet the staff and administrators. And the best thing that can be done is to consult the local area yellow pages phone book for best Montessori education center.

Maria Montessori quotes

Famous proverbs about Montessori Education by Maria Montessori

The greatest sign of success for a teacher... is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist

Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.

Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world

If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war

One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child.

The first idea the child must acquire is that of the difference between good and evil

We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.

Montessori vs Developmental

Montessori

All teachers are required to be Montessori Certified.

Teacher has classrooms role in classroom activity, child is an active participant in learning.

Environment and method encourage internal self-discipline.

Instruction, both individual and group, adapts to each student's leaning style.

Mixed age grouping.

Children are encouraged to teach, collaborate and help each other.

Child chooses own work from interests and abilities.

The classrooms maintain a low teacher to student ration policy which ensures optimum learning and individualized academic instruction.

Child works as long as he/she wishes on chosen projects.

Child sets own leaning pace to internalize information.

Child spots own errors through feedback from material.

Learning is reinforced internally through the child's own repetition of an activity and internal feelings of success.

Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration

Organized program for learning care of self and the environment (polishing shoes, cleaning the sink, etc.)

Child can work where he/she is comfortable, moves around and talks at will; group work is voluntary and negotiable.

Emphasis on cognitive structures and social development.

All teachers are CPR and First-Aid trained

Child formulates own concepts from self-teaching materials.

Development

Teachers are only required to have a high school diploma or equivalent.

Teacher has dominant, active role in classroom activity, child is passive participant in learning.

Teacher acts as primary enforce of external discipline.

Instruction, both individual and group, conforms to the Adult's teaching style.

Same age grouping.

Most teaching is done by teacher and collaboration is discouraged.

Curriculum structured for child with little regard for child's interests.

Generally follows the state mandated policy.

Child generally given specific time limit for work.

Instruction pace is usually set by group norm or teacher.

If work is corrected, errors usually pointed out by teacher.

Learning is reinforced externally by rote repetition and rewards/discouragement.

Fewer materials for sensory development and concrete manipulation.

Less emphasis on self-care instruction and classroom maintenance.

Child usually assigned own chair: encouraged to sit still and listen during group session.

Emphasis on rote knowledge and social development.

Only one person on campus is required to be CPR and First-Aid trained.

Child is guided to concepts by teacher.

For more information visit Montessori Education Program

Laguna Niguel Montessori Center – End of the year information

I don’t know about you, but this year has just flown by! I want to thank everyone for their continued support of our school and your constant referrals. There are few items I’d like to point out as we near the beginning of our summer session.

• Hot lunches will NOT be provided over the summer by Lunch2You. We will be offering pizza lunch on Mondays and Pick-Up Stix House Special Chicken on Wednesdays. The cost for these lunches is $5.00 each and can be ordered at the time of drop off.
  
  
• Please remember as the weather warms up to apply sunscreen to your child each morning. If they would like to bring a water bottle to school, please be sure their name is clearly marked on the bottle.
  
  
• Next week is Spirit Week:

Monday – Pajama Day

Tuesday – Sport Jersey Day

Wednesday – Crazy Clothes and Hair Day

Thursday – Hawaiian Day

Friday – Purple School T shirt or anything else purple

• The last day of school for children not attending in the summer will be next Friday the 22^nd. For those students continuing on in our summer program, there will be no interruption in classes.
• Our Fourth of July Parade will be early this year! We will march on Friday, June 29^th at 10:00 A.M.
  
  
• We are still asking for donations for Ms. Tammy’s going away party. We thought gift cards to help her with a new home would be nice, but anything would be welcome. Again, if you’d just like to drop off money, we’d be happy to pick up cards on your behalf.
  
  
• Lastly, I’d like to introduce you to two new assistant teachers who will be helping us this summer. Elizabeth Kaufman just completed her first year at UCLA and Ciara Shaw just completed her first year at Cal State University. Interestingly enough, both of these ladies attended pre-school and kindergarten at our school and are pursuing their degrees in teaching. Besides making us all feel really old, we are thrilled to have them back with us!

I wish everyone a relaxing and enjoyable summer!

Further for more information please visit Montessori Educational Center or call us at 949.643.1200

Events of Montessori Laguna Niguel

Our students all had rave reviews from their adventures at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach. The children were treated to a guided tour where they learned about the various indigenous plants native to the area as well as the many little critters living among us. This day was capped off by a picnic in the park and was enjoyed by students and parents alike. Many thanks to the parents who chaperoned this trip which make these outings possible!

This month we will be celebrating our wonderful MOM’s! Each class has prepared a very special gift and presentation for their mom. Presentations will be held during our morning Mother’s Day Tea. This is a very special opportunity not soon to be forgotten by our wonderful mothers.

As the end of the regular school year starts to creep up on us, please be sure that all registration paperwork is complete and on file. Classes are being formed for the summer and fall as we speak. We are pleased to inform you that due to popular demand, we will be opening another preschool classroom which will serve children who are three and four years old. Please let your friends and neighbors know before this class fills up.

Parent Teacher conference will commence in May. Please refer to your student’s newsletter for the exact date and time. This will be the last conference of the year.

For more information visit Montessori Educational Center

Montessori Center Events – Whale Watching

We had a wonderful outing on our whale watching trip last week. The children really enjoyed seeing the whales (YES, we did see them). The dolphins too were amazing, and they really seemed to enjoy putting on a little show for us. Not to be outdone, the sea lions also joined in popping up seemingly, just to see what was going on. Over all, Mother Nature completely cooperated giving us pleasant weather and smooth seas; a great trip!

The elementary students will continue their studies of the ocean next month when they tour the Ocean Institute in Dana Point. 

 

Our preschool children are busy preparing for spring. The first week of April will be filled with fun and interesting bits of information focusing on renewal, regrowth and rebirth. Of course, we will be having spring parties incorporating spring-egg hunts for the children.

As a reminder, Southern California Sensory Screening will be here Thursday, March 22^nd and Friday, March 23^rd. They will perform, at your request, hearing, vision and speech tests for your student(s). Flyers should be in your child’s cubbie.

For more information you can contact Laguna Niguel Montessori Center

Meeting outlining Montessori curriculum vs. public school

The following events are coming up at our school.  Please be sure to check in on your students classroom website - Laguna Niguel Montessori Center for important information regarding specific classroom activities.

Meeting outlining Montessori curriculum vs. public school 

Our elementary information night will be held Thursday, February 16th at 6:30 p.m.  This will be a very informative meeting that will outline the Montessori curriculum vs. public school.  You'll be amazed at the difference and what the students are capable of!

Open Registration:  Registration for the upcoming session beginning in July will commence on March 1st.  Registration is open to all families from outside the school.  Our registration process is first come, first served.  We will start accepting registration applications at 7:30 a.m. on March 1st.

Whale Watching: Our elementary students will be whale watching on  Friday, March 2nd.  Don't forget to bundle up and bring your cameras!  Last year we saw several whales very close to the boat!

Laguna Niguel Montessori Center

Laguna Niguel Montessori Center was the first MSAC accredited Montessori school in Southern California. This school provides Montessori education for children ages two thru seven.

The classrooms are sizable and arranged to stimulate and engage the children's interest, while allowing a sense of warmth and security. The playground includes grass, sand and age-appropriate equipment to assist in developing large motor skills. The school offers a hot lunch program provided by "Lunch 2 you" which provides balanced, fresh, organic choices that contains no trans fats and are completely hormone free.

Before and after school care options are also available at this location.

For complete information about Montessori Education and about Laguna Niguel Montessori Center visit www.ocmontessori.com