Resources

Valentine Party

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:21:55 GMT

Children delivered their love to classmates - So Much Fun!

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Winter Show 2025

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:35:07 GMT

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Petting Zoo

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:51:40 GMT

So much fun of petting zoo activities

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Year End Party

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 17:16:33 GMT

Blessed to get together with all of our school families!

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TK/Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 17:10:51 GMT

Beautiful moment with our Angel's voices!

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Fathers' Day Event

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 17:06:41 GMT

Fun Event

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Mothers' Day Event

Thu, 22 May 2025 18:55:19 GMT

Cute Children's Performance on Mothers' Day!

Fun Event

Easter Egg Hunt

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 18:39:23 GMT

Happy Easter!

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Dentists Visiting Day

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 22:05:58 GMT

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Valentine Party

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 18:39:43 GMT

I am the little mailman on the valentine day!

Children were enjoyed making their own mailbox and deliver their special love to their classmates.

I am little scientist!

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:08:33 GMT

Fun winter project

New Paragraph

Fun Classes

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:04:58 GMT

Our children enjoy the science experience & art learning so much:)

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Winter Show 2024

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:18:12 GMT

Our Little Ones Did Excellent Job!

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Winter Show 2024

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 21:16:40 GMT

Amazing Show Time

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Love our Science Class

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 23:26:07 GMT

Have so much fun to observe and making Lava

Fun Harvest Pumpkin Patch

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 23:25:57 GMT

Our Toddlers did great job on the pumpkin patch!

So much fun with science activity

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:36:13 GMT

Science Activity - Bubble Making

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Open House Event

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:26:18 GMT

Open House Event

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Summer Fun

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 00:26:02 GMT

Fun Water Play

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April 2024

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:26:38 GMT

April Recap and May News

In April, the theme was Our Planet Earth and Oceania. The children explored the importance of taking good care of our planet, how many layers the Earth has, and completed Earth masterpieces in Art. The students went on an in-classroom adventure as they explored Australia and learned about all the exciting animals there. Our literature focus for the month was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Many of the children enjoyed this book for the rhyming sentences and shouting out the first letter of their names. We had many fun projects related to the book, such as Art, Cooking Enrichments, and sing-a-longs.

This past month also brought many enjoyable weeks, starting with Spring Break, then the Week of The Young Child, which we celebrated with a Spirit Week, and had our Scholastic Book Fair. Thank you for all your support!

In May, our theme of the month is Dinosaurs, and the students will be studying the continent of Africa. Dinosaurs are an exciting topic, and the children are happy to see them included in their Montessori lessons, puzzles, and books. Our literary focus will be The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, a classic book that I am sure you all remember.

We are looking forward to having all the Mothers joining us for the Tea Party celebration this month.

February 2024

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 22:05:24 GMT

February Recap and March News

In February, the theme of the month was Cultural Awareness and Friendship. Around the school, our teachers lead thoughtful discussions on what it means to be a friend, where their families are from, and any family traditions they may have. The book of the month was Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, a story about two friends who lost each other and when found each other again, they gave each other a big hug that turned them green! This story shares the importance of friendship and demonstrates color mixing. Some of the children experienced Chinese New Year and celebrated by doing art projects and learning about the Tiger year. The children also learned about Presidents' Day and studied some of our former presidents, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We also had a lovely Valentine’s Day celebration in each of our classrooms and shared Valentine's cards with all our friends. We are thankful to the parents that participated and donated the special snacks.

Our students look forward to our Enrichment days with Music introductions to Johannes Brahms, Friendship Art projects, fun snacks in Cooking Class, ABCmouse.com in Computers, and new vocabulary in Spanish related to Valentine's Day and Friendship. We also had a Professional Development Day where the teachers freshened up their classrooms and added new work for the students to explore and enjoy. This month, the children bonded, expanded their friendships, and loved learning more about one another.

In March, our monthly themes are Rainforests and South America. The children will be learning all about the Rainforest, the different layers within, and all the people and animals that reside in this environment. We are also exploring Africa, where it's located on the map. We are studying the people who live there and the languages that may be spoken there. The children are looking for the classroom leprechauns that visit our school every year! We celebrate St. Patrick's Day this month with many fun projects, Montessori-themed work, and much more.

January 2024

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 22:03:45 GMT

January Recap and February News

January was a great start to the New Year. We were so happy to come back to school, see familiar friends, and welcome our new friends. After the holiday break, the students settled back in, learned, and grew daily! Our classrooms had fun exploring our theme of the month: Winter, Snow, and Ice. The infants studied with ice, and our Pre-Primary and Primary classrooms focused on Arctic animals. We had many art projects about our theme and literary focus. Our month-long enrichments were engaging and seasonally appropriate to allow the students to explore different experiences.

Our book of the month for January was “The Mitten” by Jan Brett. It is about a young boy named Nicki, who lost his mitten in the snow. His lost mitten becomes a host to many forest animals, eventually becoming a warm home for the winter animals. Our scholars loved reading this book. The children enjoyed learning about why animals hibernate and prefer cold weather.

In February, the theme we are studying is Cultural Awareness and Friendship. We are also exploring the Continent of Asia. We invite parents to please see your lead teacher if you want to share your family’s heritage and culture. Children love to hear about new cultures, diversity, and family traditions. February’s Enrichment children will create art projects based on the book, “Little Blue, Little Yellow” as well as listen to music written by Johannes Brahms. We are also very excited to have our Valentine’s Day Party; for this child-only event, the children will be able to celebrate the friendships they have cultivated throughout their time at school.

December 2023

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 18:53:15 GMT

December Recap and January News

Our school had a fantastic month studying our Seasons and Holidays in December. We reviewed holidays celebrated worldwide, such as Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Christmas. With each holiday, the children learned new Montessori jobs and created artwork to express each. Our literary focus was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This book taught the children the value of giving gifts to loved ones and not expecting anything in return aside for provided happiness to one another. Each class completed an art activity that followed the book's concept; seeing each classroom's interpretation was nice.

This month we also had many different events that took place. We welcomed families into the school for our yearly Holiday Performances, where each class performed We were all pleased by the turnout and participation from the parents. We also celebrated our holiday spirit week with fun days such as a crazy sweater, crazy socks, a favorite holiday hat, and pajama day. We even got a visit from Santa Clause, and all our friends enjoyed talking to Santa and telling him what we wanted for Christmas. Enrichments were also full of Fun Projects. Such as, holiday snacks, computer lessons, and creative art work. We hope that everyone had a memorable holiday season as we did here with our exceptional students.

In January, the month's theme will be Winter Animals and Hibernation. Our students will be learning about the change of climate and how that affects animals in the Winter months. We will have activities that tie in these concepts and a project based on the book of the month, The Mitten, by Jan Brett.

We look forward to another fantastic year here at San Clemente Montessori!

November 2023

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 16:06:55 GMT

November Recap and December News

In November, our students delved into the theme of Healthy Bodies and harvest celebrations. They reviewed the Food Pyramid, explored the difference between food wants and needs, and even practiced morning stretches for healthy body movements. As part of our Literature focus, we read Fill a Bucket – Empathy Program by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin. This book aimed to encourage the children to empathize and care for one another, helping each other fill their buckets with love and affirmations. Moreover, during circle time, our students shared what they were grateful for each day. Our Thanksgiving Harvest Feast was a delightful celebration of delicious food and great times with our families and classroom friends.

Enrichments had a great variety of introducing new ideas to our daily routine. In Music, we learned about the world-renown George Gershwin and an introduction to Jazz. We enjoyed creating many art projects related to Thanksgiving and the Fall season. In Art, Jackson Pollock's splatter technique, also known as his "drip" technique, was practiced, gratitude rocks were painted, and the children created chalk turkey art. Our little chefs prepared yummy Bucket Filling snacks and delicious pumpkin pie in a cup from scratch. Computer class was fun and exciting as the children worked on ABCMOUSE.com and explored Math, Language, and Reading.  The children love spending time in the garden and working together to make plants and vegetables grow!

For the month of December, our theme at school will focus on embracing different cultures and holiday celebrations. The children will learn all about diverse holiday traditions and embrace new cultures. Our lessons will cover Western, Eastern, and Northern Europe in our Geography class. The month's book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, will help students understand the true meaning of giving and receiving. We have some fun art projects planned, including menorahs, pinecone Christmas trees, and ornaments. Our discussions will involve the school offering tree, Winter solstice, and much more.

Please note, the school will be closed for Winter break from December 22nd to January 1st. We look forward to resuming school on January 2nd and continuing to celebrate all the wonderful traditions the holiday season brings!

October 2023

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 14:00:02 GMT

October Recap and November News

October Recap:

What a spooktacular month we had in October. Our theme for October was The Five Senses and Feelings. It was an excellent follow-up to September’s theme, All About Me, so the children learned more about each other and expressed and shared their feelings. Our book for October was We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger; each classroom read the book during circle time and then embarked on their leaf hunt adventure on the play yards. The children engaged their five senses with many new fun activities. For example, they examined a pumpkin inside and out and used all five senses.

Our school enjoyed all the spooky holiday festivities, such as fun Halloween-themed art projects and Montessori work, and we even had a fun door-decorating contest. Enrichments were in full gear, with every week being a new topic to explore in each subject. We had delicious snacks in cooking, such as a festive fall trail mix, apple donuts, and a cool pumpkin fluff. We studied the life cycles of a spider and pumpkin, then completed some fun worksheets that the children could cut and color. Lastly, we dressed up for Halloween and had a delightful musical parade march around the school playgrounds, proudly displaying our costumes.

November News:

In November, our school is learning about Harvest and Healthy Bodies. We are studying healthy ways to care for our bodies, focusing on healthy eating habits, movements, and getting enough sleep and water. Our book of the month is Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, an endearing story showing the children how to help build each other up and lend a helping hand. Our enrichment programs will have activities and projects that will tie into our month’s theme. At the end of this month, we will have our traditional Harvest Feast. This year, unfortunately, will be a child-only feast, and we hope to have the parents join us in our celebrations soon.

Some important dates to remember for November are:

November 7th – 8th Parent-Teacher conferences (we will be closing at 3 p.m. for both days)

November 10th – School Closed for Veterans Day

November 22nd – Harvest Feast (child-only event)

November 23rd – 24th – School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

We will start our See’s Candy Fundraiser sometime this month. Keep an eye out for future information. We are very thankful for having such amazing families, and we truly do appreciate everything you all do!

September 2023

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 21:32:50 GMT

September Recap and October News

September Recap:

In September, we welcomed everyone back to school and introduced some new friends to all our classrooms. With new transitions for some students into different classroom dynamics, it fits perfectly for our month's All About Me theme. This theme gave the children a fun way to show their teachers and classmates who they are and how many family members they have and share their favorite things. The literature focus of the month was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The teachers read for circle time each day and opened a discussion for the children to express their interpretation of the book and share feelings common to the scared little raccoon. Our second focus of the month was learning the norms and expectations of the classroom. The children learned how to help care for one another and their classroom environment.

We were excited to bring back our Enrichment Program for our children. A teacher goes into each Primary Classroom and does a lesson/activity with the children. Each classroom has its own time during the academic school day where they participate. The Enrichment Program includes Art, Cooking, Music, Gardening, and Computers. Each week is different, and engaging the children in new subjects and learning something new each day is fun. We also had our Back to School, where we passed along good information, and the teachers discussed the expectations of the school year and classrooms.

October News:

We are excited about our theme, The Five Senses and Feelings, in October. We will explore sound, sight, touch, smell, and taste. Also, we will go over the different kinds of feelings and emotions. Our Geography lesson will be centered around North America and the book of the month, Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. A couple of important dates to watch are October 17 ^th , 18 ^th , and 19 ^{th, and} Tuesday, October 31 ^st , will be our annual Costume Parade. We invite all children to come to school dressed in their Halloween costumes. Students will trick-or-treat from room to room and go outside for a costume parade.

We look forward to seeing everyone's Halloween costumes!

April 2023

Tue, 02 May 2023 15:25:12 GMT

April Recap and May News

April Recap:

In April, our month's theme was Islands and Volcanoes. Our children enjoyed various art projects to portray this theme. They also made volcanoes with different materials and learned how they erupt. Our friends also enjoyed making their islands and doing other activities. Our literature focus for the month was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Many children enjoyed this book for the rhyming sentences and shouting out the first letter of their names. We had many fun projects related to the book, such as Art, Cooking enrichment, and sing-a-longs.

This past month also brought many enjoyable weeks, starting with Spring Break, then the Week of The Young Child, which we celebrated with Spirit Week, and had our Scholastic Book Fair. The highlight of the month had to go to our Annual Egg Hunt; thanks to all the donations from our loving parents, we could have many eggs to hide and hunt! Enrichments went hand in hand with our month's theme, and the children studied aborigine Music and learned the sounds of new instruments.

May News:

In May, our theme of the month is Wales and Migration. The children are learning all about whales and the different kinds of whales that inhabit our earth. Our literary focus will be The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, a classic book I am sure you all remember.

We are looking forward to having all the mothers join us for the Tea Party celebration this month on May 10 ^th .

April 2023

Sat, 01 Apr 2023 17:41:28 GMT

March Recap and April News

March Recap:

We studied Africa, Dinosaurs, and Dr. Seuss in March and celebrated St. Patrick's Day. We enjoyed all the books the children brought in for the teachers to read. During enrichments in March, we read several books in Spanish, made "green eggs and ham," and enjoyed creating moves to African music. St. Patrick's day was a huge success. The teachers and children enjoyed all the green festivities.

April News:

We are looking forward to an EXPLOSIVE month full of knowledge and adventure. Our focus in April is the Planet Earth, Australia, New Zealand, The Pacific Islands, and Volcanos. There will be several discussions and projects about volcanos.

Our school is very excited to study, discuss and read about nature and the importance of caring for planet earth. Earth Day is Friday, April 21st and we want to help create awareness of the environment and how we treat nature. Each classroom will make something out of recycled materials, so please let your child's teacher know if you would like to bring something in from home. Our annual egg hunt and spring party will be held on Monday, April 10th. We can't wait for this month's activities.

February 2023

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 16:00:01 GMT

February Recap and March News

February News:

In February, the theme of the month was Cultural Awareness and Friendship. Around the school, our teachers lead thoughtful discussions on what it means to be a friend, where their families are from, and any family traditions they may have. The book of the month was Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, about two friends who lost each other, and when found, they gave a big hug that turned them green! This story shares the importance of friendship and also demonstrates color mixing. The children experienced Chinese New Year and celebrated by doing art projects and learning about the Tiger year. The children also learned about Presidents' Day and studied some of our former presidents, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We also had a lovely celebration of Valentine's Day with a particular party and shared valentine's cards with all our friends. We are thankful to the parents that participated and donated the snacks.

Our students look forward to our enrichment days with Music introductions to Johannes Brahms, Friendship Art projects, fun snacks in cooking class, ABCmouse.com in computers, and new vocabulary in Spanish related to Valentine's Day and friendship. We also had a Professional Development Day where the teachers could freshen up their classrooms and add new work for the students to explore and enjoy. This month, the children bonded, expanded their friendship, and loved knowing more about one another.

March News:

In March, our monthly theme is Dinosaurs. The children are learning about all of the different kinds of dinosaurs. We also are exploring Africa, where it's located on the map. We are studying the people who live there and the languages that may be spoken there. The children are looking for the classroom leprechauns that visit our school every year! We celebrate St. Patrick's Day this month with many fun projects, Montessori-themed work, and much more.

January 2023

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 15:00:03 GMT

January Recap and February News

January Recap:

January was a great start to the New Year. We were so happy to return to school, see familiar friends, and welcome our new friends. After the holiday break, the students settled back in and learned and grew daily! Our classrooms had fun exploring our theme of the month: Winter, Snow, and Ice. The infants studied with ice, and our Pre-Primary and Primary classrooms focused on Arctic animals. We had many art projects about our theme and literary focus. Our month-long enrichments were engaging and seasonally appropriate to allow the students to explore different experiences.

Our book of the month for January was The Mitten by Jan Brett. It was about a young boy named Nicki, who lost his mitten in the snow. His lost mitten becomes a host to many forest animals, eventually becoming a warm home for the winter animals. Our scholars loved reading this book. The children enjoyed learning about why animals hibernate and prefer cold weather.

February News:

In February, the theme are studying is Cultural Awareness and Friendship. We are also exploring the Continent of Asia. We invite parents to please see your lead teacher if you want to share your family’s heritage and culture. Children love to hear about new cultures, diversity, and family traditions. February’s Enrichment children will be introduced to different music from the continent of Asia, China, Japan, India, and Russia. We are also very excited to have our Valentine’s Day Party; for this child-only event, the children will be able to celebrate the friendships they have cultivated throughout their time at school.

December 2022

Sun, 01 Jan 2023 15:00:05 GMT

December Recap and January News

December Recap:

Our school had a fantastic month studying our Celebration Around the World theme in December. We reviewed holidays celebrated worldwide, such as Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Christmas. With each holiday, the children learned new Montessori jobs and created artwork to express each. Our literary focus was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. This book taught the children the value of giving gifts to loved ones and not expecting anything in return aside for provided happiness to one another. Each class completed an art activity that followed the book's concept; seeing each classroom's interpretation was nice.

We also had many different events that took place. Our Giving Tree donations went so well this year, all our gift tags were taken, and we were able to spread holiday cheer to two teenagers. We welcomed families into the school for our yearly Holiday Performances, where each class performed two rehearsed songs and dances. We were all pleased by the turnout and participation from the parents. We also celebrated our holiday spirit week with fun days such as a crazy sweater, crazy socks, a favorite holiday hat, and pajama day. We even got a visit from Santa Clause, and all our friends enjoyed talking to Santa and telling him what we wanted for Christmas. Enrichments were also full of interesting subjects such as Edgar Degas, Piotr Tchaikovsky, Holiday snacks, computer lessons, seasons, and months in Spanish. We hope that everyone had a memorable holiday season as we did here with our exceptional students.

January News:

In January, our theme will be Winter Snow & Ice. Our students are learning about the change of climate and how that affects animals in the Winter months. We will have activities that tie in these concepts and a project based on the book of the month, The Mitten , by Jan Brett. Our extracurriculars will be back in full swing with Soccer Shots and Webby Dance; if you want more information or sign up, please check out the flyers at the front office.

We look forward to another fantastic year here at San Clemente Montessori!

November 2022

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 16:52:01 GMT

November Recap and December News

In November, our students studied our month's theme, Virtues, and Values. The children reviewed the Food Pyramid, discussed food wants vs. needs, and even practiced morning stretches for healthy body movement. Our Literature focus was reading Fill a Bucket – Empathy Program by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin. This book helped influence the children to care for one another and help each other fill their buckets with love and affirmations. In addition, our students discussed what they were all thankful for each day during circle time. Our Thanksgiving Harvest Feast consisted of delicious food and sharing great times with our families and classroom friends.

Enrichments had a great variety of introducing new ideas to our daily routine. In Music, we learned about the world-renown George Gershwin and an introduction to Jazz. We enjoyed creating many art projects related to Thanksgiving and the Fall season. In Art, Jackson Pollock's splatter technique, also known as his "drip" technique, was practiced, gratitude rocks were painted, and the children created chalk turkey art. Our little chefs prepared yummy apple pie roll-ups, Bucket Filling snacks, and delicious pumpkin pie in a cup from scratch. In Spanish, they were introduced to the months of the year, parts of the body, and Harvest food groups vocabulary. Computer class was fun and exciting as the children worked on ABCMOUSE.com and explored Math, Language, and Reading.

In December, our theme will be Celebrations Around the World. The children will learn about all the different holiday celebrations and embrace new cultures. We will make creative art projects of menorahs, pinecone Christmas trees, and ornaments. The month's book will be The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, about the meaning of giving and receiving. Our Geography lessons will be focused on Western, Eastern, and Northern Europe. Some discussion topics will be the school offering tree, respecting different holiday traditions, and the Winter solstice.

We look forward to celebrating all traditions the holiday season will bring. This a friendly reminder that the school will be closed for Winter break from December 23 ^rd - January 2 ^nd . We will resume school on January 3 ^rd .

October 2022

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 21:35:00 GMT

October Recap and November News

October Recap:

What a spooktacular month we had in October. Our theme of the month was The Solar System and Space. The children learned about the planets, sun, and moon. They enjoyed doing artwork such as making a solar system, planets, bats, and also sorts of Halloween art. Our book of the month was We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger; each classroom read the book during circle time and went on outdoor leaf hunt adventures. The children also learned about fire safety, and the whole school participated in a fire drill. During this drill, the teachers guided all the children to the designated area they needed to go to in case of a fire. During circle time, the teachers explained why we practiced fire drills and encouraged the children to stay calm and quiet during the routine. The children all did an excellent job participating in the fire drill, and it was done in a very timely manner.

Our school enjoyed all the spooky holiday festivities, such as fun Halloween-themed art projects and Montessori work. Enrichments were a lot of fun; every week, there was a new topic to learn and explore. The children made delicious snacks in cooking, such as harvest trail mix, apple donuts, cream cheese/sun butter, jelly spiders, and pumpkin fluff. Lastly, the children all enjoyed this year's Halloween parade. Everyone enjoyed the fun musical parade march around the school playgrounds and classrooms. It was so much fun seeing all the children dressed up and having parents able to join us this year for this event.

November News:

In November, our school is learning about the importance of Virtues and Values. The teachers are reviewing why it is essential to be helpful to our teachers and friends while being truthful, empathetic, and responsible. Our book of the month is Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, an endearing story showing the children how to help build each other up and lend a helping hand. Our enrichment programs will have activities and projects that will tie into our month's theme. Make sure to check out the newsletter for upcoming dates and events.

September Recap

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 21:24:06 GMT

September Recap and October News

September Recap:

In September, we welcomed everyone back to school and introduced some new friends to all our classrooms. With new transitions for some students into different classroom dynamics, it fits perfectly for our month's All About Me theme. This theme gave the children a fun way to show their teachers and classmates, who they are, and how many family members they have and share their favorite things. The literature focus of the month was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. The teachers read for circle time each day and opened up a discussion for the children to express their interpretation of the book and share feelings common to the scared little raccoon. Our second focus of the month was learning the norms and expectations of the classroom. The children learned how they could help take care of one another and their classroom environment. 

We were excited to bring back our Enrichment Program for our children on extended hours schedules. The Enrichment Program includes Art, Cooking, Music, Spanish, and Computers. Each week is different, and fun to engage the children in new subjects and learn something new each day. We also had our Back to School, where we passed along good information, and the teachers discussed the expectations of the school year and classrooms.

October News:

In October, we are excited about our theme of the month Solar System and Space. It is always a fan favorite to take imaginative trips into space and learn everything to discover out there. There will also be many creative and fun-filled art projects starting with some fall work on fire safety and Halloween-themed crafts. Our Geography lesson will be centered around North America and the book of the month, "Going on a Leaf Hunt" by Steve Metzger. A couple of important dates to keep an eye out for are October 15th & 16th, which will be our school picture days. Friday, October 30th, will be our annual Costume Parade. We invite all children to come to school dressed in their Halloween costumes. Students will trick-or-treat from room to room and then go outside for a costume parade.

We look forward to seeing everyone's Halloween costumes!

Welcome Back to School | Summer Recap

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:34:24 GMT

Summer Recap and September News

Summer Recap:

Time flies by when you're having Fun! As we close out our summer program, we are reminded of all the fantastic adventures and learning experiences we have shared within our school. In July, we had four new themes, one for each week: Party In The USA, Underwater Adventure, Outer Space, Volcanoes, and other Eruptions. Each theme brought many learning activities, immersive education videos, science projects, and fun art projects. This month, some unique visitors came to our school for entertainment. We had a magician named Magic Joe, who made the children laugh with funny jokes and close-up magic tricks. We also had Ranger Jack come with his puppet friends, and they had a musical performance with which the children got to sing and dance. Our last visitor of the month was from Kids Reptile Parties, where they showcased some reptile friends that the children got to hold and learn interesting facts. Every Tuesday was our scheduled bubble day, we had water play and water slide days rotated each week, and the children got to enjoy a nice cold popsicle outside during Fun Friday.

In August, our monthly themes were Down On The Farm, Camping, Things That Fly, and Fitness week. The children enjoyed learning about the different types of animals on a farm and learned about the hard work and dedication it takes to operate a farm. Things that Fly was a favorite this past month; the children watched educational videos on the different forms of transportation and created fun art projects such as airplanes, hot air balloons, and even trains. Walking around the school and seeing the students exercise in the classrooms was fun during our Fitness week. They learned yoga poses, stretches, and what it means to be healthy and strong. Our school was also able to celebrate Summer by holding our School Carnival! Thank you to all the families who participated in the carnival fun, and a huge thank you to our parent volunteers. We had many exciting booths during the carnival, such as temporary tattoos, face painting, a petting zoo, and even a train. In the last week of our summer program, we had our school spirit week, where the children dressed up to show their school spirit. We had superheroes, princesses, wacky hair, and sports displayed all week.

September News:

Our new school year has begun, welcome September! We are excited to start our new school year with an All About Me theme. This theme will allow the students and teachers to learn about each other and make new friends. It is an excellent theme that will enable the children to share their favorite things, learn about each other's families, and make them all feel comfortable with each other. This month they will also learn the classroom expectations and more. Please keep an eye out for some important dates in our weekly Friday newsletter this month.

May 2022

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 03:56:20 GMT

May Recap and June News

May Recap:

Our theme of the month was Dinosaurs and Africa. Many of the children went on dinosaur hunts and dug for fossils in our sandboxes. They learned about the different types of dinosaurs, such as herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. The children learned about Africa, where it is found on the map, the culture, environment, and the language they speak. The children also learned about the parts of a butterfly and its life cycle. The book in May was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The children enjoyed spending more time outside since the weather has been so lovely. They learned a lot of new exercises along with yoga moves.

In May, we had many celebrations we all shared, such as Teacher Appreciation Week and Mother's Day. We even all got together for our Parent-Teacher Conferences. We want to thank everyone who participated in these events during this past month, as it was so much fun seeing everyone enjoying themselves and showering us all with so many gifts and love. We also honored those we have lost defending our Country in observance of Memorial Day.

June News:

In June, our school year is coming to a close. Our theme of the month is Transportation and California. The children learn about all the different ways people, goods, and more navigate their way throughout the world. They will also be learning about our home state of California; they are studying our state bird, flower, and flag. Our literary focus of this month is the Little Red Hen by Paul Galdone. We have many fun Art activities planned for each subject. Please keep an eye out for upcoming essential dates such as our Father's Day celebration, Graduation, etc.

April 2022

Tue, 03 May 2022 21:07:34 GMT

April Recap and May News

April Recap

In April, our month's theme was Our Planet Earth and Oceania. The children explored the importance of taking good care of our planet, how many layers the Earth has, and completed Earth masterpieces in Art. The students went on an in-classroom adventure as they explored Australia and learned about all the exciting animals there. Our literature focus for the month was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault. Many of the children enjoyed this book for the rhyming sentences and shouting out the first letter of their names. We had many fun projects related to the book, such as Art, Cooking Enrichments, and sing-a-longs.

April also brought many enjoyable weeks, starting with Spring Break, then the Week of The Young Child, which we celebrated with a Spirit Week, and had our Scholastic Book Fair. The highlight of the month had to go to our Annual Egg Hunt; thanks to all the donations from our loving parents, we could have many eggs to hide and hunt! Enrichments went hand in hand with our month's theme, and the children studied aborigine Music and learned the sounds of new instruments.

May News

We also have many events this month, Parent-Teacher conferences will be help May 17th & 18th. School will be closed early at 3pm, there will be childcare provided for parents during the alloted conference times.

March 2022

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 18:50:00 GMT

March 2022 Recap and April 2022 News

In March, our monthly theme was Rainforest and South America. The children also celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by reading his classic books, such as The Cat in the Hat , Green Eggs and Ham , and Fox in Socks . On top of reading these classic books, the children also made several crafts that went along with the books. Ms.Danielle and Ms. Ariana dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2 and read to each class; the children were so excited to listen to them read and take photos. We also celebrated St. Patrick's Day and had some sneaky visitors, the leprechaun. They caused mischief in many of our classrooms by knocking over chairs, throwing our Montessori work on the floor, not cleaning after using one of our classroom's restrooms, leaving green footprints in the restroom, and not flushing the green toilet water. The older classrooms had some unique gems like behind in a pot of gold and used them for a fun scavenger hunt in our play yard.

March's enrichments followed our Rainforest and South America theme and celebrated Dr. Seuss. The children made their Cat in the Hat Hats, Dr. Seuss bookmarkers, and shamrock rock art. In Art, the children were introduced to Dr. Seuss's books and illustrations. In Music, they were introduced to Latin music and the most popular South American instruments and some of their dances, such as the Tango and Samba. During Cooking, the children made some yummy snacks like Dr. Seuss green egg and ham, healthy shamrock shakes, and shamrock pretzels. The children continued working on ABCMOUSE.com in computer class and Spanish; they learned a song called La Rentia and a new game, Tener Board Game, all about emotions.

February 2022 Blog

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 19:10:11 GMT

February Recap and March News

In February, the theme of the month was Cultural Awareness and Friendship. Around the school, our teachers lead thoughtful discussions on what it means to be a friend, where their families are from, and any family traditions they may have. The book of the month was Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni, which was about two friends who lost each other and when found they gave a big hug that turned them green! This story shares the importance of friendship and also demonstrates color mixing. The children experienced Chinese New Year and celebrated by doing art projects and learning the Tiger year. The children also learned about Presidents' day and studied some of our former presidents, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. We also had a lovely celebration of Valentine's day with a particular party and shared valentines cards with all of our friends. We are thankful to the parents that participated and donated the snacks.

Our students look forward to our enrichment days with Music introductions to Johannes Brahms, Friendship Art projects, fun snacks in Cooking class, ABCmouse.com in computers, and new vocabulary in Spanish related to Valentine's Day and friendship. We also had a Professional Development day where the teachers could freshen up their classrooms and add new work for the students to explore and enjoy. This month, the children bonded, expanded their friendship, and loved knowing more about one another.

In March, our monthly theme is The Rainforest and South America. The children learn where the rainforests are located, how many layers they have, and what types of animals and people live there. We also are exploring South America, where it is located on the map, and studying the people who live there. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day this month with many fun projects, Montessori-themed work, and much more. The children are looking for the classroom leprechauns that visit our school every year!

January Blog 2022

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 18:59:09 GMT

January 2022 Recap and February 2022 News

January was a great start to the new year! After the holiday break, the students settled back in and have learned and grown every day! Our classrooms had fun exploring Antarctica, Winter Animals, and Hibernation. The infants explored with ice, and our Pre-Primary and Primary classrooms focused on Arctic animals. We had many art projects about our theme and literary focus. Our enrichments for the month were very engaging and seasonally appropriate to allow the students to explore different experiences.

Our book of the month for January was The Mitten by Jan Brett. It’s about a young boy named Nicki, who loses his mitten in the snow. His lost mitten becomes a host to many different forest animals, eventually becoming a warm home for the winter animals. Our scholars loved reading this book. The children enjoyed learning about why animals hibernate and prefer cold weather.

In February, the theme we will be studying will be Cultural Awareness and Friendship. We will also explore the Continent of Asia. We invite parents to please see your lead teacher if you want to share your family’s heritage and culture. Children love to hear about new cultures, diversity, and family traditions. February’s Enrichment children will be introduced to different music from the continent of Asia, China, Japan, India, and Russia. We are also very excited to have our Valentine’s Day Party; for this child-only event, the children will be able to celebrate the friendships they have cultivated throughout their time at school.

December 2021 Blog

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 18:05:33 GMT

December Recap and January News

This month we also had many special events that took place. Our Giving Tree donations went so well this year, all of our gift tags were taken, and we were able to spread holiday cheer to a family in need. We welcomed families into the school for our yearly Holiday Performances, in which each class performed two rehearsed songs and dance. We were all pleased by the turnout and participation from the parents. We also celebrated our holiday spirit week with fun days such as a crazy sweater, crazy socks, a favorite holiday hat, and pajama day. Enrichments were also full of interesting subjects such as Edgar Degas, Piotr Tchaikovsky, Holiday snacks, computer lessons, seasons, and months in Spanish. We hope that everyone had a memorable holiday season as we did here with our exceptional students.

In January, the month's theme will be Winter Animals and Hibernation. Our students will be learning the change of climate and how that affects animals in the Winter months. We will have activities that tie in these concepts and a project based on the book of the month, The Mitten by Jan Brett. Our extracurriculars will be back in full swing with Soccer Shots and Webby Dance; if you would like more information or sign up, please check out the flyers at the front office.

We look forward to another fantastic year here at San Clemente Montessori!

November 2021 Blog

Mon, 01 Nov 2021 12:38:04 GMT

November 2021 Recap and December 2021 News.

In November, our students studied our month's theme, Harvest and Healthy Bodies. The children reviewed the Food Pyramid, discussed food wants vs. needs, and even practiced morning stretches for healthy body movement. Our Literature focus was reading Fill a Bucket – Empathy Program by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin. This book helped influence the children to learn to care for one another and help each other fill their buckets with love and affirmations. In addition, our students discussed during circle time what they are all thankful for each day. Our Thanksgiving Harvest Feast consisted of delicious food, sharing great times with our families and classroom friends.

Enrichments had a great variety of introducing new ideas to our daily routine. In Music, we learned about the world-renown George Gershwin and an introduction to Jazz. We enjoyed creating many art projects related to Thanksgiving and the Fall season. In Art, Jackson Pollock's splatter technique, also known as his "drip" technique, was practiced, gratitude rocks were painted, and the children created chalk turkey art. Our little chefs prepared yummy apple pie roll-ups, Bucket Filling snacks, and delicious pumpkin pie in a cup from scratch. In Spanish, they were introduced to the months of the year, parts of the body, and Harvest food groups vocabulary. Computer class was fun and exciting as the children worked on ABCMOUSE.com and explored Math, Language, and Reading.

In December, our theme will be Celebrations Around the World. The children will be learning about all the different types of holiday celebrations and embracing new cultures. We will make creative art projects of menorahs, pinecone Christmas trees, and ornaments. The month's book will be The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, which is about the meaning of giving and receiving. Our Geography lessons will be focused on Western, Eastern, and Northern Europe. Some discussion topics will be the school giving tree, respecting different holiday traditions, and the Winter solstice. We look forward to celebrating all traditions the holiday season will bring. A friendly reminder that the school will be closed for Winter break from December 24th to January 2nd and will be resuming on January 4th, 2022.

October Blog 2021

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:35:18 GMT

October Recap and November News.

What a spooktacular month we had in October. Our theme of the month was The Five Senses and Feelings. It was an excellent follow-up from last month’s theme, All About me, so the children learned more about each other and expressed and shared their feelings. Our book of the month was We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger; each classroom read the book during circle time then embarked on their leaf hunt adventure on the play yards. The children engaged their five senses with many new fun activities. For example, they examined a pumpkin inside and out and used all five senses in the process.

Our school enjoyed all the spooky holiday festivities, such as fun Halloween-themed art projects and Montessori work, and we even had a fun door decorating contest. Enrichments were in full gear, with every week being a new topic to explore in each subject. We had delicious snacks in cooking, such as festive fall trail mix, apple donuts, and a cool pumpkin fluff. We studied the life cycles of a spider and pumpkin, then completed some fun worksheets that the children could cut and color. Lastly, we all got to dress up for Halloween and had a fun musical parade march around the school playgrounds proudly displaying our costumes.

In November, our school will be learning about Harvest and Healthy Bodies. We will be studying healthy ways to take care of our bodies, focusing on healthy eating habits, movements, and getting enough sleep and water. Our book of the month is Fill a Bucket by Carol McCloud and Katherine Martin, an endearing story showing the children how to help build each other up and lend a helping hand. Our enrichment programs will have activities and projects that will tie into our month’s theme. At the end of this month, we will have our traditional Harvest Feast. This year, unfortunately, will be a child-only feast, and we hope to have the parents join us in our celebrations soon.

Some important dates to remember for November are:

November 3rd – 4th Parent-Teacher conferences (we will be closing at 3 pm for both days)

November 11th – School Closed for Veterans Day

November 24th – Harvest Feast (child-only event)

November 25th – 26th – School Closed for Thanksgiving Break

We are hosting our annual See’s Candy Fundraiser all month long. Place your order before 11/30 to receive your candy before our Winter Holiday Break. We are very thankful for having such amazing families, and we truly do appreciate everything you all do!

September Blog 2021

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 12:27:19 GMT

September Recap:

In September, we welcomed change with open arms, from the weather to the classrooms. We welcomed many new friends and families to our school and started a brand-new school year. The classes took the time to get to know each other with the month’s theme All About Me. The children were so happy to be able to share their family photos with the classroom and share little things that make them unique. We also introduced the 7 continents, the children explored the continent map and learned the continents song. The classrooms read the book of the month The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and talked about the importance of helping one another.

Lastly, we welcomed back our enrichment programs and the kids loved doing something different every day. They created a self-portrait of themselves using graham crackers, pretzels, and M&Ms in cooking class, did some fun rock painting to decorate our gardens in art class. In Spanish, they learned how to great one another and the basics of school supplies. For music, they had so much fun learning about Orchestra music, and even practiced being conductors. For computer class, they began their journey on ABCMouse.com.

Our teachers worked extremely hard on putting together their Back-to-School Night presentations after we unfortunately had to move from an in-person event to a virtual one. We also enjoyed out first picture day of the school year. We enjoyed seeing all the children looking so dapper!

October News:

In October, we are excited to transition into the fall season! The classes will be learning about The Five Sense and Feelings. Each week is dedicated to a different sense and feeling. We want to use these lessons to ensure that the children are more open and able to communicate what they are feeling. The classes will also learn about their first continent North America. They will talk all about its lakes, animals, flags, plants, and culture. The book of the month is Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger. The children are also very excited to discuss all things Halloween! The classes will talk about spiderwebs and jack-o-lanterns and even carve a pumpkin!

We will be hosting our first Book Fair of the school year during the week of the 25th – 29th. We are also very excited to bring back our Halloween Party on October 29th.