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Music Class: We have a music instructor who works weekly with students in groups of 8 to 10. The curriculum starts with the basics of rhythm, then melody. Movement is included in music class, and we use rhythm instruments and marimbas. Musical performances are given at the Winter Holiday Concert and the International Picnic Graduation. Melanie Andrews, our instructor, has been with us since 1999 and comes via Broadway and Oxford Public Schools!
Spanish Class: Children who stay for lunchbunch and extended day take Spanish once a week in groups of 6-8 children. The curriculum starts with basic nouns, then verbs, then short sentences. The ages of 3-6 are keenly sensitive to acquiring language. Our Spanish teacher is Gloria Barral, a former Montessori parent and native of Peru, who received an early childhood degree there.
Field Trips: GREAT BEGINNINGS Montessori School has 6-7 field trips per year. Some of these are parent chaperoned visits to places of interest, such as the pumpkin patch, Stepping Stones Museum, the zoo, and the fire station. Others are programs that come into the classroom for enrichment. We have had the Audubon Society bring birds, reptiles, and mammals, music and/or drum programs, science programs, and Long Island Sound sea creatures, to name a few.
Parent Group: GREAT BEGINNINGS Montessori School has an organization for parents, called GRAPES. They do fund raising, classroom support, and a children’s party (the Pajama Party). They also organize a “Sunshine Club” to acknowledge and help each other during times of family change, such as a new baby or a death in the family.
Parent Education: Montessori Education is for everyone, parents and children! Each fall, the school has an Opening Parent Night to introduce you to the school. Then in October, we invite parents to come to the classrooms in the evening and learn some of the Montessori materials and lessons. In March, we sponsor a speaker on a topic of interest to the parents of young children - we have had psychologists, nutritionists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and even a humorist!
Parent Observations: Parents come to observe the school before their children are enrolled. And they are invited back each November to observe the classroom in action. A special event that GREAT BEGINNINGS hosts is Saturday Parent Mornings, one for fathers in March and one for mothers in May. On this day you come with your child to school and they become the teachers, showing you their lessons and activities.
Parent Conferences: Parent Conferences are scheduled twice yearly, in January and in May. Of course parents may set up special conferences with lead teachers at any time. We ask that you set a time and not delay the teacher at drop-off or pick-up.
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