Lakewood Montessori

Wishing our dear Lakewood family a blessed and prosperous new year! We appreciate you and are so grateful for another wonderful year together

At Lakewood Montessori, every moment is a learning opportunity! ✨

Our young learners are immersed in hands-on Practical Life activities that build independence, focus, and confidence. From carefully pouring water to mastering the use of a pipette, each task strengthens coordination, concentration, and fine motor skills — all while fostering a love for purposeful work. 💧

These real-life exercises lay the foundation for future academic success and help children feel empowered to do things all by themselves! 🌱

🌟 Lakewood Montessori School Food Drive 🌟

We’re excited to announce our First Food Drive! 🥫❤️

Join us in spreading kindness this season by helping local families in need. We’ll be collecting non-perishable food items such as canned goods, pasta, rice, cereal, and baby food. Every donation—big or small—makes a difference!

📅 Collection Dates: 10/20/25-11/17/25
📍 Drop-off Location: Lakewood Montessori School office

Let’s show our children the power of community, compassion, and giving. Together, we can make this holiday season a little brighter for everyone. 🌈

Thank you for being part of our caring Lakewood Montessori family! 💕

Practical Life is the heart of the Montessori classroom. It’s where children first develop the foundational skills they’ll use for all other areas of learning — independence, concentration, coordination, and confidence.

What is the Purpose of Practical Life

The Practical Life area helps children learn to care for themselves, others, and their environment through meaningful, real-life activities. These exercises are not just “chores” — they are opportunities for children to build character, discipline, and control of movement.

Movable Alphabet — a beautiful Montessori material that allows children to “write before they can write.”

By sounding out words like bus, fox, and mat, children are learning how letters come together to form words — connecting spoken language to written expression in a hands-on, joyful way. ❤️

The Movable Alphabet helps children:
🔠 Strengthen sound–symbol awareness
🧠 Build early reading and writing skills
💬 Express their thoughts independently
🌟 Gain confidence as emerging writers

At Lakewood Montessori, every letter moved is a step toward literacy — one sound, one word, one proud smile at a time. 💕

✨🎨🍦 Our First Art Gallery & Ice Cream Social 🍦🎨✨

This past Friday, we hosted our very first Art Gallery & Ice Cream Social at Lakewood Montessori—and what an amazing evening it was! 🖼️👩‍🎨👨‍🎨

Our classrooms were transformed into a beautiful gallery filled with the children’s creative masterpieces. Families walked through, admired the art, and celebrated the creativity, effort, and imagination of our young artists. 🌟 The pride on the children’s faces as they showed their work was truly priceless! ❤️

And of course, what better way to celebrate than with ice cream sandwiches? 🍨✨ Laughter, smiles, and sweet treats made the night even more special.

Thank you to all of our wonderful families who joined us and supported this memorable event. We can’t wait to make this a yearly tradition! 💛

🌟 Meet the Teacher: Ms. Arliss 🌟

We’re excited to spotlight Ms. Arliss, our amazing Toddler Lead Teacher! 💕 She brings warmth, patience, and a passion for guiding our youngest learners through their first steps in the Montessori journey.

👶 Her Role:
Ms. Arliss leads our toddlers with gentle guidance, helping them grow in independence and confidence every day. From learning self-care skills to exploring Practical Life activities, she creates a nurturing environment where little ones feel safe and supported.

🌱 Why She Loves Montessori:
She loves how Montessori encourages children to do things for themselves, even at such a young age. Watching toddlers light up with pride when they accomplish something on their own is her favorite part of teaching.

🏈 Fun Fact:
Ms. Arliss loves watching the Kansas City Chiefs play! ❤️💛

We are so grateful for the joy and dedication Ms. Arliss brings to our toddler program every single day.

✨ Hands-on math the Montessori way! ✨
Today our students explored the Number Rods—a material that helps children understand quantity, order, and number symbols through movement and discovery. 🌟

By physically building numbers, children not only learn to count but also feel the difference in size and value. Montessori turns abstract math into something concrete, fun, and empowering! 💡

💙 At Lakewood Montessori, we nurture independence, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning.

📸 Here’s one of our learners proudly matching number symbols with the rods!

🌟 Sensorial Learning in Action 🌟
In Montessori, children engage their senses to build deeper understanding. By using a blindfold while working with the knobbed cylinders, this child is refining her sense of touch, concentration, and problem-solving skills. Activities like this encourage independence and strengthen cognitive development in meaningful ways.

“Math made meaningful! 🌟
Our students are strengthening their number sense with hands-on Montessori materials. This approach allows children to explore abstract concepts in a concrete, joyful way—building both confidence and curiosity in learning. 💙”

🌟 Meet Ms. Santa! 🌟

👩‍🏫 Classroom/Role: Lead Teacher in Infants 2

💬 Favorite Montessori Lessons:
"I enjoy all the sensorial lessons! Babies learn so much through their senses, and it’s amazing to see how even the smallest experiences shape their understanding of the world."

✨ What Brings Me Joy as a Teacher:
"I love watching the babies grow more independent each day. Seeing their progress — from little movements to big milestones — is the most rewarding part of my work."

🌈 Fun Fact About Me:
I love dancing salsa 💃 and enjoying a warm cup of tea 🍵.

💛 Why I Love Lakewood Montessori:
"Being part of a community that values independence, growth, and nurturing care is so meaningful. Every day, I feel honored to guide our littlest learners as they take their first steps in Montessori."

📢 Drop a “💖” in the comments to show some love for Ms. Santa!