Arc En Ciel Montessori French Immersion School

This past month in our primary community, one of our classes took a deep dive into learning about Mummies and Ancient Egypt. Inspired by child discussions during outside free-play, Assistant Nathan put together a two-week project on the ancient world and the mummification process. Children learned about the rituals performed by ancient Egyptians when a member of their community passed away, completed their own mock mummification process on a papaya by depositing the seeds of the papaya in 4 mock canopic jars-using the current Human Organ language work as a reference point, then wrapping the dried papaya in gauze and decorating a "sarcophagus" to place the mummified papaya in. They finished by " burying” the papaya in a cardboard box tomb. The Egyptians would bury their dead with grave goods, and so the class placed a snack and a book in the tomb with the papaya. Montessori lessons were tied into each step of the work: fine-motor movements for cutting open and depositing, geography when discussing the placement of Egypt on the map, math skills for counting the jars, language for identifying the organs/papaya insides, and grace and courtesy for handing the papaya mummy gently and how to share the project with our other primary students.🏺

🌷It’s Garden Party time!🪻
Join us this Saturday to enjoy our new outdoor area, mingle with some awesome folks and listen to some amazing performers!

Take two! 😉
🚨PARENTS OF PICKY EATERS🚨
Are you a parent of a child that is having trouble venturing out of their comfort zone to try new foods? Are you a teacher that has students not eating the school lunch? Come join us for a night of Picky Eating! We will be joined by Deidra Pine, Occupational Therapist and Larissa Peizer, M.A. CCC-SLP from Whole Circle Pediatric Therapy as they guide us through how to use typical developmental steps of feeding to create the skills and behaviors necessary for children to progress with eating a variety of tastes and textures. This presentation is open to everyone so some of our AECMS community may see some unfamiliar faces.
How do you sign up? This presentation is free but you do need to RSVP prior to be able to attend. Please RSVP by emailing Dannielle at [email protected]
DM us with any questions and we’re excited to see you there!!

🚨PARENTS OF PICKY EATERS🚨
Are you a parent of a child that is having trouble venturing out of their comfort zone to try new foods? Are you a teacher that has students not eating the school lunch? Come join us for a night of Picky Eating! We will be joined by Deidra Pine, Occupational Therapist and Larissa Peizer, M.A. CCC-SLP from Whole Circle Pediatric Therapy as they guide us through how to use typical developmental steps of feeding to create the skills and behaviors necessary for children to progress with eating a variety of tastes and textures. This presentation is open to everyone so some of our AECMS community may see some unfamiliar faces.
How do you sign up? This presentation is free but you do need to RSVP prior to be able to attend. Please RSVP by emailing Dannielle at [email protected]
DM us with any questions and we’re excited to see you there!! 🥦🥕🍅

Over the course of the last few weeks our Primary classes have been learning about Lunar New Year and the traditions celebrated during that time. La Classe Rouge has been reading books on Lunar New Year, listening to traditional music played during the New Years celebrations, learning about and making paper lanterns and took a hands-on approach yesterday by making dumplings! Last week teacher Rosie and Nathan led the students in the preparation of the filling of the dumplings, which included the peeling of potatoes, shredding carrots and cabbage. Yesterday with the help from some parents, the class took turns in learning about the assembly of the dumplings. Each child had a chance to fill, fold and steam their dumplings. They also tried kumquats and tried their hand at learning how to use chopsticks while getting to enjoy their delicious dumplings. 🏮Happy Lunar New Year!🏮

Happy November! This month is a great opportunity to discuss the contributions of the indigenous community to our city, state, and country. Here are some of our favorite books, available at the , created by Indigenous writers and illustrators to start a dialog about the ancestral heritage, customs, and traditions of Indigenous folks. Happy Reading!

📕Bowwow Powwow by Brenda J. Child
📗Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Novle Maillard
📘We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell
📙Shanyaak’utlaax: Salmon Boy by Michael Goade
📕 My Heart Fills With Happiness Ni Sâkaskineh Mîyawâten Niteh Ohcih by Gray Smith, Monique
📗 First Laugh Welcome, Baby! by Tahe, Rose Ann
📘 Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp
📙 The Very First Americans by Cara Ashrose
📕 The People Shall Continue by Simon J. Ortiz
📘 We Are Water Protectors Book by Carole Lindstrom

Earlier this month we added some pumpkins to the outdoor play yard at the Morris campus! these big ol’ pumpkins bring some festive spirit to the school but they also act as great Heavy Work Activity. What is Heavy Work you ask? Proprioceptive activities are often referred to as “heavy work”. Heavy work is accomplished by working against weight or resistance through activities like shoveling, playing tug of war, riding a bike, swimming, pushing a heavy stroller, pulling a loaded wagon, or in this case, moving pumpkins. Heavy work is shown to help young children feel calm in their bodies, it can aid in extending their attention span, improve body awareness, and strengthen their growing muscles. Next time your child is having a tough day we encourage you to join them in your own heavy work activity at home! 🎃

Oh boy, it sure is smokey outside today! If you're feeling some symptoms from the air quality, know that your children are feeling it tenfold. For children under the age of 5, their tiny lungs and brains are still developing, their nasal passages and airways are smaller, and they breathe more rapidly, bringing in more air for their body weight than an adult. This is the perfect combination for children to feel the highest effects of air pollution. Early exposure to air pollution can result in lots of undesirable side effects, short-term and long-term. Though we have HEPA filters in every classroom and have a heavy filtration system in our HVAC systems at all locations, our safety when it comes to air pollution is always on the side of caution. We take air quality seriously and do our best to make the best choices to keep our students and staff safe.

Get ready for our summer social event happening this Saturday, August 13th! This event is open to all families from our 4 locations for everyone to socialize with one another and with our staff. We will be providing snacks and beverages throughout the event. There will be games and live music provided by our Aftercare Assistant Zeke! This is going to be a great day and hope you all can join us✨

We received a ton of new French books this week and both the children and guides are VERY excited! Some of the books we received feature new French songs, stories both told in French and English, picture books with French vocabulary words, and many more French activities that can be used both in the classroom and in our French class. These are just a few of the new ones we snagged and some of our favorites of the bunch. Be ready to hear some new French songs and words being spoken at home over the next few weeks! Bon apprentissage!🌻

The school gardens are flourishing thanks to all these little helping hands!🌷🌻🌱

Nous aimons les cours de français! Take a peek into our French Class✨
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the older children that have transitioned out of naps join assistants Sarah & Chase in the gym to do French class. This French class is part of their second work cycle and is a time for them to have a traditional French lesson. They go over more advanced French phrases and sentences, vocabulary, and songs. This particular class was about the children learning the different adjectives and nouns to describe what a child typically wears on a daily basis.👚👖👟