A Message From Ms. Tracy

HAPPY OCTOBER!!

Our student support programs have kicked off over the last few weeks, and we are already hearing/observing such positive, success stories with our students. Wonderful! In case, you haven’t heard, we have the following programs running and available for our students who may need some additional support. If you have any questions, please contact me at etracy@tma-el.org.

HeartMath:

At Montessori Academy Edison Lakes, the social emotional well-being of our students, is of primary importance. For that reason, we have invested in a phenomenal program called HeartMath. The program, developed by the HeartMath Institute, is a tried-and-true, research-based approach to lowering stress and anxiety through deep breathing for our students in Upper Elementary and Junior High. We kicked off this program in the fall of 2015 and have seen amazing results!http://www.heartmath.com/

Mindfulness:

We are fortunate, in that, as a Montessori Community, mindfulness is already part of our philosophy and thereby, embedded into our practices. For our younger students, Early Childhood-Lower Elementary, our “Walking the Line” work and “Peace Corner” environments (for example) are set up to allow our students, to refocus, pay attention to their body, pay attention to their emotions and take some time for themselves. We will continue to incorporate yoga, stretching, works, peace time and breathing time for a break to center and regroup.

This is a great link, that allows us to remember, the importance of slowing down, allowing our students and ourselves, to take a moment to “Just Breathe”.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg

A beautiful, song, done by a Montessori School: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vnr30jYQQ4&sns=em

Friendship Groups:

Montessori Academy Edison Lakes also offers “Friendship Groups” rotating throughout Lower and Upper Elementary and taught by myself, Erin Tracy. These groups are guided lessons on social and emotional skills for our students. Students work on character building lessons, the “power” of kindness, conflict resolution, identifying their own feelings and the feelings of others. It is a program that is embedded into the curriculum, as a means of guiding our students along the social emotional path, as they develop into unique individuals. At the foundation of who we are, at Montessori Academy, is a belief in the importance of “connectedness”. Please feel free to reach out to me or teachers, should you have any questions or concerns.

Speech

We are thrilled to introduce the optional service for those students requiring speech support/remediation. The program is called “Tiny Eye” and it is based online. An accredited speech pathologist logs in and works with our students, based on their goals. It has incredible reviews and we are so happy to offer this as an option for our students. Please contact me with further questions.https://www.tinyeye.com/

Read Naturally

We are now offering a research-based, online reading intervention program, called Read Naturally. Read Naturally is a reading intervention program, which targets fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and assessments in reading, for those students in the 25% or below in reading skills. To learn more about this program, please see the link below or contact me with further questions:  https://readnaturally.com/

Welcome Back Montessori Parents & Families:

I am thrilled to kick off our school year with this blog! I will post tips, "Family Fun" ideas for the weekend, Montessori articles and ways to incorporate Mindfulness into your life, as a family! Please feel free to reach out and contact me via email or phone should you have any questions or feedback!

Tips on "Back to School":
Getting back into routine, can sometimes be a bit challenging for everyone. Therefore, start setting your up your routines now, but recognize that it may take a few weeks to get back into the routine of school (early bed, early up, meals, homework etc). 

-Yoga: To help relax the family, before bed, do some basic stretches or yoga. I suggest doing this before bath or hour/so before bed. One of my favorites links for younger students is the following:

Yoga for Kids
https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

-Activity: Each night at dinner or bedtime, have each family member share one KIND thing that each of you observed or participated in that day. 

-Sleep: Give yourself and your little ones plenty of rest, as you transition back to school.
-Nutrition: POWER UP: Make sure everyone is getting plenty of healthy protein and snacks!
-Reassurance: Never underestimate, how much our little ones miss the summer "family time"...be sure to pause for some family love and giggles to reassure your son/daughter plenty of FUN to have this school year together!!
-Communicate: If you notice your son/daughter is struggling to transition to the new year, please don't hesitate to contact me. I (we) am here for you. We believe in the team approach, so feel free to reach out and have a chat!

Mindfulness:
At Montessori, we are proud that we already embed basic "Mindfulness" exercises in what we do and in our curriculum. Mindfulness is proving to have incredible impact on our ability to focus, regulate our emotions and "tune in" to what is happening around us.

Mindfulness

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-rudell-beach-/8-ways-to-teach-mindfulness-to-kids_b_5611721.html


Mindfulness Video


Cheers to a new year!
Sincerely,
Erin Tracy
Director of Education Student Services
(574) 256-5313 ext 216
etracy@tma-el.org