The Children's House

I trust that you will find our classroom an exciting, attractive, lively and engaging place to be.  Together we will create an atmosphere that is fair and just, and allows us to develop to our unique potentials.  I am excited to share this  journey and all of the promises that it holds with you.   Onward we go, with flexibility and love! Jaime Janiszewski About Jaime Jaime@traversechildrenshouse.org _ Room Parents Emily Modrall Lauren Magnatta   Back to School Parent Letter

Classroom Highlights

April 15, 2025

Dear Willow Families, 

As we head into the final eight weeks of the school year, our days are filled to the brim with adventure, learning, and joy! You may have heard from your learner that we have a visiting practice teacher from Grand Rapids. Her name is Denise, and she has been leading lessons since last Monday. We’re honored to have her with us through this Friday.

An important part of your learner’s day is developing collaboration skills and building meaningful connections within our school community. One way we’re nurturing this is through our partnership with Fern Classroom (primary). Each day, a student from Willow has an opportunity to visit Fern to assist with baking, reading, crafts, or other activities. These moments offer an opportunity for leadership, being a positive role model, and forming bonds with younger learners. It’s been heartwarming to hear the children reflect on their experiences—it’s truly a special part of our days.

To further foster connection and academic growth, our 3rd-year students are engaging in peer teaching with Maple Classroom’s 5th years. Each week, they both give and receive lessons, practicing in advance with a partner to present their material clearly. This experience not only reinforces their understanding of more challenging concepts but also helps them connect with older students, easing the transition to Upper Elementary.

We also feel incredibly fortunate to welcome back a cherished member of our school community, Jack Lee—affectionately known as Papa Jack. A proud alumnus with children and grandchildren who attended The Children’s House, Jack visits weekly to read with our learners. During our conversations, I learned of his deep knowledge of and passion for gardening. That sparked the beginning of a large gardening project, which kicked off yesterday and will continue through June 4.

This week, the children are planting seedlings and marking out garden space. Next week, with help from Maple and Cedar students, they’ll begin tilling and fertilizing the soil, preparing it for planting before the end of the year. We hope you’ll stop by and take a look after Dance of the Cosmos on the last day of school. Jack will tend the garden over the summer and return in the fall to help students care for, harvest, and prepare the garden for winter and to support the continuation of the project into next spring.

These collaborations across classrooms and generations give your children the chance to lead, to learn, and to grow in community. Whether mentoring younger students, receiving guidance from older peers, or learning from a wise and generous elder, each experience offers something to give—and something to receive. It has been a true joy to witness their growth through these moments.

As we head toward the end of the year, many adventures still await! We’re looking forward to our rescheduled trip to Empire on Monday, April 28 (moved from April 18 due to busing), our Earth Day outing with 1st and 2nd years to explore the life cycle of plants at the Boardman-Ottaway River (click here for more info), while our 3rd years join Upper Elementary to plant trees at the Boardman-Ottaway, and of course, our much-anticipated trip to Camp LOC!

I plan to soak up and enjoy each moment with your children and am honored to be a part of their journey. 

Coming Up:

• April 14th- June 4th – Gardening with Papa Jack
• April 28th – We will leave by TCAPS bus at 9:15 to head to Empire Beach to continue our observation through the lens of the changing seasons! This is our final outing to Empire this year.
• May 2nd – Earth Day Outing: Please see the attached letter regarding our Earth Day Outing.
• May 9th – Meals on Wheels Outing (Willow 2nd years) – More info to come
• May 16th & 17th – Twice Upon a Time by Tracy Wells (we have seven Willow 3rd years involved in the production this year!)
• May 23rd: Grandparents and Special Friend’s Day (half day)
• May 28th – 30th – Camp LOC: Please see the letter below from Michele regarding changes to the overnight stay.  Let me know if you have any questions.
• June 6th – Dance of the Cosmos and Farewell to School (half day)

March 15, 2025

Dear Willow Families,  

You may have noticed the quote at the end of my email signature from Dr. Maria Montessori: "The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind." This quote resonates with me deeply, as it highlights the importance of childhood in shaping our future world: adults are formed in childhood.

Yet again, your children are in an important stage of self-discovery, Montessori called this the Second Plane of Development. They are learning how to navigate the world and are in the process of constructing their future selves. Alongside the academics, they are learning effective communication, conflict resolution, independence, interdependence, community care, and fostering empathy. These aren’t just ideals or platitudes or things we like to tell parents; they are a core part of the curriculum, part of the work. Different from academics, the social and emotional growth doesn’t have the same measurable results. We have to wait for it.

As children seek to find their role in their families, classrooms, and communities, they practice, make mistakes, adapt, and try again. This process takes resilience and courage, and your children inspire me every day with their willingness, eagerness, and curiosity. How we guide them now will shape the adults they will become.

Parent Visiting Day offers an opportunity to see this process at work in the classroom environment. Your curiosity and celebration of their learning alongside them builds their confidence and validates their struggles and challenges as a worthy cause. This journey is miraculous and to give them the opportunity to show you the fruits of their labor is one of the great perks of my job.

I truly enjoyed our individual conferences and feel fortunate to have such supportive parents as partners in your children’s educational journeys. It was an honor to discuss your child’s growth, progress, and personal reflections with you.

I left our conferences feeling joyful, grateful, and excited for the remaining months of learning with your scholars before we transition into summer break.

March Mammal Madness has been a huge success! Even some reluctant zoologists and botanists became engaged as the battles unfolded. They are loving the play-by-play commentary and enjoyed restructuring their brackets as the winners emerged. More battles to come!  WHO WILL WIN???

We recently finished reading The Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shihab Nye. This novel follows a young boy named Aref as he travels from Muscat, Oman, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and adjusts to his new life and school in the United States. Our exploration of Aref’s journey inspired some exciting new student studies!

February 18, 2025

Dear Willow Families, 

Montessori said, "The human mind is mathematical and philosophical. To teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge." (From Childhood to Adolescence, pg. 55)

Second-plane children are innate philosophers, and your young philosophers are considering big and complex questions.  Their endless wonderings are a gateway to profound intellectual exploration. It can be so difficult for us to truly understand the depth of our children’s feelings, opinions, and ideas.  You may be regularly surprised to witness their ability to talk about broad ideas in interesting ways.  

I imagine you have noticed your child's desire to know what is happening.  If they hear adults or children speaking, they need to know what is being discussed and want to be involved in the conversation.  They have a blooming conscience, constantly pondering deep questions and significant issues.

If you want to experience the vastness of their developing philosophical mind, introduce a few questions at the dinner table and see where the conversation leads!

Here are a few to get you started:

• Is it ever okay to tell a lie?
• What makes something fair?
• Is sharing always important?
• Why should we be kind?
• Is it better to give or to receive?
• Is it necessary to always win?
• Should animals have the same rights as humans? 

In read-aloud, we recently finished the Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye.  The Children loved it.  Turtle of Oman is a book about a young man named Aref whose family is moving. They are leaving their country of Oman and moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for his parents' education at a university.

We have moved on to the next book, the Turtle of Michigan by Naomi Shihab Nye.  The Turtle of Michigan is a deft and accessible novel that follows a young boy named Aref as he travels from Muscat, Oman, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and adjusts to a new life and school in the United States.

Swimming was a huge success!  It is so enlightening and delightful to see the children in a different learning environment.  They were so proud of their growth.

Upcoming

Feb 20: We will not go to Empire but will spend a good part of the morning outdoors on the TCH campus. 

Feb 25 & 26: Parent Visiting Day – See schedule below.  We coordinated families with siblings in both lower elementary classes. 

** Parent Visiting Day is a time for children to welcome parents and other trusted adults into their classroom and offer a glimpse into their day. I invite you to be curious and patient as you experience the joy your child has in sharing their work with you.

January 15, 2025

“Mom/Dad!  Can I have a playdate with my friend?”  
“Grandma! Can my friend sleep over this weekend?” 

How often have you asked your second-plane child about the best part of their day, and the answer involved their friends?  They are focused on their peers in the classroom as well, always seeking a friend or group of friends to collaborate with on their work. 

Elementary children are gregarious! This is another second-plane characteristic.  In the classroom, they want to work with their peers and have little interest in working alone. As they enter the second plane, and from this point forward, your children are and will be socially focused.  While this happens gradually, I am sure you have noticed or will notice their desire to connect with other children all the time!

In elementary, our lessons happen in groups. Students practice concepts in groups of two, three, or four. They enjoy healthy debates, correct each other’s mistakes, work out huge problems together, and inspire one another to know more using their reasoning minds and big imaginations. 

It’s possible you’ve experienced a need for conflict resolution on a playdate or sleepover. A huge part of the elementary years is the social/emotional learning.  They are so gregarious in nature that through their social groups, they learn how to talk to each other, invite someone to a lesson, or decline an invitation.  They learn how to share their feelings and actively listen to the feelings of others. They must compromise daily and navigate how to be part of a larger community. They are beginning to figure out how they fit into the world. 

This social and emotional development is a massive part of their work in elementary and takes a great deal of emotional energy. This development happens alongside the enormous amount of information their minds take in and process during lessons throughout their school days.  During the day, they are reading, writing, solving math problems, drawing angles, studying the earth, observing and learning about animals, sewing pillows, weaving, identifying states of matter, crocheting, sketching, singing, and more, yet you will likely hear the most about their interactions with friends and classmates.  

In our environment we aim to scaffold their social emotional learning just as much as their academic proficiencies. We nurture what Montessori called "the whole child" and support their critical self-construction. You are raising incredible human beings, and I am grateful to be a small part of their journey. 

We are currently reading What Was the March on Washington by Kathleen Krull. On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white artwork throughout and sixteen pages of photographs, the March is brought to life! Monday is a celebration of this man's work and legacy; perhaps you could ask your children what they know about him. 

We have a new member in Willow Classroom, Henrik. He has been welcomed with open arms by the children and is a lovely addition to our Willow Community.  He has an older sister in Maple Classroom, Alina.  We have enjoyed getting to know him!

We have many presentations scheduled for studies in the next two weeks.  The children are loving their time at the YMCA expanding their swimming skills.  It is so amazing to observe them in this environment. I see them take risks, push themselves, and show pride in what they can and are learning to do.  

December 16, 2024

Dear Willow Families, 

In Montessori pedagogy, you will hear the term "second plane" when talking about elementary children. This term refers to the second of four planes that Maria Montessori observed and noted about children's growth and development.  

You might be familiar with the term absorbent mind, a sponge-like capacity to absorb information, which is an extraordinary sensitivity or superpower, that children in the first plane of development (0-6) have that other age groups do not.  However, as your learner moved into elementary, the second plane of development, they no longer possessed that absorbent mind but have a new exceptional sensitivity, which is their superpower: IMAGINATION!

We recognize that nature has made this a period for the acquisition of culture, just as the former was for the absorption of the environment.  We are confronted with a considerable development of consciousness that has already taken place, but now that consciousness is thrown outwards with a special direction, intelligence being extroverted.     ~ Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential

You have probably noticed that your Imaginative Explorer wants to know the how and why of everything.  They create other lands and worlds, and they are time travelers. You have likely observed that your elementary child can be wherever they want to be in their minds and often are.  They have never-ending questions and what-ifs that let you know their imaginations are always at work. You've likely experienced your second-plane child's love of telling, writing, and drawing stories, some based on real experiences and some on their own created adventures.

It is a great honor to spend my days with your explorers. Taking into consideration their unique imaginative superpowers, we are talking about how early humans spent most of their time outside. We have discussed and imagined how early humans relied on the light of the sun to meet their fundamental human needs to find food, create shelter, make clothes, and other requirements for survival. Your imaginative learners have traveled through time to explore the magnificent discoveries of revolution, rotation, and the earth's axial tilt, leading to discussions about equinoxes and solstices. We have acknowledged the scientific explanation for the seasons, and we will celebrate the cultural importance of the winter solstice this week. 

I hope you will take a moment over the winter holidays to immerse yourself in your explorer's imaginative worlds. In a few short years, they will transition into the third plane of development, adolescence, with a new set of sensitivities and superpowers. My winter holiday wish for all of us is to capture a bit of that child-like imaginative magic. Immersion in their worlds is often a gift to our adult hearts and minds but equally thrilling to our children.

I wish you love, light, and joy this holiday season! See you next year!

November 21, 2024

Dear Willow Families,

It was wonderful to see all of you for Parent Visiting Day. The lead-up is fun and exciting because the children are enthusiastic about sharing their work and proud of the new things they are learning. I also enjoyed meeting with each of you during conferences to discuss your young learners and all the unique ways they are developing. It is an important time of reflection for all of us.

We will soon turn our focus to winter. We are on a three-year cycle of winter celebrations, with Festivals of Light, the Winter Solstice, and Christmas Around the World. This year, we will learn about the Winter Solstice. We will focus our lessons on geography to study the occurrence of equinoxes and solstices due to the Earth's axial tilt and elliptical orbit around the Sun. We will also learn about Winter Solstice traditions, foods, and crafts. 

Thank you for the books you generously donated to our classroom from Shop Your Community Day at Horizon Books.  The children have already begun to enjoy them. Our current read-aloud book is from our gifted books, Mouse and His Dog: A Dogtown Book by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko. 

The story follows Mouse who lives in Dogtown, a shelter for real dogs and robot dogs, where the kibble is plentiful, and the rafters hide a secret community of mice. His unlikely best friend is Buster, a big-hearted real dog who attracts trouble like a burr to fur. Determined to help Buster find his forever home, even if means losing his best pal, Mouse embarks on a bold quest with three of Dogtown’s “unadoptables”: Buster, Stewie--a huge, lovable dog whose ex-owner said he was mean, and Smokey--a robot dog hardwired with a smoke alarm he can’t control. But Mouse is just a mouse, and the world is big and complicated. How’s a little guy supposed to find homes for the dogs he loves?

The anticipation of our upcoming play, Stone Soup, on Monday, Harvest Feast on Tuesday, and Thanksgiving Break beginning on Wednesday has the room buzzing.  The children are excited to share their play with you. 

A note about the play: The actors should wear all black on Monday and Tuesday or bring all-black clothes to change into for the play, if they have them. They will have small costume pieces but not full costumes. The "final dress" performance for parents will begin at 2:45 pm on Monday, November 25th, and is only 10 minutes long. 

Following our Harvest Feast in the gym on Tuesday, November 26th, we will spend our afternoon together before break playing board games.  The children are welcome to bring a board game to share with their classmates. 

Montessori said “Joy, feeling one’s own value, being appreciated and loved by others, feeling useful and capable of production are all factors of enormous value for the human soul.”  

I hope you are all looking forward to a time of family, food, fun, rest, and rejuvenation in whatever way your family chooses to celebrate. 

October 16, 2024

Dear Willow Families,

Hosting families in our classroom Thursday night to discuss How to Raise an Adult by Julie Lythcott-Holmes was delightful. We began by watching the Ted Talk and then split into groups to discuss various topics from the book. One passage that stood out to me was on page 166 when she quotes psychologist Madeline Levine, "Don't do for your kid what your kid can already do, or can almost do." This sentiment aligns beautifully with Montessori's philosophy and her statement in the early 20th century, "Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed." 

On page 167, Lythcott-Holmes supplies detailed lists of expectations broken down by age. Your children are capable of much more than what is on that list. One way to support this idea at home is the expectation of family contributions. It helps them to feel like they are a critical part of the family unit and that the family wouldn't work the same without them, fostering belonging and significance. We are scaffolding that at school as well. Each of your learners is a valuable member of our community, and our classroom needs them.

We finished our read-aloud, Violet and Jobie in the Wild, and the students loved it. We will begin The One and Only Ivan this week. We cast the parts in the Stone Soup play, and your young performers are excited to start rehearsing. We will have a performance on Monday, November 25th, at 2:45 pm in the gym for all of you, and then they will perform on Tuesday, November 26th, for elementary, jr. high, and admin prior to the Harvest Feast.

We are excited to return to the High Rollaway Observation Deck for our Fall visit this Friday. The colors are glorious, and I can't wait to experience them with the children. They will need a water bottle and a good breakfast. We will have a filling snack, but they will not have lunch until 12:30 pm. Please ensure they dress for the weather, it will likely be chilly.

Volunteer Opportunity:  If you are interested in helping with Pumpkin Fun Day, which will happen on October 31st, please contact Emily Modrall (emily.modrall@gmail.com) and Lauren Magnatta (ljmagnatta@gmail.com). They could really use parent support - this is a lower elementary event. It is something the children LOVE and look forward to each Fall.  

A note from the specialists

Gym: 
The Willow and Birch groups have been having an especially good time in the gym with parachute games and obstacle courses. We have used these activities to have conversations about self-control and kindness, both of these activities work best when the entire group can exhibit these strengths. 

Art:
Afternoon art in the Willow and Birch classrooms have been focusing on making their personalized placemats for the year.  This is an annual first art project event and it is taken very seriously by the students.  They are able to first design, using whatever theme they choose, and then paint their canvas placemat.  When everything is painted with two coats of acrylic paint, the students then have the option to add details with Sharpie.  It is a really wonderful tradition that really displays the personality and character of each student.

Music:
So far this year the Willow and Birch classes have been working on their note reading skills in order to begin our instrumental cycle on Orff instruments. We have begun working on the Kookaburra song as the entrance into melody and harmony, this will then be translated onto the Orff instruments

September 16, 2024

Dear Willow Families!

It has been wonderful being back in the classroom with the children. It has been a delight getting to know all the new students and reconnecting with our returning students. The third years are stepping up beautifully in their mentor roles, and all your learners are getting into the rhythm of our school day's work cycle and routine.  

We had such a lovely day at Camp LOC on Friday. As always, the students loved their time there, and we returned to school exhausted and happy. I enjoyed seeing so many of you at our class picnic on Friday evening and loved the excitement of the children as they saw each other. It was as if they had not just spent an entire day together at LOC!

We've learned a lot of songs, played games, and heard giggles as Jana and I acted out how to be (and not to be) a positive member of our community. We've had lots of lessons outside and begun to talk about how we want to feel in our classroom and how to create an environment that supports everyone's learning. Our read-aloud books currently focus on how our government works, the different branches of government, early champions of hard-earned rights, and how voting works. We've discussed how children can make a difference in our world even though they can't vote yet. They have had such profound questions and thoughtful comments. 

Montessori said "The child, that 'forgotten citizen' must be appreciated in accordance with his true value.  His rights as a human being who shapes all of mankind must become sacred." My hope is to instill in the children that they can change our world for the better.  

I managed to capture a few pictures during the first two weeks, and I wanted to pass them on to you. Thank you for sharing your children with us each day.