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Lunch Program

The Lunch program is available for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd year students enrolled in the Half Day Primary Program.

5 days a week              11:30 – 12:30pm

The purpose is to provide children with an opportunity to extend the Montessori experience to mealtime. Each child works toward grace and courtesy, as well as increases their awareness of good nutrition and practice healthy lifestyle. 

Setup

Since the children who stay for our Lunch Program are re-entering the classroom, they are expected to change their shoes as well as to hang their own backpacks and coats in their cubbies. To promote self-care, all children must wash their hands before setting up. Next, children are responsible for helping prepare the environment by replacing clean placemats, napkins, as well as the silverware onto the lunch shelf. Once our community lunchroom is setup, children are invited to prepare their own space. This is a process which promotes order and routine. First, children bring their placemat and napkin to the table they have chosen, as a way to define their individual lunch spot. They return to the shelf to gather the remaining necessary lunch ware. 

Children who bring lunch from home are welcome to unpack their lunchboxes and prepare their plate at the table. Those who receive lunch from school return to the shelf to serve themselves. Teachers invite the children to make healthy and balanced food choices.

Community Lunch

Once all the children have prepared their spots and their meals, we sing the “Community Song” as a way to foster social etiquette and unity:

Look around and you will see
Community, a family,
We are brothers and sisters too.
Thank you for our lunch and enjoy!

During this time, children are encouraged to converse with their peers in a peaceful manner. 

Clean Up

When children have finished eating, they place their napkin onto their plate to indicate that they are ready to clean up, and ask, “May I please be excused?” After the teacher has excused the child, they first scrape their plates into the garbage, and are expected to wash their plate in the dish washing station. As a way to further develop community and consideration for others, the older children are sometimes asked to help their younger peers with clean up.

Once the dishes are done, children are responsible for sweeping their individual space. They check their spot at the table as well as the floor under their chairs. As the school year goes on, children begin to develop an awareness of their immediate and community surroundings. This prompts them to sweep the classroom, empty the garbage cans and deliver laundry so that it can be washed.

Gathering at the Rug

Once the classroom has been cleaned and is prepared for the next part of the day, the children gather for a group activity. This includes sharing a story, etiquette reminders or a fun activity.

Welcome To Lunch Video

To see the current month's hot lunch menu, click here.

Math, Science & Language Enrichment Program 

The Math, Science and Language Enrichment program is available for 2^nd year students enrolled in the Half Day Primary program.

Tuesdays                          11:30am - 3:00pm

Children attend their usual class session as well as participate in the Lunch program. Throughout the year students participate in science experiments about temperature, weather, chemistry, and physics in the classroom environment and outside. Additionally, students will either explore concepts of math including measurements and currency or language skills such as rhyming, sounds, and beginning word building.

The Art and Spanish Enrichment program is available for 2^nd year students enrolled in the Half Day Primary program.

Wednesdays                          11:30am - 3:00pm

This program is available to the 2nd year primary students. Children attend their usual class sessions as well as participate in the Lunch program.

In Art enrichment, children are introduced to an artist through a brief synopsis of his/her life, and the method/s the artist used to create their art. The children are then shown the project they will be doing that is in the style of that artist. For example, Jackson Pollack was an abstract artist known as “Action Jackson” because of the way he splattered, poured & spread paint on large canvases. Using a very similar method as Jackson Pollack, the children create their own abstract paintings on a small canvas.

Additionally, the children explore a variety of open-ended art projects with a variety of materials including painting, sculptures, papier-mache, etching, and more throughout the year.

The other half of the class introduces students to the Spanish language and culture through movement and songs to learn numbers, colors, farm animal names and other introductory Spanish words. They discover the rich culture as they learn about important holidays and cooking traditional recipes in the classroom. At the end of the school year, the children perform their favorite songs at a showcase for the school and their families.

The Food, Fitness & Fun Enrichment program is available for 1^st and 2^nd year students enrolled in the Half Day Primary program.

Thursdays                          11:30am - 3:00pm

Children attend their usual class session as well as participate in the Lunch program. Once a week, children will exercise their minds and bodies through fitness such as locomotor activities, ball handling, and small group games. Nature will be explored by going on nature walks around the park, or making fun food recipes to eat. There will be a short rest period before beginning these activities.

1-5 days per week (same day/days of the week is/are required for the school year)

Children may be dropped off any time within these windows of time:

Toddler 7:15 or 7:45am - 8:15am

Primary 7:15 or 7:45 - 8:30am

Kindergarten 7:15 or 7:45 - 8:30am

This program is designed to accommodate working parents by allowing them to drop off their children before school hours. The children enrolled in the program come from our four primary programs and our toddler program. It is a nice opportunity for the children from various classes and age ranges to connect, interact and socialize.

These children begin their morning on the playground, weather permitting, and are free to run, use the playground equipment or even grab a shovel and a bucket and dig for worms. In inclement weather, the children meet in the Gross Motor Room, where stations are set up with various activities. The stations are defined by yoga mats, where the children can congregate and work together. This is a lovely way for these children to get to know one another outside of the classroom.

The lessons of Grace and Courtesy are taught and reinforced. One of the most important rules in this program is “Hands are for helping.” Other rules are “be kind” and “treat others as you want to be treated”. 

A systematic routine is followed whether the children are outside or indoors, and they are aligned with routines followed in the classroom. On the playground, children are directed to hang their backpacks on the fence, in the Gross Motor Room they are directed to lean their backpacks against the wall. When the children enter their classroom, they are directed to hang their backpacks in their cubbies.

5 Days a Week                          8:30am - 3:00pm

After a morning spent with the children in their core program, the Full Day Primary children will gather together for lunch. Following lunch, they will spend the afternoon together.  The program takes place inside a Montessori classroom, providing children with opportunities for extended learning and exposure to the materials, including the Spanish language and culture.

The children enrolled in the program will hone their problem-solving skills, satisfy their intellectual curiosity, and learn social-emotional skills. Children who need a rest period will be given the opportunity.

The Extended Care program is available for children in the Full Day Primary, Full Day Kindergarten or Enrichment programs.  Same day/days of the week is/are required for the school year.

1-5 Days per Week                          3:00 - 3:45pm

Extended Care is available 5 days per week from 3:00 - 3:45 for children enrolled in Full Day Primary, Full Day Kindergarten or Enrichment programs and is identical in activity to our Early Bird program. The children in this program, many of whom are also in Early Bird, have the opportunity to reconnect with each other, whether playing together or just socializing. At times, activities are set up in the gym, allowing two or three children to work together at each station. Weather permitting, the children will play outside, allowing them to run, stretch their legs, and have free play time.