The Children's Montessori Academy
201 King Rd. L4E 2W2 Richmond Hill, ON, Canada

Happy Thanksgiving! This past week has been all about turkeys. We learned the parts of a turkey, examined wild turkey feathers, sang and acted out turkey songs and rhymes and made very cute pinecone turkeys. We hope you all had a happy and safe weekend.

This week the children at our little yellow school participated in the Terry Fox School Run. This year marks the 40th anniversary of The Marathon of Hope. The children eagerly brought in their 'Toonies for Terry' to place in our classroom jars. Our happy and proud students chanted Terry's name as they ran laps in our soccer field. (The classes had separate runs.) The children learned more about Terry through a biography for children and 40 year old newspaper clippings. T...hey had many questions about how Terry ran with a prosthetic leg. We watched actual footage of Terry running during the Marathon of Hope found on The Terry Fox Foundation's website. The children were in awe of Terry's determination. Forty years on, Terry Fox continues to inspire people around the world with his simple message of hope. We can all make a difference in the world and change people's lives for the better. "Anything's possible if you try." ~ Terry Fox "

We are so happy to be back together with our little yellow school family! One of our first activities every year is harvesting the vegetables in our back garden. Although the children were not at school this spring to plant the seed potatoes and carrots, they were thrilled to be able to harvest them. We had a bumper crop!

At our little yellow school, we have been busy getting ready for the new school year! Here are some photos of the changes we have made to our indoor classrooms and a preview of what our outdoor classrooms will look like. We look forward to enjoying the outdoors with our children this autumn! Our whole school is looking beautiful, clean and ready to welcome back our students!

Montessori schools have always included time learning and enjoying the outdoors. At our little yellow school, we are so grateful to have the ability and space to explore the outdoors. "When children come into contact with nature, they reveal their strength." ~ Maria Montessori

A Librarian Visit ~ At our little yellow school, books and reading are such a joyous and integral part of each day. The children were thrilled when our favourite local librarian came for a visit during the winter term. We sang songs, did some finger plays, listened to lots of amazing stories and did some coding. What an enjoyable morning! During the pandemic closures, the place I miss most is the library. Libraries are truly the most magical places on Earth. I would often m...eet many of our present and past students there. While our City of Richmond Hill libraries remain closed for visits, card holders are able to place holds for pick up. This service is expanding in August. The library continues to offer many interesting and fun online programs for children. www.rhpl.ca "Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore and achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life." ~ Sidney Sheldon

Congratulations to our 2020 graduates! We are so proud of you and have so many precious memories of our time together. Like baby birds leaving the nest, you are ready to spread your wings and fly! Take pride in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go. You will always have a special place in our hearts. Here are some photos of our graduates. During our Car Parade, each graduate and their family was able to mark the occasion at our soccer field. Thank you to Mrs. O. for the fantastic poster and to the families of our graduates for sharing their photos.

Car Parade Part 2 - Here are more photos from our memorable Car Parade. Everyone looks fantastic! We are so grateful for our half acre property. There was plenty of room. It was so nice to exchange warm wishes, lots of smiles and waves. Wishing everyone a fun-filled summer. We look forward to reconnecting in September!

Car Parade Part 1 - On the weekend our little yellow school had a Car Parade! How exciting it was to see everyone in person instead of on a screen. My how the children have grown! Look at all the happy faces!

Happy Father's Day to our little yellow school dads! It was great to see so many of you at our Car Parade. Wishing you all a fantastic day! "A father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way."

We were thrilled to receive this lovely painting of our little yellow school today! It is the work of one of this year's graduates, AH, and her little brother HH. When we look at it our hearts are filled with happiness. Some of our best days have been spent there together with all of you. We miss you and look forward to the day when our little yellow school family can be together there again.

Here are some screenshots from our latest Zoom chit chat. Our meetings have it all - new baby brothers, lost teeth, indoor camping, artwork, pets, older siblings, younger siblings and dancing! We were delighted when one of our students sang a song for us and another read us a story. This pandemic can stop many things, but it cannot stop our bond, our fun or our love for one another. We are looking forward to our next one!

Happy Mother's Day to all our little yellow school mothers and grandmothers! We miss you and are thinking about you. We hope you have a fantastic day. Here are some drawings of mothers and children drawn over the years by the children at our school. "Mother's hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever."

Happy Earth Day little yellow school family! We hope you all spent some time outside today appreciating the beauty all around us. Here are some Earth Day photos and more beautiful rainbows. As as one of our former students and one of our current students wrote on their sidewalk "We love you friends!" Stay healthy and safe. We will be together again!

A Message of Hope ~ Earlier this week, April 12th, marked the 40th anniversary of Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope. The children at our little yellow school are always so excited to participate in our Terry Fox School Run each September. We enjoy sharing in their joy as they they run into school clutching their Toonies for Terry, eager to drop them into our jars. Four decades later, Terry Fox's story continues to inspire people around the globe. In our current world, we are facing a challenge and hope isn't always easy to find. That is why Terry's message resonates louder than ever. In the face of adversity, we are all holding on to hope and doing our part. "Being self-centered isn't the way to live. The answer is to try and help others." ~ Terry Fox