any great links or handouts for new M parents?

[OnTheBrink]

I am putting together packets for our nine new families (all the kids are 3-4). I'm going to include things like a car magnet with our logo, the school calendar, a copy of M magazine, tissues, granola, etc.

Do any of you know of any great things I could include as a handout? Kind of a Chicken Soup for a Montessori Parent's Soul type stuff? Maybe a "top ten reasons Montessori is great" or "how to make your child's first year at M wonderful" or anything like that?

Thanks for thinking on this!

[MattBronsil]

Originally Posted by OnTheBrink

I am putting together packets for our nine new families (all the kids are 3-4). I'm going to include things like a car magnet with our logo, the school calendar, a copy of M magazine, tissues, granola, etc.

Do any of you know of any great things I could include as a handout? Kind of a Chicken Soup for a Montessori Parent's Soul type stuff? Maybe a "top ten reasons Montessori is great" or "how to make your child's first year at M wonderful" or anything like that?

Thanks for thinking on this!

There are some great posts on here that you might be able to include. Just ask the author and give them credit, citing the web site you got it from as a source.

As for me, feel free to use my blog posts or anything I post on here. Just mention where you got it from. I recently did a blog post (see my signature) about the benefits of Montessori and what to expect from a Montessori classroom. Several people asked if they could use it.

If it gets me more blog readers, I'm happy. So feel free to use my stuff.

[wrzos]

Let's see... we got the welcome letter, a car decal, info on school logo items for sale (and tips for how to purchase given that the elementary children are in charge - e.g. cash for making change rather than a check ;-) ), and an AMI what is Montessori pamphlet. Probably a copy of the school quarterly newsletter as well - the teachers each contribute an article, and often a parent or alum is included...

[Lillianna]

Along with our parent handbook and info specific to our school procedures, I hand out an article on Montessori at Home, an article on letter sounds and why we do cursive and an article about transitions/separation anxiety. I can pm you copies if you are interested.
In the past, we have passed out the "For Small Hands" catalogue from Montessori Services which is a smaller version of their catalogue and a fund raiser for your school. The text to this catalogue is helpful and the books are a good resource.

[OnTheBrink]

Copies of what you give out would be great! Thanks so much!

[Koloe]

My DD's school has this on their website - we have not gotten to the point of paying for or receiving this yet though:

A $25 parent education fee will be due in September. This fee pays for “Tomorrow's Child” magazine and “A Parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom” to help parents understand what their child is learning at Montessori as well as the methods used.

I checked out "A parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom" from the library and found it very helpful for explaining what some of the more common materials were and how they were used.

[tatermom]

Originally Posted by Koloe

I checked out "A parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom" from the library and found it very helpful for explaining what some of the more common materials were and how they were used.

That's what our school gave us, and it was very informative. I wish we could get a car decal too, though!