Keep Those Logistics Coming! Snack, Laundry, and Flower Donation
Snack-Wrapping it Up
So, continuing from last the last post-snack. Once you have decided how often you rotate it through your families, then you have to decide how to assign your families to bring it. I have seen it two ways:
1) Teacher sets a prepared calendar out on Back to School Night or Parent Orientation and the parents sign up for two weeks or one day a month (depending on the class size). The downfall to this is that not every family signs up and the families that do volunteer have to bring more than their fair share, or you have weeks/days that you don't have anyone signed up and then you have to beg families to pitch-in or you buy it yourself. Don't forget to send reminders and the shopping list before snack is due!
2)The teacher assigns families, sends the new calendar a week before the new month and you follow-up with email reminders with shopping lists.
Personally, I have done it both ways. I prefer the second method because I have more family participation. Also, if you have an assistant, you can try to make the snack reminders part of their Friday responsibilities. It really helps sharing these kinds of jobs!
Laundry
As I mentioned, I have worked in both private and public Montessori schools. At the private school, we had a washer and a dryer. The classroom assistants started the classroom laundry every afternoon and the children did the folding and putting away before dismissal. This method made it actually pretty easy to have table cloths and cloth napkins (so lovely for lunchtime).
In the public setting, this really is not an option. Unless you are willing to take home the class laundry and rugs, you will probably want ask your parents to help out. The way I found easiest was to send the laundry home on Friday with the child that had brought that week's snack. Then that family only has to do laundry and snack twice a year! Just let the families know that if they bring the snack that they will also get the laundry-and to please not fold it, the children love to do it!
Flowers
Every Practical Life area needs fresh cut flowers for flower arranging! I always waited until the second month of school to have the families start bringing in the flowers. Why? Because the first month you will be focusing-in on grace and courtesy, routines and procedures, and getting those little ones to stop wailing! :) You can have parents sign-up or you can sign them up. I liked having flowers assigned every two weeks because they last so long. Again, parents need a reminder email the Friday before you would like the flowers to arrive. Let them know what you are looking for-carnations last the longest and tend to be the cheapest. Try including the flower donation families on your snack calendar so they have a heads-up that their turn is coming.
Organizing these little details will help tremendously getting your classroom up and running! I think next I will try and cover some routines and procedures basics like how to train the children to get snack and clean up, how to train the children to come into the classroom in the morning, and group/circle/gathering time facilitation and planning.
I would love feedback if you have any!
So, continuing from last the last post-snack. Once you have decided how often you rotate it through your families, then you have to decide how to assign your families to bring it. I have seen it two ways:
1) Teacher sets a prepared calendar out on Back to School Night or Parent Orientation and the parents sign up for two weeks or one day a month (depending on the class size). The downfall to this is that not every family signs up and the families that do volunteer have to bring more than their fair share, or you have weeks/days that you don't have anyone signed up and then you have to beg families to pitch-in or you buy it yourself. Don't forget to send reminders and the shopping list before snack is due!
2)The teacher assigns families, sends the new calendar a week before the new month and you follow-up with email reminders with shopping lists.
Personally, I have done it both ways. I prefer the second method because I have more family participation. Also, if you have an assistant, you can try to make the snack reminders part of their Friday responsibilities. It really helps sharing these kinds of jobs!
Laundry
As I mentioned, I have worked in both private and public Montessori schools. At the private school, we had a washer and a dryer. The classroom assistants started the classroom laundry every afternoon and the children did the folding and putting away before dismissal. This method made it actually pretty easy to have table cloths and cloth napkins (so lovely for lunchtime).
In the public setting, this really is not an option. Unless you are willing to take home the class laundry and rugs, you will probably want ask your parents to help out. The way I found easiest was to send the laundry home on Friday with the child that had brought that week's snack. Then that family only has to do laundry and snack twice a year! Just let the families know that if they bring the snack that they will also get the laundry-and to please not fold it, the children love to do it!
Flowers
Every Practical Life area needs fresh cut flowers for flower arranging! I always waited until the second month of school to have the families start bringing in the flowers. Why? Because the first month you will be focusing-in on grace and courtesy, routines and procedures, and getting those little ones to stop wailing! :) You can have parents sign-up or you can sign them up. I liked having flowers assigned every two weeks because they last so long. Again, parents need a reminder email the Friday before you would like the flowers to arrive. Let them know what you are looking for-carnations last the longest and tend to be the cheapest. Try including the flower donation families on your snack calendar so they have a heads-up that their turn is coming.
Organizing these little details will help tremendously getting your classroom up and running! I think next I will try and cover some routines and procedures basics like how to train the children to get snack and clean up, how to train the children to come into the classroom in the morning, and group/circle/gathering time facilitation and planning.
I would love feedback if you have any!
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