Nutcracker Ballet

The school has purchased 50 tickets to see the Nutcracker on Friday, December 7. This 10:00 to 12:00 morning performance at the Civic Center Auditorium is for schools only. Our elementary class is using about 20 tickets for a field trip. Unfortunately we do not have enough tickets for another class to take a field trip.

We would like to offer the other 30 tickets to parents, grandparents and students who would like to attend the performance. The cost for the tickets would be $5.00 each. We will provide tickets to the first 30 people who send money to school. You can pick your child up at school at 10:00 or you can meet us at the civic center.

The teachers would like to request that children who need to be returned to school, be returned after nap time. By the time that you have eaten lunch after the performance, our children at school will already be asleep. If your child will be returning to school, please discuss your return time with your child's teacher.

I highly recommend attending this performance with your child. This is a great opportunity to see the new costumes and sets without feeling guilty if you decide to leave early. You will be surrounded by other children and you won't feel bad if your child is a little noisy or can't sit perfectly still. I personally feel that our children do not have enough opportunities to be asked to sit still and pay attention with a large group of people.

Please send your money and ticket requests back to school as soon as possible. We will all be sitting together in a group so we will call you with further instructions.

Grand! parents

Yesterday, I attended a memorial service for the grandfather of one of our students. As I saw the family gathered at the service, I was reminded about the importance of family.

With the Thanksgiving and winter holidays approach, my own family is trying to divide up our vacation time. Mike and I have siblings, parents and grandparents who all live in Amarillo. We also have several aunts, uncles and cousins in Austin.

Mike works with his family at Eat-Rite and they are incredibly busy during these particular holidays. Each branch of the family tries to take turns leaving town during the holidays and we are traveling to Austin this year to see my Aunt Sheryl's new grand baby. She has been such a supportive great-aunt to my children and she is so excited about her own grandchild.

I know from experience how easy it is to become estranged from your family members when you reach adulthood. Perhaps your parents are still telling you what to do or maybe they act like children themselves. You might think you are the only one who has such crazy in-laws (or should I say out-laws) and relatives who say too much when they drink the rum punch!

On behalf of your children, upon whom I place great value, I would humbly beg that you take a step back and view your current situation from their perspective. In our current society, children need as many adults on their side as possible. Adults who think that your children are just perfect when you would like to wring their necks. Adults who have the perspective to see a budding Einstein, Robin Williams, Kristi Yamaguchi, Mozart, Van Gogh, or Oprah. Adults who may be able to forge a relationship with these small people that we love and possibly bridge the gap.

Growing up in St. Louis, we were not always able to be with our blood relatives during the holidays. I had Ga-Ga, Pa-Pa, Me-Maw and Paw-Paw in Texas, but I have wonderful memories of Thanksgiving with "Grandma" and "Grandpa" Fairchild, the parents of my dad's best friend. I know that some of you are far from your immediate relatives but you probably have access to other adults who would love to spend time with your children.

In closing, I wish the gift of peace for you all. I think that the family of the grandpa at the memorial service would say "make the most of every moment." Know that we consider you all to be a part of the AMA family.

Thank You!

(Click on this message to be taken to the AMA blog page from the AMA home page.)
I would like to thank Todd Newell for helping me with this blog and the AMA website. I am trying to become as computer savvy as my children and my husband are.
We now have a school events calendar that you can access from the home page. Just click on the calendar tab to view our current events.
My hope is that all of the parents will make a habit of cruising through our website once a week to check out what's happening at AMA. I would like to hear back from you through your comments.
Thank you to all the parents who care so much for the children and the school!

Curtain up!

Welcome to the first ever blog for the Amarillo Montessori Academy. My aim with this blog is to inform, encourage and occasionally entertain the families of AMA. I will let you know what is going on in the classrooms at the school, I will try to keep you up to date on issues that affect children and childcare, and I will share anecdotes that make us smile during the day. I welcome your comments and may even ask for your suggestions, tips and tricks. Curtain up!

Taking my new blog for a test drive!

Just giving it a try.