Wishing you all a happy New Year!
Feliz Ana Nuevo!
Dr. Maria Montessori Quote!
“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.
The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ’The children are now working as if I did not exist.”
Welcome to the first edition of 2026! We are excited to welcome you all back to start the new year with focus on health and new beginnings.
Important Dates for January 2026:
School closed on Thursday January 1 and January 19: In observance of New Year and Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday respectively.
Gratitude: Heartfelt gratitude for all the thoughtful gifts and cards for MIA staff, much appreciated!
Warm Birthday wishes for Ayaan, Ariana and Asher on turning five years old this January.
We will be celebrating Alia’s birthday on Tuesday January 6 at school as she turned five years old over the holidays.
Please send in a poster with their milestone pictures and family picture and a healthy snack for the classmates.
Director’s Note: Some common topics related to young children’s language, self-control, communication will be covered monthly. This month’s topic is Self-control.
Helping Young children Learn Self-Control
Self-control is a complex skill for young children to learn. Self-control is child’s ability to keep themselves from acting on impulses that hurt themselves or others. It involves thinking ahead and deliberately controlling/inhibiting their own behavior. Self-control and the capacity to feel guilty after doing something wrong are both important developmental tasks that allow children to follow rules and develop a sense of conscience. Children who lack feelings of guilt or self-control often go onto have trouble with their behavior.
How can you help a child develop self-control?
See misbehaviors as a chance to teach self-control, they are an opportunity to help a child learn to identify and manage feelings of anger, sadness, and disappointment.
- Set and enforce clear, consistent limits.
- When a child misbehaves, acknowledge his/her feelings, but let her/him know that what she/he did is not acceptable, i.e, I know you angry, but you cannot throw the toy or hit your brother.”
- Use logical consequences: when a child throws the toy, show how to use it appropriately, if the child repeats inappropriate action, remove the toy by clearing saying why.
- Model appropriate ways to express feelings.
- Clearly state not to hit, push, or hurt anyone.
- Give the child the confidence of asking an adult for help.