Have you noticed the Sensorial pictures throughout the hallway? This month’s theme is all about the senses!

With Sensorial exploration, children are presented with a wide variety of rich experiences which require them to use all of their five senses. These experiences develop and foster cognitive skills in a multitude of ways. With opportunities to work on skills such as classification, serration, differentiation, and rhythm, children are able to concentrate on the refinement of their senses and make classifications in their environment.

Sensorial comes from the words sense or senses. As there are no new experiences for the child to take from the Sensorial work, the child is able to concentrate on the refinement of all his senses, from visual to stereognostic. The purpose and aim of Sensorial work is for the child to acquire clear, conscious, information and to be able to then make classifications in his environment. Montessori believed that sensorial experiences began at birth. Through his senses, the child studies his environment. Through this study, the child then begins to understand his environment. The child, to Montessori, is a “sensorial explorer”. Through work with the sensorial materials, the child is given the keys to classifying the things around him, which leads to the child making his own experiences in his environment. Through the classification, the child is also offered the first steps in organizing his intelligence, which then leads to his adapting to his environment. Sensorial Exercises were designed by Montessori to cover every quality that can be perceived by the senses such as size, shape, composition, texture, loudness or softness, matching, weight, temperature, etc. Because the exercises cover such a wide range of senses, Montessori categorized the exercises into eight different groups: Visual, Tactile, Baric, Thermic, Auditory, Olfactory, Gustatory, and Stereognostic.

If your child was featured last month, let us know if you would like to take home that memory!

Our very own in-house speech pathologist, Becky Gonzales, is offering speech screenings right here at CHES! Screenings will be Tuesday, October 21st beginning at 8:30 AM. Each screening will access articulation, fluency, language, and voice in children 3 years and older. Screenings take approximately 15 minutes and are only $20. Forms for speech screenings have been placed in your family folder. Please complete the bottom portion of the form, attached you payment, and turn it in at the front desk. Do you have concerns or questions regarding a child under 3 years old? Becky is happy to speak to you directly regarding any concerns you may have. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

We would like to announce our new Parent Teacher Organization Officers and would like to welcome several new faces to our committee! Our 2014-2015 officers are:

President, Casey Ball – mother of Jack in Toddler II and Duke in Nursery I
Vice President, Kyle Lawrence – father of Harrison in Primary II
Secretary, Persis Dean – mother of Olivia in Toddler II
Treasurer, Sarah Crane – mother of Joanna in Nursery II
Events Coordinator, Amy Hancock –  mother of Amelia in Nursery II

If you have any ideas, suggestions or questions, please feel free to share them. Congratulations to all the officers!

Pine Woods Screening Services will be at Cathedral House Tuesday, September 23rd to perform hearing and vision screenings for the children. Children who turned four years old on or before September 1st are required to have vision and hearing tests. If your child has already received these services by his or her pediatrician, please turn in the screening results to the front desk. If you would like to check on the status of your child’s screening, we have a list of the required children who need these services in the main office.