Penpals Montessori Children’s House
Parent Handbook 2012-2013
5395 Victoria Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5P 3V6
“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” –
Dr. Maria Montessori
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VISION
Welcome to Penpals Montessori Children’s House, located in Vancouver, catering children 2.5
to 6 years of age. Our schools aims at following closely the criteria requirements of the
Association Montessori Internationale (A.M.I). The children develop practical and intellectual
abilities through individual self-discovery and exploration of practical life and sensorial
activities, as well as work with other areas such as language, mathematics, geography, art, music
and natural sciences. With the guidance of both our A.M.I. trained directress and assistant, the
children attending Penpals Montessori will develop to their full potentials and learn with much
enthusiasm, joy and fulfillment.
Our Montessori classroom is a prepared environment that consists of four major areas: Practical
Life, Sensorial, Language and Mathematics. With materials scientifically tested and approved by
Dr. Montessori, children will learn through self-discovery, interests, interaction with children of
mixed ages as well as the careful guidance of our staff during the three-hour work cycle.
Structured activities that the children engage in will provide them with experiences for social
interaction, self-discovery and learning, and building self-esteem in a group environment. Nonstructured activities during outdoor time will allow the children to be creative and explore their
environment in any way they feel comfortable. It will also provide the children with the
opportunity to develop independently in a creative and fun-filled manner.
Here at Penpals Montessori Children’s House, we provide a supportive, positive environment
that will entitle each child and parent to be involved in a meaningful and fulfilling way.
MONTESSORI PHILOSOPHY
“Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.” – Dr. Maria
Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was an Italian physician as well as an educator whose career
was devoted to the study of children. She discovered that the characteristics of each stage of
human development are unique and 80% of the whole personality is laid during the early years of
life of an individual. This discovery has been scientifically approved and is now universally
accepted. During the first six years of life, the mind of the child is very different from that at any
later stages of development, and Dr. Montessori called this “the Absorbent Mind”. During these
years, the child’s mind absorbs all that surrounds him/her and builds knowledge and intelligence
through this absorption both effortlessly and unconsciously.
Penpals Montessori Children House respects and supports the growth and development of the
human personality during the formative childhood years (3-6 years) by following and
implementing Dr. Montessori’s discoveries and teachings. We assist the child, not only in his/her
natural quest for knowledge and independence, but also in the task of creating himself/herself.
We call Montessori education an Education for Life.
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EDUCATION FOR LIFE
Montessori is an education that starts from birth, a system that should not only fit children for
employment or intellectual pursuits but prepares them for meeting all kinds of life’s challenges.
Our education should provide us with experiences that will help us in dealing with life’s
problems and struggles. At Penpals Montessori Children House, our true goal is to prepare
children for the lifelong learning process that continues beyond school years. It is a means to
bring out the potentialities in children and aids them in the process of becoming the best that they
can be. It is a wholesome education that will prepare them for life outside of the classroom.
BENEFITS OF MIXED AGE
Children between the ages of 2.5 to 6 years are encouraged to work together. The younger
children learn from watching the older children, and the older ones benefit by role modeling and
helping the younger ones. The mixed ages allow the children to develop socially, intellectually
and emotionally. This is an essential aspect of any Montessori school.
HOURS OF OPERATION
PMCH will be open from 8:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. (Morning session: 8:30 12:00 p.m. ; Early drop off at 8:00 available for extra charge; Afternoon session: 12:30
- 3:30 p.m.). We are closed on statutory holidays and professional development days. It is
important that you pick up your child by closing time. However, we also hope that parents
understand the importance of the three-hour work cycle and recommend that they do not pick
their child up earlier than the expected time. We do of course understand that emergencies may
arise. If there are any changes in the pick-up or drop-off time on a particular day, please include
a message and instructions in your child’s agenda. We thank you in advance for your kind
cooperation.
THE STAFF
Our AMI Montessori Guide and Assistant are all licensed Early Childhood Educators, A.M.I
trained and have undergone routine criminal record checks. Each holds a valid up-to-date First
Aid Certificate.
From time to time we may need to call in a substitute teacher to help fill in for the staff because
of sick days/holidays. The substitute will be a part-time staff member who is in the process of
completing his/her Early Childhood Education or is already a certified ECE instructor.
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Please feel free to contact staff about any concerns or feelings you may have. Working together
is important in order to be able to provide the best quality program for your child.
SCHOOL GUIDANCE & DISCIPLINE POLICY
At Penpals Montessori Children’s House, we recognize and respect each child as an unique
individual. Our major goal is to guide them and aid the development of inner discipline, selfconfidence, self-esteem, self-control as well as social skills and sensitivity towards the
interactions with others. With this goal in mind, we offer tools in the prepared environment that
will encourage this kind of development in the child.
There are three simple rules that will be asked of the children to follow within the classroom as
we respect and uphold the dignity of each individual child:
1) They cannot harm themselves.
2) They cannot harm the others, and
3) They cannot harm the environment.
These simple rules aid the children in learning how to respect and care for themselves as well as
everyone else in the environment.
Our staff believes guidance should be done in a positive and respectful manner. We model
positive behaviour, state clear limits while involving the children in setting these limits, have
appropriate expectations for the children according to their developmental level, show children
how to express their feelings appropriately, show children problem-solving and conflict
resolution skills, encourage them to use these skills with their classmates, respect children’s
feelings, as well as allow children to experience natural and logical consequences to their
behaviour.
If the adult must intervene, we will try to gain the child’s attention in a respectful manner, use
proximity and touch to calm the child if necessary, remind the child, redirect them when
appropriate, model and show them problem solving skills, offer appropriate choices, limit the use
of materials or activities, as well as provide opportunities for children to make amends. At
Penpals Montessori Children’s House, we do not force children to apologize because we
understand that the importance of an apology is its sincerity, but we will encourage and suggest
them to do so.
There might be times when the child needs time to calm his energies and gather his feelings or
thoughts, in this circumstance, we will invite the child to be with one of the adults because being
close to an adult and observing another child’s activity are calming. The child may also be
redirected to another activity or taken for a walk in the outdoor area by the classroom. The child
will never be set apart from his/her peers or an adult, and in very rare circumstances, the child
might have to sit on any chair in the environment to gather his/her composure before he/she
decides to participate in activities once again.
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We encourage families to discuss any and all concerns they may have regarding any aspects of
our program. Parents are encouraged to ask for appointments with the Guide if they have any
concerns or wish to discuss any issues of their child. It is important that we, the staff, know all
our families’ needs and requests. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to speak
with one of the staff.
FOOD AT SCHOOL
It is important for parents to inform us of any food allergies, sensitivities or special/restrictive
diets of the child and complete the appropriate forms provided by Penpals. We will take these
allergies into careful consideration.
Children at the school will not need to bring a snack or other food as our school is going to
provide them with a choice of a variety of wholesome and healthy foods.
MORNING ARRIVAL PROCEDURE
To assist your child in quickly adapting and assimilating into the environment, we have the
following recommendations:

Please walk your child to the entrance where the Guide will be waiting to greet him/her.

Please leave immediately whether your child is crying or not and be assured that our
staff will take good care of your care and his/her needs.

Your child will then remove his coat and boots or outdoor shoes and put on his indoor
shoes inside of the classroom. This is a practical life exercise that allows the child to
become independent and learn to take care of him/herself.
Each child must be dropped off to the school by a parent or a designated person (as authorized by
the parents in writing previously). The person that drops off the child will need to sign that child
in on the sign in sheet. They must fill out what time the child is dropped off and who dropped
them off.
NEW CHILDREN
TOILET TRAINING: Your child should be toilet-trained by the time he/she starts school. We
will accept children who are more-or-less toilet-trained and have few accidents, but will not
accept any child who is still in diapers. If the child has accidents continuously at school, we may
request the family to keep the child at home until he/she has acquired a good level of toilettraining. We are very supportive with our families and are happy to assist them in this process
with the child.
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ORIENTATION PROCESS: When a new child begins his first day of school, he/she goes
through what we call an “Adaptation process”. As part of this process, the Guide will plan and
give a specific date and time to the parents when the child will start attending school. Therefore,
parents should be aware that their child may not start on the first day of school and may need to
make flexible arrangements for the first few weeks of the school year. Please feel free to talk
with the Guide about this if you have any concerns.
If the child has difficulty separating from the parent (which is quite common at the beginning),
we will ask the parent to leave the child with the Guide and come back to pick up the child at the
pre-arranged time.
SIBLING POLICY
If one of your children is currently enrolled in Penpals Montessori Children’s House, we will
encourage and give preference to enrolling his/her siblings for the convenience of the families.
However, if a particular older child leaves the program without finishing the three-year cycle, no
priority will be given to his/her young sibling. This will allow us to give priority to families who
want to enroll their children for the full three-year cycle, which is very important for the child’s
developmental needs.
If the Guide recommends that developmental needs of the older sibling be best served by not
having his/her younger sibling in the same classroom, then priority will be given to the older
sibling who has been attending Penpals Montessori Children’s House.
END OF DAY DISMISSAL
Penpals Montessori Children’s House will only release a child to the following person(s):
1. The child’s custodial parent or guardian
2. Emergency contact person(s)
3. Designated person(s) on our child’s registration forms
4. Any other person(s) with whom the parent/guardian has given written
authorization.
Your child will be brought to you after the Guide has said “Goodbye.” Please wait in a line
outside of the classroom as we will monitor very carefully who is picking up the child. If your
child is getting picked up by someone other than the parents or guardian, the parents must sign
and inform us in writing beforehand to ensure the safety of the child. When the child is picked
up they need to be signed out (what time they got picked up and who picked them up).
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Penpals Montessori Children’s House reserves the right to keep a child at the school if we are not
completely certain about the person who has come to pick up the child. The parent or guardian
will be contacted immediately if this should happen.
If a child has not been picked up or the parents have not contacted anyone at the school after one
hour of arranged pick-up time and the above procedures have not resulted in finding an
alternative emergency contact, the staff person will call the Ministry of Child and Family
Development. A note will be will left on the door to explain where your child is.
Staff persons are not permitted to remove a child from the school or take a child to their home.
CONSENT CARDS: We are required by the Childcare Licensing to have an Emergency
Consent Card for each enrolled child at our school. On this Consent Card, there will be a list of
your emergency contact numbers as well as those of a friend or a family member whom we can
contact when the parents are absent. A clear photograph of each person (i.e. mother, father,
grandfather, uncle, etc) that may drop off or pick up the child is required and will be attached to
the reverse side of the consent card for easy reference.
CUSTODY OF CHILD: If there is a change or any special arrangements for the dropping-off
and picking-up of your child, parents must inform the staff of their family situation as soon as
possible and give us a copy of the court order immediately to be kept in the child’s file. If the
parents or guardians live separately, the staff accepts the information given by enrolling parent
to be accurate. Without custody agreements or court orders on file, we cannot deny access to the
non-enrolling parent or guarding. A copy of pick up and access schedules should be authorized
and signed by both parents and kept in the child’s file.
SCHOOL CLOSURE DUE TO WEATHER
Our staff will call you on the morning of a school closure due to heavy snowfall or severe
weather conditions before 7:30 am. Please also listen to News1130 AM on your radio as
telephones and cell phones may not be working. Keeping the office informed when telephone
and cell numbers or addresses change is really important.
ABSENCES
It is much appreciated that parents inform us of any absences as well as the reason for them.
Please call Penpals Montessori Children’s House at and leave us a voicemail message. When
class is in session, we will not be able to pick up your phone call but we will listen to our
voicemail and receive your message after school. If your child is going to miss school for a
vacation or other reasons, please hand in to the teacher a signed, dated note explaining the reason
and length of his/her absence beforehand.
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EXTRA CLOTHING
On the first day of school, all children are required to bring one extra full set of clean clothing
and a pair of plain, non-skid, rubber-soled indoor shoes to be left at the school. Please have your
child refrain from wearing any shoes that “light up” or clothing with any icon or cartoons.
For children who are in the final stages of being toilet-trained, please bring two extra full sets of
clothing to Penpals to be left at the school.
EARTHQUAKE PREPAREDNESS KIT
Each child must bring to Penpals a large see-through plastic freezer bag with the following items
inside. These are in addition to a pair of rubber-soled shoes and a labelled change of clothing:
1) A large label on the plastic bag with the child’s name, address and phone name as well as the
parents’ name, work address and phone number written on it.
2) An Emergency Consent Card listing one emergency contact within 100 km outside
Vancouver.
3) A small “space” survival blanket which is available at Canadian Tire.
4) A family picture.
5) A tiny comfort toy.
6) A minimum of five (small and large) Band-Aids.
7) Any medicine that needs to be administered to the child. Please fill out the appropriate forms
and change and diarize to change the medicine if there is a specific expiry date.
MISSING MONTESSORI MATERIALS
Children sometimes become very attached to pieces of Montessori materials and may
subsequently take them home. Many pieces are very small, but are critical to an exercise or
activity. Please return the item to the school if you find one. The teacher will thank the child who
returned the item and acknowledge his/her responsibility.
SHOW AND TELL
We do not have show and tell sessions.
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Please leave toys at home. Assure your child that his/her toys are for home use only and that at
school he/she has exciting activities and friends to work with. However, sharing a book or a
natural and educational object such as a shell with others in the class is encouraged.
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
Birthday celebrations are a welcome event in the classroom. We will ensure a simple yet joyful
occasion for the child to share and enjoy this special day with the other children. Please review
the following guidelines:

Please inform the staff at Penpals one week in advance if you would like to have a
celebration for your child so that we can let you know how many children should be
attending that day.

On the morning of the celebration, parents are advised to drop off individual cupcakes
(instead of a large birthday cake) and a camera is they would like the staff to take pictures
for the child. We recommend healthier choices of cupcakes. Please make sure that the
cupcakes are free of peanuts or other nut products.

Please provide us with a few pictures of your child when he/she was born, at one year,
two years, etc (up till his/her current age). The birthday child finds this very interesting
and special.

Please do not send treat bags or gifts to pass out, but thank you very much for the
thought!
If your child has any sensitivities or does not wish to participate in any birthday celebrations, we
appreciate that parents inform our staff and make special arrangements with the Guide.
OTHER CELEBRATIONS
We will have simple celebrations before the end of the semester in December and June before
the school closes. These will be explained in details with notices well in advance.
For Halloween, we ask that the children not come to school dressed in costumes. The fantasy
associated with Halloween is not appropriate for children of this age. Many of the young children
find it extremely disconcerting to see their classmates dressed in costumes, and often become
uncomfortable and confused. We celebrate this event by encouraging children to come dressed in
orange and black. The school will provide the snack as always as we strive to be an allergy and
nutrition aware school. Candy is not permitted in school.
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ILLNESS
If your child is ill, there may be times when we are forced to send the child or not accept him/her
into the program. Therefore, parents should always have a plan for alternate care. If your child is
feeling sick at school, we will notify the parents or emergency contact person as soon as possible
and expect the parents to take the child home. In the meantime, we will do our best to comfort
and console the child until he/she is picked up.
Parents should consider keeping their children at home or seek alternative childcare
arrangements for the following conditions:

Child complains of any unexplained or undiagnosed pain;

Acute cold with fever, runny nose and eyes, coughing, and sore throat;

Difficulty in breathing – wheezing or persistent cough;

Fever over 100F or 38.3C accompanied by symptoms such as lack of energy;

Sore throat or trouble with swallowing;

Infected skin or eyes or an undiagnosed rash;

Headache and stiff neck;

Unexplained diarrhea or loose stool combined with nausea, vomiting or abdominal
cramps;

Severe itching of the body and scalp; or

Known or suspected communicable diseases.
Parents will be notified and required to remove the child immediately if any of the following
symptoms occur at the school:

Fever of 101*F (38.5*C)

Persistent diarrhea

Vomiting

Difficulty in swallowing

Any complaints of pain

Headache

Pinkeye

Abdominal cramps
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
Known or suspected communicable disease (chicken pox, pink eye, etc.)

When on antibiotics for infection, the child is not permitted to return to school until
the child has been on the medication for a minimum of 24 hours and has no other
symptoms.
Parents will be notified of any contagious diseases affecting the children at the school. A child
with a communicable disease will not be re-admitted into the program until the period of
contamination has passed. The child may then return to school once he/she is free of symptoms
or with the approval of a family physician.
MEDICATION
If your child is taking medication for illnesses, please note that we will not administer any
medication to the child at Penpals. Please give the child medication before or after school. If
your child is feeling sick, we recommend that you keep the child at home for a faster recovery
and to safeguard the health of the other children at the school.
HEALTH AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
To promote health and safety, we ensure a clean, safe and well-maintained environment. All
First Aid Kits, emergency contact information, allergy and medical alerts are kept at the school,
and taken with us on all field trips. Please keep us informed and updated of any and all changes
in your information, including your current phone numbers.
Please ensure that your child’s immunization schedule to kept up-to-date. For children who are
not immunized, parents must sign a letter stating the reason for not immunizing. The children’s
records of immunization are given to the Health Department for permanent recording.
Fire and earthquake drills will be scheduled and practiced on a regular basis. They will consist of
a quick vacancy of Penpals and roll call. By doing this, we prepare the children for these
emergencies by regularly practicing and reviewing the safety procedures and quick evacuation of
the school. All of these periodic drills are dated and recorded in our files.
PROFESSIONAL DAYS AND OTHER HOLIDAYS
Professional development days are important for growth, development and improvement of the
classroom. It is a time when people from different Montessori schools and training programs get
together to share experiences, discuss issues and learn more from the Montessori Workshop
Leaders. We feel that it is important for our staff to attend these meetings so that the classroom
will constantly improve and the materials will be updated. We will have designated days for
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professional development and will communicate this to you with a schedule provided well in
advance.
School will be closed on statutory holidays such as Christmas, Spring Break and Easter. Please
see the calendar.
COMMUNICATION
Will will notify parents of any important events by way of newsletters that are distributed when
children are dropped off in the morning or picked after after school. . Please take the time to
read them as there will be important information and reminders and inform nannies, sitters or
carpool drivers to do the same.
We encourage families to discuss any and all concerns they may have regarding any aspects of
our program. It is important that we, the staff, know all our families’ needs and requests. Your
opinions and comments are valuable to our program. If you have any questions or concerns,
please feel free to speak with one of the staff.
AGENDAS: Children will carry an agenda to and from Penpals daily. This agenda is used by
parents to communicate with the staff. If there are any questions, parents may write a message
with a date and the Guide/Assistant will review your message and reply to you as soon as
possible. When writing a message, please return the agenda open to the date and message to
ensure that your message will be received and read. Please ensure that your child brings his/her
agenda to school every day.
HELPFUL INFORMATION TO SHARE
In the event that a significant event occurs in your child’s life that might have impact on his/her
behaviors or emotions, please consider informing your child’s teachers and or the Administrator.
Such conversations are strictly confidential. Examples may include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Moving
A death in the family
Separation of parents
Sleeping/eating/bedwetting problems
A new baby
A new caregiver
The death of a pet
Parental absences
The teacher will keep you informed of any significant changes in the school environment, which
may affect your child as well.
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PARENT CONFERENCES
We will have three parent conferences per year. The schedule for these conferences will be
written on the school calendar. Please note that children will not have school on the days when
we have parent conferences. We feel that it is very important for parents to attend these parent
conferences as we will discuss in detail the progress and development of your child.
CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY
Confidentiality at Penpals Montessori Children’s House refers to all verbal and written
information about potential, enrolling and former children and families or employees.
All staff members will be expected to fulfill their obligation to respect protection of privacy.
Each individual will ensure that no private or personal information is revealed that may cause
another individual harm.
This excludes the responsibility that service providers and others have as outlined in legislation
and/or when information is subpoenaed by court.
CONTACTING THE SCHOOL
Any concerns you have about your child at/during school should be addressed with the teacher
and principal. Call the school and leave a message. Teachers cannot leave their students and
speak to a parent on the phone immediately but will return a phone call by the end of the day.
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