Children’s House Montessori School follows Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for closures due to emergencies and inclement weather.  On occasion, when Fairfax County Public School closings do not apply to us, we will be open, depending on the reason for the closing. We will leave a message on the school telephone and on the front page of the website as well.

• If FCPS are closed, we are closed. 
• If FCPS have a delayed opening, we will open at 10:00 AM.
• If FCPS close early, we will close at 1:00 PM.
• If FCPS cancel after-school activities, we will close at 3:00 PM.

Children’s House Montessori School takes an “all hazards” approach to emergencies, meaning we prepare for every type of emergency, from severe weather events to terrorist attacks to fire hazards.  We practice fire drills monthly, and shelter-in-place, tornado and earthquake drills semi-annually.  All teachers are trained in CPR and First Aid, and someone is on site at all times who has had Medication Administration training, as required by Virginia Department of Social Service Department of Licensing.  

You can view our complete Site Risks/Hazards Safety Police, located in the office.  

Lunch – Children will bring their own lunch, packed in an insulated bag.  Uneaten food will be sent home. Please help your child be independent by preparing the lunch items for easy opening.  Even three-year-olds need to be able to open all their items by themselves. For example, if your child has difficulty opening a cheese stick wrapper, please take it out of the original plastic wrapping and put it in a baggie. This way, teachers can avoid touching any containers and food.

 For drinks, please only send flip top thermos water bottles with water. Children may use the sink to refill throughout the day and we will send them home each day for you to wash. If you forget to bring a thermos of water the children will be offered water from school. However, we urge you to send a bottle each day for children to have with them.

 Teachers will not be able to keep special drinks or other food items in the fridge. Please make all preparations for your child to be as independent as possible.

Snack – Your child will also bring a snack for mid-morning, and if your child stays all day, they should bring a second snack to be eaten at 2:30. These snacks must be packed completely disposable, so a few crackers in a baggie and a piece of fruit for each snack will work well.

Please prepare the fruit so your child can be as independent as possible. Slice the apples, peel the oranges, cut the grapes, etc. If you label each snack as “snack 1” and “snack 2” this eliminates any confusion for the children.

Communication with families about your child’s life at school is very important to us.  School newsletters and email updates will be used to keep you informed of fun activities we have experienced at school and upcoming events you need to know about. 

Emails will also be sent when needed for reminders and time-sensitive information.  Please keep the office updated with your current email addresses. We also use Seesaw, an online learning and sharing platform, as well as Zoom when the need may arise throughout the year.

We want to make sure all families are informed of the activities of the school.  The newsletter is the best way you can stay up to date on the upcoming events.  It is important that you read and share updates with everyone who participates in your child’s schooling, such as a nanny or grandparents that may need to be aware of school events. 

Two Parent/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for each child during the year, one in the fall and one in the spring.  Please refer to the calendar for these dates.  We try to plan our conferences to coincide with the Fairfax County teacher work days. 

A sign-up sheet will be posted several weeks in advance.  School will be closed for these teacher work days, unless otherwise noted on the school calendar.  Babysitting will be provided for the time of your conference only. 

We love celebrating birthdays at Children’s House.  The birthday child is invited to bring a snack to share with the class on the chosen day and a poster made at home with a picture for each year of life and a few personal touches. 

Parents may attend the birthday ceremony we call “Walk around the Sun.” where we share the poster, have the child will walk around a wooden sun for as many times as they are old, and we will sing “Happy Birthday.”  We keep the celebration simple but special and the children look forward to their special day all year. 

These events are subject to current health guidelines and recommendations. The descriptions below are of a typical year at Children’s House.

Field Trips: Field trips are a wonderful way to enrich your child’s learning experience.  We schedule three school bus field trips for our kindergarteners each year.  To complement our Nature Studies lessons, our first trip is to the Montgomery County Recycling Center.  The children get an in-depth look at the recycling process, the people and machines that do the work, and the large recycling trucks that collect and bring the recyclables to the recycling center. 

Our second field trip is to see the play Charlotte’s Web at George Mason University Center for the Performing Arts.  We read the book in the weeks prior to the trip and then enjoy seeing the live performance of the story. 

Our third trip is to the National Gallery of Art to see paintings by the artists we have studied all year.  The children are in awe of the beautiful the Japanese Footbridge by Monet and the huge cutouts entitled Large Decoration with Masks by Matisse. It is definitely one of the highlights of the year.  Parents are welcome to join all the field trips. 

In-House Presentations: In addition to off-site field trips for Kindergarteners, we schedule in-house activities throughout the year such as puppet shows, Reptiles Alive, The Bat Lady, and a visit from Walker Nature Center.  We plan our in-house activities around our curriculum calendar to compliment what we are already learning in the classroom.  A unit of study on fish and oceans might be supplemented with a visit from Under the Sea, an educational outreach group that brings tanks with sea stars, seahorses, and even a puffer fish into our classroom for a closer look.  And a performance by an African drummer and storyteller is in order when we study the continent of Africa.  

These events are subject to current health guidelines and recommendations. The descriptions below are of a typical year at Children’s House.

We love having parents come into our school to enjoy activities and get to know the other parents and children.  The Fall Festival and the Spring Fling bring parents into the classroom to enjoy crafts or take a hike in our extensive woods behind the school, play on the playground, and eat pizza, of course. 

Thanksgiving isn’t complete without a feast, complete with turkey and all the trimming, especially pumpkin pie.  We kick off the winter holidays with a musical program by the children singing songs, reciting poems, playing instruments, and dancing to fun holiday music. 

One of our favorite events is Parent Day, when parents are invited to school for the morning to receive “lessons” from their children on all their favorite activities.  We share a pot luck meal of delicious foods from around the world. 

Parents are welcome to bring their family’s special holiday traditions into the classroom where together we’ll create a learning experience for all.