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Mrs. Wilson: It’s the Holiday Season

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This week the children were welcomed into the room with new material to use. They have been very busy exploring all the themed “works” on the shelves. We try to represent the different types of holidays that are celebrated at this time of the year. The children explored different lessons that replicate items they see in their homes or the colors typically used for each holiday. Blue and silver for Hanukkah, red and green for Christmas, and red, green, and black for Kwanzaa.

The children shook some jingle bells as we listened to holiday music. We also read Let there be Lights! by Camille Kress and One Little Deer by Sandra Magsamen.

We have been so lucky that the weather has been warm enough to venture outdoors. The children even enjoy going out on a light rainy day. Please remember to send in a hat and mittens. We prefer mittens over gloves because 80 tiny fingers are no small task and putting on their own mittens also helps foster their independence.

Warm Wishes,
Mrs. Wilson and Ms. Sara

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Entering the Holiday Season

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

A Grateful Heart Is A Magnet For Miracles

For many, the holiday season is a time for giving. Perhaps more than ever, it is so important for our children to understand that giving does not have to be a materialistic gift. Simple and heartfelt words of love and friendship will last much longer than most anything that can be bought on a shelf. It can be an amazing and powerful gift to our children, if in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays we take time to slow down and model being grateful.

It was the perfect week to talk about St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was a Bishop who inherited a lot of money from his family. He was also a very gentle, kind man who lived by the virtues of personal generosity, charity towards those in need, and taking care of the young and the most vulnerable. We learned that  St. Nicholas loved to perform random acts of kindness for those in need. Many people around the world celebrate St. Nicholas Day by leaving a pair of boots outside their door. So, we left boots outside our classroom door and, to our amazement, the boots were beautifully decorated and filled with candy canes the next morning.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Lizette

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Welcome December!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

With the holidays approaching and the start of a new month, the children came back into an environment full of new lessons and materials to explore. This month we will be learning about the continent of Antarctica, food groups, and we’ll be discussing the various holidays celebrated around the world in December. One such holiday we talked about this week is St. Nicholas Day, which is celebrated on December 6.  St. Nicholas was a bishop in Europe. He was born into a wealthy family and at a young age made the choice to give away all his possessions to those with none. He is known for his kindness, generosity, and taking care of the young and in need. We learned that St. Nicholas would leave small gifts or treats during the night for the less fortunate in his community. St. Nicholas has evolved over the years into the Santa Claus we recognize today. Many people around the world celebrate St. Nicholas day by leaving a pair of boots outside their door. So in the spirit of the season, we decided to leave a pair of boots outside our classroom door. To our surprise, the boots were decorated and filled with candy canes the next morning!

Wishing you a peaceful week,

Amanda & Sharlene

Wishing You A Happy Thanksgiving

Posted on by Karen Sankey

This week the Upper El students and I would like to share some thoughts about what we are thankful for this year. With permission, and a promise to keep it anonymous, I am sharing quotes from each student’s daily journal…

“I’m thankful for my family, friends, and dog, Freddy. This is because they’re kind, funny, make me feel loved, and are a little bit crazy – but in a good way. I’m also thankful to be able to have Thanksgiving in person this year which I think is amazing and very important this year 🙂 !”

“I am thankful for my mom, my grandpa, and my dog because my dog is very funny and so is my grandpa and my mom is very nice. I am thankful for my friends, my family, and food. I am thankful for food because food is one of the things we need to live, my family because they are the best, and my friends because they stick with me and we have the greatest memories.”

“I’m thankful for my family because if we did not have family what would we do, my friends, teacher, and church because they are nice, strong, and amazing.”

“I’m thankful for my family and friends, pets and farms because they honor me and respect me. I am thankful for my moms because they help me and cook for me.”

“I am thankful for my family, for my friends, for the food we get to eat, and for my video games.”

“I am thankful for my grandma (Nonna) because she is fun to play with. I am thankful for mountain biking because it feels good when you land a jump or go down a trail very fast and don’t fall.”

“I am thankful for my family, friends, and teacher. I am thankful for water, food, my house, entertainment, and school.”

“I’m thankful for my brother and my dad because my brother and I don’t see each other that much.”

“I’m thankful for my friends because they’re always there for me. I’m thankful for food because it keeps me living.”

“I am thankful for food because you can’t live without it. I am thankful for my mom because she helps me in tough situations and we do fun things together.”

“I am thankful for my family because they help me when I need it. I’m grateful for my xbox because it is fun.”

“I’m thankful for my mom and dad because they do so much for me and they brought me into this world. I am thankful for food, family, entertainment, friends, joy, love, caring, being kind, and the Earth.”

 

…and I am beyond thankful that I get to walk this journey with your children. They are truly amazing, hard working, kind, and compassionate people.

I hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: Our Human Body

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Do you remember wondering as a child how things worked in your body? Where does our food go? Why do we blink or sneeze? How do we get the hiccups? The human body is truly a mystery to the child’s mind and having an in-depth human anatomy lesson is a great way to explore these topics. Using Montessori materials is a wonderful tool for reinforcing the learning and expanding on a normally very difficult subject for children to grasp. Providing lessons like these to children is what sows the seeds for future scientists, doctors, and teachers!

This week your children were introduced to the wonders of our human body. We first introduced and named the parts of our body we can see from the outside. We then began to discuss how there are many parts of our body we cannot see from the outside. Your children were introduced to several of the major organs in our body and their purpose. The children enjoyed exploring and engaging in all the human body works on the shelf.

Our four year old children enjoyed learning about recycling this week!  They discussed what can be recycled and what cannot, as well as the Three R’s, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”.  Mrs. Sharlene encouraged the children to bring in recycled items that they could reuse to make new things.  The children made a marble run out of toilet paper rolls and a robot turkey out of cans!

Since there will be no blog next week as a result of our short school week, Mrs. Sharlene and I would like to wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are so grateful to be able to spend each day with your children and take part in watching them develop and grow into independent, confident, kind members of our community.

Lots of love and peace,

Amanda and Sharlene

Digging Deep

Posted on by Ashley O'Connell

This year Lower Elementary is learning about the Composition of the Earth. This unit on physical geography follows the Sun and Earth study that we explored last year, and provides the children with a more intensive study of the planet. The goal is to provide an impressionistic understanding of the Earth’s composition and formation.

This week, the children were encouraged to think back to the Creation Story; how the world changed from a gaseous and liquid state to an increasingly solid one. We had a discussion about how the Earth cooled, and the heavy elements settled into the center, while the lighter ones rose to the surface. This was just like the experiment we did with oil, water and molasses, and how the molasses poured right through the lighter oil and water.

Students learned that the heavy inner part is called the barysphere. This includes the inner and outer core, plus the mantle, that we spoke of in the last lesson. The outer layer is called the lithosphere, which in the last lesson we called the crust. The thin layer of water surrounding the Earth is called the hydrosphere and the air around the Earth is called the atmosphere.

Autumn Inspiration!

Posted on by Jen Reid

 

Young artists from Primary through Middle School have been gathering inspiration from this beautiful season of autumn in many creative ways! We’ve experienced many sunny fall days over the past few weeks, so Art classes have been taken outside, allowing us to have an even closer connection to the changing season around us.

One source of inspiration has been the many colorful leaves that have fallen to the ground. Students in Lower and Upper Elementary as well as Middle School created leaf anatomy drawings in which they studied the shape and color of various leaves. To begin, each young artist gathered three to five leaves that caught their eye. Next, they cut the leaves in half and glued them to a piece of paper. The goal of this project was to practice their observational drawing skills by carefully drawing the other half of the leaf and matching its colors using colored pencil layering techniques.

Autumn also marks the season of bird migration, so Upper Elementary artists studied images of various North American migratory birds for inspiration. In their sketchbooks, students practiced sketching birds by beginning with simple shapes as an “under-sketch” or a guide (such as circles, semi-circles, triangles, etc.) and then moved on to adding detail such as feather patterning.

Young artists in Primary and LE created colorful rainbow corn paintings in thinking of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and to honor Native American heritage month. It is believed that Native Americans bred the first corn crop from wild grasses. After a brief discussion on the origin of the corn crop and its nutritional qualities, we reviewed ways to draw corn using simple shapes like ovals and circles. Each artist carefully drew their corn and filled in each kernel with a range of vibrant colors!

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Giving Thanks

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

The education of even a small child, therefore, does not aim at preparing him for school, but for life. 

–Maria Montessori

For many, the holiday season is a time for giving. Perhaps more than ever, it is so important for our children to understand that giving does not have to be a materialistic gift. Simple and heartfelt words of love and friendship will last much longer than most anything that can be bought on a shelf. It can be an amazing and powerful gift to our children, if in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays we take time to slow down and model being grateful.

This week we asked each child to share what they are thankful for. While their messages will make you smile and warm your heart, there is beauty in their simplicity.

Anchor– I am thankful for my hot wheels cars that I can race. 

Carmen–I am thankful for my mommy because she likes to play games with me.

Elliot–I am thankful for Mrs. Doyle teaching me to read all the books in school.

Gregory G.–I am thankful for Mrs. Doyle helping me learn everything.

Gregory L.–I am thankful for Thanksgiving because it means my birthday is close.

Greyson–I am thankful for my robots that I can turn on and off. 

Harper–I am thankful for having a school and a home and that I am not homeless.

Julianna–I am thankful for my kitty that I love so, so much.

Landon–I am thankful for my Toy Story dolls because they are so fun to play with.

Lily–I am thankful for watching movies with my Mama, Daddy and Annie.

Luca–I am thankful for my puppy even though she gets crazy sometimes.

Marin–I am thankful for my Mommy, my Daddy, Anders, James and my Frozen toys.

Mya–I am thankful for my Mommy, my Daddy, Zara, my friends and my dolls.

Olivia–I am thankful for candy because it tastes so good.

Xander–I am thankful for my brother, Dante.

Miss Lizette and I are grateful for our relationship with each of you as well as your support, time, and effort to help in any way. We are all truly blessed to walk this journey together!  We would also like to wish everyone a very peaceful and Happy Thanksgiving.

Michelle & Lizette