We started our unit on sound with some special activities that are designed to teach about sound at the Connecticut Science Center. We learned that sound is created through vibrations in the air. We looked at musical instruments, different sound frequencies, and sound waves.  The children enjoyed getting their hands on different materials and exploring the different exhibits.

Some of the other exhibits we visited were forces in motion and exploring space. Here the children had the opportunity to design and test their own heli-flyer, move objects with wind power, took the controls of a lunar lander and lounged in a space pod to take a tour of the outer reaches of space.  Another bonus about the field trip was that we got to dive further into our Earth lessons in the planet Earth exhibit. On top of that, some of the other exhibits the children explored were the inventions, health and sports, butterfly encounter, real bodies, and sustainable energy.

Stay tuned for our field trip coming up on Friday, April 26th to watch Disneynature’s Penguins.

The teaching of grammar is an integral part of the Montessori language curriculum for elementary children. The aims of this work are for the children to learn the parts of speech and to understand the relationships between them. This work also provides practice reading and writing and enriches the vocabulary of the children. Introductory lessons for each part of speech are given as part of a story; their purpose is to give an impression of the function played by each different part of speech. The children are introduced to grammar symbols for each part. Lessons are followed up with work which is a tool for the children to explore the parts of speech. This week first year children learned about adjectives, second year children learned about pronouns, and third years learned about interjections. They enjoyed their lessons and did some beautiful follow up work.

In Reader’s Workshop this week, second year students learned about rereading a page to make their voices smoother after identifying and learning the meaning of key words. They also learned to read the page the way it wants to be read, meaning adjusting the tone and inflection in their voice according to what the page was about. They worked with partners, practicing these skills after their minilesson.

This week we felt very fortunate to have extra hands in the classroom to help prepare for our Research Morning. For community service, the middle school students assisted our students with the construction of their poster boards.

As we mentioned the past two weeks, we have been incorporating research into our Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop lessons. Another change in research this year was that the children chose their own topics from any area of personal interest instead of being given a theme from within to choose a topic. As a result of these changes, we observed true authentic Montessori research at its finest.

The process the children followed after choosing their topic was tailored specifically to each child’s readiness. We guided students in their selection of informational texts and provided questions for them to answer to guide their research. Depending on readiness, each child elaborated to different levels on his or her answers to the questions. This led to the children naturally writing their research papers. In addition, each child designed his or her own display.

After this morning, the children were left feeling so empowered and confident. Even though the third years told us they were very nervous about their first oral presentation, they leaned into the discomfort and experienced a new level of poise and confidence. They should be so proud of themselves.

This week the children have been immersed in their research projects. They are completely focused on gathering information and communicating what they have learned through written reports. Their process has been authentic and wonderfully developmentally appropriate. Ashley, Georgina, Sara, and I have enjoyed assisting them as they chose topics they were interested in learning more about, as they gathered information, and followed a research guide to help them pull important facts out of the information they gathered. We are now wrapping up assisting each student as they write their papers. Next week our focus will be the visual displays. The children will make posters and presentation boards designed to summarize and compliment the information they have gathered. Each child will get the opportunity to present their research orally to the class before Research Morning on Thursday. We started sharing today with three of our third year students. All of the third year students will also present to the parents on Research Morning. We are all looking forward to sharing their hard work with you!

We will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Wednesday, February 13th with a small class party. The children may bring in valentines for each of their classmates. We have 25 students in our class. Please make sure your child has a valentine for everyone if s/he would like to participate.

This week, the children are finishing up their landscape pictures in art class. This project was inspired by Wolf Kahn, a German born American artist. Kahn is known best for his work with warm and cool colors using pastels and oil paint. Before the children started their own landscape paintings, they took time studying Kahn and observing a variety of his works. Afterwards they produced their own wintry twist based on Kahn’s art work.

In Maker Space, the second years are working with Ms. Ulacco on making a cardboard city. The children are learning to plan, collaborate, and then create using the Glowforge. The process starts with picking what type of building they want to design. Then they are tasked with sketching their idea, outlining in permanent marker, and then submitting for print on the laser cutter (The Glowforge). Assembly is next!

During PE class the first and second years enjoyed a friendly game of castle ball. The objective of this game is to knock the other team’s “castle” down. Once the castle is knocked over the children build it back together and continue the game. The children work together as a team while practicing both offense and defense skills. It also allows students to focus on passing and blocking while sharing strategies with one another.