Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Absorbent Minds

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

 

There exists in the small child an unconscious mental state which is of a creative nature. We have called it the “Absorbent Mind.” The tiny child’s absorbent mind finds all its nutriment in its surroundings…Especially at the beginning of life. We must, therefore, make the environment as interesting and attractive as we can. -Maria Montessori

Montessori Method is based on self-motivation to learn. Children are considered to be at work during the day, but they have fun doing it. They do go beyond life skills, learning geometry, geography, phonics, and much more. Young children have the capacity to absorb, learn, and do so much. They just need a controlled, creative environment to allow them to pursue their interests.

Enjoy these images of your children at “work”!

We will be celebrating Valentines Day on Wednesday, February 13th. Giving and receiving valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience.  There are 22 students in our class.  Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it).  This enables your child to distribute his/her valentines without having to read each classmate’s name.  If your child is able to read the names of the children then they may write the names on the outside of the envelops, as this is a nice reading practice.  Please allow time for the name writing process.  This is a great vehicle for them to practice writing their name so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of their name.

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Love is in the Air!

Posted on by Michelle Doyle

On February 13th, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in our classroom.

Giving and receiving valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience and one of their favorites!  There are 23 students in our class. Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it). This enables your child to distribute their valentines without having to read each classmate’s name.  If your child is able to independently read the names of the children, then they may choose to write the names on the outside of the envelopes.  Please allow time for the name writing process. It’s a lot to write for small hands!   This is a great activity for them to practice writing their name, so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of their name.  We will begin distributing valentines on Wednesday, February 13th.

We are looking forward to our upcoming conferences on Thursday, February 14th.  When you arrive for conferences be sure to take a moment to read the poster in front of our room.  We asked the children what love is or who they loved.  Their answers are all very sincere and heartfelt and will make you feel so loved!

This week the Kindergarten students wrote valentine cards for soldiers.  They are being sent to the Marine barracks at Parris Island.  It was also a great opportunity to learn how to write a letter and address a postcard.

Enjoy the beautiful weather and have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

Ms. Kayser’s Class: A Month of Love

Posted on by skayser

February is a month of love and appreciation; with Valentine’s Day right around the corner and all the beautiful red and pink, heart themed works on the shelves, the children are all feeling extra special. We make sure that our classroom environment is welcoming and warm every month of the year, but this month we have been paying extra close attention to the importance of kindness and compassion. Our students have come a long way from being strangers at the beginning of the year, and the connection that they all share with one another is something that we hope they will never forget.

In our Montessori plus program this month, the children are spending time talking about friends and family and working on some exciting projects to help reinforce the idea of being a good person to everyone. When we asked our students what a friend was, their responses melted our hearts:

“We share our toys with friends.”

“We make our friends laugh so hard that they fall down.”

“We are kind to our friends and we don’t fight.”

“We love each other and take turns.”

They are already so aware of their behavior and how it affects people other than themselves. There is such a hope for humanity knowing that these beautiful souls are going to one day make an impact on our world with their kind and gentle hearts.

Lucky for us, the weather also felt like sharing a bit of love with some beautiful, sunny days! The children were so happy to get outside and spend time in the warm sun. Although the winter season is not over yet, those two days filled us with enough joy to carry us until spring!

Just a few quick reminders:

On February 13th, we will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in our classroom!

Giving and receiving Valentines is a special part of a child’s school experience and one of their favorites!  There are 23 students in our class. Please have your child sign (alone or with your help) each Valentine. Leave the envelope blank (with no specific name on it). This enables your child to distribute their valentines without having to read each classmate’s name.  If your child is able to independently read the names of the children, then they may choose to write the names on the outside of the envelopes.  Please allow time for the name writing process. It’s a lot to write for small hands! This is a great activity for them to practice writing names, so remember to use upper case only for the first letter of the name.

On February 14th, we have our parent-teacher conferences. If you did not already select a slot on the sign-up genius from the email we sent last week, please take a look and see if any of the times work for you. If there is not an available time, please don’t hesitate to email me so we can set up a time before or after school that works best for you! The children have been working so hard since we last met, and we can’t wait to sit down and share everything with you!

With love,

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Ms. Kayser’s Class: Passion for Creativity

Posted on by skayser

“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.” 

– Maria Montessori

In the classroom every week, our children push themselves to new and exciting heights. They have no fear in trying things they have not yet done, and are gaining a beautiful confidence that continues to grow with each passing day. One of the most amazing aspects of the Montessori classroom is the freedom for the children to choose what their heart is telling them they wish to pursue. Each day there seems to be something different calling the students into action. As their teachers, we must sit back and allow them to follow these passions and provide just enough support to be sure they are successful in their exploration.

This week the children’s creativity was beyond what we could have imagined. From the moment they walked in the door, each student was driven to something that involved a high level of concentration and artistic ability. Our continent maps are what drew the most attention from the class. Each student chose which continent they wished to recreate and spent time looking at the names of the countries and even exploring our globes to see where they were on Earth in comparison to North America. Then the children set off to trace the map on another sheet of paper; even some of our youngest students wished to trace it on their own without our assistance! Once the tracing was done, the children were able to use colored pencils or paint to color in their maps. Overall, the process was an arduous task for a three or four year old child, but their ability to sit and concentrate for that long was something that told us this was truly what was calling them that day.

As a teacher, it is a heart-warming experience to sit back and watch as the creativity and curiosity of the children flow  throughout the classroom without restriction. The children learn so much more when they are able to choose and experience their passions in the moment!

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: What Exactly Is a Normalized Classroom?

Posted on by Michelle Doyle

Montessori teachers are quite familiar with the term normalization.  It is something we strive for from the moment a child first enters our classroom.  To put it simply, normalization is an inner peace achieved through the ability to focus, concentrate, and self-regulate.  The children become confident in themselves and trusting of their environment, including their teachers.  Typically, in a Montessori classroom the first half of the year is designed to help foster normalization. Then in January we begin to see the bigger picture emerge. Children are engaged in longer work cycles, have the ability to successfully and independently navigate the classroom, and are eager to learn as much as they can in their environment. Dr. Montessori believed that normalization was “the most single important result of our whole work.”  From a teacher’s point of view it is both exciting and rewarding to step back and observe, or rather feel the energy in the classroom, without the focus being on the adults present.

We look forward to sharing with you all of your child’s social, emotional and academic growth during parent/teacher conferences.  If you have not done so you can do so by clicking on the link in the email previously sent or copying and pasting the link below in your browser.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b4ca9a82da7fa7-winter1

Stay warm and have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Beauty and Poetry

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

 

“We especially need imagination in science.  It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.”-Maria Montessori

We have had fun exploring states of matter this month. While our younger children generally chose to observe and repeat activities and experiments, our kindergartners enjoyed making predictions before doing experiments and then testing their hypothesis. Thank you Mr. Brown and seventh year students for sharing your knowledge of science, conducting an experiment illustrating the phase change from liquid to gas, and helping us to bring our month of matter to a close.

Parent-teacher conferences are fast approaching. We look forward to seeing you all and sharing your child’s journey. If you have not yet done so please take a moment to click on the link in the email previously sent or copy and paste the link below in your browser.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f45aeab2da4fb6-winter

Make it matter!

Cindy & Sharlene

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: Colorful Hearts

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

 

This week we celebrate the vibrant spirit and colorful heart of Martin Luther King Jr. Though the details of his message remain abstract, children can and do understand components of his dream. Our classroom focus on peaceful problem solving, lively discussions, and stories have ignited an understanding that actions can affect people’s feelings and that all feelings are okay, but not all actions are. We will continue to provide the tools to foster peaceful problem solving and acknowledge Dr. King’s dream throughout the school year.

Our dream is that one day your children may grow up to be world changers who will work together in challenging situations to establish creative solutions and make critical connections to others.

We appreciate you returning emptied Friday Folders each Wednesday so that we can fill and return them to you with the current week’s work.

Dare to dream,

Cindy & Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Heigh-Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go!

Posted on by Michelle Doyle

When a child works, he does not do so to attain some further goal.  His objective in working is the work itself. – Maria Montessori

One of Maria Montessori’s more well known quotes is “play is the child’s work.”  We’re sure by now you have heard your child talk about their work at school. Maria Montessori preferred the word work rather than the word play, to describe the learning process children are constantly undergoing. Work conveys the amount of effort that children put into their physical, social, emotional, and academic growth. As adults, our definition of work has a very different meaning.

Children are driven by a strong unconscious internal growth process to seek out experiences that will meet their needs. Our role as Montessori teachers is to provide a well-prepared environment that encourages children to be independent and learn at their own pace. The children are free to choose their work and to use it repeatedly. So, while they are ‘working’ each child is also building independence, coordination, self-discipline, and concentration.

Please be on the lookout for information regarding our Valentine’s Day celebration in your Friday folder.

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja