First the education of the senses, then the education of the intellect—Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori believed there is a sensitive period for a child’s development of their senses. Although the senses are an integral part of our lives, children have the greatest potential to develop and retrieve them during their early years. It is precisely this idea that demonstrates the purpose of Sensorial materials in the Montessori classroom. The Sensorial materials are powerful tools that allow children to become aware of their unconscious impressions and bring these impressions into conscious awareness. Additionally, they enable your children to create a basis of order in their minds, allowing for the intelligent exploration of their environment.

This week we are beginning our study on the five senses. What better way to teach this than to use popcorn? Popcorn is a multi-sensory snack as it incorporates all five of our senses. It might just be our most appetizing science unit yet! Did you ever notice that when you make popcorn, somehow the entire family knows about it and shows up to have some of this favorite treat?

We begin by discussing our five senses and how we use different body parts to learn about things in our environment. For example, our noses are for smelling, ears are for listening, eyes are for seeing, hands are for touching, and our tongue is for tasting. We learned that sometimes we use more than one sense at a time.

Next, each child had the opportunity to handle popcorn kernels to observe what they saw, smelled, and felt. We record all of our observations as we go along. Finally, we used an air popper to pop some popcorn. Now we can include our observations about hearing and tasting as well.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Kaoutar & Sue

What the hand does, the mind remembers. —Maria Montessori

Every Montessori classroom has a Sensorial area, and it is filled with materials that help the child study their environment through their five senses. Maria Montessori believed that sensorial experiences begin at birth for every child, and by refining these skills, they begin to understand their surroundings. The sensorial materials allow the child to acquire concise information and classify things around them. They use their senses not only to create their own experiences and knowledge but also to help them figure out different impressions each sense receives. The child is, therefore, a natural “sensorial explorer.”

Each material in this area has a built-in control of error so that after an initial lesson, little teacher direction is needed. This control of error helps a child determine what needs to happen to complete the lesson successfully. The children can distinguish, categorize, and relate new information to what they already know. Each sensorial material isolates one specific quality, such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound, or smell. These materials emphasize this particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Many of the sensorial materials are also the basis of future mathematical concepts the children will learn.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Kaoutar & Sue

On Thursday, we welcomed the Beardsley Zoo animal ambassadors for a presentation on colors in nature. We met Patty the turtle, Cooper the dove, Gabby the gecko, and Munson the alligator.  We learned how the colors on their body relate to where they live and even how they communicate with their unique patterns. The animal ambassador handlers also made sure each child got an up close look of the animal, while providing interesting and engaging facts.  The children loved learning all about each animal and having the opportunity to ask questions about their diet, their habitat and even the sounds they make.

We wish everyone a chance to unwind and enjoy the time with your families over the course of the next two weeks!

Warmly,

Kaoutar & Lizette

You can find magic wherever you look. So sit back and relax, all you need is a book.  

                                                                                                                                                                    —–Dr. Seuss

Read Across America is a national event celebrated on March 2nd, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. This initiative was created by the National Education Association and implemented to encourage a love of reading in children. At FWM, we also turn that day into Pajama Day, and the children bring their favorite book to share. We hope you enjoy the pictures.

An online article from nationaldaycalendar.com has some beautiful ideas on how to motivate children to read wherever they are.

• Keep books everywhere you spend time. Put them in the car, in every room of the house, and tuck them in backpacks and purses. Make them easily accessible.
• Visit the library often. Knowing how to use the library and learning the benefits of a library fosters a love of reading as well as genuine respect for the services libraries provide.
• Get caught reading. Children imitate what they see the adults around them do. Whether they see you read a magazine, newspaper, or novel, let them know reading is the cool thing to do.
• Read to your children. No matter their age, reading aloud strengthens their vocabulary and language skills. It also opens up opportunities for discussion.
• Have your children read to you, too. You never know what you might learn!

In our classroom, we call books treasures. Reading is an integral part of each school day. I hope that Miss Lizette and I can pass on our passion for literature to your children.

Happy Reading!

Kaoutar and Lizette

While last week was a short week, it was a busy one.  On Tuesday, the children exchanged Valentine’s with each other and had the opportunity to decorate a cookie to take home. On Wednesday, the Kindergarten children took place in their first author sharing with Mr. Newman and the Middle School students as their audience. It takes a lot of courage to speak in front of a crowd, and this is always a tradition that kindergarten children look forward to. We are also grateful for the opportunity to connect with so many parents during conference time last Thursday.

As Valentine’s Day has quickly come and gone, we thought we would ask the children what love means.  Their answers are sure to bring a smile to your face.  In similar posts that we’ve done in the past, we always say the world would do well to listen to these children. It rings true with this post as well.

Love Is……….

• Simone–  When my Mom hugs and kisses me.
• Soren–    Playing happy songs for someone.        
• Levi—        Dancing with Ella.       
• Casey–    I love my Mommy.                
• Savina–  Kissing Mom and Dad.    
• Ruscher–  Hugging twice my Dad.
• Charlotte–   I love Mommy.  
• Remi–       Kissing and hugging my Mommy and Daddy.
• Elsie–      Hugs and kisses goodbye.         
• Ella–         Hugs and kisses from my Mom and Dad.         
• Carter—  A hug and a kiss from my Mom.    
• David–      A hug from my Mommy.         
• Jonathan–When my dad plays with me.
• Katie–        Being kind.
• Oliver–      A kiss and A Hug from my Mom.

Wishing each and every one of you much peace and love.

Kaoutar and Lizette

Each time we study a new continent, we first find it on the globe of the world, then we locate the continent on the world map, and lastly, we study the individual continent, using the specific continent maps. Currently, the children are learning about the continent of Africa. We learn about the geography, culture, weather, animals, and people of Africa.

We are learning lots of fun and fascinating facts about the continent of Africa.

• Africa is the second largest continent, with 54 countries.
• The longest river in the world, the Nile, is located in Africa.
• Over one thousand languages are spoken by the people in Africa.
• The Sahara, the world’s largest desert is located here.
• The highest mountain in Africa is Mount Kilimanjaro. It is so tall that glaciers can be found at its summit even though the mountain is near the equator.
• Africa is the most centrally located continent in the world. Both the prime meridian and the equator cut across it.
• The world’s tallest animal, the giraffe, and the largest land animal, the African elephant are found in Africa.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Kaoutar & Michelle

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been learning that winter can be very harsh for animals. The weather and lack of food can make their survival difficult. To help ensure their survival, animals hibernate, migrate, or adapt to their surroundings.

Animals that hibernate for the winter go into a deep sleep. Their body’s temperature drops, their heartbeat and breathing slow down, and they use very little energy. We’ve learned which animals hibernate as well as where they hibernate. Places, where animals hibernate, can be above ground, such as a cave, nest, or den, or they can be below ground, such as a burrow, a hole, or deep down in the mud.  We explored which animals migrated or traveled to other places where the weather is warmer and they will be able to find food. We also examined why animals might migrate and where they may go. Animals that adapt, remain and stay active in their environment. They adapt to the changing weather, and their behavior and bodies may change too. We talked about what changes animals may make to ensure they will have enough food for the winter.

So, as the cold weather is becoming more frequent, how many of us are thinking about hibernating or migrating?

Reminder: Parent/Teacher conferences are on Thursday, February 16th.  Please click this link to the Sign Up Genius and choose a time slot.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Kaoutar & Michelle

We are just finishing our science unit on States of Matter.  Matter is all around us.  Everything that you can touch, taste, smell, and see is made of matter.  The three main states of matter are solids, liquids, and gases.

We learned that solids have a definite shape because these molecules are very close together and do not move very much.  The shapes of solids do not change unless some type of force makes them change. Liquid matter does not have its own shape.  The tiny molecules in liquids are not as close together as solid molecules and they move around more.  Liquids take the shape of the container they are in. Gas matter also does not have its own shape.  The molecules in gas are far apart and they move around a lot.  Gases spread out and fill up their container too.  Ask your children to move like the molecules in a solid, liquid, or gas!  They will love to show you.

The children loved taking part in experiments that helped to highlight the different properties of solids, liquids, and gases.  We made raisins dance and also blew up a balloon without blowing air into it. We are eagerly waiting some snowfall so that we can build a snowman, bring him inside and observe how he will change from a solid to a liquid and finally a gas.

Wishing everyone a week filled with peace and love!

Kaoutar &  Michelle