As Montessori teachers, we embrace the knowledge that one way we can promote peace and understanding of cultures around the world is to find age-appropriate ways to introduce the children to different traditions and celebrations.  While doing so in a very introductory way, it still allows us to highlight the similarities and differences of people everywhere.  These past few weeks have provided the opportunity to talk about Hanukkah, St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.  We do this by engaging the children through literature, sharing artifacts, and conversations.

A huge shout-out to parents who always help in any way they can.  I know there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to afford us these opportunities.  It is so very much appreciated.  As always, if there is anyone who may have different traditions or customs to share with us, please reach out.

Thank you to everyone for contributing to such a special week!

Have a wonderful holiday break!

Warmly,

Marissa & Sue

This week, we had so many lovely visitors in our classroom! Many dads to read stories and moms and aunties to help with crafts. It is always fun to have guests help us with our day.

We learned about Hanukkah and Christmas this week, and if we weren’t excited already – we are now! All the children have been busy practicing songs for our upcoming Holiday Concert, filling the classroom with joy. We hope to see you there!

We have continued our ocean study, learning about the first three layers of the ocean. We now know the top layer closest to the surface is the Sunlight Zone, followed by the Twilight Zone and the Midnight Zone. We loved seeing different sea creatures like the angler fish and stingrays!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Marissa & Sue

This week a new friend joined our class! The children welcomed her with open arms, showed her around the classroom, gave her lessons on new work, and were great role models in general.

The weather brought a lot of excitement – a Kindergarten student gave us a lesson on how to put snow gear on in the correct order. Snow pants, boots, jacket, hat, and gloves! After watching the lesson, we all gave putting our own snow gear on a try. So many children were able to dress themselves, and most others only needed a small amount of help. Encourage independence at home – the children are so capable! Sometimes, we say, “I can help with my words,” if we think they need a little “sportscasting,” and then sometimes, we, of course, just go ahead and help if a child truly needs it.

We introduced the children to the tradition of St. Nicholas and read a book about his history. We left a pair of empty boots in the hallway, and the next morning, we were surprised with boots filled with candy canes!

Next week, we look forward to hearing about Christmas and Hanukkah.

Have a lovely weekend,

Marissa & Sue

This week, we continued our work in the classroom, focusing on landmarks around the world, button sewing, and fire prevention! It was a busy five days!

Kindergarten students have been determined to finish their large-format maps of South America this week! They have been drawing lines, painting countries and oceans, and labeling. The other students are continually impressed and inspired by them.

Button sewing on fabric has been very popular this week. You may see many button bracelets coming home! Children are learning to cut thread to length, thread a needle, and sew through the four holes of a button. We’ve been making decorative pieces of fabric and then using felt for bracelets.

We had the opportunity to learn from Fireman Bill this week when the class was invited to climb aboard a real fire truck and look inside. We discussed fire prevention and fire safety so if your child reminds you to check the smoke alarms – now you know why!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Marissa & Sue

On Tuesday, the entire Primary level gathered in the gymnasium for a Diwali celebration. Diwali is a five-day festival that is observed around the world, and its rituals vary by region. Diwali represents new beginnings and the victory of light over darkness, good over evil. It is the triumph of righteousness, knowledge in place of ignorance. Homes are brightly illuminated with diyas (candles) and oil lamps, and people decorate their homes with rangoli. People also often wear new fine clothes and jewelry and celebrate with family and friends.

Ms. Paromita and Ms. Hema, along with several parents from our community, were dressed in traditional Indian attire and provided our children with a wonderful opportunity to experience the beauty of Indian culture. A few students from lower and upper elementary read a book about Diwali.  Our children were mesmerized by the sights and sounds! Ms. Paromita danced to Indian music in her gorgeous attire, and the gymnasium was decorated with beautiful and meaningful items related to Diwali.  The children were able to taste traditional Indian food and decorate diyas to take home. We are so grateful to all who shared their culture!

In the classroom, we were introduced to a new way of working with our Sensorial materials. We added blindfolds! Covering our vision adds a whole new component to activities like the cylinder blocks, the pink tower, and the geometric solids. Students found it so fun and quite challenging to complete these tasks without seeing. The classroom was filled with lots of laughter while the children practiced. What a fun game!

Have a lovely weekend.

Marissa & Sue

This week we explored many different sewing and handwork activities! The simplest activity in our sewing sequence is stringing large beads on a cord. From there, they get increasingly more difficult – stringing small beads on a pipe cleaner, cutting yarn, threading a needle, tying a knot, embroidering on burlap, sewing a button, and so on!

The children have been excited to get new lessons on as much as they are capable of. In the beginning, sewing is done side by side with a teacher, but as skills slowly emerge, the teacher starts to pull away little by little. We never let the inability to thread a needle or tie a knot get in the way of the joy of sewing – those skills will come! In the meantime, we practice, practice, practice.

Sewing works so beautifully in the classroom because it exercises four very important skills: concentration, coordination, independence, and order.

It has been a very busy week in our classroom! This week, we celebrated all things fall and Halloween with a Jack O’Lantern carving, a pick-your-own-pumpkin “farm,” apple cider and apple cookies, and a Halloween Parade!

In our classroom, we have started our journey through South America. We are learning about rainforests, mountains, cities, and plains. One of our student’s families has roots in Colombia and will be giving us a very special presentation on the country! We are so lucky to be able to share special parts of our families.

Last week, the Kindergarteners took a field trip to New Pond Farm, where we learned all about how sheep supply us with wool, how to clean and card it, and how it eventually turns into fiber to make clothing. We took those lessons and translated them right to our Practical Life shelf work with finger knitting, loom knitting, and LOTS of sewing up for this month! We will be reading Pell’s New Suit and Charlie Needs a New Cloak which are both lovely examples of all the work that goes into making things that we wear.

Have a lovely weekend!

Marissa & Sue

The Mystery Word has been a very popular work this week! This activity has a designated spot in our classroom, and it consists of a small box with an object inside, a pencil, small strips of paper, and another box that is empty.  Every day, the object inside the box gets changed. We try to stick to simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words like cat, rat, top, hat, rug, etc. A student opens the box to see what the mystery word of the day is. It was “hat” the other day, for example. The child would find each sound that they could in the word (/h/ /a/ /t/) and write it down along with their name on the piece of paper. They then put the paper in the empty box which lives on my shelf. Everyone loves to see what is hiding inside the box each morning!

Our youngest children aren’t quite ready for this work, BUT it is a wonderful opportunity for our first-year students to connect with Kindergarteners who can help them participate in this activity. It also sets them up for the learning that is about to come!

This activity highlights a core component of becoming a reader—phonemic awareness. We spend a lot of time as a class working on listening and finding sounds (not letter names) in words. We clap them out, tap them out, use objects to signify them, and just exercise this skill in many different ways! Phonemic Awareness (breaking down words into sounds) PLUS Phonics (sound-symbol association) equals reading. This is why we start laying the foundation so early!

Below is a quick demo of The Mystery Word!