They’re slimy. They can be very loud or never make a sound. The colorful ones can be poisonous and stinky. What are they? Amphibians! We’ve enjoyed studying all we can about awesome amphibians over the last two weeks and have uncovered a lot of fun facts. Your children know these vertebrates begin life in the water, breathing through gills, but usually grow up and live on land using a pair of lungs to breath. They have moist skin through which they breathe. Amphibians are cold blooded. They are unable to regulate, or control, their own body temperature, amphibians use the sun’s heat to warm themselves up.

Our children have marvelous imaginations and a keen desire to explore nature. Like the butterflies, we are fortunate to  experience  the life cycle of a frog. Tadpoles arrived this week and we have begun to observe their changes each day and record them in our amphibian log. This hands on opportunity is a magical way to discover the beauty and wonder that nature provides.

Enjoy your week!

Cindy & Samantha

 

Releasing the Painted Lady Butterflies was such a magical experience to share with the children.  Some took little time to fly out of the Zen garden, while others allowed the children to hold them gently on their hands and explore nature.  Experiencing each of the four stages in a butterflies lifecycle has been so much fun!

We treasure our grandparents and special friends and were delighted to welcome them into our environment last week.  The children take such pride in showing off their space, leading lessons, and sharing all that they know.

Grady and Rex from Newtown Strong Therapy dogs visited our Extended Day Children this week.  Jane and Madison read them stories and stole hugs. Reading to the dogs is a unique, calming and comforting experience that everyone truly enjoys.

Have a magical week!

Cindy & Samantha

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are now studying the continent of South America in our classroom.  South America is pink on the Montessori map and a topic of great fascination for the children.    It is a beautiful region of our world with vibrant cultures, traditions and has a wide range of climates and terrains.

South America is the fourth largest continent in our world and is comprised of  twelve individual countries.  It is connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama. An isthmus is one of the land forms we are currently studying.

The largest country in South America is Brazil and the major languages spoken  are Spanish and Portuguese.  Located in South America is the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon Jungle. It also contains 40% of the world’s animals and plant species.

The Extended Day Children had the opportunity to meet  Grady and Rex from the Newtown Strong Therapy Dogs.  Each child then spent some time reading to their new friend!  Reading to the dogs is a unique, calming and comforting experience that everyone truly enjoys.

Our butterflies emerged this week.  We released them in the zen garden much to the delight of the children.

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

 

 

It took 11 days for our Painted Lady Butterflies to emerge from their chrysalises. We kept them safe for up to 24 hours to let their wings dry. When they began to flutter their wings, we took them outside to the butterfly garden and released them back into nature. The children sang ´goodbye butterfly´ as they waited for the butterflies to fly. The children, with the radiant faces said a resounding and awesome “Awwww”  as the butterflies flew one at a time. After leaving the case, one butterfly flew up on the top of a flower and rested while its wings dried some more.

North America is one of the seven continents. It is the planet’s third largest continent. The children learned that North America’s highest point is Mt. McKinley in Alaska at 20,322 feet. North America’s lowest point is Death Valley in California at 282 feet below sea level. The 48 contiguous states and Washington D.C., are in central North America between Canada and Mexico. The two other states, Alaska and Hawaii are not. Alaska is in the northwestern part of North America and Hawaii is in the central Pacific Ocean.

Our field trip to Sticks and Stones is scheduled on Thursday, May 24. More information will be coming.

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 what our five senses are 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.

Next, we pass around the popcorn kernels to make observations of what they see, smell, and feel.  We record all of our observations as we are going along. Finally, we use an air popper to pop some popcorn.  Now we can include our observations about hearing and tasting as well.

As temperatures rise, it is important children remain hydrated.  Therefore, please have your child bring to school a filled water bottle with his or her name clearly written on the bottle or a label.  Thank you!

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

 

 

I  love Mom! These are the sweetest words a mother can hear. This week your children have been working hard to prepare for Mom’s special day. We have written cards, created special tokens of  love, and shared with each other just how special all our moms are. I am sure you will enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Our discussions on insects continue. “Do insects have moms?” asked one of our younger friends after spending the morning working on a card for his mom. Yes, insects do in fact have moms. Their moms lay hundreds or thousands of eggs in a lifetime, but almost none will “hatch” them the way a chicken sits on eggs. Insects usually leave the eggs, though some take care to lay them on or near or inside food for when they hatch. After listening to my response, and digesting the fact that insects aren’t cared for by their mothers, my little friend shared how happy he was that he was not an insect. “If I was an insect, who would tuck me into bed at night and read me my book?” 

Thank you moms for all that you do, and a heartfelt thank you for sharing your little treasures with Samantha and I each day!

Enjoy your week.

Cindy & Samantha

Note: As temperatures rise, it is important children remain hydrated.  Therefore, please have your child bring to school a filled water bottle with his or her name clearly written on the bottle or a label.

The wooden small hexagon box found in the Sensorial Area was presented to the children. This material consists of yellow, red, green, and gray equilateral triangles, and red isosceles triangles. This activity prepares the child for geometry. We slide the corresponding sides together to form a hexagon, rhombus, and trapezoid. This box of triangles can be a lot of fun because of the numbers of triangles you work with by taking them apart and arranging them in different ways. Some of the children created their own Constructive Triangles Extension by arranging the triangles to make a fish, a head of a robot, and a boat. The children compared the large hexagon box to the small hexagon box.

We are grateful to have Mr. Seth Feltman volunteer his time to help the children with the Motherś day project. Thank You!

We will be taking a field trip to discover forest and farm at Sticks and Stones on Thursday, May 24. Please dress your child for a short hike through the woods.