Warm weather and long days have finally returned and our class is in bloom with activity. We continue to observe and record the stages of our butterfly’s life cycle and wait with bated breath for the development of the chrysalis.

Our Kindergarten students are themselves preparing for a change. In five short weeks our oldest lower school friends will complete their third year with the lower school, and emerge into the Lower Elementary environment. This week our Kindergarten students welcomed Toddler students into our environment; and the cycle begins. Developing our Kindergarten students to become mentors is more than simply asking an older student to help a younger one. A true leader is mentored and shown the process of how to lead and help others. When we take the time to cultivate leaders in our Montessori environment, we see that this is another piece of our carefully prepared environment.

Grandparent & Special Friend Day is May 4th. We are excited to share your child’s joy of learning with a special person in their life. Our school wide concert will begin promptly at 8:50. Your child should be in class no later than 8:40 in order to prepare for the concert.

Continuing with our study of insects, we are thrilled to welcome five caterpillars to our classroom. It is so exciting to observe each step of the fascinating life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly.

Right now our caterpillars are busy eating,  spinning silk and growing bigger every day.    During this incredible period of growth, they will shed their exoskeletons four times and grow more than ten times their original size! When they have finished growing, the caterpillars will climb to the top of the cup. Once there, they will hang from the paper disk in a “j” shape under the lid. They will shed their exoskeletons one last time  before they pupate and form a chrysalis. 

Ask your children to update you on what is happening each day with our caterpillars.  The discussions taking place among the children about the caterpillars are amazing.

Each week, the Extended Day children will be welcoming toddlers into our classroom.  They truly enjoy showing them around the environment and giving age appropriate lessons. This is a wonderful time for the toddlers to become more comfortable and familiar with the three to six environment.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

 

 

 

Our caterpillars are slowly entering their chrysalis stage this week. We cannot wait for the new butterflies to emerge. The children are waiting anxiously! They are observing the butterfly life cycle first hand. To observe the changes up close, the children uses a hand lens. They love working on the butterfly life cycle activities.

We would like to thank Adeline´s mom, Samantha McGoldrick for helping with Earth Day craft project. Please accept our heartfelt appreciation for volunteering your time and effort. Our school is a better place because of parent dedication.

This week, we introduced a new pet in our classroom to provide our students with an opportunity to interact with nature up close and personal and to help them be compassionate toward aquatic life. The children have suggested names for the betta fish and the majority voted for the name ¨Honey.¨ The children take turns to feed our new pet. Learning how to properly care for another creature is a huge life lesson. From developing and executing an appropriate feeding and tank cleaning schedule to planning socialization time, pets in our classroom can help us develop the rewarding feeling these responsibilities bring about.

Welcome back! We hope your break was relaxing, rejuvenating, and fun.

Insect Alert!

Flowers aren’t the only ones that come out of hiding during spring, after the cold of winter you’ll notice more insects start making their appearance. Curiosity towards these six legged friends hits a high note in April, and we take the cue to “follow the child” and their deep affection for insects. Over the next several weeks we will support your children’s curiosity, exploration, and understanding of insects through hands-on activities, songs, lessons, and outdoor exploration. The intent is to encourage their interest in the diversity, beauty, and joy of nature.

Is a spider an insect? The children know, ask them.

Have a warm and wonderful week!

Cindy & Samantha

Willkommen Zuruck means Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring break.

We will move on to the continent of Europe. We started the week with an educational presentation of Germany by Mr. Michael Wilhelm. Mr. Wilhelm came in wearing the traditional German knee length clothing called Lederhosen which means “leather trousers.” He talked and explained about the food (pretzels), clothing, and the lifestyle in Germany. He introduced us to some German language. We learned how to say ‘good morning’ which is ‘Guten Morgen’ and ‘good afternoon’ which is ‘Guten Tag.’ The children listened to the accordion music and loved it! They danced! Mr. Wilhelm gave each child the opportunity to touch the accordion and made a sound (music). Thank you very much Mr. Wilhelm for such a wonderful presentation!

It is no surprise that so many changes happen in harmony during the first weeks of Spring. Flowers bloom, insects emerge, leaves uncurl. Now is the best time for the children to learn about nature using their five senses. We started our topic of discussion about the sense of sight. Our eyes help us see. They are like cameras that take a picture and send the picture to our brain. Then our brain tells us what we are looking at.

A celebration of life is a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday by honoring a child’s life and accomplishments. Birthday walks were celebrated by John and Alessandro. Thank you Stephanie, Rosanna and Martha for the delicious brownie cake and thank you Pam for the refreshing popsicles!

We are hard at work becoming entomologists. Admittedly, some of us are more excited by this process than others!  An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. We began our unit by reporting on what we already know about insects, what they are and what they can do.

This week as a class we discovered that insects are slimy, little, gross, soft, and hard. Insects can crawl, sting, bite, eat, fly, and jump. We learned that insects lay eggs, have antennae, a head, thorax and abdomen, eyes, and six legs. Insects are also cold blooded, have an exoskeleton, and many have wings. We found out why a spider is not an insect. Ask your child to see if he or she knows.

Spring is the perfect time to go for a nature walk and that’s exactly what we did. We took a quiet walk around the perimeter of the school and spent some time in the play yard trying to discover what insects we would be able to observe. We had no problem finding insects that were hidden under leaves and rocks, however, flying insects were not to be found. As a class we came to the determination that it was just too cold for them to be out. Sonja and I can relate!

Have a wonderful week!

Michelle & Sonja

 

 

 

“Like a butterfly, I am growing and changing and finding my true colors in life. I am finding my wings so I can fly and soon be on my way!” -Unknown

The children are enthralled by the arrival of our caterpillars and are anxious to observe the metamorphosis our butterflies will experience to become the graceful insects we love. From the egg to the caterpillar and the chrysalis to the adult, learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly is exciting. This week we have been busy. Your little entomologists have been learning about metamorphosis on a deeper level, fully involved in watching the process occur. We have entered our first journal entry into the class butterfly journal, recording changes as the children notice them in the habitat. We are learning the new vocabulary words life cycle, chrysalis, and metamorphosis, reading butterfly stories, using butterfly writing prompts, and singing butterfly songs. We will continue to watch and enjoy this amazing metamorphosis…both the butterflies’ and your children’s.

Have a wonderful week,

Cindy & Samantha