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, stories and role-play have ignited an understanding that actions can affect people’s feelings and that all feelings are o.k., 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.

Dare to dream,

Cindy and Samantha

 

 

 

 

 

This week we are learning that Winter can be very harsh for animals.  The weather and lack of food can make their survival difficult.  So to help ensure their survival, animals will hibernate, migrate or adapt to their surroundings.

Some animals hibernate for the winter by going into a deep sleep.  Their body’s temperature drops, their heartbeat and breathing slow down and they use very little energy.  Animals that migrate, travel to other places where the weather is warmer and they will be able to find food.  Animals that adapt, remain and stay active in their environment. They adapt to the changing weather and their behavior and  bodies may change too.

So, how many of us during these past few frigid weeks are thinking about hibernating or migrating?

Have a warm and happy week!

Michelle and Sonja

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A weeks worth of fun learning in three days!

“If we try to think back to the dim and distant past… what is it that helps us reconstruct those times, and to picture the lives of those who lived in them? It is their art… It is thanks to the hand, the companion of the mind, that civilization has arisen.”
—Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

Maria Montessori gives us perspective on many things. Please enjoy this perspective on art, from an excerpt taken from the article, Art in the Montessori Environment, Montessori Services.

When it comes to art, it is the process not the product that is important to the child. As adults, our goal is to produce a product. The child interacts with the world differently. The child works to develop self. The focus is on the process not the product. Once a child creates something, he does not feel the need to keep the product. It is the process that gives him satisfaction and inner joy.

“The human hand, so delicate and so complicated, not only allows the mind to reveal itself but it enables the whole being to enter into special relationships with its environment… man ‘takes possession of his environment with his hands.’ His hands, under the guidance of his intellect transform this environment and thus enable him to fulfill his mission in the world.”
—Maria Montessori, The Discovery of the Child

 

 

The Montessori learning environment is much different than the traditional model. Instead of information passing from the teacher to the student, the teacher is skilled in putting the child in touch with the environment, and helping him learn to make intelligent choices and to carry out research in a prepared environment. The teacher then protects the students’ concentration from interruption. This fosters a love of lifetime learning in the student. Keep in mind the learning  triangle: the student,  teacher, and the environment. It is the role of the adult to prepare ,and continue to prepare, the environment, to link the child to it through well-thought-out introductions to books and materials, projects, and lessons, which nurture the child’s exploration and creativity.

In Science, we have been experimenting with states of matter. Matter exists in three states. These are solids, liquids and gasses. The children have been observing and making predictions and conclusions about solid, liquid and gas. The children have learned that all states of matter have molecules. The children learned that when the air temperature drops, in time the liquid in the container changes into a solid. This is called freezing.  Some of the observations were: solid ice is cold, it is hard, it is soft.

A few gentle reminders:

We take the children outside when the temperature is above 20 degrees.   Please be sure that your child has snow pants, boots, warm coat, gloves and hat.

When classroom linens are returned to the classroom please remember to send in a bouquet of fresh flowers.  The children enjoy flower arranging in Practical Life.

Scientists like to classify things to make them easier to understand and study.  Animals are grouped into what we call a class.  The first class we studied this year was mammals.  We learned that mammals have certain traits that distinguish them from animals in other classes.   So what makes an animal a mammal?   Mammals are warm blooded, have live births, drink milk from their mother, have a backbone and have hair or fur.  Mammals can live on land or in the water.  The largest mammal is the Blue Whale and the smallest mammal is the Bumblebee Bat.  Learning that people are mammals is always a great source of enjoyment for the children!

Just a few gentle reminders as we begin the second half of our school year:

• We do go outside when the temperature is above 20 degrees.   To ensure that  each child is comfortable and safe,  please make sure they have snow pants, boots, warm coat, gloves and hat.  Extra socks are always good to keep in school as well!
• Please remember when you return the classroom linens to bring in a bouquet of fresh flowers.  The children enjoy flower arranging and decorating the classroom.
• We do not have a microwave in the classroom for lunch.  Please make sure that your child does not have a lunch that needs to be heated.  Lunchtime is comprised of a lot of transitions and often it is not possible for a teacher to leave the classroom to go heat up a lunch.

As always, please keep the communication between home and school open.  We love hearing from you and your insight is so valuable to us.

Have a great (and warm) week!

Michelle & Sonja

 

This week the children built upon their growing understanding of states of matter through several hands on experiments.  We used water to explore how matter can move from one physical state to another. Water is the perfect example of  introducing states of matter to children because it can exist in three different states: liquid, solid and gas. It always has the same chemical properties no matter which state it is in.  Our initial experimentation illustrated liquid changing into a solid.  The children placed water into the freezer causing  it’s molecules to slow down and change into a solid. Next, we took the solid cubes and placed them in the warm classroom environment. Once again matter changed. This time the molecules sped up and the cube changed back into a liquid. The changes where recorded and the children  correctly hypothesized that temperature was a catalyst for the change.  We will be introducing our most abstract change tomorrow as we boil a pot of water and observe it’s change into a gas, evaporation. Please ask your children to share their learnings. I am always amazed at their enthusiasm and interest in this subject matter.

Just a few gentle reminders as we begin the second half of our school year:

• We will go outside when the temperature is above 20 degrees.   To ensure that  each child is comfortable and safe,  please make sure that they have snow pants, boots, warm coat, gloves and hat.  Extra socks are always good to keep in school as well!
• Please remember when you return the classroom linens to bring in a bouquet of fresh flowers.  The children enjoy flower arranging and decorating the classroom.
• We do not have a microwave in the classroom for lunch.  Please make sure that your child does not have a lunch that needs to be heated.  Lunchtime is comprised of a lot of transitions and  it is not alwayspossible for a teacher to leave the classroom to go heat up a lunch.

As always, please keep the communication between home and school open.  We love hearing from you and your insight is so valuable to us.

Warm Thoughts!

Cindy & Samantha

 

 

 

We hope that everyone had a chance to relax over the course of the Winter break. The generosity shown to us in everyone’s gifts and cards was very touching. We are most grateful for all of your support.  The relationship between home and school is so important at this stage of a child’s school experience.  We are beyond blessed to have so many wonderful parents who make it easy to foster positive relationships with our families.

It is not uncommon to see an increase in children’s emotional, social and academic development after returning from the break. Our classroom routines are well established and each child is discovering their part in our classroom community.  We slowly begin to introduce longer and more involved lessons.   It really is an exciting time of the school year…well, for the teachers at least!

We are now studying Asia on our Geography/Cultural Shelf.  Asia is the largest continent covering one-third of Earth’s surface. It is also the biggest continent in terms of population, with over half the worlds people living in Asia.  We will be talking about animals found in Asia as well as climate, music, literature and land forms.  The most important fact for you to remember though, is that Asia is yellow on the Montessori map!!!

 

 

The holidays are behind us now and the New Year looms on the horizon as a time of hope and promise in our lives, our families and our communities. Your children’s smiles and laughter once again warms both our classroom and our hearts.  It is not uncommon to see an increase in children’s emotional, social and academic development after returning from the break. Our classroom routines are well established and each child is discovering their part in our classroom community.  We slowly begin to introduce longer and more involved lessons.  It truly is an exhilarating time of the school year!

Matter is everywhere! We have begun our study of the basics of solid, liquid and gas and look forward to illustrating how matter can change from one state to another: melting, freezing, boiling, condensation, sublimation and deposition.

Our classroom travels have taken us to the continent of Asia, the largest of the seven continents.  We look forward to exploring the various countries, customs, animals, foods, music and literature this culturally rich continent has to offer.

Thank you again for your thoughtful and generous holiday gifts.  Ms. Kayser and I are blessed to have such a warm, supportive classroom community.