We hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving break!  The children were excited to share with us where they spent the holiday and the fun things they did.

Our class has had a very busy and eventful few weeks.  We enjoyed a visit from Rhiannan’s dog, Po!  Thank you to the Mendite family for sharing her with us.  Two dental hygienists from Dental Associates in Newtown also paid us a visit this week.  They explained why a dentist wears a mask and gloves when caring for our teeth. We learned the importance of keeping our teeth and gums clean and healthy.  Your children were excited to take home a tooth care kit. What a great opportunity to spend time with your child while reinforcing the importance of self-care.  Ask your child to share what sugar bugs are and how to take care of them.  It was very eye-opening to see how many teaspoons of sugar there are in some of our favorite foods!

The highlight of our week was participating in the Bridgeport Discovery Museum’s “I Want to Be an Astronaut” Program.  The children learned about the type of suits astronauts wear, gravity and even witnessed the “take-off” of a homemade rocket.  Friends enjoyed coloring their own rockets as well.

The study of magnetism and the categorization of objects based on whether they are magnetic or non-magnetic has been a big hit this past week.  Through the use of various materials, children are discovering what makes a material magnetic and are learning about magnetic fields.  The concepts of repelling and attracting have also been discussed.  It’s been great fun walking through the room with our large magnet and predicting what it might stick to!

Just a few gentle reminders as we enter into the Winter season:

–Now is a great time to check your child’s locker and make sure their extra change of clothes is weather appropriate.   

–We do go outside most days so dress accordingly for the weather; hats, gloves, warm coats, etc.

–Some of the children are bringing home book bags with books they are reading at school. Please return these bags the following school day.

–Kindergarten children have been working hard each week on a different class book.  They go home in a canvas FWM bag.  Don’t forget to add a comment on the back of the book and return them the next day.  This way each child gets a chance to share the book with their family.

–Thank you so much for all of your help with cleaning the linens each week.  Please remember to return them on the next school day, with a bouquet of fresh flowers.  For those children who only come to school on Tuesday-Thursday, we understand this isn’t possible.  Please bring the flowers and linens in with you on Tuesday morning.  Thank you!

 

This week we enjoyed a visit from a dental hygienist.  She explained why a dentist wears a mask and gloves when caring for our teeth. We learned the importance of keeping our teeth and gums clean and healthy.  Your children were excited to take home a tooth care kit. What a great opportunity to spend time with your child while reinforcing the importance of self care. Ask your child to share what sugar bugs are and how to take care of them.  It was very eye opening to see how many teaspoons of sugar there are in some of our favorite foods.

Just a few gentle reminders as we enter into the Winter season.

–Now is a great time to check your child’s locker and make sure their extra change of clothes is weather appropriate.

–We do go outside most days so dress accordingly to the weather; hats, gloves, warm coats etc.

–Some of the children are bringing home book bags with books they are reading at school. Please return these bags the following school day.

–Kindergarten children have been working hard each week on a different class book.  They go home in a canvas FWM bag.  Don’t forget to add a comment on the back of the book and return them the next day.  This way each child gets a chance to share the book with their family.

–Thank you so much for all of your help with cleaning the linens each week.  Please remember to return them on the next school day, with a bouquet of fresh flowers.  For those children who only come to school on Tuesday-Thursday, we understand this isn’t possible so just bring the flowers and linens in with you on Tuesday morning.

Enjoy your week!

Thank you for joining us on Parent-Child Night. The children were very excited to share their classroom and accomplishments with Mom and Dad.  We hope you enjoyed this peek into your child’s day!  It is always a pleasure to see how much the children have learned and enjoy demonstrating their new skills.

The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday has given us the opportunity to discuss what it means to be thankful as well as the various things we are all grateful for.  Friends enjoyed sharing on Circle what they appreciate in their lives.  Some responses included: family, food, pets, toys, school and the opportunity to be together with friends and teachers every day!

We discussed the concept of breaking bread with others and how we will bake two loaves of bread to share with our FWM community next week at the Thanksgiving Ceremony.  The children have decided to make chocolate chip banana bread this year.  We are looking forward to baking and enjoying our creation!

We appreciate the children arriving on time to school.   Just a gentle reminder that arriving on time  allows the children to peacefully enter the classroom and  smoothly transition  from home to school.  Morning arrival for the lower school children is from 8:30-8:45.  Our morning meeting begins at 9:00.  Thank you!

Bringing some of the wonders of the universe to the children is exciting and one of their favorite units that we study. By nature, children are inquisitive, observant and eager to learn about the world around them.  With their concrete thinking, understanding and desire to label and name everything they learn about, we start by introducing the components of the universe, especially our own solar system.

This week, we  asked the children “How many of you saw the sky this morning?”  They almost all raised their hands in agreement.  We ask them to draw what the sky looks like from memory while we are inside.   Next,  we go outside and have the children lay on their backs to look more carefully at the sky.  With probing questions and more observation, we ask them to draw the sky while they are looking at it.  It is fun to compare the two pictures.  We learn the names of the planets and key information about each one.  We also do hands on activities to explain revolution and rotation.

This Thursday, a presenter from The Discovery Center Of Bridgeport, came to present the program, “I Want To Be An Astronaut.”   Among the numerous areas of interest she shared, the children really enjoyed learning how astronauts live and work in space and how rockets launch astronauts and their cargo into space. The morning ended with a mini rocket launch! It was a successful mission.

We appreciate the children arriving on time to school.   Just a gentle reminder that arriving on time  allows the children to peacefully enter the classroom and  smoothly transition  from home to school.  Morning arrival for the lower school children is from 8:30-8:45.  Our morning meeting begins at 9:00.

 

 

Another busy and exciting week has passed!  We have begun our study of North America, it’s people, animals and culture.  Children enjoy exploring the globe and pointing out the “orange continent” on which they live.  Invertebrates, vertebrates, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish are also being classified as we delve deeper into zoology.  Exploration of color is occurring through painting, color mixing and the use of the color tablets.  All of our friends are becoming experts on the new colors you can create by combining the primary colors.

The Practical Life area of the classroom is buzzing with the sound of hammering and grating, as friends are enjoying new materials in the environment.  Practical Life lessons aid the child in learning how to do living activities in a purposeful way.  These activities also aid the growth and development of the child’s intellect and concentration that will in turn help the child develop an orderly way of thinking.  The independence, concentration, coordination and sense of orderliness learned in Practical Life prepare the child for more complex lessons in the Sensorial, Language and Math areas of the classroom.  The materials in this area are also enjoyable to use and give the child a sense of purpose and accomplishment.

Have you heard your children singing The Continent Song?  We often hear the children sing this song spontaneously throughout the day.  The Geography materials are always fascinating to the children and are a springboard for wonderful discussions.

The Montessori approach to teaching Geography is unique and is comprised of two components,  physical geography and political geography, also known as Culture. From the beginning of the school year, we weave Geography lessons and terminology into our day as we learn about our physical world.

Early in our school year, we categorized the planet Earth into air, land and water.  We then sorted what we would find in each of these different components of our world.   Next, we introduced the geometric solid known as a sphere to the children and compared it to the shape of the globe.  We start with a sandpaper globe that helps to distinguish land and water.  The colored globe comes next and we begin to teach the continent names.   We make a playdough sphere and cut it into half to help them visualize the concept of a hemisphere.   Simultaneously, the children are learning about land forms that introduce the concept of lake, island, bay, cape, peninsula, gulf, isthmus, strait, archipelago and a system of lakes.  These sensory experiences help the children learn about their physical world.

After learning the continent names, we introduce the puzzle maps for each continent, starting with  North America in November.    We learn that there are many countries in North America.  The older children will trace and paint each of the puzzle maps.    We will learn about the animals, people and climate often associated with each of the continents.  Our goal, is to encourage the children to appreciate the beauty and wonder found in the similarities and differences around the world.

In our classroom, we have a cultural shelf with artifacts from each continent.  If anyone is ever traveling  and has the opportunity to add to our treasured class collection, we would be ever so grateful.

On  Monday, the Botsford Fire Department visited FWM to discuss fire safety with the children.  Our class had the chance to go inside the fire truck, learn about fire safety and even see Mrs. Lyga put on their turnout gear.  The children were given “homework” to make sure that the smoke alarms in their homes had new batteries.

These last few weeks have been a particularly busy and exciting time with your children. We have traveled through space, explored the eight planets, discovered that the sun is a star,  rocketed back to the planet Earth and are now exploring the first of  seven continents;  the orange continent, our continent, North America. We will continue to explore the plants and animals native to our continent, map North America’s countries, examine topography and study how a continents’ proximity to the equator impacts it’s climate.

The Montessori cultural studies curriculum provides children with an opportunity to explore the whole world including the continents, countries, people, animals, terrain, music and arts. Children use didactic Montessori materials to familiarize themselves with the needs of all humans for such things as food, housing, and clothing.    This early cultural awareness helps cultivate independent, joyful citizens of our world.