Mrs. Doyle’s Class: New Places, New Friends and New Experiences!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

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 landforms we are currently studying.  The largest country in South America is Brazil and the major languages spoken are Spanish and Portuguese.  The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world and contains 40% of the world’s animals and plant species.

On Tuesday, Maggie a Golden Retriever from Newtown Therapy Dogs, visited our classroom.   Each Tuesday, for the next several weeks, a therapy dog will be spending time in our classroom.  Our older friends will get to read quietly for a short time with a therapy dog.  Reading to dogs is a unique, calming and comforting experience that everyone truly enjoys. Our younger friends will spend some quiet time each week with a dog as well.  The children asked some great questions to get to know Maggie better.  They wanted to know how Maggie became a therapy dog, where she lived, what she ate and how old she was.

This week, the Kindergarten children welcomed a few friends from the toddler program for a short visit. Many of our Toddler friends will be moving into Primary next year.  While the Primary classroom they visited is not necessarily the one they will be in next Fall, it does allow them to have a concept of what it looks and feels like.  The highlight for me was when I asked a Kindergarten student to give a lesson to one small visitor and his reply was ” I can’t give any lessons right this second because I’m too buys chasing this guy!”

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Lopes’s Class: April Showers Bring May Flowers

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

The quote, “April showers bring May flowers,” has always been my favorite way of explaining the weather during the early stages of spring. As we started May this week it felt like we had more rain and clouds than sunshine, but it is important to remember the beauty that emerges after the earth drinks up all that rain! As May comes into view, so have the colorful blossoms of flowers and vibrant green buds on the trees. Without those April showers, none of these things would be here for us, which is one way of remaining positive during those dreary, rainy days.

That rain also keeps us inside the classroom longer during our morning work cycle. Sometimes it is hard for the children to sit and concentrate without releasing some energy outside, but this past week has been filled with some amazing moments of focus and perseverance.  The children have been so engaged in their work, some days they forget about going outside and lose themselves in the activities around them. Their ability to work for longer periods of time just goes to show how much they have grown over the course of the year. The children are confident in themselves and excited to continue to learn and grow as individuals.

You could say that these April showers have made our children grow, and soon bloom, as we head into our final full month of the school year, May!

You will see in the photos the kindergarten children had two exciting events this week.  We had our toddler moving up visits on Tuesday.  A couple children from Mrs. Wilson’s class joined us and the kindergarten children showed them around the classroom.  We also had the Newtown Strong Therapy dogs visit us and the kindergarten children had the opportunity to read a book to Teamo.

Wishing you a beautiful week,

Amanda & Heather

Mrs. Semmah Montessori Celebration Of Life

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Everyone wants to be remembered and cherished on the special day they were born. Every week during May and June we are going to celebrate the life of one of our beloved children. In this blog, I’m going to explain how the birthday walk takes place in our classroom. The Montessori Celebration of life is a lovely way to celebrate a child’s birthday at a school.

Our birthday walk begins by placing a mat with illustrations of the sun and the seasons and with labels that represent each month of the year, as well as the seasons.  We light a candle that represents the sun, and a child carries the globe that symbolizes the earth. Then we discuss the fact that it takes one year for the earth to orbit around the sun. The birthday child stands beside his birth month. Then the teacher reads the life story up until the age of one and shows the child’s photos at this stage. After that, the birthday child starts walking slowly around the sun one time again, with the globe in his hands stopping when he reaches his birthday month. While the birthday child walks, the children who are sitting in the outer circle sing a song.

The earth goes around the sun

The earth goes around the sun

It takes 12 weeks 52 weeks 365 days in a year.

Then the reading of the life story continues until age two. The birthday child walks around the sun again, and the children in the circle sing the birthday song again.

This continues until the child’s life story is complete. Then, we sing “the birthday song” in French and English and the child blows out the candle. Then the children enjoy a special birthday snack at the big table.

This week, We had our toddler moving up visits on Tuesday.  A couple children from Mrs. Wilson’s class visited our classroom to experiment the primary. We also had the Newtown Strong Therapy dogs visit us and some of the children had the opportunity to spend a peaceful time with the dogs.

Thank you so much for Kenyon our class parent to devote his  time to collect the beautiful cards.  Children write cards  with lots of love, Sara and I enjoy each one of the lovely cards.

whishing a peaceful weekend.

Kaoutar and Sara

Mrs. Doyle: Head, Thorax, Abdomen, Abdomen!!!!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

We are hard at work becoming entomologists.  This is always a favorite unit of study for the children.  An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. We began our unit by discussing what we already know about insects, what they are and what they can do. We discovered that insects are slimy, little, gross, soft, and hard. Insects can crawl, sting, bite, eat, fly, walk upside down, and jump. We learned that insects lay eggs, have antennae, three main body parts, 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 why.

We also welcomed five tiny 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.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love!

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Lopes: The Magic of Metamorphosis

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

“Growth is not merely a harmonious increase in size, but a transformation” -Maria Montessori

This week we have been learning all about the life cycle of a butterfly.  We had five caterpillars join our classroom last week and the children have been captivated by the rate of change we observe each day.  The caterpillars arrived very tiny and over the last week have grown and shed their exoskeleton several times.  We are anxiously waiting for our caterpillars to enter into the final stages, the chrysalises, before emerging as butterflies.  The children have spent many days learning about the magic of this transformation called metamorphosis, and are eager to see when our butterflies will join us!

We also had so much fun going on a nature scavenger hunt outside this week.  With the warm weather finally arriving, we were all excited to do some outdoor learning.  Children were given a checklist to search for natural objects on the playground – rocks, leaves, soil, and of course some insects.  We collected as many as we could find and the children were thrilled to share all the objects they were able to collect!

Have a wonderful week,

Amanda & Heather

Mrs Semmah: The Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Like most primary classrooms in the springtime, we continue to learn about the life cycles of plants and creatures found in nature. In our classroom, we set up an “observation station” with a magnifier and four caterpillars for children to see the life cycle of a butterfly take place. Every day they visit the observation area and some of them write and draw what they have observed. Children are very fascinated by the rate of change and growth of the caterpillars. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the chrysalises, the final phases of the caterpillars’ development before they emerge as butterflies.

We also went for a nature scavenger hunt on our playground. Children had so much fun carrying their clipboards with a checklist and hunting for natural objects including soil, leaves, and bugs!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Kaoutar and Sara

Mrs. Doyle: We’ve Got the Whole World In Our Hands!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

Each year on April 22nd we celebrate Earth Day.  The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and the goal is to promote awareness and appreciation for our planet’s environment. Throughout the world, there are over 175 countries that celebrate this special day.  Over the course of the last two weeks, we have been reading books and having whole class discussions about the wonderful planet we live on. The children also planted their own seeds in a biodegradable, plantable pot which will come home in the next few weeks.

We asked the children how they could help keep the Earth a wonderful place to live.  Below are their answers.

Anchor:  Protect places where animals live so that we can help them.

Everly:  Clean up trash everywhere.

Lily:  Plant flowers everywhere you go and don’t let the weeds grow too big.

Marin:  Take care of all the animals in the world.

Wilder: Turn off the faucet when we aren’t using it, so we don’t waste water.

Emma:  Clean up any messes even if the messes are in our classroom,

Greyson:  Turn off the lights when you aren’t using them.

Landon: Throw your garbage in a can when you are done.

Luca:  Grow more fruits and vegetables for people to eat.

Olivia: When my clothes don’t fit me anymore, I can give them to my sister.

Theo:  Clean up your own mess.

Virginia: Plant flowers to make the Earth more beautiful.

Bodie: Drive a Tesla.

Isla:  Show your Mom and Dad you can keep your room clean and even make the bed.

Micaela: Don’t throw plastic in the garbage.

Saanvi:  Pick up and dirt or garbage to keep the Earth neat.

Stephen:  Plant cucumber seeds so we can eat them.

Zara:  Be kind to people and animals everywhere.

 

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Lopes: Celebrating Earth Day!

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22 to show support for environmental protection.  Maria Montessori believed in giving children experiences in nature.  In Montessori education, Earth Day principles are a natural part of everyday learning.  Children are encouraged to think about the Earth and how they can take care of the world we all share.

This week we celebrated Earth Day in our classroom as an extra way to show respect for the Earth and to build community.  Our class discussed what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  We made a list of things they can do to help the environment, check out the list below of all the wonderful ideas the children had.  The children also planted flower seeds in a biodegradable pot.  By celebrating Earth Day and encouraging children’s participation at a young age, we contribute to cultivating lifelong caretakers of this planet we call home.

Beauden- I have lots of plants in my house to keep the air clean.

Sullivan- I walk to the playground instead of driving.

Advay- I throw the garbage in the garbage can.

Rowan- I make a ship with boxes.

Desi- I recycle a lot of things everyday like tomato cans and chicken broth boxes.

Owen- I don’t leave the trash on the floor because I don’t want to make the Earth dirty.

Elara- I put the garbage in the garbage can.

Anaya- I turn off the tap when I’m brushing my teeth and done taking a shower.

Nina- I turn off the water when I’m washing my hands.

Carmen- I picked up garbage and put it in the trash can when I was walking in the woods.

Aya- I walk to Hawley School to play instead of driving there.

Ella- If I find garbage at the beach I pick it up, bring it home, and put it in the trash.

Eve- I plant new plants to help the Earth.

Noelle- I pick flowers from my garden and put them in a watering can.

Kian- I help the Earth by turning off the lights.

Levi- I will walk to the store instead of driving.

Annie- I can turn off the lights when I’m not using them.

 

Peace and love,

Amanda and Heather