Mrs Semmah: Earth Day

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Earth Day is all about our beautiful earth environment and a reminder of how we all interact with it. Earth Day is a reminder about our precious and limited natural resources and the need to be considerate everyday about our planet earth. We can simply celebrate it by planting a tree, digging a garden, or going for a nature walk.

In the classroom, we have our science unit on how plants grow and we are planting more seeds for Earth Day. We incorporate the Three Rs about “reduce, recycle, and reuse” by using the recycling bin as part of our daily routine. We also read books in celebration of Earth Day to learn how to be mindful and caring about our planet Earth.

Wishing you a happy Earth Day.

Kaoutar and Sara

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Discovering South America

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 and 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 study. 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. So it makes sense that we start to explore the rainforest as well. The rainforest is an ecosystem with a dense tree canopy that lets very little light through. To be considered a rainforest there must be more than 60 inches of rain each year. Rainforests also contain more than 40% of the world’s animals and plant species. There are four layers in a rainforest and each layer receives different amounts of sun, rain, and wind and therefore is home to different species.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love,

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Lopes: Exploring Insects

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

“A child, more than anyone else, is a spontaneous observer of nature.” – Maria Montessori

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 continue to 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? What are the 3 parts of an insect?  The children know, ask them.

Have a warm and wonderful week!

Amanda & Heather

Mrs Semmah: Spring Into Science (Parts of the Plant)

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

This week we learned about parts of a plant. During circle time, we introduced new vocabulary using pictures. We also discussed the set of works each part plays in the life cycle of the plant. Seeds: grow a new plant. Roots: take water from the ground for the plant. Stem: carries water to the leaves and holds the plant. Flower: makes more seeds. In the art area, the children were able to label the plant parts using a cupcake liner, pipe cleaner, yarn, and sunflower seeds. They also pasted the labels for each part. We also read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. It helps children follow the life cycle of a flower on an easy-to-understand level.

It was very lovely to see parents volunteering at our school building. The children were very excited and happy to share these precious moments of hand printing on the bench with their parents. Very special thanks to our class parents Lidia and Kenyon for organizing this event and to all the parents who contributed to making this beautiful bench.

Wishing you a peaceful weekend

Kaoutar and Sara

Mrs. Lopes: Our Hurried World

Posted on by Amanda Lopes

” Help me to do it myself.”

In our hurried world, it is easier to do it ourselves than to stop and show our children how to do a task, and patiently wait until they complete it. Montessori tells us that everything we do for the child that they can do for themselves is an obstacle to their development. Definitely something to think about!  In our classroom, we are always encouraging the children to be independent and to take care of themselves.  We hope you can continue this in your home environment and you may be surprised by how much your child is able to do on their own.  This independence fosters the child’s confidence and promotes positive self-esteem.

Our classroom travels have taken us to the continent of South America this week. We will be exploring the various countries, customs, animals, foods, music, and literature this culturally rich continent has to offer. We will also discuss what a rainforest is and have fun discovering the many layers and animals who live in the rainforests.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead,

Amanda & Heather

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: I Sense Something Amazing In Our Class!

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

What the hand does, the mind remembers. —Maria Montessori

In every Montessori classroom there is a Sensorial area and it is filled with materials that help the child study their environment through their five senses. Maria Montessori believed that for every child, sensorial experiences begin at birth and by refining these skills they begin to understand their surroundings. The sensorial materials allow the child to acquire concise information and classify things around them.  They use their senses to not only to create their own experiences and knowledge but to also help them figure out different impressions received by each sense. The child is therefore a natural “sensorial explorer.”

Each material in this area has a built in control of error, so that after an initial lesson, little teacher direction is needed.  This control of error helps a child determine what needs to happen in order to successfully complete the lesson. The children are able to distinguish, to categorize, and to relate new information to what they already know. Each of the sensorial materials isolates one specific quality such as color, weight, shape, texture, size, sound or smell. These materials emphasize this one particular quality by eliminating or minimizing other differences. Many of the sensorial materials are also the basis of future mathematical concepts the children will learn.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Liset

Mrs. Semmah: Spring Into Science

Posted on by Kaoutar Semmah

Spring is here. The days are warmer, and the trees are sprouting. The weather is welcoming us to go outside more often than any other time of the year. The children start wondering about the changes around them in the spring season. It introduces a wonderful occasion to grow their curiosity to explore their environment.

As we know, the Montessori approach focuses on caring for our environment. Part of our daily classroom tasks revolves around taking care of our indoor plants by watering them, ensuring access to sunlight, and shining the leaves with wet cotton.

During spring we are going to learn about planting and gardening. The thematic unit of plants can extend for several weeks, with different activities to plant and observe the changes. This week we learned about living things and non-living things. At circle time, we showed the children images of living things and explained their need for food and water, to move, grow, breathe, and reproduce. Nonliving things don’t eat food, can’t move on their own, don’t breathe, and can’t reproduce or grow. We also read books about living and non-living things. The children are so excited to bring one item from home that is living and non-living.

Enjoy your wonderful weekend.

Kaoutar and Sara

Mrs. Doyle: Reptile or Amphibian?

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

We hope everyone had a relaxing break and we were so happy to be back in class together again!

We are continuing our studies on the different classes of animals. So far, we have learned about mammals and reptiles. Currently, we just finished studying amphibians.

We have learned that:

  • The word amphibian means two-lives. This makes sense because amphibians spend part of part of their lives in the water and part of their lives on land. Most amphibians begin their life in water with gills and tails. As they grow, they develop lungs and legs for their life on land.
  • Amphibians are cold-blooded, which means that they are the same temperature as the air or water around them.
  • There are more than 4,000 different kinds of amphibians. Members of this animal class are frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts.
  • Most amphibians have thin, moist skin that helps them to breathe.
  • Amphibians have a backbone, so they are vertebrates.

We have also been learning about the life cycle of a frog and what happens at each stage of development.

The easiest way to answer the question, “What exactly is the difference between reptiles and amphibians?,” is you need to look at their skin. Reptiles have dry, scaly skin and amphibians have moist skin that can be either smooth or rough.  Other differences include their eggs and relationship with water. Both reptiles and amphibians hatch from eggs, although their eggs are very different from one another.  Amphibian eggs are transparent and jelly like.  An amphibian goes through a metamorphosis to look like its adult self. Reptile eggs can be leathery or have a delicate coating. Newborn reptiles are a miniature version of their adult self.  Amphibians need a habitat that includes water, as they spend part of their life cycle in the water. Most amphibians will also lay their eggs in water. However, a reptile does not need water for its habitat, although it will often live near water.

Next, we learn about birds.

Wishing you a week filled with peace and love.

Michelle & Liset