Ms. Kayser’s Class: A Glimpse Into Our Afternoons

Posted on by skayser

The afternoons in our classroom have such a harmonious tune to them. We begin by cleaning up after lunch as an entire class-each student delegating jobs and helping one another to return their environment to the state of order it was prior to lunch. Once the children are finished, we get to spend time within the environment working with the materials. The children love this extra work cycle that we get because of the freedom they have to explore. There are less children and more space for the older ones in the class to fan out and concentrate deeply on new or more time consuming works.

After a work cycle, the students get to immerse themselves into their age-appropriate program. Our four year olds get to enjoy working with Ms. Alli while our kindergarten students get to enjoy Reading or Writing Workshop with me. This time for the students is something they look forward to everyday!

This month in our four year old program, the children have become scientists! They are making hypotheses and carrying out different experiments each week! These afternoons are specifically crafted to be more play-based while still academically leading the child to exciting new discoveries.

Reading and Writing Workshop is a time for the kindergarten students to really begin flourishing academically. The small group size gives the students time to work with me one on one to refine their individual assets as both readers and writers. It is beautiful to see the growth that our four kindergarten students have made from the beginning of the year. They take so much pride in their writing and reading!

Although it is important for us to spend time in the classroom working with the materials, we feel that movement is essential to the child’s development. If we are unable to go outside at the end of the day, Ms. Alli brings together the whole group to do yoga. She has been practicing with them since the beginning of the year and their control of their bodies has grown stronger and more refined with each passing day. This time is very important to the students because they are able to calm down and concentrate on within rather than what is happening around them. We typically end our yoga sessions with a two to three minute meditation practice to transition the students from yoga to the next activity.

All the best,

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: It Matters!

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

This week we continued to build on our understanding of the three states of matter: liquid, solid, and gas.  Hands on activities helped to illustrate how one state of matter can change to another: melting, freezing, or boiling. Water is the perfect example of states of matter to children because it can exists in all three different states. Our first experiment introduced a solid (ice cube) to liquid (water) change. Why the change? The children will tell you that when matter gains or loses heat it can change from one state to another, ice to water, water to ice, water to gas. In our second experiment the children not only got to find out how butter is made, but also saw a liquid turn into a solid. The children took turns shaking (agitating) cream until its fat molecules became shaken out of position and clumped together to form butter. We all enjoyed sampling the fruits of our labor spread on fresh bread.

Never underestimate your children’s interest in science and their ability to understand. In fact, ask them to illustrate how molecules in each of the three states move. I know you will all be amazed!

Make your week ‘MATTER.’

Cindy & Sharlene

Ms. Kayser’s Class: The World is at Our Fingertips

Posted on by skayser

 

Our classroom travels the world every day exploring new places and people across the globe. The children love to hear about the ways that people around the world differ from them, and find joy in the similarities that we all share.

This month in the classroom, we have been exploring the continent of Asia. Out of all the continents that we have learned about, Asia is largest! The children have gotten to learn about the different countries of Asia and the people that inhabit them, as well as all of the animals they can find throughout those countries.

Exploring the beauty of the culture is always an insightful experience for both the children and ourselves. In art this week, Mrs. Reid created a beautiful project for the children that allowed them to create their own calligraphy scrolls! The kindergartners chose a specific Chinese character to replicate and then drew a picture to symbolize their chosen character. The three and four year old friends in the classroom recreated cherry blossom trees on their scrolls. Overall, both groups got hands-on experience working with this ancient tradition, and created the most unique artwork to display throughout our school’s hallways.

Take some time to stop by our primary wing, as well as the administrative wing to look at all of your children’s hard work!

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Mrs. Carroll’s Class: A Warm Place

Posted on by Cindy Carroll

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 warm 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 his/her 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. Sharlene and I are blessed to have such a warm, supportive classroom community.

Stay well!

Cindy and Sharlene

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Hibernate, Migrate, or Adapt?

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

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 so very touching. We are most grateful for all of your support. The relationship between home and school is extremely 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.

This week, we are learning that winter can be very harsh for animals. The weather and lack of food can make their survival difficult. 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, as the cold weather is becoming more frequent, how many of us are thinking about hibernating or migrating?

Have a warm and happy week!
Michelle & Sonja

Ms. Kayser’s Class: A New Chapter

Posted on by skayser

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. – Melody Beattie

The holiday season came and went in a hurry and the new year has officially begun. The students came back into the classroom with such a beautiful enthusiasm, it took our breath away!

This new year has already been filled with exciting new changes! We have a new student in our classroom, Gregory, who has already made such a wonderful impact on us and our students. We are so happy to have him with us and look forward to spending the rest of the year learning beside him.

The other new addition to our classroom came in the form of a four legged friend! We are now the proud owners of a crested gecko! The children are beyond thrilled to have a new pet to take care of alongside Honey, our betta fish. The beautiful terrarium that our gecko calls home is a tranquil place for the children to explore up close. If you have time, please stop by to say hello! The children are so proud to share our new friend with anyone who comes to visit. We did a vote this week on the name of gecko and the children have ultimately decided on Sunny (Sunshine)!

On a side note, Ms. Alli and I would like to say thank you for all the thoughtful and heartwarming Christmas gifts we received before break. We are so thankful to be a part of such a loving community, and share these special moments with you all. Our gift every day is being able to teach your children, so although the gifts were appreciated, we are already spoiled!

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Ms. Kayser’s Class: The Season of Celebrations

Posted on by skayser

“The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” -Helen Keller

If we could view the world through the eyes of the children, our lives would be filled with so much joy and happiness. This fact is more apparent now, during the holiday season, than any other time of the year. The holidays are such a special time for us all, and sometimes it is hard to sit back and really immerse ourselves in the wonder of it all. The children have taken us back to the days where the magic of the holidays trumped everything else that was happening in our lives. Although this month is short, and there are so many events and celebrations going on in the school, we have really been able to enjoy this special time together learning about all the holiday traditions celebrated around the world.

We began our month celebrating St. Nicholas’ Day. We discussed how in other parts of the world, people celebrate different holidays during the year and this one in particular was one that is celebrated in Western Europe. We sat around our circle and shared the story of St. Nicholas and the children excitedly placed a pair of boots outside our classroom in the hopes that we would be visited by the Saint himself! I still cannot describe the beauty of how their faces lit up to the sight of the boots filled with greens and candy canes outside our classroom the following day. Moments like that are what make the hustle and bustle of the holiday season so worth it.

The next holiday we got to experience was Hanukkah. Thank you to Seth and Gia Feltman for coming in and bringing beautiful artifacts to share with the children. We sat together and learned about how Hanukkah is celebrated and then got to share a meal of latkes and applesauce. Yum!

The festivities continued this week with our Christmas celebration. Thank you to all the parents who helped provide the cookies, supplies and help for the cookie decorating! The celebration began with the story Ten Christmas Wishes. As I read the final quote from the book, I couldn’t help but stop to look around at all the beautiful children of our class. “Ten Christmas stars are shining bright, the last one is for you, So close your eyes and make a wish, May all your dreams come true!” These children are such a gift to us and our wish is for them to continue to be the kind, special individuals we have grown to love so much.

Happy Holidays,

Ms. Kayser and Ms. Alli

Mrs. Doyle’s Class: Classroom Holiday Celebrations

Posted on by Michelle Handibode

In the Montessori environment, celebrating holidays is an important component of our philosophy.  The children are introduced to the traditions and rituals of celebrations around the world. There is a  gentle focus on how  each holiday is distinct and yet there are similarities as well. Helping the children to learn about different holidays highlights the Montessori principals of peace and inclusion. Of course, we also use our globe and maps to locate where in the world these celebrations are taking place!

On Tuesday, Gia and Seth Feltman spent time in our classroom sharing the story of Hanukkah and providing delicious Latkes and applesauce.  It is always amazing to watch children approach new food with hesitancy and before you know it, ask for more!

On Thursday, Trevor Macomber came to spend some time with the children and read Twas The Night Before Christmas. Everyone then had a chance to decorate their own sugar cookie.  Thank you to all of our parents for their time and help and also all of the behind the scenes help in providing snack and supplies to the class.

Just a gentle reminder that we do go outside most days.  Please make sure to send in hats and gloves for your child.

Wishing everyone peace and love during this holiday season.

Mrs. Doyle & Mrs. Lyga