Mrs. Wilson Had a Farm E,I,E,I,O

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

This week we have seen tremendous progress in the children during arrivals. We have seen less and less tearful faces and more smiles and giggles. As your children’s confidence and trust have increased, they have started to explore their environment more intentionally. Some have become more social and even call their peers by name. We have seen others who have shown empathy towards an upset friend by either rubbing their back or offering a hug. It is so endearing. 

Children are like sponges absorbing language and the world around them. To build on their vocabulary, we started with something that was familiar to these children, farm animals. I gave a lesson to the children using our farm animal pictures and objects. To not overstimulate the children as they are trying to absorb language we use very few words. For example, I held up a cow and simply just said, “cow” and “moo.” Then I placed the cow on top of the picture of the cow and repeated just those two words. The children were engaged while watching the lesson and very eager to use it when I had finished. We also sang Old McDonald Had a Farm. 

If you have noticed your child dancing or marching around in a circle that is because we dance around our oval rug to Laurie Berkner’s, We are The Dinosaurs and Baby Shark. These children really love to dance!

One of my favorite events is coming up and I hope you will all join me at Oktoberfest. It is such a great way to meet others in the FWM community!

Enjoy all the photos!

Mrs. Wilson, Miss Sara, and Miss Heather

 

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Apples, Apples, Apples!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Fall is here everybody! As the season changes and temperatures start to drop slowly, we entered our unit on the exploration of one of the most delicious seasonal fruits: the apple! With great expectation, your children enjoyed the fun sensorial activity of dissecting an apple! With senses full of curiosity, children touched, observed, smelled, and tasted a delicious apple. While children observed its parts, they were exposed to new vocabulary, such as: skin, flesh, seeds, and stem. A remaining part of the dissected apple is now part of our observation tray where children can observe the different stages of decomposition.

In the language area students that showed readiness were also introduced to three period lessons using different materials. Three period lessons are a fundamental approach in our Montessori environment to introducing a new concept (not just vocabulary) to children. They are used to move the child from basic understanding to mastery. The three period lesson was developed by Edouard Seguin, a French physician who worked with special needs children in France and the United States during the late 19th century. He discovered ways to increase children’s cognitive abilities and believed in the importance of developing their self-reliance and independence. Seguin’s writings were a major inspiration to Maria Montessori and the source of many of her practical ideas. In simple terms, the three steps, or periods, are:

1. Naming (Introduction) “This is a dog.”
2. Recognizing (Identification) “Show me the dog.”
3. Remembering (Cognition) “What is this?”

In the practical life area we focused this week on a fundamental lesson: how to clean a dry spill! As basic as it sounds, this was one of the most popular activities of the week. Practical life activities are the most important activities for toddlers! Activities for care of the environment are both fun and great for developing order, concentration, coordination, and independence.

Other highlights of the week were the introduction to our new song: “Way up High in the Apple Tree,” where children practiced the numbers one through five, and their favorite books: Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss, Apple Countdown by Joan Hulub, and Apples, Apples, Apples by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace.

As the weekend approaches, we encourage you to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful weather and visit an apple farm with your little one. It will be a great experience for them during the continuation of our apple studies.

Reminder:
Oktoberfest is just around the corner! (October 5th) Come and join us for an afternoon of fun activities for the whole family! We really hope to see you there and have a great time together!

Mrs.Wilson’s Class: Water Station

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

 

This week I braced up and introduced the Water Station. I started out by giving a lesson to one child at a time and then allowing that child to have a go at it.  The children are able to access and fill up their own glass. Then they can carry the glass to the table to enjoy. The clear glass allows the child to see how much water they are pouring in and when they have overfilled the glass. And yes! Spills do happen and that is okay; it is all part of the process. We guide them to get a towel and dry up the spill. You would not believe how thirsty your children have become now that they have water at their free will.

The children seem to enjoy listening to the book called We All Sing with the Same Voice By J. Philip Miller.

Mrs. Hood’s Class: La Vaca Lola

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Have you heard of La Vaca Lola?
Maria Montessori believed that the initial six years of a child’s life are crucial for a child’s language development. That from birth a child must receive appropriate stimulation. This is also widely recognized by many specialists in language, also when referring to learning foreign languages.
Research shows that learning a second language boosts problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills, in addition to improving memory, concentration, and the ability to multitask. Children proficient in other languages also show signs of enhanced creativity and mental flexibility. This is why one of our goals this year is to offer a Toddler Spanish immersion experience.

La Vaca Lola (The Cow Named Lola) was a song introduced this week to our students! And, oh boy! They loved it! Some of the students even showed pretty good moves when dancing to it. Based on our farm theme, this week we focused on one of the most beloved farm animals: the cow. Children carefully observed a cow model and engage in conversation about the characteristics of it. One of those is that cows give us milk. Children enjoyed having a taste of milk and while some absolutely refused to taste it, others wouldn’t stop asking for more.

At the end of the week we also had a great Sensorial experience that finished as a magical art project. For this we used food coloring, cotton swabs, dish soap, and of course, milk. As milk has fat in it, the food coloring can float on top of the fat. When you add the dish soap to the milk, the fat separates and moves making magical milk art! The smile in the faces of the children were priceless! At the end of the experience we placed cardstock in the milk and captured a print of the art they made.

Other highlights of the week were the introduction to the routine of changing into indoor shoes when entering the environment and self-serving snack. These two are huge components of our Montessori Toddler curriculum. Independence, hand- eye coordination, and self-regulation is encouraged during these exercises. As children continue to exercise these skills at school, we strongly encourage you to offer the opportunity for the exercise at home.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Mary Had a Little Lamb as told and illustrated by Iza Trapani were the children’s favorite books this week. Walking in the Jungle, Listen and Move, and of course, La Vaca Lola were the children’s favorite songs to dance to.

In case you also want to join us in the fun, I will leave you the musical video of La Vaca Lola. Go ahead and turn up the volume and enjoy with your little ones.

La vaca lola ( The cow named Lola)
La vaca lola (The cow named Lola)
Tiene cabeza y tiene cola (It has a head and it has a tail)
Y hace: MUUU (and she goes Mooh)

Mrs. Wilson’s Class: Trusting the Process

Posted on by Cynthia Wilson

 

Welcome families, to the first blog post of the 2019/20 school year!

I know phase-in could be a challenging time for us all but as I tell all the parents, trust the process. The children are adjusting beautifully to their new environment. They are all heading in the right direction and we are very pleased with what success they have had so far.

The first lesson the children were given was to learn how to self-serve snack. This is a multi-step process in which the children have the opportunity to enjoy snack when they are feeling hungry. These practical life exercises help the children develop fine motor control. Along with that, the skills they gain are independence, grace and courtesy, and patience as they learn to wait for an available seat at the table.

This week the children met our Music teacher Ms. Kim. Ms. Kim came in and played her guitar and sang some new and familiar songs. There was such beautiful peace in our classroom during this moment.

Thank you families, once again, for entrusting us with your precious children.

Mrs. Wilson, Miss Sara, and Miss Heather

Mrs. Hood’s Class: Building Trust

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Dear families,

Welcome to FWM 2019-2020 school year!

As we end our second week of the phase-in period, I couldn’t be happier with the progress observed in each of our students! This has been a special time of striving to create a peaceful and welcoming environment for your child as this is an important stabilizing period where the children and guides get to know one another. Children have been exploring the learning environment and getting familiar with the physical space. Our environment is a place where independence, freedom, and choice of materials are the rule. The children will gradually learn how to handle this choice and freedom while respecting and caring for each other, the materials, and the classroom!

During this time, we have also had a great opportunity to join in community gathering together, present and practice some children’s names, learn new fingerplays, model some lessons, enjoy story time and dance to music to the beat of “Drive My Car” (which is the new favorite) and “My Energy” by Laurie Berkner, as well as other songs.

Phase-in sets the stage for a successful year of learning, and so we want to thank you all for your support and for helping us create an atmosphere of security and emotional comfort for each child.

Enjoy some of the moments we were able to capture this week!

Mrs. Hood’s class: See you Later, Alligator!

Posted on by Andrea Hood

Looking through this school year’s pictures I cannot stop the overwhelming feeling of thankfulness!  I know I have said it before, but I need to say it one more time: Thank you for entrusting us with your little ones and walking next to us to give them the best experience each day!
We give them back to you pounds heavier, inches taller, months wiser, more independent, confident and mature than they were back in September. They did themselves a great job unfolding and growing each day and we feel honored to have witnessed it. They, for sure, will continue to be part of our lives. Even though some of them will be moving up a level, remember that we will always be interested in your children and their destiny-wherever they go, whatever they do and whoever they become.

They are truly precious to us!

We hope you all have a wonderful summer! See you in the Fall!

Enjoy the contrast pictures of the first weeks and the last weeks of school!

A Year of Changes and Growth

Posted on by Sara Kasbarian

 

Where to begin!  This week was fast and furious (kinda like a toddler)!  We started off with Field Day, which the children truly enjoyed.  Celebrated a friends birthday, finalized a special gift, and ended our week with our toddlers crossing the bridge ceremony.  What a special day it was!  As you could tell, the children were so excited for this moment.  They had the opportunity to practice, but it wasn’t the same without all of your presence.  That is what brought true joy to that moment!  Thank you for being there to celebrate the children.  See you in the fall!!!

As we all know our toddlers grow leaps and bounds in short amounts of time.  Sometimes it is subtle and goes unnoticed and other times you catch yourself admiring the changes you see before you.  Drink it all in, enjoy the moments no matter how big or small.  I know I can speak for all the teachers that had the joy and pleasure of guiding your children through this year of growth by saying it was a complete honor and privilege! Thank you for entrusting us with your most precious gifts.  Enjoy your summer and we look forward to seeing more changes when you return in the fall!

Happy Father’s Day to all our Dads!  Hope you have a special day and enjoy your small token of love.

 

Over the Summer

Continue to encourage independence at home:

  •         Offer your child opportunities to make choices. For example, when wanting to play, give your child two materials or activities to choose from.
  •         Encourage your child to continue pouring water and serving food.
  •         Allow your child to continue practicing putting shoes on and taking them off.
  •         Model how to make the bed, fold laundry, sweep the floor, and wash the dishes so your child learns how to do these things.
  •         When working/playing, please limit interruptions so your child can concentrate.
  •         When your child is learning something new, remember to allow lots of time to practice and allow her to do it her way as long as it is safe and within your rules.