Lesson: We learned how to subtract with the 9 tray. We learned the terms of equation, addend and sum.
Purpose For The 9 Tray: The Nine Tray is an important lesson in the sequence of the golden bead work. This presentation allows the child to concretely see the growth of numbers and the progression through the hierarchy from one level to the next. Children are ready for this work when they can identify numbers 1-9 and after they have been introduced to the golden beads and the language of place value: units, tens, hundreds and thousands.
Handwriting: We practiced cursive… of q, r, s, t, u.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 20 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish).
Next Week: Lesson- Division
Sight Words Of The Week- other some
Synonym Of The Week- Bad: incorrect, awful, unsatisfactory, faulty, defective
Lesson: We learned how to multiply with the 9 tray. We learned the terms of equation, addend and sum.
Purpose For The 9 Tray: The Nine Tray is an important lesson in the sequence of the golden bead work. This presentation allows the child to concretely see the growth of numbers and the progression through the hierarchy from one level to the next. Children are ready for this work when they can identify numbers 1-9 and after they have been introduced to the golden beads and the language of place value: units, tens, hundreds and thousands.
Handwriting: We practiced cursive… of Ll, Mm, Oo, Pp.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 20 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, and Welsh).
Next Week: Lesson- Subtraction
Sight Words Of The Week- first than
Synonym Of The Week- Appropriate: suitable, fitting, apropos, correct, proper
Line Time: This week we looked at the skeletal system and if we didn’t have a skeleton we would be one messy blob on the ground (insert a flagellant sound). We learned the skull protects our brain, the rib cage protects our lungs, and the spine keeps us sitting and standing straight. We learned technical terms for our arms, leg and our digits which is a funny name called phalanges. We brought our life sized foam puzzle into our room. His name is Elvis because we learned about the pelvis and it was a cool rhyming name.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 18 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, and Irish).
Guest Reader:
Pastor Kirk came into the classroom and read the story “The Wizard Of Wallaby Wallow” which is a story about just be happy being yourself.
Peek In Our Classroom:
In this photobombed picture you can see two students working with the knobless cylinders. This material is found in the Sensorial area. Knobless cylinders is four sets of ten cylinders in each set, varying in height and/or diameter. … Blue cylinders vary in height (thickness/the diameter is the same). The purpose of these cylinders is to develop child’s fine-motor movements, concentration, hand-eye coordination, and visual perception of dimension.
this is a scene in my Practical Life area. Practical Life exercises are just that, they are exercises so the child can learn how to do living activities in a purposeful way. The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of his movement, and help the child to gain independence and adapt to his society.
Ms. Ashlie is showing a group of students an unplanned lesson something. Sometimes impromptu lessons happen in the classroom.
Last week I introduced you to the phenomenon of False fatigue and I wanted to explain a bit more. False fatigue is similar to adults taking a coffee break after working hard. If children are disrupting others, they can be quietly redirected, but too much interference actually prolongs the period of false fatigue. An experienced teacher will just observe the classroom and let the false fatigue run it’s course. This student was photographed during a false fatigue episode.
Next Week: Line Time- Internal Organs
Letter Of The Week- R r
Rhyming Word Of The Week-but
Next Language will be- Kiswahili
Snack will be brought to you by Adelina
Upcoming Events:
<<<<<<<< All School Dance February 9, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm >>>>>>>
(((((((((((( Open House February 24, Sunday 2pm to 4pm )))))))))))
—–Valentine Day Party- Friday February 15th (details to follow)
—–Recess attire…. winter coat, hat, gloves or mittens that are waterproof (not cloth or yarn), boots, and snow pants!
If the child does not have one or all of these items they may be asked to stay in.
The Kindergarten students were introduced to do addition with carry overs (Dynamic Addition).
The Exchange Game
Handwriting: We practiced cursive… Hopping hippos help. Ill impalas itch. Jazzy Jim jumps. Karma keeps kicking. Lions love licking.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 19 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, and Kiswahili).
Next Week: Lesson- Multiplication
Sight Words Of The Week- now made
Synonym Of The Week- FAT: big, overweight, bulky, heavy, plump
Line Time: To honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we learned a bit about his life and his accomplishments. The students became actresses and actors as they recreated Rosa Parks making her stand on a bus in Montgomery Alabama. The students enjoyed playing the part of the bus driver, Rosa Parks, “the mean guy”, a police officer, Martin Luther King Jr., and passengers on the bus. We discussed our differences such as skin color, eye color, hair color, and gender. Then we discussed how we are similar. We talked about discrimination and segregation. We talked about if someone with red hair wouldn’t be allowed to do art “just because” they have red hair or if anyone who had blue eyes would have to go to a different classroom with less materials, broken crayons, or no books “just because” they have blue eyes. I had only boys fetch the chairs for the skit and brought that to the attention of the class. We had some very sad girls…. I did let the girls take the chairs back after the skit.
Children celebrating Rosa Park’s victory where anyone can now sit anywhere they want.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 17 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, and Hungarian).
Peek In Our Classroom:
The purpose and aim of Practical Life is to help the child gain control in the coordination of his movement, and help the child to gain independence. In the Preliminary Exercises, the child learns the basic movements such as pouring, folding, and carrying. This boy is learning to use a roller and when the playdo is rolled he then uses a cookie cutter.
This student is working with the Africa puzzle map. Not only is she placing the pieces in their place but she is also tracing the countries. Tracing and coloring will strengthen her fine motor skills.
Ms. Kathleen is giving a lesson on Matching which is found in the Language area. Matching at this age is important due to common everyday activities that involve sorting are the beginning concepts of children developing math skills. Children continue sorting and classifying by organizing their understanding of language, people and objects in their environment.
This may look like a Duck and Cover drill but it is actually a student feeling the effects of False Fatigue. False fatigue is a Montessori phenomenon that takes place in EVERY Montessori school. Experienced teachers realize that this phenomenon is “False Fatigue”. This is when students “check out” (roll on the floor, noise level in the room rises, or children will just loose focus). Teachers realize that the children will return to work on their own, and their work will be at an even higher level than before. An episode of False Fatigue happens roughly the same time every day and lasts about 15 minutes. In my class False Fatigue starts around 9:55am/10:00am.
Next Week: Line Time- Skeletal System
Letter Of The Week- Q q
Rhyming Word Of The Week- bub
Next Language will be- Irish
Snack will be brought to you by Mason
Upcoming Events:
*********** No School January 21st, Monday ***********
<<<<<<<< All School Dance February 9, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm >>>>>>>
(((((((((((( Open House February 24, Sunday 2pm to 4pm )))))))))))
—–Valentine Day Party- Friday February 15th (details to follow)
—–Recess attire…. winter coat, hat, gloves or mittens that are waterproof (not cloth or yarn), boots, and snow pants!
If the child does not have one or all of these items they may be asked to stay in.
Fun, Frolic, and Friends:
Each Montessori classroom is unique just as are the students in the classroom. Her sense of style is ________ (you fill in the blank).
Line Time: We started to learn about our body and how it works. We learned about our five senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste). Did you know you can “feel” with any part of your body? Of course parents know that. Who has not stepped on a Lego in bare feet and screamed in pain? But we associate touch with our fingers (hot/cold, hard/soft, rough/smooth). We hear loud noises, quiet noises, high and low noises, “Are we there yet?”. We need light to see and if we close our eyes we can’t see. The lights being turned on at 5 am on a Saturday morning. There are good smells like cinnamon, vanilla and bad smells like a dirty diaper and vinegar. My favorite was the taste test where we tasted sweet (sugar water), salty (salt water), sour (pure lemon juice), and bitter (unsweetened baking chocolate). The children enjoyed “most” of the tastes. Hehe!!!!
The mad dash to discard the bitter bakers chocolate.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 16 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, and Korean).
Guest Readers:
A first grader from Dunbar read Twinkle Little Star.
Pastor Kirk read a story about treating people with respect.
A Montessori classroom consists of multi age students. Here are our newest 4,5 year old students (January Babies):
Peek In Our Classroom:
This is an example of an older student giving a lesson to a younger student. As with all Montessori sensorial materials, the trinomialcube has a purpose. The direct purpose of the trinomial cubes is for the child to practice the steps to properly disassemble and build the cube, while refining dexterity and visual acuity.
These students are working on the Mystery Bag found in the sensorial area. The purpose of the activity is to help children develop their stereognostic sense, our ability to identify objects based on touch alone, and support their material visualization.
Ms. Ashlie is working on rhyming words material found in the Language area and the presentation is drawing a crowd. The ability to recognize and produce rhyming words is an important phonological awareness skill. Research indicates there is a correlation between phonological awareness and reading ability. Working on rhyming skills is usually part of most programs of reading instruction for that reason.
This boy is working on The Memory Game which is found in the Math area. The aim is to train the child’s memory by asking him to retain a numerical symbol in his mind. To help the child transfer the knowledge of the numbers o to 10 from the “specific” material to the objects of daily life. The child is shown a symbol (number) and he goes to another part of the room to retrieve that number of sticks.
Next Week: Line Time- MLK/ Diversity
Letter Of The Week- P p
Rhyming Word Of The Week- bun
Next Language will be- Hungarian
Snack will be brought to you by Rosella
Upcoming Events:
*********** No School Monday 21st ***********
—–Valentine Day Party- Friday February 15th (details to follow)
—–Recess attire…. winter coat, hat, gloves or mittens that are waterproof (not cloth or yarn), boots, and snow pants!
If the child does not have one or all of these items they may be asked to stay in.
Lesson: Using the 9 tray we learned how to do static addition (no carry overs) with manipulatives. We used equations that every column (units, tens, hundreds, and thousands) were fill and we used equations that some of the columns were empty (zero) in the column. We learned some new terminology such as addends (the numbers being added) and sum (the answer of the equation).
Handwriting: We practiced cursive… Bill buys bags. Cam cuts cots. Dogs dig dirt. Fun fish feel. Grumpy geese go.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 18 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, and Irish).
Next Week: Lesson- Dynamic addition (carry overs).
Lesson: Intro to Decimals (unit, ten, hundred, and thousand) and the 9 tray. The 9 Tray purpose(s):
Direct
To make the child familiar with the different categories of numbers, especially with regard to reading the symbols. To give the child the wording of large numbers
Indirect
For the hierarchy of numbers, that is, that while the significant figure are always from 1 to 9, it is the place they occupy in the complex number which gives them the importance of 1, 10, 100 or 1000.
For the fact that in a large number made up of two or more categories, the zero merely shows an empty place. That is, that one of the categories is lacking (in 1065, for instance, the hundreds are missing).
For the fact that only 9 of each category are necessary to form any number.
Handwriting: We practiced our cursive pit, big, fist, tick.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 17 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, and Hungarian).
Line Time: This week we learned about Christmas around the world and how different countries celebrate Christmas. In Italy many children believe in Befana which is a kind old witch that leaves candy at children’s houses. In England Christmas crackers (not a food) are used. They are small tubes covered with colorful paper and when pulled a crack noise is made and a small toy and a joke falls out. The Germans call the Christmas tree the Tannenbaum. In France they say Joyeux Noel which means Happy Christmas. In Sweden have St. Lucia Day on December 13th. St Lucia was a young Christian girl who lived circa 304. The most common story told about St Lucia is that she would secretly bring food to Christians in Rome, who lived in hiding in the catacombs under the city. She would wear candles on her head so she had both her hands free to carry things. Lucy means ‘light’ so this is a very appropriate name.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 15 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, and Hebrew).
Guest Reader: Pastor Kirk read a story about a Christmas Tree that was not perfectly formed.
Peek In Our Classroom:
Beginning handwriting exercises include tracing. She is tracing her line time name tag. Students like to trace and collect their name tags or they trace the name and give it that particular student.
This boy is working on the metal insets (aka metal insects, hehe). The purposes of this material ( and there are a lot) is grip and hold the pencil (and hold the pencil upright), refine hand control to steady the pencil, develop movements of straight and curved lines, in preparation for letter formation or a continual line which can assist with cursive. Develop hand-eye coordination, to make small coordinated movements, develop fine muscles in the hand but also the larger muscles required for sitting and maintaining posture for writing, and focus the mind, develop and strengthen the child’s concentration. Make movements up and down and left to right (when filling in or shading), this is significant when reading and writing, practice order, repetition, and memory recall, develop geometric sense including the name of each shape, how it is constructed, how it looks when turned or moved, how it relates to other shapes. **** We got our money’s worth out of this material ****
This student is working on the construction boxes. This material(s) is found in the Sensorial Area. The use of the shapes and vivid color attracts the student to this material. The aims for this material is Direct- To show that by joining together different triangles, four-sided figures are formed. Indirect- Preparation for geometry: to show that all plane figures constructed with straight lines are composed of triangles.
This student just completed and mastered the Color Bead Bars found in the Math area. This material reinforces the relationship between quantity and symbol (the number). Each bead is colored which is attractive to the student and each color has a different physical quantity. She just matched the bead to the corresponding number. *** Look how proud she is as looks upon her work ****
Next Week: Line Time- The 5 Senses
Letter Of The Week- O o
Rhyming Word Of The Week- bug
Next Language will be- Korean
Snack will be brought to you by Josie
Upcoming Events:
**************** Winter Break: December 22, Saturday through January 6, Sunday ****************
Lesson: Rulers- The Week of December 10th we discovered the ruler and started measuring things. We learned how to line the ruler to whatever we were measuring and learned how to measure in inches (in, “) and centimeters (CM).
They are making sure the long edge of the paper in 11 inches or 28 cm. I could not get the picture to rotate so we are stuck with a surreal picture reminiscent of the TV series Batman.
Handwriting: We practiced our cursive bed, men, deck, egg.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 17 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, and Hungarian).
Next Week: Lesson- My fave subject…. MATH!
Sight Words Of The Week- Giving them a break before break.
Synonym Of The Week- Giving them a break before break.
The next language will be- Giving them a break before break.
