Peek In Our Week “”” Mr. John’s Classroom “”” Week Of September 9, 2019

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Line Time:
Healthy Habits!  We discussed how important our personal hygiene is. It is important that we wash hands, brush teeth, and take showers or baths.  When I say wash our hands I mean with soap and for at least thirty seconds (you could sing the alphabet song).  The same amount of time is needed to brush your teeth at least twice a day.  When taking a shower actually get wet, soap up, and rinse off. Do not be like my youngest who just sticks his head under the water and tries to convince me he is clean.  To remain healthy we must also exercise (walking, running, climbing, riding a bike, swimming…), eating healthy foods, and getting plenty enough sleep. with the right bed and mattress for this, which is easy to get at Mattress Factory.  if I ever catch anyone of my students smoking I will bop them!

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 5 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek)

Doctor Jimmy and Mr. John:
If you are a music lover you will appreciate this message.  Have you ever had that one song or album that seems like it was just written for you?  It hits you in the face and goes deep into your soul.  For me I have two albums that changed me in many ways.  I am going to talk about the first album that made me feel this way.  It is The Who’s Quadrophenia. is the sixth studio album by the English rock band The Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973. Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance.  As an adolescent there were similarities between Jimmy and I and I begged my parents to get me a scooter but it never happened.  I had a gigantic poster of the album cover, played the album until the grooves were worn (I am talking about an album/vinyl/ old school that was played on a record player purchased at Gold Circle in 1976.  For me this album was a big deal!  I was fortunate enough to see The Who last week and they performed many song from this iconic album with the Cleveland Orchestra supporting the show.  Needless to say, I was very excited and have a few stories about this concert that became one of the milestones of my life. 

 

 Peek In Our Classroom:

This scene depicts an older third year student giving a lesson to a new first year student. The beauty of the Montessori classroom is the classroom consists of multi age children and the older students take on the role of leaders who give lessons and enforce the rules.
This student is demonstrating how to carry materials/works. She has four fingers under the works, thumb to keep it in place, and pressed against her stomach.

 

This boy is working on a math material called the Ten Board. This work strengthens the correlation between quantity and symbol.

 

This student is rolling a mat (the correct way). The mat designates the child’s work space while working on the floor. There is a correct way to unroll a mat and a correct way to roll the mat.

 

This math material is called the Spindle Box. Once again, the aim of this material is to develop the relation between quantity and symbol.

 

Next Week:
Line Time- Food Groups

Letter Of The Week-D d

Rhyming Word Of The Week- bag

Next Language will be- Japanese

Snack will be brought to you by Adelina

 

Upcoming Events:

Ramseyer Farms- Friday September, 20th
Have you child wear appropriate shoes.  Please no open toe shoes.

Picture Day- Wednesday October, 16th

——  When placing your children’s shoes/slippers on the carpeted mat in the hallway PLEASE have your child place them neatly, straight, and toes against the wall. ——

******* New parents sign up new parent conferences.  Follow the link below ********

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090B48A8A92DA6F94-newparent1

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

Two of my goofy Kindergarten Students

 

There is always that one student who marches to his own beat of the drum. Hehe

 

I am really not sure what these two are are looking at.

 

Lunch offerings for the rats. Foods drops on the floor and instead of throwing it away we just give it to the rats. And the rats LOVE it!

 

 

 

 

 

Peek In Our Week *** Mr. John’s Classroom *** Week Of September 2nd, 2019

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Line Time:
Ground Rules redux (I think that is a French term. hehe)….   Not really redux because we added more things such as RESPECT! and social responsibility.  Your children are catching on very quickly which makes Ms. Tonya, Ms. Kelley, and Mr. John very happy people.  We are pleasantly surprised how your children are sitting nicely on line time for over 30 minutes and how the were engaged in work throughout the morning.  Our classroom is “peaceful and productive.”  That says a lot for only being the second week of school.  I just want reiterate the teachers have some part in this behavior but it is your children that are “catching on”.  This is a good start, to a good year with GREAT children!

September Birthdays:
A Montessori classroom is comprised of students aging from 2.5 years to 6 years of age.  Here are the two newest four year old students. 

   

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 5 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German)

Mr. John’s musing:
It is my theory that the world’s problems do not stem from the right, the left, or apathy but instead the decline of the use in “bar soap”.  It just seems to me when liquid soap gained popularity and has taken over every household this world has gotten worse. Coincidence?  I think not!  Have your children even seen “bar soap”?   I’ve been longing for the pungent scent of Irish Spring and the mild scent of Lever 2000. So, I marched to the dollar store and purchased my favorite scents of “bar soap”.  Unfortunately,   My children were not as excited as I was and a bit confused how to use this archaic way of cleansing. In any event, I urge all of you to bring back the use of “bar soap” and make the world a better place. 

 

    

 

 

 Peek In Our Classroom:

This student is working on an animal puzzle. This material helps identify the parts of the animal. In this case it is the horse. Also, the tiny white knobs help with fine motor skills. More importantly, notice the focus he has working on this material.

 

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Peek In Our Week | Mr. John’s Class | Week Of August 26, 2019

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Line Time:
The opening week is a joy and a challenge all wrapped into one.  I love the fresh start, seeing returning students, and meeting new ones.  The first few weeks of the new school year during line time we go over the rules of the classroom.  We go over our “Big 4” rules… 1.) Walking (No running in the classroom).  Because if you run and fall into a shelf or hit your hear on the concrete floor which will win your head or the shelf? 2.) Use your listening ears.  3.)  Keep your hands and body to yourself.  The one I feel is most important… 4.) Be respectful.  Which simply means be nice to people or treat people how you would like to be treated. We also go over how to carry, roll, and unroll a mat, put our shoes and slippers neatly on the mat (straight, together, and toes touching the wall).  We pick up where we left off with the returning students with lessons and evaluate and access where the new students are.

I do have to say that the first week went very smoothly.  I need to thank Kelley and Tonya for their years of experience that helped this first week run smoothly.

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 4 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish)

 

Fun Fact(s):
In 1950 seven percent of women dyed their hair.  Presently, eightyseven percent of women dye their hair.  —   Source unknown. hehe (I got it from Know It or Blow it on WONE 97.5).  My nephew is on the morning show with Jeff Kinsbach and Sandra Miller.  He is the sports guy.  Kris Drew

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

Snug as a bug in a rug in the reading corner.

 

This student is helping build a ladder for our rats.

 

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Peek In Our Week ||| Mr. John’s Class ||| Week Of May 27, 2019

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Line Time:
I just wanted to extend my thanks to my assistants Ashlie and Kathleen.  Without them the classroom would not run as smoothly as it did this year! I wanted to thank all the parents that made the decision to send you children to Absorbent Minds Montessori School and it was a pleasure teaching your children.  The last day of school is always a bitter sweet day.  Sure, I get to sleep in and lead a lackadaisical lifestyle for a few months but I realize I won’t see my returning students for three months and the non-returning students I may never see again.  This day truly has a range of emotions. Exiting students are always welcome to come to my classroom and read to my class!

 

I ended up losing the bet regarding how long I could hold out to get a haircut (see below pics).  It drove me crazy!!! The hair was falling into my eyes.  I thought I had permanently foggy vision and was not safe for driving.  I felt there were bugs crawling on my face and things were constantly in my peripheral vision.  The last time I had hair this long was like 1979 and I was listening to a 45 record of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” Dark times indeed. LOL   Now I am back top my civilized look, driving much better, and I may crank up the radio when Sweet Emotion comes on.

 

Aerosmith circa 1979

 

As I always say after my morning line time banter…….  Your teachers are glad that you are here.  You are special and unique children and special and unique people.  I am proud of what you do AND I love you very much.

Cheers!!!!!!!!

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 28 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, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi, and Turkish).

 

Fun Fact:
Question: What is Mr. John Going to do the first week of Summer Break?

Answer: Sleep in!! zzzzzzzzzz

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

 

Saying good bye to our kindergarten student. Best Wishes!

 

 

Next Week:
Line Time- How to get a good night sleep.

Letter Of The Week- zzzzzzzzzzz

Rhyming Word Of The Week- Sleep

Next Language will be- Dreamland

Snack will be brought to you by No Snack For You!!!!

 

Upcoming Events:

********* I hope you have your celebrated summer ********

 I guess I’d better think up a way to spend my time.

Just when I’m ready to sit inside, it’s summer time.

Should I go swimming or get a friend to hang around?

It’s back to summer, back to basics, hang around!

 

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

I may look happy but I am dying on the inside with this long hair.

 

…….. And Mr. John throws in the towel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peek In Our Week *** Mr. John’s Class *** Week Of May 20, 2019

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Line Time:
Put on your space suit and get ready to explore our solar system.  We started with discussing the planets nearer the sun then worked our way to the furthest reaches of our solar system.  Mercury is our first planet and is the closest to the sun.  Venus is the second planet.  Even though it is further away from the sun than Mercury it is the hottest planet in our solar system.  The third planet is near and dear to our hearts.  It is the planet earth.  It is the only planet in our solar system that has life.  The next planet is Mars and is known as the red planet.  The next planet is the biggest planet in our solar system and has a big red storm that has been raging for centuries.  That planet is Jupiter.  Saturn is the next planet and has really cool ring around it that are pieces of rock and ice.  Uranus is next and it spins up and down instead of side to side like all the other planets.  Neptune is the last planet in our solar system.  I did not forget about Pluto.  Oh! Poor Pluto.  Pluto was once a planet but now has been demoted to a dwarf planet.   As a side note did you notice that some planets were named after Roman Gods and Goddesses?  Some of the students made the connection.

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 28 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, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi).

 

Fun Fact:
German Chocolate Cake is named after an American baker by the name of Samuel German, and has no affiliation with the country of Germany.

 

 

Fire Department Field Trip and Police Visit:

Officer Russ brought is partner Jorik a Belgian Malinois police dog.  Officer Russ explained what police officers and what police dogs do to protect people

       

 

The children enjoyed the visit to the Fire Station.  The firefighter dressed in his fire fighting gear and sounded like Darth Vader when he talked and breathed.  We toured a fire engine and looked into an ambulance.

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

A scene at the art table. Art is one of the many ways children express themselves. Art is a way for children to communicate their feelings. It is through art that children develop their fine motor skills. In the Montessori environment, we provide open-ended art activities that help children explore and use their creativity.

 

Even when you can count on your hand how many workdays are left the students continue to be hard workers.

 

The students have fun making their own tie dye t-shirts. We made them for better identification at the Cleveland Science Center.

 

Next Week:
Line Time- Safety

Letter Of The Week- U u

Rhyming Word Of The Week- bec

Next Language will be- None planned

Snack will be brought to you by Lucas

 

Upcoming Events:
########    NO SCHOOL MONDAY MAY 27    ########

*** Great Lakes Science Center Field Trip, Tuesday May 28 ***

********** Field Day, Thursday May 30 **********

 

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

I found a Conglomerate in my driveway. When I took this picture I heard that comment exactly 11 times.

 

I am dyin’ here. Even after the student got a haircut he still has longer hair than me. I am thinking of throwing in the towel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peek In Our Week ^^^ Mr. John’s Class ^^^ Week Of May 13, 2019

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Line Time:
Animals Groups- This week we talked about what groups of animals are called.  Here is a list of what we learned…

Pack of dogs
Muster of peacocks
Pride of lions
Gaggle of geese
Murder of crows
School of fish
Pod of dolphins
Heard of cows, horses, and elephants
CONGRESS of Baboons
Mischief of rats
Not a Flock Of Seagulls (I ran) but a colony of seagulls

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 27 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, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi).

 

Fun Fact(s):
Sheep in New Zealand- According to Statistics NZ’s agricultural production statistics, N.Z. has an estimated 29.5 million sheep. This means that the sheep-to-person ratio is actually about six sheep per person.
There are 19 billion chickens on Earth, a full 12 billion more chickens than humans.

And you thought The Planet Of The Apes could happen.  Ha!  Watch out for the chicken apocalypse!!!!!

 

Birthdays:
The Montessori Classroom is a mixture of 3, 4, 5 6 year old students.  Here are our May Babies.

 

     

 

                   

 

                                         

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

The preparation of snack is a daily chore in the morning.

 

This is the proper way to carry a chair.

 

More puzzle map work. The teacher is giving a lesson with the continent puzzle map.

 

Am impromptu meditation session in the nature center.

 

Next Week:
Line Time- Solar System

Letter Of The Week- O, o

Rhyming Word Of The Week- Bod

Next Language will be- Turkish

Snack will be brought to you by Ryan

 

Upcoming Events:
*** Great Lakes Science Center Field Trip, Tuesday May 28 ***

***** Fire Station Field Trip, Wednesday May 22 *****

********** Field Day, Thursday May 30 **********

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

The hair is growing!

 

More fashion with faux glasses.

 

End of year shenanigans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peek In Our Week +++ Mr. John’s Class +++ Week Of May 6, 2019

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Line Time:
Baby Animals- Baby animals was the theme for the week.  We started out by what we call human babies (younger children).  We came up with the term “kid”.  We then discovered a kid is a baby goat and we should call human children, well, children.  We went over the easy animals such as cats/kittens, dogs/pups, but went on with ducks/ducklings, chickens/chicks, pigs/piglets, manatee/calf, geese/gosling, peacock/peachick, kangaroo/joey.

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 27 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, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi).

 

Trivia Question:
The answer to my trivia question of what was my football jersey number in high school was 86.  This was the agent number (86) of Maxwell Smart in the TV series Get Smart.  Yes, that is how I picked my jersey number.

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

Nap time, nah.  Meditation, you bet.  The television/app was asking the children to close their eyes, build a tree house, and imagine a warm sunny day with birds chirping in their mind.  It was called The Tree House Meditation. And please don’t think a three year old can’t do this. It requires quiet, peacefulness, it requires you to invite the child when they are calm and well rested, but a usually rambunctious three year old can do this.  I think a few children fell asleep during this meditation.  I know I was dozing off.

 

This work is called Cards and Counters found in the math area. The red counters each represent one unit, and this emphasizes for the child the fact that each number is made up of different quantities. … Indicating the difference between odd and even numbers is one of the direct purposes of the Cards and Counters. A natural control of error occurs at the end of the activity if you have any counters left over or not enough to fulfill 10.

 

This scene shows two work stations working on handwriting/pre cursive excersises. Starting the students with cursive is imperative due to uninterrupted movements of the hand may make cursive letters easier for children to form, and for this reason, some Montessori primary classrooms introduce children to cursive letters first.

 

These two students are working on the living and non-living cards. Living things reproduce, taking energy or eat, exchange gasses or breathe, and grow.

Next Week:
Line Time- Animal Groups

Letter Of The Week- I i

Rhyming Word Of The Week- bud

Next Language will be- Turkish

Snack will be brought to you by Harper G.

 

Upcoming Events:
—Grandparents Day, Tuesday May 14—

*** Great Lakes Science Center Field Trip, Tuesday May 28 ***

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

You shoulda seen the other guy.

 

I do not know what was being discussed in this special/secret meeting. I do know I was purposefully excluded since I was a boy….  I did catch as I eaves dropped on the conversation that the girl in the green was telling the rest of the girls that “it is close to the end of the year and some of us are going to other schools but we will always be friends and always be together.”  Her words not mine.  I kind of teared up a bit.

 

It is a test of wills.

 

Warm weather produces shorts and skirts and exposes bruised legs. A good indication of active children.

 

 

 

 

 

Academic Enrichment ### Cuyahoga Falls Campus ### Week Of 4/29/2019

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Lesson:   Preposition- I described as a “where word”  NOT a werewolf.  It identifies where or when something is.

 

Look at all those colors. This sentence had a noun, verb, article, pronoun, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition. Can you identify all the parts of grammar? My kindergarten students can!

 

Cultural Subjects:
We can now count to ten in 28 different languages (English, Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh,  Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi, Turkish).

 

Next Week:
Line Time: Interjection

Sight Words of the Week: which what

Synonym of Week: SNEAKY (underhanded, dishonest, tricky, secretive, sly)

Adding Language of None planned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peek In Our Week ### Mr. John’s Class ### Week Of April 29, 2019

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Line Time:
We progressed with learning our songs for the International Festival and learned our lines for the show.  I have to say the students ROCKED the International Festival.  A big shout out to Kathleen and Ashlie for getting the students ready with he songs, lines, and craft.  Also, I want to recognize Yao An for volunteering her time to teach the students to sing in Chinese.


On a sad note: This was the last International Festival my favorite and only daughter will attend. She started out as a first grader running around the auditorium handing out programs to unsuspecting adults.  She did this until she became a teen and it seemed had less energy for the running of the laps.  She since has attended to see the cuteness and food.  For the next four springs she will be located in Bowling Green, Ohio/BGSU.  Appreciate your children when they are actually children because before you know it they will be teenagers waiting to go to university.

The students patiently waiting during practice.  Except, maybe, not the boy in the front row. LOL

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Peek In Our Week @@@ Mr. John’s Class @@@ Week Of April 22, 2019

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Line Time:
We are progressing with learning our songs for the International Festival and learning our lines for the show.  I have to say the students are doing very very well.

 

Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 25 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, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, and Malay).

 

Trivia Question:
In high school my football jersey was number 86.  Why did I chose this number?  This is a tough one!
Hint: It is a reference to a 1960’s television show.  {you can not google this} bwahahaha
For those of you who are interested I dislocated my right thumb in practice my senior year.

 

You Ever Notice?:
You get gobs of left overs for Thanksgiving but no one gives leftovers for the Easter Meal (especially if lamb is served).

 

Peek In Our Classroom:

An odd thing has been happening in my classroom. It is a phenomenon of an increased interest in puzzle maps. It may be that many students are in a sensitive period or they saw an older student (who is in a sensitive period) work with the puzzle map and they followed.  In any event I have never seen this kind of interest in puzzle maps but I am lovin it!

 

The Hundred Board is a fun and educational exercise found in the Montessori classroom to help children with their counting from 1 to 100. This is a material that breaks away from the concrete to the abstract portion of math.

 

I have science cards in my classroom. They are three part cards (one with just a picture, one with the picture and word, and one with just the word.) This student is working with the amphibian box.

 

This student is working on the teen board found in the math area. The numbers 11-19 are more of a challenge for a child to learn as their names are more complicated than those of the rest of the number system (11,12,13,15 do not follow the rules like 14,16,17,18,19).  The teen board helps to develop an understanding of how these numbers are formed from a ten and units and this teaches the foundations of the decimal system. The child associates between the quantity (concrete) and the numbers (abstract).

 

Next Week:
Line Time- International Festival Preparation

Letter Of The Week- None scheduled due to International Festival Practice

Rhyming Word Of The Week- None scheduled due to International Festival Practice

Next Language will be- None scheduled due to International Festival Practice

Snack will be brought to you by Hunter

 

Upcoming Events:

International Festival Practice Wednesday, May 1st | Cuyahoga Falls High School, 6pm-7pm

International Festival Friday, May 3rd | Cuyahoga Falls High School, 5:30pm | Early Dismissal 12 Noon

—Moms and Muffins, Friday May 10th, 7am to 7:45am—

—Grandparents Day, Tuesday May 14—

 

Fun, Frolic, and Friends:

My long hair is catching up with his. He claims I will never catch up with him. We will see.

 

Cheesy grins and what looks like a student running in the background.  He can not wait to work on the sandpaper letters.

 

You shoulda seen the other guy. Notice the scratch on her nose?

 

What’s a little frosting among friends?