Ms. Courtney’s December 2015 Monthly Overview

Themes of the week (in addition to Montessori Work Time)

11/30: Christmas Program

  • The children will be practicing for the Christmas show multiple times a day.

12/7: Christmas Program

  • The children will be practicing for the Christmas show multiple times a day.

12/14: Christmas/Winter Crafts and Baking

  • The children will be enjoying the holiday spirit by doing a lot of fun crafts and baking.
  • The children will be making holiday rice krispie treats together.
  • The children will be making a snow globe.
  • The children will be making sock snowman.
  • The children will be making reindeer out of their hands and feet.
  • The children will be making Christmas trees out of popsicle sticks.

Christmas Show Rehearsal (not a dress rehearsal)
Wednesday, December 16th 6:00– 8:00pm
Cuyahoga Falls High School Auditorium

Christmas Show
Friday, December 18th 6:00pm
Cuyahoga Falls High School Auditorium

 

12/21—1/01       Christmas Break—School Resumes Monday January 4th

 

Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:

  • Bake holiday treats together.
  • Make homemade ornaments and festive decorations together.
  • Watch classic winter and Christmas movies together.
  • Go caroling as a family.
  • Volunteer at a homeless shelter as a family.
  • Play outside as a family and enjoy the winter weather.

December 2015 Academic Enrichment Monthly Overview | Cuyahoga Falls Campus

Our Academic Enrichment time is daily from 12:00-1:00pm. This time is specifically designed for our Kindergarten students to join together as a group to work and progress through the advanced materials and lessons in the Montessori primary curriculum. Throughout the school day in their classroom they are still working individually with their classroom teacher on these and other materials at their level.

 11/30:  Parts of a Animals

  • Parts of a mammal, amphibian, and bird
  • Parts of a reptile and fish
  • Working with animal puzzles and control charts

 12/07:  Parts of Arachnids/Insects

  • Parts of a spiders
  • Parts of a wasp

12/14:    Use of a Ruler

  • Inches and Centimeters
  • Measuring with a ruler– practice measurement with many different objects
  • Recording measurements

12/20—1/1       Christmas Break—School Resumes Monday, January 4th

 

Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:

  • Practice measuring different objects at home and recording those measurements.

Mr. John will be sending homework home to reinforce these lessons. Please turn homework into the orange box outside of Mr. John’s classroom.  Please email him if you have any questions: jkotradi@thesmarterkids.com.

 


Mr. John’s December 2015 Monthly Overview

 

Themes of the Week  (in addition to Montessori Work time)

11/30—12/18  Christmas Show Practice

  • We will be taking time in the morning and afternoon to practice for our Christmas Show!
  • We have fun Christmas themed crafts and activities planned for our students!

Christmas Show Rehearsal (not a dress rehearsal)
Wednesday, December 16th 6:00– 8:00pm
Cuyahoga Falls High School Auditorium

Christmas Show
Friday, December 18th 6:00pm
Cuyahoga Falls High School Auditorium

 

12/21—1/01       Christmas Break—School Resumes Monday January 4th

 

Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:

  • Help prepare your child by talking with them about being on stage, how excited you will be to see them, and what to expect. Invite your family and friends, there will be plenty of seats!  You won’t want to miss this event, see you there!

 

 


Ms. Kate’s December 2015 Monthly Overview

Themes of the Week (in addition to Montessori Work time)

12/01   Christmas Around the World
Taking a look at the Christmas traditions in Mexico, France, Germany, Italy, and England

  • The legend of the Poinsettia, tradition of the Christmas Tree, Le Reveillon (traditional Christmas   Eve meal) and many other traditions.
  •  How to say “Merry Christmas” in different languages

Afternoon Group Lesson:
Ame will be offering crafts, games and activities to enhance the children’s understanding of traditions around the world.

 

12/07 All about Giving
This week we will be doing a variety of activities that teach the children about the act of giving. These activities include: wants vs. needs collage, a giving circle time activity, the construction on a “lovie” blanket and sending it to Good Neighbors, talking about the importance of donations and lastly, we will be writing and drawing letters to send to a nursing home.

Afternoon Group Lesson:
Ame will be offering holiday themed crafts, games and activities in the afternoon.

 

12/14 Holiday Crafts
We have planned fun Christmas themed crafts and activities (Letters to Santa, Gingerbread houses, Reindeer hats and much more!)

Afternoon Group Lesson: Ame will be focusing on making holiday ornaments, telling classic Christmas stories, and having fun at movie & PJ day!

We will be spending time the last few weeks of December practicing for our Christmas Show!  Stay tuned for information coming home about this great event!

12/21—
1/ 1 Christmas Break (School resumes Monday, January 4th)

 

Things to do at Home this Month to reinforce our themes:

  • Make cookies together. Deliver them to your friends, families and neighbors.
  • Practice the spirit of giving or donation.
  • Sing Christmas Songs together!

Ms. Courtney’s October 2015 Newsletter

 Primary Room

During the month of October the class learned about all the changes that happen during the beautiful Fall season.  For the first week we discussed leaves, how and why they change, and different types of leaves.  The kids also enjoyed collecting their own leafs for leaf rubbing.

3g9ZgDMr8xpT7BYyJI6cFFyApN_cxYOoU3NC1ZnuQz4  1_Q-JClSLcoE0EXeRyKP1e6hdglfYoFQ3Tr83i_q8I8
4aiJlGhMrjEq0OepnC8cBsEo3I5SJrwbP5aghhAHszA 3zUUVZ96MJVxpJ1ae7vqnHfkUei2cWrjCpiEoPSzQ2w

The second week of October the students learned about apples.  They got to taste test three different types of apples and vote on what was their favorite kind.  We discovered what the inside of an apple looks like and how they grow.

CsRcnImBALkfsy7g-niRmb-7PcGGJix3LHazUWVCH0s 54aR0tKKlB_m8XrE_ptKaJRKKaQxwmTZN4Ixc4srPiw

Next, the class learned all about pumpkins.  We were able to explore the inside of what pumpkins look like by digging out the insides to separate the seeds from the pulp. The next day, the class was able to try the seeds they cleaned out of the pumpkin after they had been baked. The students also guessed how many seeds were in a pumpkin. Some thought a hand full and others thought thousands, turned out there were 504.

eN8YFVkG6hiKJvKNSX3JtYRiZrzl-3eeM5WPZZAqfVY Ejn_sqpMhbu_OE0oD0uQdeWujRVukC9P4--qR4Lpd1A

The final week of October we turned our attention to bats.  We learned about different types of bats and even found out that there is a bat that is as small as a bumblebee! The class discovered how and where bats sleep and that they find their food through echolocation.  The students were amazed by the fact that bats were mammals like them.

fhsgJAw4W8SXHZP-S-MxmF8pLpSEKizjxEBx4Os-AFI D2TwZf1SyV38zCxipnGFkY-eTxmGTFWC1WXeWJV8RFM

I wanted to thank all the parents who helped out with the Halloween party especially our party planner Brooke.  It was definitely a success, and the kids enjoyed all of the crafts, games, and delicious food. We could not have had a more successful party!

NIp3MtqvKUGu8vDckgkubmKLZo20mJSjbBzX3nBq9qk k2eXabRJn-Gy5sDYRKn47eLkoTFTVQZyNv0Q379jUTw

Academic Enrichment with Kindergarten Students

During Academic Enrichment Lesson, kindergarten students learned about landforms.  Ask them what the definition of a lake, island, bay, peninsula, gulf, harbor, cape, isthmus, straight, chain of lakes, and archipelago.  We went over telling time to the hour, half past, and quarter after. They also have been working hard and doing a great job on their journals.

JYdIP8D3RA7IP-6whjzJ_Zjmu8JNSWPpP3ykHjFuRHo GmpfMCg5e7puCCyvwO5_QZAYaYufNh-pSuv0K0iTRFk

Science
Over the past month, the students have been learning about the science behind the changes we see during fall.  We found out that the leaves change color because they are not receiving enough chlorophyll to keep their color green.  The students also learned the life cycle of apples, pumpkins, and bats. We also enjoyed a couple science experiments such as an exploding a pumpkin with rubber bands and blowing bubbles using a cd and lighter.

TeU5688ANqBBqOfDyuu0xfqKxWFC6xIg2tJ8DgaHgE4 Qys0CVQ4JNQhPkpjvOSUHA13ZHAGGM6pa5yXFbpzB9Y


Music
In music class this month the children sang hello to Bernie the Bernard, Ellie the Parrot, Freida the Frog, and Rainbow Sparkles the Dragon! One of the first concepts Ms. Lisa taught the children was how many beats the whole, quarter, half, and eighth notes get. We practiced these notes in the song “Hot Cross Buns”. The children tapped rhythm sticks together for each note. The next skill we worked on was high and low sounds. Ms. Lisa taught the children the song “I wish I were a juicy orange”. While singing this song the children sang in high and low voices and shook egg shakers. The children also played tambourines and castanets throughout the month. Lastly we played some freeze dances with colorful scarves to sharpen our listening skills.

 

t0YRBlJ1U-3Y8nFxWKMLXSJ7cm0QoAHI-5cFy8z5CK8 sNlUZBhh4VibUMafKjAm2_t4e-A81Xvdb6ZYsk-OHvI

 

Art
Ms. Michele spent the first two weeks of the month having the children study the artist Georges Seurat. We watched a video about him and learned about his painting technique. He used the pointillism technique. His paintings look like they are made up of a bunch of dots. So to practice this, the children first drew an animal of their choice in pencil on poster board. Then they used q-tips to dot the animal in with paint.

Our next art lesson was on paper sculptures. First, Ms. Michele went over different types of lines. (dotted, squiggly, short, long, etc.) Then she showed lines in artwork and explained how our eyes “follow” the lines. Next she asked the children what a sculpture was. She explained that a sculpture isn’t flat but 3-dimensional. She then demonstrated to the children how to make paper sculptures using the lines she described at the beginning of the lesson. The children than created 3-dimensional paper playgrounds using strips of paper and gluing them down in different ways.

 

zt-G4s4EMgcNwKfJTziVLXToT7h8lnBdKICfQebaJbQ XEfdS3f_wj2ridr4_Mmz62Se95GwPyB-noktYjKgzx0

WAcGgr-hHUyCvjRlBCg9r8gXkU0-Ys60uHTdvI0krug vYNNzdZa2ai-wJbD8kKGdKOFU2kApGMP896UzCuI0MY

vhTOI7sEuY_m9eEspuwCDEPRCQBQMlq8OdQ-pVogVg8 UsaagtG-oGHLxHKEYQ7B-YShTZ1eDwu1kutCG-jf0_A


Mr. John’s October 2015 Newsletter

Hello silence my old friend…….

It is so quiet in here.  It is so calm. It’s the Sound of Silence..  This is what I have been hearing from past teachers, parents, and current teachers about my room.  Usually it takes a good 3-4 months for my room to become normalized but this year it is on its way to being normalized in about a month.  I credit those around me for the earlier than usual success.

2015-10-06 14.41.23

Miss Kathleen and Miss Sabrina are wonderful teachers and work well with the students.  Theyare fun yet firm and know how to handle difficult situations well.  When I mentioned “those around me” I didn’t only mean the teachers but I want to give credit to the older students; the leaders of the room.  They are showing the newer/younger students how to work with materials and are guiding them through the classroom.

20151021_131920  20150930_091359
20151007_135537

Line Time Lessons:
Children love animals and I enjoy teaching the children about different types of animals.  This month we started discussing mammals.  I chose to begin with mammals because WE are mammals.   We learned that mammals have hair or fur, are born alive, and drink mother’s milk when first born.  We learned that mammals are warm blooded (their body temperature remains constant) and that they are vertebrates (have spines).  We learned that dolphins and whales are mammals and that the bat is the only mammal that can fly.  The students got to pet the rats and mice and it was a scene!

20151012_100457

Then we slithered our way into discussing reptiles.  We came to the conclusion that the snake is the most popular reptile. We learned reptiles are cold blooded (their body temperature is the same as the environment’s temperature), vertebrates, lay hard shelled eggs, and have dry scales.  The children enjoyed seeing our own corn snake.  The gecko were just as appreciated.

20151007_091826

We hopped into our discussion of amphibians. We all agreed that the frog was the most popular amphibian and that amphibians are cold blooded and vertebrates.  We also learned that their skin is moist and soft and that they can live on BOTH land and water. Amphibians lay eggs but the eggs have no shell but are like jelly.   The children were encouraged to look for our Pac Man Frog and our Eastern Toads in our nature center.

20151016_141110

We swam to our friends called fish.  We learned that fish are cold blooded (their body temperature changes to the temperature in their environment) and are vertebrates.  We learned that most fish have scales, gills and fins, and some fish lay eggs and some fish are liver bearers (babies are born alive). We introduced a new word, “habitat”.  This is where something lives and the fish’s habitat is the water. The children were thrilled to learn that the shark is a fish.

20151016_104653

 

 

 

 

 

We then flew with the animals called birds.  Birds have feathers, are warm blooded, and are vertebrates.  All birds lay hard shelled eggs and have wings.  All birds have wings but some birds are flightless (cannot fly) such as the penguin, ostrich, and emu.

 

Alumni Readers:
We had two Alumni Readers visit in October.  James who is in the second grade and Lorelei who is in kindergarten read their favorite books.

20151016_101610  20151016_081815

Cultural Subjects:
We count to 10 in twelve different languages, English, Latin, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, and Romanian.

Academic Enrichment:
Our kindergarten students wrapped up the geography unit with the 10 land forms, island, lake, bay, cape, peninsula, gulf (not the sport), straight, Isthmus (not Christmas), archipelago, and chain of lakes.  Then we plunged into telling time (old school, analog, hands and face).  We learned how to tell time to the hour, half past (or :30), quarter past or (:15), and quarter til.  Tick tock tick. Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin into the future………….

20151012_123445 2015-10-04 08.47.19

Enrichment News
Ms. Sabrina

Mr. John, Ms. Michele, and Ms. Lisa are such a hit with the children and with me! Between the experiments, the art lessons and music and movement, the children are learning so much, as well as having so much fun. They love the hands on experiences. ” This is so much fun! ” is frequently heard through out all 3 classes!

Science:
Our first science experiment involved a liter bottle of water with a ketchup packet. When we squeezed the bottle, the ketchup packet sank to the bottom. Then when we let go of the water bottle, the ketchup packet floated back to the top. Why? The ketchup packet had an air bubble that got smaller when the bottle of water was squeezed.

Our second experiment involved special tape with a secret message written on it. (Mr. John wrote Go Buckeyes on the tape.) The children made hypotheses on whether or not the message could still be read on the tape if the tape were scrunched up. Mr. John was able to straighten the tape and the message was still there! This special tape is made with polymers. We learned that polymers hold onto each other and that’s why the message stayed intact.

Our third experiment involved rolled up construction paper secured with a rubber band (a cylinder), one single sheet of paper, and books. The children made hypotheses on what would happen when books were placed on the paper cylinder and the single sheet of paper. Most of the children guessed that the single sheet of paper would fall and the paper cylinder would stay standing. We were right! A cylinder is one of the strongest shapes and distributes weight.

Our last experiment involved dish soap, black pepper, bowls, and water. Mr. John mixed the water and black pepper together in a bowl for each child. Then he went around and let each child dip a q-tip in dish soap and then place the q-tip in the black pepper mixture. When the dish soap hit the water, the black pepper moved away. The dish soap broke the molecules that were holding onto each other which allowed the black pepper to move.

Art:
Ms. Michele spent the first two weeks of the month having the children study the artist Georges Seurat. We watched a video about him and learned about his painting technique. He used the pointillism technique. His paintings look like they are made up of a bunch of dots. So to practice this, the children first drew an animal of their choice in pencil on poster board. Then they used q-tips to dot the animal in with paint.

Our next art lesson was on paper sculptures. First, Ms. Michele went over different types of lines. (dotted, squiggly, short, long, etc.) Then she showed lines in artwork and explained how our eyes “follow” the lines. Next she asked the children what a sculpture was. She explained that a sculpture isn’t flat but 3-dimensional. She then demonstrated to the children how to make paper sculptures using the lines she described at the beginning of the lesson. The children than created 3-dimensional paper playgrounds using strips of paper and gluing them down in different ways.

Music:
One of the new songs and movement the students jived to is Peanut Butter and Jelly and what fun it was! In music, the children sang hello to Bernie the Bernard, Ellie the Parrot, Freida the Frog, and Rainbow Sparkles the Dragon! One of the first concepts Ms. Lisa taught the children was how many beats the whole, quarter, half, and eighth notes get. We practiced these notes in the song “Hot Cross Buns”. The children tapped rhythm sticks together for each note. The next skill we worked on was high and low sounds. Ms. Lisa taught the children the song “I wish I were a juicy orange”. While singing this song the children sang in high and low voices and shook egg shakers. The children also played tambourines and castanets throughout the month. Lastly we played some freeze dances with colorful scarves to sharpen our listening skills.

20151022_091754

Do ask your children to share some thoughts on these classes with you. I am sure you will be entertained!

20151015_131923
20151008_091537

Ms. Kristen’s October 2015 Newsletter

October was a very exciting month in our classroom! I am so proud of how well the children are working in the classroom and with the desire to learn new things every day! In October, the children learned all about Farm Life, Pumpkins, Characteristics of Fall, Bats, Spiders, and about Halloween.

20151019_141527

During the first week of October, the children learned all about farm life. We learned the American Sign Language words for cow, chicken , pig, horse, and cat. The children also enjoyed making home made butter from whipping cream. We put the whipping cream in a tupperware container and shook it as hard as we could until it became butter. It was delicious!

20151019_140946

It was all about pumpkins during week two! We learned all about the parts of the pumpkin, how it grows, and what kinds of foods we can make from a pumpkin. Ms. Kim also brought in a pumpkin to carve into a Jack-O-Lantern. The children loved scrapping out the inside of the pumpkin with a spoon. Ms. Kim and I even put a candle inside of the pupmkin and the children played the “ Silence Game” while watching our pumpkin glow. The children also enjoyed making tastey pumpkin muffins!

20151009_123223

During week three, we learned all about the characteristics of Fall and about leaves. We learned that in the Fall, the temperature outside becomes cooler outside and the leaves begin to change color. We also learned about the different parts of the leaf. The children also enjoyed a parts of the leaf work that Ms. Kim and I put on the shelf. The children also used crayons to make pints of leaves on paper!

20151019_141018

We learned quite a bit about bats during the third week of October. We learned that bats sleep during the day. We also learned that some bats eat insects while others eat fruit. The children were also surprised to learn that not all bats are blind, but those who are use echo location to find shelter and to hunt for food. The children also learned that bats are mammals, and enjoyed discovering the similarites and differences between bats and birds while reading the book “ Stellaluna”.

20151019_141448

Durring the final week, we learned about spiders. We learned that spider are arachnids, not insects. We learned arachnids are characterized as having a head and a thorax and eight legs. Also, we also found out that a spider’s blood is blue, because their blood doesn’t carry oxygen through their body like human blood. The children also enjoyed making their own spiders with Ms. Kim during Afternoon Group Time!

20151030_110755 20151030_110845

 

Enrichments (Ms. Kim):

Music

In music class this month the children sang hello to Bernie the Bernard, Ellie the Parrot, Freida the Frog, and Rainbow Sparkles the Dragon! One of the first concepts Ms. Lisa taught the children was how many beats the whole, quarter, half, and eighth notes get. We practiced these notes in the song “Hot Cross Buns”. The children tapped rhythm sticks together for each note. The next skill we worked on was high and low sounds. Ms. Lisa taught the children the song “I wish I were a juicy orange”. While singing this song the children sang in high and low voices and shook egg shakers. The children also played tambourines and castanets throughout the month. Lastly we played some freeze dances with colorful scarves to sharpen our listening skills.

Science

Our first science experiment involved a liter bottle of water with a ketchup packet. When we squeezed the bottle, the ketchup packet sank to the bottom. Then when we let go of the water bottle, the ketchup packet floated back to the top. Why? The ketchup packet had an air bubble that got smaller when the bottle of water was squeezed.

Our second experiment involved special tape with a secret message written on it. (Mr. John wrote Go Buckeyes on the tape.) The children made hypotheses on whether or not the message could still be read on the tape if the tape were scrunched up. Mr. John was able to straighten the tape and the message was still there! This special tape is made with polymers. We learned that polymers hold onto each other and that’s why the message stayed intact.

Our third experiment involved rolled up construction paper secured with a rubber band (a cylinder), one single sheet of paper, and books. The children made hypotheses on what would happen when books were placed on the paper cylinder and the single sheet of paper. Most of the children guessed that the single sheet of paper would fall and the paper cylinder would stay standing. We were right! A cylinder is one of the strongest shapes and distributes weight.

Our last experiment involved dish soap, black pepper, bowls, and water. Mr. John mixed the water and black pepper together in a bowl for each child. Then he went around and let each child dip a q-tip in dish soap and then place the q-tip in the black pepper mixture. When the dish soap hit the water, the black pepper moved away. The dish soap broke the molecules that were holding onto each other which allowed the black pepper to move.

Art

Ms. Michele spent the first two weeks of the month having the children study the artist Georges Seurat. We watched a video about him and learned about his painting technique. He used the pointillism technique. His paintings look like they are made up of a bunch of dots. So to practice this, the children first drew an animal of their choice in pencil on poster board. Then they used q-tips to dot the animal in with paint.

Our next art lesson was on paper sculptures. First, Ms. Michele went over different types of lines. (dotted, squiggly, short, long, etc.) Then she showed lines in artwork and explained how our eyes “follow” the lines. Next she asked the children what a sculpture was. She explained that a sculpture isn’t flat but 3-dimensional. She then demonstrated to the children how to make paper sculptures using the lines she described at the beginning of the lesson. The children than created 3-dimensional paper playgrounds using strips of paper and gluing them down in different ways.

Finally:

I encourage you to review with your child what they have learned this month. Take a fall hike as a family and collect leaves. Review the parts of a leaf together. Try out a new pumpkin recipie with your child, allowing them to help you measure and stir the ingrediants. Discuss the fun bat and spider facts they learned with your child!

20151029_100226

As Maria Montessori stated, “ To aid life, leaving it free, however, that is the basic task of the educator.” It is my duty and privilege to aid your child in the beginning stages of their education!


Ms. Kate’s October 2015 Newsletter

I can’t believe how fast the month of October went by. Our class was super busy this month learning about apples, being on the farm, all about leaves and chlorophyll, the life cycle of the pumpkin, and the history of Halloween. We also had an amazing Halloween party!

The first week, I started off by showing the children a variety of apples such as the granny smith, golden delicious, and the red delicious. The children were able to feel and smell the different apples and then we grouped the apples by size and color. Throughout the week I introduced Johnny Appleseed. We discussed how he was a pioneer who traveled throughput the American frontier by planting apple seeds.

IMG_20151006_141600  IMG_20151014_130857

We also discussed how he helped people along the way. The children really loved talking about him as they continued to ask questions about him throughout the week! The next day we created a chart from seed to apple: The life cycle of an apple. I started out by cutting an apple in half and showing the children the seeds, which are called pips, the core of the apple, the flesh, and the leaves. The children were able to pass around the apple so they were able to see the different parts of the apple. We then drew the inside of the apple and labeled the different parts. We also had a blast making apple prints and other apple projects with Ms. Ame! On the last day we had an apple taste test. The children tasted ten different types of apples and then we graphed the ones we liked best. The Gala apple won!

IMG_20151027_094907  IMG_20151014_130907

The following week was all about the farm! We started out by discussing the different types of animals that you would find on a farm. We also had an exciting time discussing the different foods that you would see in a grocery store that came from a farm. Throughout our week we talked about the different machines that the farmers use on a daily basis and their purpose. The last two days we talked about the life of a farmer. The children loved hearing about how the farmer has to wake up when it is still dark outside just so s/he can get all of their farm chores done before the day is done. We also had fun with farm songs and finder plays!

IMG_20150924_091939  IMG_20150917_092504

The third week was all about Fall! The children had so much fun with one of our student teachers who read them a book all about the different colored leaves they would find outside. The children then were able to do leaf rubbings on those leaves they read about. At the beginning of the week I read the book Leaves Leaves Leaves! By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace. We then talked about the four seasons and what happens to the leaves at each season. I then asked what they thought Chlorophyll was. Giovanni shouted out “ It makes the leaves green!” I explained to them that Giovanni was right it does keep the leaves green. I also explained to them that when our days get colder and shorter the chlorophyll exits the leaves and the green goes away and the color starts to show. The children enjoyed discussing that so much that they wanted to review it all week! Lastly, we went on a nature walk where the children were able to collect different leaves and then lead a discussion about the different types of leaves they found. It was a super fun week!

IMG_20151027_094929  IMG_20151006_141439

Lastly, our theme was pumpkins! This week we created a chart of the life cycle of the pumpkin. The pictures showed that first you have to plant the seed. Then the seed turns into the seedling, and then the seedling turns into a huge vine that can be big as a house! Then a flower grows onto the vine. On the bottom of the flower a pumpkin starts to appear. The pumpkin starts out green, then yellow, then light orange, and then finally orange. The following day the children used their 5 senses and language to observe and communicate about a pumpkin. The children were able to touch, look at, smell, weigh, and measure the pumpkin. After they did this I charted their thoughts and comments. The next day I asked the children what they thought the inside of a pumpkin looks like inside. After our discussion I cut open the pumpkin and had the children use their senses to explore the pumpkin. After I removed the pulp we weighed the pumpkin so we could compare the weight from before we gutted it. On our last day we did a sink and float activity. The children created a graph with paper pumpkins. If they thought the pumpkin would sink they placed the pumpkin in the correct category and same if they thought the pumpkin would float. We placed the pumpkin in a tub of water and the pumpkin floated!! We then discussed the concept of buoyancy.

IMG_20151002_085641  IMG_20151021_101020

At the end of our month we had a wonderful Halloween party. A big thanks to all of the parents that helped out with all of the food, activities, and such wonderful helping hands!

IMG_20150914_113738

Explorations of Elementary October 2015

Explorations of Elementary

Our trip to Hale Farm was one of the best field trips! Each student enjoyed the walk along the beautiful grounds and the fall colors surrounding us. We began in the wagon house, where we saw several different styles of carriages once used. We then ventured into the barn where we learned about a special crop commonly referred to as broom corn. This corn was grown and used to make sturdy brooms for sweeping floors and long brooms to clean rafters in the barns.

20151015_104336  20151015_110107

From here we went into the home and saw how the women would have made candles, yarn, and cider. We watched a farmer hitch up a team of bulls used to plow fields. I think everyone’s favorite part was watching the blacksmith create a hook and seeing a classmate “punished” in the old schoolhouse, by standing in the corner with a book on her head. We also watched a glassblower create a beautiful red glass cup. Everyone agreed this was a great trip and they all want to return soon.

20151015_120434

Our elementary Reading Groups meet every Tuesday afternoon to spend time reading as a small group. We have divided up into three small groups, each reading different books. All three groups spend time doing language and grammar work, and practicing reading fluency aloud. One group has been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Ronald Dahl. This group has been focusing on types of nouns, syllables, compound words, and rules of capitalization. They recently began making a Capitalization Rule Book, in which they are writing all the rules to reference when they write. Another group has been reading short stories from the Junior Great Book series, poetry, and the children’s classic Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst, and Rumpelstiltskin. This group has been focusing on new vocabulary and learning definitions by using context clues and the dictionary. The third group has been reading the biography of Jackie Robinson, which has been a favorite for many of them. This group has also been studying types of adjectives. They learned there are two adjective classes (descriptive and limiting), and discussed 8 other types of adjectives within these classes.

Throughout the week students choose three spelling activities to complete in order to practice their words. These activities can be writing a sentence using spelling words, writing spelling words in cursive, or putting them in alphabetical order, to name a few. Then each Friday Ms. Sara meets with students to go over their personal spelling activities. She then quizzes them on their list and helps them choose new spelling words for the next week.

Students planned a wonderful Halloween party full of crafts, board games, and Halloween themed food. And no party is complete without decorations! The class volunteered to join a committee of either decorations, food, games, or crafts. Then each committee made a list of supplies needed to fulfill their duties and hung the list on the wall in the hallway for families to bring in. On the day of the party students enjoyed seeing each other’s costumes, playing their favorite board games with each other, creating a Frankenstein and spider craft, and of course getting candy!

20151030_082411  20151030_090402

The food committee was so dedicated to making pumpkins out of oranges, mummies out of pretzels and string cheese, ghosts out of bananas and chocolate chips, puppy chow with candy corn, and pizza to create the ultimate Halloween themed meal.

 


Academic Enrichment November 2015 Monthly Overview | Cuyahoga Falls Campus

Our Academic Enrichment time is daily from 12:00-1:00pm. This time is specifically designed for our Kindergarten students to join together as a group to work and progress through the advanced materials and lessons in the Montessori primary curriculum. Throughout the school day in their classroom they are still working individually with their classroom teacher on these and other materials at their level.

11/02 Telling time to the minute
Review previous lessons on telling time
Introduction to the minute
Flashcards, Clock & Worksheets

11/09: Currency/ coins
Introduction to coins (pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters)
Identifying coins and amounts
Working with coins and worksheets

11/16: Currency/ paper
Introduction to dollar bills
Identifying dollar bills
Working with money and worksheets

11/23: Parts of Animals
Parts of the mammal, reptile, amphibian,
Parts of the bird and fish
Working with the animal puzzle and control chart
Thanksgiving Feast 11/25 (11:00-12:00pm) 12:00pm Early Dismissal (No Aftercare)
Thursday/Friday NO SCHOOL—Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!

Sight Words of the Week: Try to find each word in books as you read to your child.
11/02: how, each
11/09: said, by
11/16: been, down

Synonyms of the Week: Try to find each word in books as you read to your child.
11/02: OLD, ancient, elderly, used, seasoned, mature
11/09: BIG, vast, gigantic, huge, large, enormous, colossal
11/16: SMALL, tiny, miniature, minute, little, petite,

Things to do at home this month to reinforce our themes:
-Look for our words of the week when reading a story, cut out pictures beginning with the letters of the week.
-Practice telling time on the clock at home. When you sit down to dinner, ask them to tell you what time it is, when they go to bed, have them check the clock. Have fun with Time!
-Practice exchanging money with your child. When you go to the store, have them help you pay!

Mr. John will be sending homework home to reinforce these lessons. Please turn homework into the orange box outside of Mr. John’s classroom. Please email him if you have any questions: jkotradi@thesmarterkids.com.