Check out my video update for this week, also including upcoming event information! Click here: https://vimeo.com/298455584/5896149c36
When working on the 9 tray the child becomes familiar with the different categories of numbers, especially with regard to reading the symbols . And also they are learning the wordings of large numbers.When working on Land, WATER, and Air the child will be able to classify and explore the elements of the Earth.One of our older friends is teaching a friend our sandpaper letters. The sandpaper letters is to teach the child the sounds of the alphabet by means of muscular and visual memory.It always makes my heart so full just watching two friends working together to try and figure something out❤
In reading group, the kindergartners listened to a poem called The Stray Cat. It was about an old alley cat who wasn’t very pretty. Despite the fact that the cat was dirty and old, a child brings it home and names it Beauty.
The students learned about poems and how the speaker in the poem is the person who is talking, that stanzas are groups of sentences, and that most poems use rhyming words.
The kindergarteners are evaluating how well they shared their ideas during The Stray Cat
A Peek Into the Next Two Weeks.
– The students will learn what a folktale is.
– The students will learn the vocabulary words: trudged, slumped, and useless.
– The students will participate in discussions and evaluative activities.
Composing Quantities: These children are practicing the sequence of numbers in the decimal system units, tens, hundreds, and thousands and recognizing what different quantities look like.
Static Addition: This child is using the golden beads to discover that when you put two small numbers together you get a larger number and that this process is called addition.
Cursive Handwriting: The students learned and practiced the correct stokes to successfully make a lowercase g and lowercase qu. To make a lowercase g they learned to curve up to the midline, roll back around to the baseline, swing up to the midline and drop down half way past the baseline and swoop. To make a lowercase qu they learned to curve up to the midline, roll back around to the baseline, swing up to the midline and drop down half way past the baseline and hook up to the baseline then swing up to the midline and down to the baseline, swing up to the midline, and down to the baseline.
This past week we learned about different body parts. The students learned about the parts we can see on the outside and the parts we can’t see on the inside like our lungs, kidneys, stomach, small intestines, large intestines and heart. They made a model of a lung to keep in the classroom and discovered our anatomy apron and skeleton work. Using these works they enjoyed learning about organs and bones and where each one belongs in our bodies.
Work Time
Cursive Chalkboard Writing: This child is practicing writing the uppercase cursive M on a chalkboard. He is developing multiple skills involving his eyes, arms, hands, memory, posture and body control.Cursive Chalkboard Writing: This child is practicing writing her name on a chalkboard. She is developing multiple skills involving her eyes, arms, hands, memory, posture and body control.Composing Quantities: This child is practicing the sequence of numbers in the decimal system units, tens, hundreds, and thousands and recognizing what different quantities look like.Sandpaper Letters: This child is tracing and identifying the sounds of the letters ‘m’ ‘l’ ‘e’ ‘w’ ‘p’ and ‘oy’ and connecting the sound with the initial sounds of different objects like log, motorcycle, elephant, web, boy and pink.Introduction Tray: This child is learning the names of each category: units, tens, hundreds, and thousands and learning to identify the quantity and symbol.Movable Alphabet: This child is saying the word of different objects and matching the symbol with the correct initial sound to the object.
Guest Reader
Reminders
November 16 | Parent / Teacher Conferences | NO SCHOOL for Students
This week our “Peek” was written by two of our students! These students read our previous blogs, took pictures around the room, and filled in a blog template. The students did some editing together, and with a teacher, so what you will read below is their final product. There are still some misspelled words in their final product, but in a Montessori classroom we focus on the process, instead of the end result. Dr. Montessori believed when we put all of the emphasis on the final product, we devalue everything leading up to that point. This can discourage repetition which will make mastery of a skill difficult. The purpose of the students writing the blog is to provide you with a glimpse into the room through their eyes, to provide them with practice of real world skills, and to give them a deeper understanding of the materials in the room. We hope you enjoy their work!
“A Peek at Our Week” by Ainsley (4th grade) and Andre (3rd grade)
This week we had a lot of language lessons. The first graders had a lesson on multiples. The secont graders had a detective triangle game lesson.The thierd graders had adjective suffexes. The forth graders had finding humans. The fith graders had plotting points on a graph.
Ms. Ashley is teaching some kids the detective triangle game. It helps students identify triangles by size, sides and angles.This reading group is learning digraphs. They’re learning what sounds make what. Ex. sh makes /sh/This therd grader is recording the wether for the day. He is researching 3 different cities from all around the world.All of the students are working on follow-up work. All of them have been working very hard.
REMINDERS:
11/15 – OCC Packing
11/16 Parent teacher Confrences/No School
11/21-11/23 No School
“A Peek at Next Week” by Ms. Ashley
Next week we will begin practicing for the Christmas Show (yes, already!). Please look for an email in the next two weeks to see what your student will need to wear or practice. Next week first year students will subtract with the Stamp Game, will discuss fall and winter holidays, will begin the study of the fundamental needs of humans, and will learn about different animals. Second year students will have their first Checkerboard lesson, will discuss contractions, will practice using a protractor, and will study South America. Third year students will multiply on the Large Bead Frame, will learn new capitalization rules, will use grids and coordinates in mapping, and will create animal riddles for younger students. Fourth year students will continue working with multiples, will discuss the characteristics of vertebrates, will review the area of plane figures, and will classify different objects. Fifth year students will continue to study factors, will be introduced to archaeology, will classify mammals, and will study density and matter.
Line Time: Insects, arachnids, and Invertebrates- Creepy Crawly, creepy crawly creepy creep creepy crawly (reminds me of The Who song, Boris The Spider). When we went over the five animals all of them were vertebrates (having a backbone and spine) but looking at Insects and arachnids they were invertebrates (no back bone or spine). Most had what we call an exoskeleton which is the skeleton is on the outside. This gives the creature support and protection. We learned insects have a head, thorax, and abdomen, six legs, and two antennae. We sang the characteristics of an insect to the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes. Some insects are ants, bees, and butterflies. Arachnids have a head and abdomen, and eight legs. Some examples of arachnids are spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 10 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, and Swedish).
This alumnus came back to read to her old classroom. The alumnus is the girl in the chair. The gentleman sitting on the floor is the grandfather. Hehe
Birthday: A Montessori Classroom is comprised of multi-aged students. Here is our newest November 3, 4, 5 year olds.
Peek In Our Classroom:
The Pink Tower is arguably the most popular work in the classroom. This boy found different way to stack the blocks. The different ways to do things is called an extension.
Rolling a mat is one of the first things taught to new students. When students work on the floor the mat is their personal work area.
These girls are working on the Africa Puzzle Map. The obvious purpose is to place and identify countries in the continent. Also, the puzzle maps showcase the difference between land and water, and help to develop an appreciation for spatial awareness. The pegged puzzle pieces, which are used in most Montessori classrooms, have a secondary purpose as well. When a child grips the pegs, it’s actually preparing his or her hand to use a pencil. The pegs help to refine a child’s fine motor control, and will make the transition to holding a pencil that much smoother.
Remember this girl who was part of my blog for the last two weeks? She is still in that Sensitive Period of handwriting. Remember a Sensitive Period is a time frame where the child has a thirst for learning a certain skill in a certain area.
This child is working on the red rods found in the Sensorial Area. The direct aim is visual discrimination of difference in dimensions (length) and muscular memory of length. The indirect aim is preparation for mathematics. This child discovered that each rod is the exact length longer of the shortest rod. She is measuring all of the rods in this pic. ***** Notice how she is creating interest with other children ? ******
We have been studying Pop Art and the artist Andy Warhol. They learned how to shade objects on one side to create a three-dimensional look. We made a series of the same object in four colors on bright colored backgrounds like the artwork of Andy Warhol. Look for their Pop Art to be hung in the hallways soon!
We also studied the artist Wassily Kandinsky and his painting of eccentric circles. I had the students draw several circles in two rows. I then had them draw circles inside the main circles. We then used markers to color each of the circles and inner circles different colors as like Kandinsky did in his painting. The students really enjoyed choosing their own colors and making it unique to them.
Lesson: Telling time to the minute- Since we conquered telling time to the hour, half past, and quarter past, and quarter to/ :45, we looked at telling time to the minute. Tick Tock Tick, do do do do (Steve Miller Band Fly Like An Eagle)
Using their “hands” to make time.
Handwriting: We practiced our cursive letters upper and lower case at, al, as, ic, ir blends.
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 10 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, and Hebrew).
Lesson: Telling time 1/4 ’til- Since we conquered telling time to the hour, half past, and quarter past, we looked at quarter to/ :45
Handwriting: We practiced our cursive letters upper and lower case y, z, ee, ea, et blends
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 10 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, and Tagolog).
What a SPOOKY good time we had this week! Our theme was all about Halloween! Everyday we read a Halloween book, and a craft that followed. We also had fun learning about how Halloween first got started. The kids had a blast decorating our classroom for the party!!!
Our friends working on some Halloween crafts for our party!Our friend is working on the Four Seasons cards. With this work not only are they learning the different seasons they are learning how to sort and categorize. The Addition Snake game is such a fun way for children to begin memorizing addition facts. The goal of this work is to turn the colorful snake into a golden snake by counting to ten.The Addition Strip board is one method used by students to assist them in their abstract memorization of addition facts up to 18. We placed a new work on our shelves last week! We drew our form drawings on black paper and the children were able to place beans on the lines that form the form drawing. This work gains their fine motor skills, and helps to develop their pincher grip.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of my wonderful parents for helping and contributing to the Halloween party. It was a success!!
