Presidents: We talked about how we celebrate Presidents Day every year. The students learned that the president is the leader of the United States of America and that he cares a lot about our safety, that’s why he recommends us to get a dash cam from Blackbox my car products. They discovered that George Washington was our first president and Donald Trump is the current president. We even talked about Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson.
Work Time
Europe Map: This child is learning the names of the countries and where they are located on a map.Color Box 4: This child is grading different colors from darkest to lightest, while also refining his sense of sight.Linear Counting: This child is working on one of our cubed bead chains, she is identifying the names of the numbers and seeing the correspondence of the quantities with the written number on the cards. She is also discovering that 4X1=4, 4X2=8, 4X3=12 and so on.Animal Stacking: These students are developing their sense of order, coordination, concentration and independence while problem solving to stack and balance the animals on top of one another.
Guest Readers
Reminders
March 2 | Progress reports
March 3 | Tallmadge Open House
March 13 | Parent teacher conferences (Pre-K & K families only)
Fractions: The kindergarten students have been learning how to identify fractions from whole to eighths. We have been talking about what the numerator and denominator are and why they are important. The students have been having fun figuring out equivalences and sensorially adding fractions together.
Fraction Skittles: Identifying and labeling fractions.Equivalences: This student is proud that he discovered 1/2+1/4+1/4=1 whole.Sensorially making equivalences using fraction tiles.
Project: These students are researching plants, flowers and animals from Africa.
A peak into next week: Money (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars)
Dancing Hearts: We put candy hearts from some of our candy boxes in Sprite to see what would happen. The students had hypothesis like they will dissolve, float, sink and make a rainbow. We observed the carbon dioxide pick the candy hearts up and float on top of the Sprite. Then, when the hearts reached the top the bubbles burst and the candy dropped down again.
Upside down glass of water: We filled a glass up with water, placed a piece of cardboard over the top and turned it upside down. We discovered that the air pressure around the glass was greater than the weight of the water. Therefore, the air pushing up from underneath the water was strong enough to hold the piece of cardboard in place so the water would not spill out.
This week our class learned all about patterns and where they can find them. We read some fantastic books on patterns, created patterns with our classrooms materials, looked at different patterns on paper and had to figure out what would come next, and made patterns with our bodies. They had a blast this week!!!
Our two kindergarteners are working on the noun game. The purpose of this work is to introduced the function of a noun, to relate words to objects, to facilitate the identification of nouns in sentences, and to help children practice reading. When working on the teen board the child is able to associate the numbers eleven through nineteen with symbols 11 to 19. They also can successfully Draw the association between the quantity ( concrete) and the numbers ( abstract). Our red rods are located in our sensorial area. The purpose of the reds rods is the understanding of size, muscular and visual perception of dimension, which then leads to observation and knowledge. The child also gains small motor skills, math readiness, sequencing and order, and finally adding. Our friend here is working on our pink rhyming work. This work is more of our advanced rhyming work. The pink series is where the words consist of three letters : a beginning and ending consonant, and a vowel in the middle. All of the vowel sounds in this series are short vowels. This work that you see here is our opening and closing work. This consists of different types of containers and jars for the child to open and close with. The purpose of this work is for the child to to gain fine motor skills as well as as the small muscles in their hands. It also helps them be successful and more independent during their lunchtime. You would find this work in our practical life area.
Take A Peek Into Next Week:
Next week is all about Dr. Seuss!! The class will have fun with tons of crafts, activities, and stories while we celebrate his birthday!!!
Recognition: The two people make make the school run as smoothly as it does is the office staff. Kelly and Lisa prepare the field trips, prepare for our open houses, The Dance, Christmas Show, International Festival, and do billing (hehe). They do it all. The teachers get most of the fanfare but Kelly and Lisa need recognition as well. Koudos to the office staff!
Cultural Subjects: Your children can count to ten in 22 different languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, and Polish).
Line Time: We went back in time and learned about Ancient Egypt. We learned that the leaders or kings were called Pharaohs and when a king died they used a method to preserve them called mummification. The pharaohs that were mummified look nothing like you see at Halloween or on cartoons. The ancient Egyptians had a a written language called hieroglyphics which incorporated symbols such as cats, humans, and other daily objects. We also l;earned that the ancient Egyptians were responsible for building the Great Pyramids and The Sphinx which has the body of a lion and a head of a man.
Peek In Our Room:
I was giving lessons to two students at the same time. At times, more than one student is at the same place academically and I am able two give group lessons. Small group lesson give the opportunity for the students to help each other.The two girls are looking at the book that go with our thematic unit (this week was Ancient Egypt). Students get to explore the books and their curiosity is piqued prompting 5hem to ask questions and explore.hn I was going to break this little gathering until I over heard what they discussing… The Presidents of the United States of America. They were discussing JFK, Barrack Obama, George Washington, and Abe Lincoln.They boys are working on the Addition Strip Board. The Montessori addition strip board is one method used by students to assist them in their abstract memorization of addition facts up to 18. While the materials are somewhat abstract, the process is still concrete.
Next Up In The Classroom:
Line Time: Ancient Greece
Letter Of The Week: V v
Rhyming Word Of The Week: ben
Language Added: Polish
Coming Down The Pike:
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^^^^^ Art Museum Field Trip Thursday March 15, 2018 ^^^^^
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Parents of Kindergarten Students and Pre-K Students look for info regarding Parent Teacher Conferences
Kindergarten Lessons: This week we started our two week journey in the fascinating world of Geometry. We learned that there is just not one kind of triangle. Actually, there are many kinds of triangles but we focused on three (Equilateral, Isosceles, and Scalene). We then looked at Quadrilaterals which are any four sided shape (square, rectangle, rhombus, trapezoid, chevron). We moved on to polygons (pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon). Learning how to count in Greek really paid off during this session.
Cultural Subjects: We can now count to ten in 21 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, and Malay).
Peek Into The Kindergarten Room:
Notice how two scalene triangles make an equilateral triangle, three isosceles make an equilateral triangle, and four small equilateral triangle make on bigger equilateral triangle. Your children have.
Peek Into Next Week (2/26/2018): Lesson– More Geometry Language– We will be adding Hindi Synonym of the week– wet Sight words of the week– write them
“Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest, and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting of one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.” – Maria Montessori
As a parent of a Montessori child, you might be surprised by the amount of independence and self-regulation we require of such young children. We ask your child to remember their own homework and supplies, to manage their own time and meet deadlines, to answer their own questions, to come up with solutions when they have dropped the ball, among many other things. I often wonder what age it was that I finally learned how I learn best, how to find the information I was seeking, and how to be productive on my busiest of days. It may not have been until college that I really had a grasp on all of these things. How lucky these students are to be constantly working towards mastering these skills at such a young age! Think of how much they will be able to accomplish in the future, with ease, because of the Montessori environment! When your child is struggling with the challenges that arise in the Elementary classroom, remember that independence they are working towards, be that listening ear and that constant reminder that they just might not be able to do it YET, but with hard work, their struggle with one specific task or challenge will be temporary.
This Monday we took a trip to the Tallmadge Library to collect books in preparation of the Science Fair. Students are researching questions they have come up with about plants, robots, electricity, gases, and animals. Students were required to search the books, not just for the overall topic, but to be sure it would be helpful in answering their question. Each child has started their research in order to come up with a hypothesis before experimentation.The third year students have been working with the Pythagorean Theorem. Previously, they found that the formula worked with isosceles triangles. This week, they tried the formula with a scalene triangle, then found Pythagorean Triples!All students have partnered up this month to complete a study of a country in Europe. This first year student is researching the homes in Russia. After completing their research, students will write a research paper and present their findings to the class.This second year student is researching what would happen if she placed a balloon on one thumbtack, then placed a second balloon on a large amount of thumbtacks. She discovered that the weight is evenly distributed with the pile of thumbtacks and her balloon did not pop!This month, students are trying experiments that show how the human body works. This week, they had a taste test. The children had to cover their eyes and plug their nose while they tried an apple and an onion. They then discussed whether sight and smell make a difference in taste!Our decoration committee transformed leftover “Fun”raiser decorations to make our Valentine’s Party a hit! We especially loved their signs welcoming us to “Pairadice” and the “Love Shack.”Our game committee planned some exciting challenges for us! We had to pin the heart on the alien, find a heart hidden by opposite teams within five minutes, and control our bodies enough to stop on a dime during “Freeze Dance.”
A Peek at Next Week
Next week, we have our first “Going Out Experience” to the Greater Cleveland Aquarium on Tuesday. If you are driving other students, please arrive by 8:45. If you are meeting us at the Aquarium, please let me know. Lower Elementary students will discuss indirect objects in sentences, look at the bones in our bodies, and find plants from different continents. Fourth year students will begin their virus models and report and study the Australopithecines. All students will continue their research for the Science Fair. Look for an email about the supplies your child will need!
REMINDERS:
Monday, February 19 – NO SCHOOL – Presidents’ Day
Tuesday, February 20 – Greater Cleveland Aquarium “Going Out Experience”
Wednesday, February 21 – Brain Discussion with Mrs. Taiclet
Thursday, February 22 – Please make sure your student brings their recorder for Music class. If you had one ordered, they are already in!
Fractions: The kindergarten students have been learning how to identify fractions from whole to eighths. We have been talking about what the numerator and denominator are and why they are important. The students have been having fun making their own fraction books.
Making fraction booksThis student is journaling about how if he could have any animal in the world it would be a cat.
Pets/Valentine’s Day: We learned that a pet is a companion animal. Which means he/she is kept for a person’s company, protection or entertainment. We talked about how the two most popular pets are cats and dogs so is good to learn how to educate them and using calming treats for dogs amazon is a great aid for this. We learned that some other animals that people commonly keep are: ferrets, rabbits, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, lizards, fish, frogs, turtles etc, and lastly we sent down info to their parents on the best puppy insurance to have, for those who own pets at home.
Work Time
Nine Layout: This child is becoming familiar with the names and relative sizes of the categories: units, tens, hundreds and thousands. She is also discovering that if she has i.e. 6 units and adds 1 more unit she will have 7 units.Cards and Counters: This child is demonstrating her knowledge that each number is made up of separate quantities. She is also able to visually see the sequence of numbers and how many separate units go together to form each number.Zipping: This child is developing his independence and concentration while also gaining finger control and dexterity to manipulate a zipper.United States Map: This child is learning the names of the states and where they are located on a map.Pink Rhyming: This child is sorting words that have or end with the same sound as one another.These boys are enjoying a book about ocean animals.
Guest Reader
Reminders
February 19 | President’s Day | No School
February 22 | Bring Your Parent to Work Time | http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090b48a8a92da6f94-bring
Cultural Subjects: Your children can count to ten in 20 different languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, and Welsh).
Line Time Lesson: Presidents Of The United States Of America (wasn’t that a 90’s band? Gunna eat a lot of peaches!) We first learned about George Washington and how he was our first president and was the General of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln came from a poor family, freed the slaves and was president during the Civil War. We were introduced to Franklin F. Roosevelt and how he was president during World War II and how John F. Kennedy fought for equal rights. We then learned that Donald Trump was current president. The children were taught that the president’s wives are called the first lady and that the president lives in the white house in Washington DC, and flies on a jet called Air Force 1. We discussed what responsibilities the President has. The children came up with keeping us safe, keeping the world safe, and running the country.
Peek In Our Classroom:
This boy is performing the operation of Dynamic Division (with borrowing) with the Stamp Game. This is a fairly long and involved process that takes a fair amount of time and patience. It seems he has a happy face while working on his equations.
There were two students that dropped some materials under the animal cages. At first they tried to get the pieces by using a broom handle and yard stick. That just pushed the pieces further back. Then they realized that the shelves were not solid but grated. They asked me to move a cage and she was able to easily reach the pieces. No adults were used in the thought process.The Kindergarten Students are given special more complex tasks such as greeting the children and entering the time of arrival on the attendance sheet.
These girls are working with one of my science bins (The Ocean). Here they are looking at the physical shells and finding them in the book.
In The Near Future:
Line Time For Week Of 2/19/2018: Ancient Egypt Letter Of The Week: U u Rhyming Word Of The Week: bet Language: Polish will be added
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****** Open House on February 24, 2018 from 9am to Noon ******
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NO SCHOOL 2/19/2018 (MONDAY)
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An email was sent for information for the second round of Parent Observations
Follow the link below to sign up to observe in my classroom.
