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Announcements:
Ms. Kelly
Well we are already a month and a half into 2014! Students and Teachers alike were happy to be back together after our time apart during the holidays. I am so proud of how focused our students are during their work time. I feel fortunate to see their enthusiasm to work and discover every time I step into the classrooms. They are learning so much!
We are looking forward to our upcoming events and service projects planned for the months ahead! Please take a moment to read through our newsletter and discover the happenings here at Absorbent Minds!
2014-2015 Enrollment
We have begun accepting applications for returning families as of Feb 1st, before opening up enrollment to the public on March 1st. This gives our returning families the opportunity to place their scheduling requests for the upcoming school year. We will have Open Houses scheduled at both campuses for families to tour our school and meet our amazing staff. Tallmadge Open House | Saturday, Feb. 22nd 9:00am - 12:00pm Cuy. Falls Open House | Saturday, Mar. 1st 9:00am - 12:00pm
2014-2015 Elementary Program extends to 4th Grade!
On Saturday February 22nd at 12:15pm Absorbent Minds will be conducting a meeting for all families interested in learning more about our Elementary Program (serving students 1st -4th grade) at our Tallmadge Campus. Here we will conduct an informative meeting and play a video of our very own students showcasing their work in our elementary classroom along with feedback from our parents. We hope to see you there!
Spread the word about our school!
We love to have families referred to our program. In appreciation of your referral, Absorbent Minds offers a credit of $100 to any current family for each student referred who attends our program. Your referral is our greatest compliment!
Art Extravaganza Everyone is invited to our highly anticipated Art Extravaganza planned in March for both the Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge Campuses. This is a great event where our students can show off their creativity and artwork they have made throughout this school year while also crafting a project together with their family. During this event we will have an English style Art Auction (Open Auction) comprised of pieces your child helped to create, along with a fun photo booth and face painting! You won't want to miss out on this! Tallmadge Extravaganza Friday, March 7th I 6:60pm Cuy Falls Extravaganza Friday, March 14th I 6:30pm Keep collecting those Box Tops! 
Our next collection date is February 21st!
Collection sheets were sent home and extra
sheets are located in the school office. Maybe your class will be the next pizza party winner!!
Smarter Heroes
In January our students  and families began our Two Cents a Meal Project. Please take a moment to read the Smarter Heroes article below to find out how you can get involved!
Alumni Update:
Every month we devote a section of our newsletter to our wonderful Alumni. We treasured the time we had with our former students and look forward to any opportunity to hear about how they are now! You can find our Alumni Updates on the right side column of the newsletter.
If you have an Absorbent Minds Alumni Student send us an email telling us about what your child has been doing since graduating from Absorbent Minds. We want to know about all kinds of accomplishments; from school, to extra curricular activities and personal growth displayed in any environment! Please email me at Kelly@thesmarterkids.com and put "Alumni Update" in the subject line. We will do our best to include as many alumni updates as possible. I look forward to hearing from everyone!
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Ms. Brandy's Corner:
 The Elementary Journey
When the child enters our elementary classroom, he will find himself in an environment full of knowledge waiting to be discovered. His academic studies will be challenged with the curriculum outlined below, and his life skills will be nurtured, allowing him to grow into the person he was created to be.
Life Skills
There is no tangible measurement of character, initiative or inner drive; yet these are the life skills your child will develop at Absorbent Minds Montessori School. Weekly and daily goal setting, encouraged and reinforced by the teacher, guides the work of the elementary student; thus creating a strong sense of ownership of their education. Responsibility has the power to educate through self-direction. Your child's confidence and self-esteem will grow and flourish as he learns to challenge himself until he becomes proficient in a skill. This personal drive will catapult your child into a world of information where his work ethic will create the character he needs to become a truly great person.
Mathematics/Geometry
Every child uses the environment around him to learn, thus creating his Absorbent Mind. This, in conjunction with what we have discovered through current research of the hand constructing the neurological pathways of the brain, we can conclude, that mathematics is made easy if its roots can be implanted in the work of the hand that is developing the mind. Children are provided the opportunity to touch, feel and experience math. Every material takes the child on a tangible journey through operations, memorization, graphing, fractions, square and cube roots, the study of lines, angles, area, and equivalence. Through these experiences guided by the hand, each student discovers the process of how an answer is found, and gains an understanding of why an answer is correct.
Language
From birth, all children pass through a period in which they can only pronounce syllable; then in early childhood they pronounce whole words, and finally, as a young student they use to perfection all the rules of syntax and grammar. Our curriculum encompasses reading, print and cursive handwriting, spelling, grammar, creative writing, research, and oral presentation. Through stories, charts, timelines, purposefully created materials and carefully chosen books we enable the child to develop an understanding of language. Junior Great Books and studies of the Classics enrich each child's reading experience. Discussions of life lessons learned from characters in stories such as Robinson Crusoe and Anne of Green Gables equips your child with creative thinking skills she will carry with her in all areas of life. "Learning to read and write becomes a delightful exercise, a loving guide to lead the child along pleasant pathways to the discovery of things he has actually performed. Yes, the child will suddenly find himself, one day, in possession of a little composition, a little 'work of art,' that has issued from his own pen!" (Maria Montessori. The Montessori Elementary Material.)
Biology/Physical Science
We believe curiosity is the foundation of all discovery. Our Montessori science curriculum seeks to cultivate the child's natural curiosity and to allow children to discover the answers to all of their "why" questions. Through science we facilitate the child's understanding and admiration for all living things and respect for our interconnectedness with nature. The universe and its parts are brought into your child's hands through experimentation. Scientific study at Absorbent Minds Montessori School concentrates on the process of question, hypothesis, procedure, observation, data analysis and conclusion (the Scientific Method). This method teaches children to think before deciding, to use a logical method of discovery and testing, and to use data to evaluate results and arrive at a thoughtful conclusion. Along with the process, the science curriculum provides each child a basic knowledge of chemistry, matter, energy, simple machines, water, engineering, and magnetism.
Cultural Subjects (History/ Geography)
The imagination of the elementary child flourishes when information is presented in the form of a story. Historical stories have the power to awaken the child's imagination and take him on a tour of creation. This introduction will grab the child's attention and encourage him to research the areas he find most interesting. As children discover new places through history, their interest in Geography intensifies. They start asking "where," "why," and "how." The natural thirst for knowledge drives the child's cultural studies through the solar system, physical and economic geography, map reading, vexillology (study of flags), and the study of rocks, minerals and biomes.
"Education boils down to two things: the student putting in the work to educate himself, and the teacher getting the student's attention long enough and deeply enough to get him started and help keep him going." (Oliver DeMille. A Thomas Jefferson Education. 2009.) Absorbent Minds Montessori School believes the child creates his own mental muscles, using what he finds in the world around him to accomplish this task. We call this type of mentality "The Absorbent Mind." Through our prepared environment and curriculum beginning in preschool continuing throughout 4th grade your child will be equipped to develop his mind, body and soul. |
The "Smarter" Difference
Kindergarten in Montessori
Kelly Andamasaris & Brandy Franks
"The child's work is to construct the man he will become." ~Maria Montessori
The Kindergarten JourneyDuring your child's preschool experience thus far at Absorbent Minds Montessori School, he has begun to develop an understanding of mathematical and language concepts. She has been learning letter sounds and has begun to read simple books. Our Math curriculum has introduced your child to quantity, symbol, and linear counting, developing their number sense and preparing them for our more advanced mathematical materials. It is in their kindergarten year, students use this advanced materials to develop a real concrete and sound foundation in math and language. The Kindergarten children study phonics in more depth, with many opportunities for progression in reading and writing. They practice mathematical operations, which gives the child a hands on and concrete understanding of the decimal system and place value. The Montessori curriculum is purposefully designed to use both the hand and mind together. The movements of our hands and body open neurological synapses in the brain thus creating more steady connections and more efficient brain communications. Your child needs the kindergarten year to internalize early concrete experiences and solidify their educational foundation for the years ahead. Because our classroom has the traditional 3 year grouping of a true Montessori school, the kindergarten children take on a leadership role in the classroom. It is the kindergarten child who leads the classroom. He is looked up to by his peers, requested to be a helper for both teachers and younger friends, and is given the great responsibility of being a role model. Their self-esteem soars as their confidence in themselves increases. In the Montessori environment, the kindergarten child learns self-government, gains self-esteem, and starts the journey to become the man he was created to be. Below are more details about a few of the subjects our Kindergarten students spend time studying. MathJust like there is more than one way to solve a problem, the variety of our materials offer more than one way to learn mathematical concepts. This allows the student to select the material that speaks to him to in order to develop his math skills. Current research indicates that the hand constructs the neurological pathways of the brain. Our Montessori curriculum is purposefully designed to use both the hand and mind together. The movements of our hands and body open neurological synapses in the brain, thus creating more steady connections and more efficient brain communications. The multi-sensory, concrete design of our Montessori Math materials allow for the hand to teach the mind helping the child physically see the concept they are exploring. Students conceptually progress from concrete, to the symbolic, and then move on to the abstract. Through manipulating the materials your child will continue to develop an understanding of number sense, numeration, linear counting; as well as learning static and dynamic addition and multiplication, graphing/data analysis, patterns, problem solving skills, measurement, fractions, and learn appropriate vocabulary. LanguageThe design of the Montessori Language curriculum is to help the child become a master of the spoken and written word. Through the exploration of our materials, the child is able to touch and feel both spoken and written language. Our curriculum encompasses reading and comprehension, handwriting, written and oral expression, and oral presentation. Through stories, the study of phonics, purposefully created materials and carefully chosen books we enable the child to develop an understanding of language. Kindergarten students are offered rich literature to further develop their character along with their reading skills. Cultural Subjects (Science/Geography) At Absorbent Minds Montessori School each student is exposed to a rich experience of geography and culture. We expand your child's journey from her home culture to other cultures and places around the world throughout our curriculum. Our Geography curriculum encompasses time, continents, hemispheres, countries, landforms, cardinal directions, and climate zones, as well as how these affect the people who live in different areas of the world. A variety of materials are available to the child such as globes, country and continent map puzzles and maps, flags, and land & water form models. Every child is a little scientist! By providing your child access to experiments she can do herself in the Physical Sciences and giving her access to hands on Biology materials, she will further develop her interest in studying the world around her. Teaching is the awakening of the heart, soul and mind of each child to the beauty and wonder of this world. To teach is to inspire a good person to become a great person. To teach is to lead; to love; to mentor; to bring out the best in another. As the teacher observes your child in purposeful work, she will begin to see those seeds of greatness sprouting inside his soul.
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| Ms. Kate's Corner:
The winter months are flying by and hopefully spring will be upon us soon! This month the children have been enjoying our different themes and working hard on all of the materials and our different practical life activities!
Our first week the children learned about whales. I introduced a whale book to them and then we started a chart called a "KWL" which stands for "What We Know, What We Want to Know and What We Learned." It always amazes me how much information the children already know about a particular subject and the questions they come up with during lessons. They are fantastic questions! Some of the questions the children wanted to know were, "How far can they swim? What are some of the things whales eat? How many babies can they have? How long are whales?" At the end of the week we had a discussion about everything we learned. For example, the Blue Whale is the largest whale and is long as a football field. The humpback whale is as long as a basketball court! The children also learned about the whales' blowholes and how they have one baby who stays with the mom for up to a year.
During that week the children conducted two science experiments. The first was an experiment to determine how such a heavy animal like a whale could stay afloat. This activity reinforced how salt water is denser than fresh helping objects stay afloat. The second experiment was all about blubber. We took two zip lock bags filling one with lard and then covering with the second bag. The children stuck their hand inside the bag and dipped it into ice-cold water. We observed that our hands never got cold. We discussed what blubber is and what it does for animals. The last day we discussed the different types of whales such as the Toothed Whale, Baleen Whale, the Blue Whale, and the Humpback.
The second week sparked a lot of interest in the children. We learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We began with an activity called "Being Treated Equally." Before I lead the discussion I passed out a snack to just the boys ONLY. I then started reading the book, "Happy Birthday Dr. Martin Luther King."All through the book the girls were wondering why I wasn't giving them any snack, and a few became upset. I didn't explain to them why I did what I did until the story was over. I then asked the girls how they felt not receiving a snack. Sophia said, "I really felt left out." Another child yelled out, "I felt mad when you didn't give us anything!" I then shared that a man named Martin Luther King stood up so that all were treated equal! I loved this activity because I think it really got the children interested in who he was and what he stood for.
 The second activity was called, "We're all the same on the inside." This was a simple exercise on how we can look different on the outside, yet are the same on the inside. I first showed the children a brown egg and then a white egg. I asked them to describe what they saw. I then asked what they thought each egg woul look like on the inside. Almost all of them said the brown egg would be brown in the inside. I then cracked open both eggs and the children were amazed to see that both eggs looked the same. After the activity we talked about how all of us look different on the outside but we think and feel the same things on the inside! It was an awesome activity!! The next day we discussed Rosa Parks and the bus boycotts, freedom marches, sit-ins, and the civil rights movement. We also listened to a song called "We Shall Overcome," a powerful song about what Martin Luther King wanted for himself and others. After the song, we brainstormed some hardships or changes they have overcome or will have to in life.
Next we completed "I have a dream hand prints." The children dipped one hand in brown paint and the other in pink paint and then made prints looking like two people who are holding hands. We then placed a heart in the middle of the hand print. Afterwards the children wrote down the dreams that they have. On the last day I showed a clip of the "I Have a Dream" speech. After the speech we discussed what was said and what he wanted in life. It was a powerful week!
The third week we discussed Alaska and different types of Polar animals. The first day I came in dressed in my winter coat, boots, mittens, flashlight, a protein bar, a polar bear stuffed animal, and a map. I had the children to guess my destination. I was going to Alaska! We looked at our map and talked about where Alaska was located. I then provided Alaska coloring pages for the children to color while I read them a book about Alaska. Throughout the week the children learned fun facts about polar bears, walruses, and seals. The children learned that a walruses' tusk are made out of ivory and are about two to three feet long.
The last week was all about Penguins. The first day each child had to pick an animal name card and keep it a secret. Once everyone had a name card they were able to walk around the room and make their specific animal sound. Once the child found their partner that was making the same sound they had to stand next to each other and be silent. Once everyone found their partner, I explained to them that in order for penguins to find their partner amongst hundreds of other penguins they must call for each other and locate them by their sound. Throughout the week the children learned that the Emperor Penguin is the biggest penguin and is about the size of a six year old! They also learned that they form groups called Rookeries and only lay two eggs except for the Emperor Penguin who lays only one. We also talked about molting, why they fly, how they swim, incubation, and how the male penguin looks after the egg while the female is gone for two months hunting for food. The children loved learning about penguins!
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Mr. John's Corner:
I wanted to again thank Miss Dana and Miss Kathleen for their devotion, love for the children, and hard work. We do have a new motto that I use at line time... "This is.... a good start, to a good day, with GREAT children." My motto for the teachers is "We work. TOGETHER!"
We all returned to school after a well rested, extended winter break. Due to the long break we did a refresher week covering the classroom ground rules. We went over the four basic rules of: 1) No running in the classroom. We do not run because we can get hurt or hurt someone else. 2) Use our listening ears. The students pay attention to the teachers during line time and before cleaning the room and line time. Important information is shared during line time and listening is a sign of respect and courtesy. 3) Keep our hands to ourselves. We do this to honor other student's personal space. In addition, we do not hit, punch, push or do anything to physically hurt other students. 4) Respect others. This is basically being nice to your fellow students. Use nice words, smile instead of giving mean faces, sharing, and helping those in need.  To honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we learned a bit about his life and his accomplishments. The students became actresses and actors as they recreated Rosa Parks making her stand on a bus in Montgomery Alabama. The students enjoyed playing the part of the bus driver, Rosa Parks, "the mean guy", a police officer, Martin Luther King Jr., and passengers on the bus. We discussed our differences such as skin color, eye color, hair color, and gender. Then we discussed how we are similar. We talked about discrimination and segregation. We talked about if someone with red hair wouldn't be allowed to do art "just because" they have red hair or if anyone who had blue eyes would have to go to a different classroom with less materials, broken crayons, or no books "just because" they have blue eyes. I had only boys fetch the chairs for the skit and brought that to the attention of the class. We had some very sad girls.... I did let the girls take the chairs back after the skit.  We sniffed, touched, heard, saw, and even tasted things around us. We learned about our 5 senses. Our sense of touch can determine if something is cold or hot, rough or smooth, hard or soft. We also learned that we can feel on any part of our bodies.  When we feel something it sends a message from your skin to your BRAIN. The sense of smell captures scents in the air, goes in our noses, and sends a message to the BRAIN. We learned the sense of sight happens with our eyes. The eye captures light; the light passes through the eye and sends a message to the BRAIN. The ear provides our sense of hearing. The ear captures sounds, the sound travels through the ear canal, hits the ear drum, the ear drum vibrates and sends a message to the BRAIN. The sense of taste happens in the mouth particularly on the tongue. The taste buds on the tongue capture the taste and send a message to the BRAIN. We did have a taste test of sweet (sugar water), salt (salt water), sour (lemon juice), and bitter, my favorite (unsweetened baking chocolate). For the baking chocolate we use most of our senses. We started out by looking at the pieces of chocolate. Then we felt the piece of chocolate and smelled the piece of chocolate. THEN... we tasted the piece of chocolate. (If it looks like a duck, it may not be a duck) I have to admit this is one of my favorite activities on line time.
We ended the month about learning about our body. We looked at the skeletal system and if we didn't have a skeleton we would be one messy blob on the ground! We learned the skull protects our brain, the rib cage protects our lungs, and the spine keeps us sitting and standing straight. We learned technical terms for our arms, leg and our digits which is a funny name called phalanges. We brought our life sized foam puzzle into our room. His name is Elvis because we learned about the pelvis and it was a cool rhyming name.
Kindergarten:
This month we started our unit in Math. We learned about the unit (ones), ten, hundred, and thousand columns. The kindergarteners composed numbers, and were introduced to dynamic and static addition (with and without carry overs).  Cultural Subjects
During line time lesson we can count to 10 in nineteen different languages (English, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic w/Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Irish, Kiswahili, and Welsh. In kindergarten we can count in the same languages with the addition of three languages (Dutch/Flemish, Serbo-Croatian, and Cebuano).
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Ms. Sabrina's Corner:
by Ms. Kristen Minnich
Our classroom was busy this month after returning from Christmas Break! It was wonderful to see the children pick up where they left off and work so well in the classroom this month!
During the first week of January, we learned about the planets, outer space, and about being an astronaut! We learned the order of the planets and played a matching game in the afternoon to help us remember the names of these planets. The children also enjoyed learning about famous astronauts such as Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. We also enjoyed watching a video of the Space shuttle launching! The children we fascinated! Together we graphed which of the planets we studied was the children's favorite. The winner, by quite some margin, was Neptune! The majority of the children said they picked Neptune because it's blue and "lays on its side".
During the second week, we learned how to take care of our bodies. We discussed how we need to take care of our bodies by brushing our teeth, taking a bath, eating healthy food, drinking plenty of water, and exercising. We also discussed the food pyramid. We learned which foods are healthy to eat, and which foods are "sometimes" foods. The children enjoyed separating pretend food into grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy, and oils. We also enjoyed learning about different ways we can exercise, such as dance, yoga, riding a bike, etc.
 Next we explored our five senses as well. To further investigate our sense of taste we tested something sweet (a sugar cube), something sour (lemon juice), something salty (a cheese-it), and something bitter (a piece of baking chocolate). To explore our sense of touch, Ms. Kim brought in several items and had the children categorize the items by how they felt and separated them into piles ( soft items in one pile, bumpy items in another, etc.). We also talked about how our ears help us to hear. To further explore their sense of hearing, the children played a game where one child would close their eyes, and another child would say, "Hello Friend", and the child with their eyes closed guesses whose voice they heard.
To further investigate our five senses, we celebrated National Popcorn Day. Ms. Kim popped popcorn in an air popper, and we were able to hear the popcorn pop, smell the popcorn, touch the popcorn, see the popcorn change from seeds to fluffy popcorn, and we were also able to taste the popcorn. So much fun!
We also learned about our skeletal system during the final week of January. We read a book entitled "Dem Bones." This help teach us how all our bones work together to help us move and to help protect our organs. 
During morning circle time, we also reviewed our orange sandpaper letter packet. We learned the sounds "l", "u", "f", and "d". The children enjoyed coming up with words that started with those sounds.
We also have a new addition to our classroom! A male Beta fish! The children have enjoyed watching him swim and observing him during their work time.
 As a closing thought, I encourage parents to take time with your child in the coming months to review with your child what they have learned about the body and outer space. Ask your child which planet is their favorite. As the weather hopefully becomes warmer in the next month or so, take time to look at the night sky with your child and ask them what they see. Find some form of exercise you and your child might enjoy doing together. Maybe you can taste test together as a family.
It's truly a joy teaching your children and I am amazed by them everyday!
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Ms. Courtney's Corner:
Welcome back! It is nice to be with your children again and see how much they have grown! We kicked off January by talking about polar animals. The children enjoyed making fake snow out of hair conditioner and baking soda and waddling around the classroom like penguins! We discussed our favorite polar animals. The most popular amongst our students were polar bears, seals and penguins. Our curiosity led us to see what salt would do to ice so we froze a block of ice. Next, we held the block of ice and took turns placing spoonful's of salt onto the ice. It was interesting to watch the salt create holes in the ice. After the holes were created we took turns dripping primary food coloring into the holes. The colors mixed together to form new colors.
The second week in January we learned all about ocean animals. We learned about things that exist in an ocean habitat like sand, small shells, smooth stones, seaweed, coral etc. We then made our own octopuses out of our very own hand prints. Everyone had a chance to guess how long they think the largest creature in the world is by estimating how many of us (in length) it would take to make a blue whale. The closest guess was 38! We were all amazed at how long a blue whale is.
After having Martin Luther King Jr. Day off we talked about how he was a hero because he was brave and honest (noble). We shared who are heroes are and who we'd like to be like someday. Our most popular answers being either Mom or Dad! We discussed how MLK made a speech and worked hard toward peace because back then people were treated badly if they did not have the same color skin. Each child made a picture of what their dream was and wrote about it to create a class book for the library. We also took two eggs one white the other brown that have not been cooked and compared their similarities and differences on the outside and took a guess as to whether they will be the same or different on the inside. We determined even though different on the outside, they were the same on the inside, just like people!
Despite all of the snow days we took an imaginary trip to the zoo and sang all about the tigers, lions, chimpanzees, and kangaroos we saw for our last week in January. Some of our friends even invited their favorite zoo stuffed animals to our morning line time and snack! January was a fun month together with your children!
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Elementary Physical Education
January brought new fun for the elementary kids in gym class. We played many games including kick ball and rush the bean bag. But this month I turned the tables on the kids and asked them to teach me a game. The game they chose to teach me was stuck in the mud...a favorite during recess. The kids enjoyed sharing their favorite game with me and I enjoyed learning from them.
We ended the month with a trip to the bowling alley. All the children enjoyed the game; some playing the sport for the first time. The best part was seeing the children cheer on their classmates with high fives even though a golden pin was at stake. Aleksander had some steep competition from all the children but came out victorious with 105 pins. With the purchase of some new equipment this month, I look forward to some new and exciting gym classes. Also, I have planned a couple more adventurous field trips for the year! More to come...
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Enrichment Programs:
Music Class by Kristen Minnich
 January was action packed this month in music class as Ms. Lisa began her unit on Peter and The Wolf! It is a story about a little boy who, dispite his grandfather's warning, sets out with his animal friends to capture a wolf. It was written by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. He was commisoned by the Children's Theatre in Moscow in order to help cultivate a love of music in children at a young age.
The story of Peter and The Wolf is a great introduction to the orchestra and the music and story are engaging as well! Ms. Lisa introduced us this month to the characters in the story and the instruments that represent them. The bird is represented by the sound of the flute, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the grandfather by the bassoon, the wolf by french horn, Peter by the whole string section, and the Hunters by the woodwind section.
Ms. Lisa also had the children move in time to a piece of music by Mozart, teaching them to move in time with the music. In order to help facilitate this, Ms. Lisa passed out various colored scarves in order to help the children visually see the movement of the music.
In order to help the children practice their critical listening skills (a skill every musician needs), Ms. Lisa had the children play a game of freeze with music that move both fast ( allegro) and slow (adagio).
In closing, I would encourage you to discuss with your child their favorite character thus far in Peter and The Wolf and ask them what instrument represents that particular character. Another way to practice the concepts being taught in Music class is to practice moving adagio and allegro around the house with your child. Another helpful review would be to ask your child, as you're listening to the radio in the car, if the music playing is andante (medium, walking tempo), allegro, or adagio.
Science Class by Ashley Ely
We have done many great experiments this past month in Science. The first was Absorption. We asked, what will happen if we pour water in a container containing paper towels and another container containing sodium Polyacrylate. Which one will hold more water, paper towels or the Polyacrylate (material in diapers)? Then the children went on to make their Hypothesis. Meryem said, "The diaper will hold more water." Ella said, "The paper towels will told more water." Now, let's see what the data said and what conclusion we came too. Our data was, the container with paper towels absorbed some water but not all the water but the container that had the polyacrylate absorbed all the water and none of the water spilled out. So our conclusion was that the sodium Polyarcrylate holds more water than paper towels and therefore is more absorbent.
The Next experiment we conducted was called "The Lava Lamp." I was also amazed how simple this experiment was. All you need is: a glass or see through bottle, vegetable oil, water, food coloring and some effervescent tablets, like Alka-Seltzer. Fill the bottle 1/3 of the way with oil, and then fill the rest with water leaving a little room at the top. Next add about 10 drops of food coloring. We used blue food coloring which worked well but you can use it with other colors. Then we took turns breaking the Alka-Seltzer in half and dropping each into the bottle. Then we asked the anxious scientists what will happen when the Alka-Seltzer is dropped in the bottle. Riley said," It will float up to the top". Aiden said, "It will not float and fall to the bottom". Now, let's see what the data said and the conclusion we came too. Our data proved when the Alka-Seltzer hits the bottle it starts to fizz causing the oil and coloring to bubble up like a lava lamp, and then it will settle back to normal. You can do this many times over again!
The next experiment we performed was, "Play Dough Spheres." First Fill the bucket with water. Then break the play dough into two balls into equal sizes. Shape one ball into the shape of a boat. It will depend on the size of your play dough but you can make your boat about the same size as your hand when it is cupped. Make sure all the sides are about the same height. Place the play dough boat and the ball on the surface of the water. Then we asked the children what will happen. Rishon said, "The solid spheres will sink and the bowl will float." Ian said, "The solid will float and the sphere will sink." When you placed both objects on the surface of the water the results were very different, even though both pieces of play dough have the same weight. The ball takes up a smaller space than the boat. The amount of water pushed aside by an object equals the force of water pushing upward on the object. The larger play dough-boat pushes more water out of the way than the ball and creates enough upward force to cause it to float. So the boat floats and the ball sank. Such a fun experiment to do. Everyone can try this at home!
Art Class
by Michele Hayden
 What a great start to the New Year! Students began with a two week lesson on Huichol yarn painting. The Huichol people of Mexico used this style of art to communicate visions seen by shamans. They smeared bees wax on a board, pressed yarn into it, and created colorful images. The students used glue and yarn to create a similarly colorful rendition of their names. This was sometimes difficult and our fingers got very sticky. Students figured out that if they cut their yarn into small pieces like spaghetti it was easier to use. These name plates look great!
We may have had a few snow days but they didn't stop us from beginning a three week project on mythological creatures. The first step of our project is to talk about all types of creatures, so that we can get our creative juices flowing to construct our very own mythological creature. We discussed what animals come from eggs. Chicks and hens were the most popular answer, but students finally told me reptiles, fish, birds, insects, dragons and dinosaurs all come from eggs. Next we looked at an egg that was silver and teal adorned with gemstones and beads. Students enjoyed passing the egg around and imagining what could be in the egg. We also studied artwork inspired by stories from Greek, Egyptian, and Mexican mythologies. Students enjoyed thinking up what could the meaning of each. They made up many stories and were excited to learn that some of them included characters they already knew about like Hercules and mummies. Finally, we selected our own animals to mix up and create a new creature. Students seem very excited to work with clay and continue this project!
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We at Absorbent Minds have been very blessed in so many ways. We want to share our blessings and become a blessing to others. In this light, we have created The Smarter Heroes. Smarter Heroes are ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things. Only through our willingness to do the "extra" do we become extraordinary. We are proud to see our children, parents and staff, have a willingness to do the "extra" in the spirit of serving others. The Smarter Heroes recognizes and celebrates that serving spirit, while providing children an opportunity to learn about our community and our world. The Smarter Heroes allows children to embark on various educational opportunities and service projects for our local and world-wide communities.
Two Cents a Meal
This project, started by Mr. John a few years ago, is designed to teach our students about world-wide hunger. We have explained to your children that we are blessed and privileged to be able to eat like we do everyday. We talked about places in the world where little children, just like them, do not have food to eat. Students have been told that every penny placed into their container will help a child eat.
We are asking that for the next two months (1/20/14 - 3/10/14) families place 2 cents per person, per meal, into the collection container, for every meal eaten at home. Beginning on Monday, March 11th, families can bring in your containers full of pennies and we will start counting them. Each student will have a turn pouring and counting their donations into their classroom bucket. All of the money collected will be donated to Harvest for Hunger.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
All Campuses
Presidents Day
NO SCHOOL
Monday, February 17th
TKD Belt Test
Monday, February 24th
Spring Break
March 24th- 28th
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, February 22nd9:00am-12:00pm ART EXTRAVAGANZAFriday, March 7th 6:00-8:00pm Cuyahoga Falls Campus
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, March 1st
9:00am-12:00pm
ART EXTRAVAGANZA
Friday, March 14th
6:00-8:00pm
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