Mr. John’s December Musings…..

Line Time Lessons:

My class is racing along. My knee is healing to the point where I only need the blasted cane to go up and down stairs. And FINALLY have my voice back and in a few days I will get reacquainted with my old friend ..sleep.  All the students are advancing nicely in academics and socially. Overall, I would brag that my class is well behaved and hardworking. We took the month of December preparing for our Christmas show. Kathleen and Dana did a fantastic job getting the students ready for the big stage by teaching the children the tunes, lyrics, and movements to the songs.

 

 

Cultural subjects:

We can count to ten in 17 different languages. We can count in English, Latin, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic (with the Lebanese dialect), Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, and Hungarian.

         

 

Kindergarten lesson:

We went over the characteristics of the five classes of animals (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds). Our white board was filled and I told my kindergarteners that most adults did not know as much as they do. We then went over the parts and characteristics of insects and arachnids. Did you know a tick is an arachnid? We pulled away from animals and we learned how to measure with rulers (both inches and centimeters).
The kindergarten class can count to ten in 19 different languages… English, Latin, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic (with the Lebanese dialect), Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, and Irish.

Music:

December was a fun filled month in music class, Ms. Lisa kicked off the holiday season will hits like jingle bells and ruldolf the red nose reindeer. The kids got to dance and ring their own bells to jingle bells. We learned how to keep the beat and listen for the speed to change in our songs by using castanets. Rainbow sparkles came to sing with us and help us learn the correct names for musical notes. Can’t wait to see what new songs and dances we will learn in the new year!

Science:

This month in science the kiddos got to make glue, this is a mixture of borax, white glue and water. Mr. John asked our young scientists what their hypothesis was for this experiment, there was a variety of very good answers! The end result was a soft lump of goop that the children were allowed to tale home! There were some very happy kiddos after this experiment. Can’t wait to see what the new year brings!

Art:

This month in art class we learned about Kandinskey and Picasso. For our project that focused on Kandinskey the children drew a variety of shapes using oil pastels and then painted over those shapes with water colors. The end result was a beautiful collage of color! For our lesson on Picasso the children made faces using various shapes and colors. Can’t wait to see what creative projects Ms. Michelle will have in the new year!

 

Cuyahoga Falls Preschool

It is so quiet in here. It is so calm. 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. Miss Kathleen and Miss Dana are wonderful teachers andwork well with the students. They are 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. Ms. Kelly has been spending a lot more time in the classroom to fulfill her requirement s to complete her Montessori training/certification. It is great to have her in my room.

Children love animals and I enjoy teaching the children about different types of animals. This month we started discussing mammals. I chose 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.

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, vertebrates, lay hard shelled eggs, and have dry scales. The children enjoyed feeling our own corn snake. The geckos were just as appreciated.

   
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.
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.
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.
At circle time we count to ten in different languages. We now know how to count to 10 in English, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, Italian, and Russia.

 .   

Kindergarten:
The kindergarten class started the month by learning a little more about the world around us. We learned the vastness of the galaxy in which we live, the Milky Way, the solar system, our planet, Earth, the hemisphere, nothrthwestern, the continent, North America, the country,USA, state, Ohio, county,Summit/Portage city,Cuyahoga Falls, Akron, Tallmadge, and Kent, and finally our address. Then my kindergarten students learned about landforms. Ask them what the definition of a lake, island, bay, peninsula, gulf (not the game), harbor, cape, isthmus, straight, chain of lakes, and archipelago. We went over telling time to the hour, half past, quarter after, and quarter til. Time waits for no one, hehe. Your kindergarteners now know how to count to ten in, English, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, and Arabic with the Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, and Tagalog.

Music:
Ms. Lisa had several new friends join us in music class this month, Jerry giraffe, Freda the frog, and Mike the monkey. The children had a great time welcoming Autumn with Ms. Lisa and her friends. They sang songs and were transformed into autumn leaves with colorful scarves. Freda the frog helped us to use our listening ears when we danced the freeze dance song and used Ms Lisa’s colorful castanets. Another new song and dance combo that was introduced was the jack in the box, and the hokey pokey. Can’t wait to see what great songs are coming for November!

Science:
In science class, Mr. John taught the concept of density. students learned that oil and water do not mix because oil is less dense than water. It didn’t matter how may times they shook the  bottle with oil and water every time the oil floated to the top! We knew that the oil and water did not mix because the oil was a lighter color than the water with food coloring. To explore more about the concept of density, the students tried to get a ketchup packet to sink. When the bottle was squeezed an air bubble in the ketchup packet got smaller. This made the ketchup packet more dense so it sank.Students loved this experiment with the “ketchup submarine” floating up and down the bottle.  Lastly, Mr. John taught another lesson on the strength of a cylinder. Cylinders are the most structurally sound, strongest geometrical shape.  It disperses stress throughout the entire shape.  We learned alot in Science Class and had a ton of Fun!

Art:
We began our October in Art with a project using recyclables from home! During the first week, the students glued down their miscellaneous items to popsicle sticks. Then, the second week the students painted these works of art one primary color. To learn the complimentary colors, the students then added objects that were the complimentary color to the color they originally painted with. This was a great way to learn primary and complimentary colors at the same time! Ms. Michelle also focused on artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Georgia O’Keeffe is known for painting close ups of flowers. The students drew and painted flowers using oil pastels, markers, and water. Lastly, Ms. Michele introduced the students to still life art. The students brought in their favorite toys or objects and set them together in the middle of the room, some even brought the best hoverboards for kids, they had so much fun. The students sat around these toys and were told to draw what they saw. Not only did they draw their own personal toys but other toys as well!  It was another fun month of Art!

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

11/03:    Insects / Arachnids

• Characteristics of insects, examples of insects (invertebrates)
• Antennae, head, thorax, abdomen, six legs (some have wings)
• Characteristics of arachnids, examples of arachnids, 8 legs (invertebrates)
• Afternoon Group Lesson: Fire Safety

11/10: Dinosaurs

• Monday, November 11th  NO SCHOOL  (Teacher In Service Day for Parent//Teacher Conferences All Day 8am-7pm) Don’t forget to sign up for a conference!
• Naming and Identifying Dinosaurs
• Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Pterodactyl, Brachiosaurus
• Plant eaters(herbivores), Meat eaters (carnivores)
• Where the Dinosaurs lived and how long ago they lived
• Fossils and Extinction
• Afternoon Group Lesson: On the Farm

11/17: Thanksgiving/ Native Americans

• Mayflower, Native Americans
• When the Pilgrims came to America
• Who the Pilgrims were and why they came
• The Mayflower
• Native American shelters, nomadic, settlers
• Afternoon Group Lesson: Pilgrims/The First thanksgiving

11/24: Family

• Members of a family, family traditions and holidays
• Family birthdays, vacations
• Family pets
• Afternoon Group Lesson: Thanksgiving Crafts

Letters of the Week: Try to find objects that begin with each letter wherever you go with your child.

11/03: Kk
11/10: Ll
11/17: Mm

Rhyming Words of the Week: Try to find each word in books as you read to your child.
11/03: OX, box, fox, lox, pox, sox
11/10: BOT, cot, dot, got, hot, lot, not, pot, tot
11/17: BOP, cop, hop, mop, pop, top

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.
• Play “I Spy” with items beginning with the letter of the week, or find things around your home that begin with the letter of the week.
• Explore your neighborhood. See if you can find any fossil plant prints on rocks in your yard or neighborhood.
• Make fall crafts together to help decorate your family Thanksgiving table.
• Look through family photo albums together and talk about your family. What does each family member do for a job?  Where did you grow up?  What unique traditions does your family have?

Cuyahoga Falls School

Summer flew by and this school year feels like it is flying by since September has come and gone. The beginning of the school year is always exciting. I love seeing old faces and welcoming new students and their families. This year’s starts with many new students and many young students but I am pleasantly surprised that the classroom is full of well behaved and eager learners. Line time is running smoothly. After the students walk the line and sit for line time I see “criss cross applesauce” (legs folded in a pretzel), doopas on the line, safe hands and bubbles (hands folded in laps and ready to listen). I usually say in a “fake” mean voice “What is wrong with this picture!” And the children delightfully reply “NOTHING!” What a joy to see that in the first month of school. I want to thank Dana and Kathleen for everything they do. The first two weeks we went over ground rules such as walking in the classroom, having listening ears, keeping our hands and bodies to ourselves and treating the classroom (children, teachers and materials) with respect. We then delved into healthy habits. We now know why it is important to wash our hands and body, brush our teeth, exercise, and get enough sleep, and, eat right.   Healthy eating was a good segway into the next week lesson which was food groups. We learned about grains and cereals, fruits and veggies, meat and protein, dairy and fats and sugars. We identified what foods were in each food group and how many servings to eat each day.   We capped the month with learning the characteristics of and determining what is living. All living things reproduce or have babies, eat or take in nourishment, breathe or exchange gas, and grow. The students determined that I am living but my shoe is non living. Also, Kathleen and Dana are living but their walky talkies were non living. Our student teacher from the University of Akron presented a lesson of living and non living which kept the children engaged and happy. We determined that plants were living things since they met all the criterion.   Cultural Subjects We now can count 1 to 10 in eight different languages (English, Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, German, French, German, and Greek). I wanted to add I do not make it to many concerts but I had the pleasure of seeing “Wilco” this month. A few reasons why I mention this is that the front man, Jeff Tweedy, lives across the street from my sister in Chicago. I talk to him every chance I get and he is a pretty cool guy. So if you ever want to play six degrees of separation from Jeff Tweedy I am your in. Also, he sent all of his children to Montessori school. Academic Enrichment Class: The elders of the school got a blast of geography this month. We learned what the seven continents were, where they are located, a few fun facts about each, and a few counties that are located in each continent. We moved on to the cardinal directions, identifying where the equator and prime meridian are located. The k-students learned the equator and prime meridian create sections called hemispheres. Of course we discovered what continents are in what hemispheres. Ending the month was learning what states are adjacent to our home state of Ohio. We learned where the states are located, what their nicknames are, and their abbreviation. We researched further the facts of Ohio. The “official” things. They are as follows The official Tree: buckeye, Bird: cardinal, Insect: lady bug, Flower: scarlet carnation, Fossil: trilobite, Drink: tomato juice, Rock and Roll song: Hang On Sloopy… O-H-I-O! We can count to ten in 10 different languages (English, Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, German, French, German, Greek, Japanese, and Arabic w/ Lebanese dialect) Enrichment Corner: Welcome back Ms. Lisa! The school year is officially in full swing and the children here are Absorbent Minds are so happy to be in music class again. Ms. Lisa brought her friend Wilma the whale to help us remember musical terms for fast and slow. Lots of our returning friends remembered right away and our new friends caught on quickly. We learned how to work as a team playing five little monkeys, the hokey pokey, and I’m a little tea pot. Looking forward to a year of great music and fun times.   In science class, we first learned that scientists ask questions all the time. They try to answer their questions by making hypotheses. A hypothesis is a guess of what will happen during an experiment. Sometimes scientists guess right but sometimes they are wrong. Our first science experiment included a bottle filled with vinegar and balloons filled with baking soda. We wanted to know what would happen if we mixed the baking soda and the vinegar. Many of the children thought that the bottle or the balloon would explode! Each child took a balloon filled with baking soda and put it on top of the bottle filled with vinegar. When the baking soda shook out of the balloon and mixed with the vinegar the balloon inflated. How did this happen? Mr. John explained that when the baking soda and vinegar mixed a gas called carbon dioxide was made. This gas filled up the balloon. Our next experiment included eggs, salt water, and fresh water. We wanted to find out what would happen to an egg put in salt water and an egg put in fresh water. Would the egg float or sink? Many of the children guessed that either the eggs would float or sink. The children took turns placing eggs into each water. Each time, the egg placed in salt water floated, and the egg placed in fresh water sank. Mr. John explained the concept of density. The salt water was more dense so the egg was pushed to the top. The fresh water was less dense so the egg sank. There was nothing to push the egg to the top. In art class, we first learned what an artist was and what they do. Ms. Michele asked if certain things in the classroom were types of art. Our first artist we learned about was Eric Carle. The children learned that Eric Carle is an author who illustrates his books by making tissue paper collages. What is a collage? A collage is a picture made up of other pieces of paper and other pictures. Ms. Michele showed the children different textures and how to rub them onto tissue paper to make different designs. Once the children had their textured tissue paper, they glued them down to make an animal like Eric Carle. We also learned all about primary colors. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. If you mix two primary colors together you get a different color! The artist Piet Mondrian painted with primary colors to fill in different shapes. The children first glued down popsicle sticks to make shapes like rectangles, squares, and triangles. Then, they used primary colors to paint in their shapes like Mondrian. We are looking forward to the month ahead in Art class!

Making Montessori Great Again:

This title is just a little bit of cheekiness and a lame attempt at political satire on my part. HEHE.  If you follow me on Facebook you’ll notice I stay clear of the subject of politics.  Actually, this babbling will have nothing to do with politics but thoughts about the Montessori classroom and my belief in HOW GREAT it is!

When I first was introduced to the Montessori philosophy I thought to myself…  The students will run a muck.  There is no organization.  There will be no discipline.  In my head were thoughts of a wild chaotic classroom where the children are CRAZY!

When I first starting working here as a teacher, I quickly discovered the students at this all girls catholic school almost immediately started to choose work on their own, worked well with others, and worked well by themselves.  The teachers have a detailed plan of what the students are to be presented, or need extra work on being able to bring your daycare business to the future So, there is a method to the Montessori madness!  No other learning environment will you get children at 3 years of age having the freedom to choose their own works or the older children taking on leadership roles.  The great Montessori environment is an amazing thing.

                                                          My Breakfast Club taking over my seat

Classroom News:

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 with the special vacuums, read more about what we use here.  Important robot vacuum comparison are made and 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.

   

Handsome guys                                                 Cheesecake smile

We also talked about family (since we spent so much time with them over the holidays).  We talked about our mom and dad and what we call them (Mommy, mama, daddy, and papa).  We also have grandparents that we call yaya, papu, oma, papa to name a few.  We told stories about our aunts, uncles, cousins, and of course our brothers and sisters.  We determined that pets are part of our family even though they are not human.

 

Elephant exercise                                              My Snack Pack

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 our differences.  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.  To illustrate this, 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.

                                                                          Anyone can sit anywhere.  Thank you Rosa Parks

We started to learn about our body and how it works.  We learned about our five senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell, and taste).  Did you know you can “feel” with any part of your body?  We hear loud noises, quiet noises, high and low noises.  We need light to see and if we close our eyes we can’t see.  There are good smells like cinnamon, vanilla and bad smells like a dirty diaper and vinegar.  My favorite was the taste test where we tasted sweet (sugar water), salty (potato chips), sour (pure lemon juice), and bitter (unsweetened baking chocolate).  The children enjoyed “most” of the tastes.

                                              Taste test (dark, unsweetened baking chocolate)

We ended the month about learning more 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.

Learning about the skeletal system

We had a former student, Anna F. read to our classroom her favorite book with seventeen stories about pirates.

                                                                           Alumnus reader

Cultural Subjects:

During line time lesson we can count to 10 in twenty three different languages (English, Latin, Spanish, Sign Language, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic w/Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, and Serbo-Croation).

Chore time

 BFF’s working together

Academic Enrichment Group Time | Kindergarten
-with Mr. John

This month we started our section in Math.  We learned about the unit (ones), ten, hundred, and thousand columns.  The kindergartners composed numbers, and were introduced to addition with and without carry overs. Math can be difficult for people of all ages, and at different levels. It varies quite a bit. I always make sure to let the kids know so they don’t get discouraged. Most of them tend to get the concept, that math can get a bit complex. As for the parents, it is important to teach them not to get discouraged either, and to not pressure the kids too hard. Hiring a private math tutor is a much better and safer option. An experienced tutor will be able to adapt to the student, and slowly but surely make progress. Not understanding things can get in the students head, and that can easily complicate matters more.

Cultural Subjects:
We can count to 10 in twenty four different languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek,     Japanese, Arabic w/Lebanese dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Irish, Kiswahili, and Welsh Dutch/Flemish, Serbo-Croatian, Cebuano, and Malay).

Handwriting Enrichment
-with Ms. Kristen

During the month of January, the Kindergarten students learned the proper formation of I-T. They also began to work on copying sentences in cursive. Some of the journal questions we answered were, “ Who is our new president?” , “ What city do you live in?”, and “ What is your middle name?”. These simple questions gave the children a chance to practice their letter formation that they have been learning since the beginning of the year! I am so proud of the progress our young writers have made!

Reading Group | Kindergarten
-with Ms. Kate

For the month of January the children read two stories called Lion At School, and Coyote Rides The sun. After we read both stories we went over any vocabulary the children weren’t certain of or they have never heard of. The children them completed an assigned drawing that allows them to record their early responses to the selection. When the children choose their illustration , they are visualizing the characters and setting of the story. Throughout our readings we lead our at home discussions, and created a song that was based on the story Coyote Rides The Sun. The class brainstormed together about why they might wake up before dawn. Is it because they are going on a trip? Is it a special holiday? Below is the class song they created together. Enjoy!! We intend to take the kids to Huntington Learning Center for some tutoring once they get a little older.

Early Morning Song
Awake in the hour before dawn,
Awake in the hour before dawn,
So I can get to school on time,
So I can open presents on Christmas day,
So I can look for Easter eggs,
So I can go downstairs and have some peace and quiet,
So I can watch t.v.
So I can catch a plane to Disney World,
So I can pack up for the beach
Awake in the hour before dawn.

Science Enrichment
by Ms. Kathleen

Leak Proof Baggy: What happens when we poke holes with a pencil in a baggy filled with water?
Plastic bags like these are made out of our favorite materials, polymers! Polymers are long chains of individual molecules, called monomers. when you puncture the bag with a sharp pencil, you’re separating polymer chains without breaking them. The long chains of molecules than squeeze in tight around the surface of the pencil, preventing any sort of leak. The Children really enjoyed pencil after pencil being poked through the ziploc plastic bag without any leaks.

Biodegradable Packing Peanuts: What happens when you put them in a pitcher of water?
These packing peanuts are made from Starch, with a lot of air pockets. The Starch peanuts once wet dissolve in water just like sugar does. the children loved saying Abracadabra as Mr. John put the peanuts in water and they disappeared.

Absorption, Wet Paper Towel Verses Wet Diaper which will hold more water?
Mr John poured water all over a paper towel and a baby diaper and hung them both over his head, the wet paper towel dripped all over him and the diaper filled with water did not. This is because inside the baby diaper there are molecules called polymers inside, They are the small crystal like substance inside the diaper. A polymer that hold a large amount of water is called a gel, gel absorbs a solvent or water. This why the paper towel did not hold the water but the diaper did. All the children squealed with delight as Mr. John’s head got all wet from the soggy paper towel.

                                                                    “Willing Volunteer”  😉

 

                                                                     “Unwilling volunteer”  🙂

Music Enrichment
by Ms. Sabrina

Peter and The Wolf are back! We are learning the characters of the story, as well as the instruments involved. The children are internalizing the story well. They can tell what characters and what instruments are entering the story. The children have such great listening skills! Another listening game was also played is called Cat and Mouse! The children listened well to directions, and did what was asked skillfully. They loved performing an emotion in the song with the maracas as an instrument! Music is always so much fun with Ms. Lisa!

Art Enrichment
by Ms. Ame
January has been cold but Miss Michele’s imagination has been on fire! Miss Michele has started one of her most creative projects of the year! Miss Michele was able to search for and acquire some extra art supplies from wordtree.io, where students learned many different things, including the importance of marketing art, which can be done in different kind of advertising, from TV ads, billboards, or even online that people do online using resources from companies as The Indexer online. They even went on a field trip! The first week the students learned about mythical creatures and took 3 different animals(one mammal, one reptile and one with wings) and created their own animal on paper! The students first sketched their animal with a pencil and then colored it in! The next week, the students used their drawings and used foil to create a base for a model of the creature! This was a little tricky for some of the younger students but all the students worked hard! After they had made the base, they then covered the foil with a white clay. They added small details like legs, eyes, mouths and wings. Miss Michele is going to bake these creations and then next month the students will decorate them! Thanks Michele for another great start to the year!