Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
Did You Know(Do not mess with a silver back)?:
A silverback gorilla can lift more than 1,763 pounds (800 kg) of dead weight. This is about twice as much as a well-trained weightlifter. That’s nothing I bench pressed 1905lbs my junior year in high school. lol
A Word From Mr. John(Bring Back The Spit Sink):
This is far more respectable than the suction. Right?RIGHT?
March Birthdays:
A Montessori Classroom prides itself on a multi-aged classroom. Here are our newest 6 and 5 year old students and a 4.5 half birthday.
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog).
Know Your Languages (): Not until after the International Festival
Specials Spot(Art):
Making shirts in Art.
Spring forward!
Peek In Our Week:
Look how they flock to the visitor. Kindness abounds in the Montessori classroom. A lesson in Grace and Courtesy.
He is doing equations with manipulatives.
They are working on the 5 chain where they skip by 5, find the square of 5, and find the cube of 5.
They are working with the Knobless Cylinders found in the Sensorial Area. They are exploring, what we call, an extension. Montessori extensions help children build on their knowledge of materials, develop their skills, and challenge their thinking.
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Preparing for International Festival Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Next Language is not until International Festival is over.
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Geometric Solids Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until the International Festival
Next Week in Kindergarten: Consonantsand Vowels Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
Just a fun picture of my kindergarten students.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
We learned about Roman Numerals this week. I always say the special number is 10. Just take a guess why they are making an “X” and it’s not because they are straight edge. Lol
Future Happenings:
*Akron Art Museum Field Trip– Friday, March 14th. It is FREE! *International Festival – Friday, March 21 *NO SCHOOL for Spring Break – March 22 through March 30 {Return Monday March 31}
Spring forward!
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
Ya shouldah seen the other guy.
I am loving the hair as much as she is loving life.
The students love the goats and the goats love the children.
Good times in the Buckeye Room with an obvious photo bomb.
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things(Ooo LaLa. I think that’s French):
They are showing off their oriental fans and boomerangs.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
Did You Know(The Pope Can NOT Be An Organ Donor)?:
Vatican officials say that after a pope dies, his body belongs to the entire Church and must be buried intact. Furthermore, if papal organs were donated, they would become relics in other bodies if he were eventually made a saint. This is crazy stuff.
A Word From Mr. John(Doopa):
A Visitor:
We had another U of A college student visit our classroom. She had such a great rapport with the students and the children loved her.
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog).
Know Your Languages (): Not until after the International Festival
Specials Spot(Music):
Music with Ms. Lisa and Jerry the Giraffe.
Peek In Our Week:
She is working on the Snake Game. The purpose of the Montessori Snake Game is to introduce young children to basic addition concepts, specifically focusing on combinations that make ten, by allowing them to manipulate colored beads to build “snakes” that represent different number combinations, thus helping them visualize and practice addition through a hands-on activity; it also aids in developing fine motor skills and understanding number relationships. She is working on the Color Bead Bars found in the Math area. A color bead bar, typically used in Montessori education, is a visual tool that helps children learn basic math concepts like counting and quantity by associating a specific color with a particular number of beads on a bar, allowing them to easily grasp the relationship between color, quantity, and number through hands-on manipulation. Look at the children greeting a visitor. This part of Grace and Courtesy in the classroom. Grace and Courtesy lessons in Montessori teach young children how to interact with others in a polite, respectful, and considerate manner.Look who is reading the Max books!
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Preparing for International Festival Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Next Language is not until International Festival is over.
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Construction Triangles Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until the International Festival
Next Week in Kindergarten: Geometric Solids Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
The kinders worked with polygons in Kindergarten Lesson.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
No Special Kindergarten Group due to awful pain stemming from root canal.
Future Happenings:
*Akron Art Museum Field Trip– Friday, March 14th. It is FREE! *International Festival – Friday, March 21 *NO SCHOOL for Spring Break – March 22 through March 30 {Return Monday March 31}
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
These crazy eyes freak me out!Snack is a crowd favorite in the classroom.Fancy hair. You ca get this look by braiding wet hair. Leave it braided until dry. Unbraid the hair and tahdah fancy hair. You’re welcome for the tip.He looked different… he wasn’t wearing his glasses? No! He shaved his mustache? No! Oh…. he got a haircut. Actually, he got all his hairs cut. Looks to me a number two clipper was used.
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things(Trials and Tribulations of Piercing Ears):
Someone from the church let us borrow some Chinese “dodadds”for the International Festival.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
Did You Know(Fingerprints)?:
Identical twins do not have the same fingerprints. Because of environmental factors that affect their development in the womb. Fingerprints are influenced by both genetics and environmental factors, such as the position of the fetus in the womb, blood pressure, and nutrition. I never thought about this.
You already know the answer.
A Word From Mr. John(I’m Pooped. Do people still say this?):
A Visitor:
We had a student from the University of Akron that is going for her teaching degree visit our classroom. These are the children she worked with.
Another Visitor:
A mom and son from Panama came to the school to talk about their country and field3d many good questions. If you are knowledgeable on a country or know someone get ahold of Kelly A.
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog).
Know Your Languages (): Not until after the International Festival
Specials Spot(Library):
Stow Library comes to AMMS once a month and this month’s theme was dinosaurs!
Peek In Our Week:
She is working on the Trinomial Cube. The primary educational objective of the Trinomial Cube is to teach children to solve a three-dimensional puzzle, representing the trinomial equation, through visual and tactile exploration.
They are making creations with cubes and squares.
They completed animal puzzles. One went an extra step and labeled the parts. Montessori Zoology Puzzles encourage a natural curiosity about animals and the environment. By visually and physically interacting with representations of animals, children become more interested in the different species they encounter in everyday life.
Practical life activities in Montessori provide scope and sequence for everyday routines and practices. Practical life in Montessori is purposeful activity, develops motor control and coordination, and develops independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility. The exercises in practical life cover two main areas of development: care of self, and care of the environment.
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Preparing for International Festival Letter Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Next Language is not until International Festival is over.
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Construction Triangles Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until the International Festival
Next Week in Kindergarten: Geometric Cabinet Synonym Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival Sight Words Of The Week: Not until after the International Festival
They are pointing to the triangles they drew (equilateral, isoscoles, and scalene).
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
In Special Kindergarten Group we collected data on the color eyes of the students and visually presented the data on a bar graph and a pie chart.
Future Happenings:
*Akron Art Museum Field Trip– Friday, March 14th (details to follow) It is FREE! *International Festival – Friday, March 21 (details to follow) *NO SCHOOL for Spring Break – March 22 through March 30 {Return Monday March 31}
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
No money here.
How does one get green marker on their forehead?
Who wears the rock and roll bangs better? If you don’t know to the right is Akron’s own Chrissy Hynde.
Just some goofy smiles
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things(Sharing with Mr. John):
Presidents Of The United States – 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 D. 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.
Presidents Of The United States Of America (Wasn’t that a 90’s band? Goin to the country. Gunna eat a lot of peaches!)…
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: U u Rhyming Word Of The Week: bet
Did You Know(Elephants Can Not Jump)?:
Elephants are unable to jump because their legs are designed for stability and strength, not for jumping. Their bones point downward, which prevents them from springing off the ground. I would of thought it was because of their weight.
A Word From Mr. John(Antiquin’!):
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog).
Know Your Languages (Tagolog):
Specials Spot(Art):
Makin hearts.
Peek In Our Week:
A proud girl showing off her fine motor skills of tracing, coloring and labeling. Montessori Zoology Puzzles encourage a natural curiosity about animals and the environment. By visually and physically interacting with representations of animals, children become more interested in the different species they encounter in everyday life.He is working on the Vowel Tree/Vowel Substitution a pre-reading work. The vowel tree reinforces skills for all learners; tactile learners, auditory learners, and visual learners.She is working on the snake game which is a Math material. The Montessori Snake Game aims to enhance children’s memorization of addition combinations and subtraction facts, providing a hands-on approach for them to practice addition with combinations of 10 and subtraction with minuends of 10 or less.The older students are taking an assessment of Aimsweb which translates information from the Montessori environment to traditional schools.
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Preparing for International Festival Letter Of The Week: Not this week Rhyming Word Of The Week: Not this week Next Language is not until International Festival is over.
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Fractions Synonym Of The Week: APPROPRIATE- suitable, fitting, apropos, correct, proper Sight Words Of The Week: would about
Next Week in Kindergarten: Construction Triangles Synonym Of The Week: Not this week Sight Words Of The Week: Not this week
Kinders, they want to have fun.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
No SKG this week due to our in-service day.
Future Happenings:
*NO SCHOOL for President’s Day – Monday, February 17th *Akron Art Museum Field Trip– Friday, March 14th (details to follow) It is FREE! *International Festival – Friday, March 21 (details to follow) *NO SCHOOL for Spring Break – March 22 through March 30 {Return Monday March 31}
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
A very happy Super Bowl win for this excited boy!Yous shoulda seen the other guy. Her words were “I know I look ridiculous.”I was hearing the barrage of “Mr. John, take a picture.” Of course I caved.Deep thoughts about a goldfish snack.
Hibernation, Adaptation, Migration- During the winter months is a great time to learn about Hibernation, Migration, and Adaptation. Migration is seasonal movement of animals from one region to another. Such as all those birds flying south in the Fall. Hibernation is the condition or period of an animal or plant spending the winter in a state of dormancy. Bears and even reptiles and amphibians. Sometimes Mr. John in his man cave with a TV remote in hand. Adaptation is the action or process of being adapted or adapting. Over time animals may develop thicker fur during the colder months or have blubber to keep them warm in arctic weather.
Adaptation… we found how it feels to have a layer of blubber like a penguin. They placed one hand in water without butter and one in a bag of butter. Needless to say we had some very cold hands.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: T t Rhyming Word Of The Week: bed
Did You Know(Neck Ties = Brain Damage, lol):
Wearing a necktie can reduce blood flow to the brain up to 7.5%. This can happen because the tie squeezes the arteries and veins in your neck. No wonder I was in a fog when I worked in the business world.
One of my favorite shows as a child was “Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp. They were talking chimps that were spies.
A Word From Mr. John (Never buy canned greens):
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish).
Know Your Languages(Swedish):
Weird ScenesInside the Nature Center:
A snake and his mouse/ A girl and her snake. She watched the entire process from the strike to the disappearance of the tail. She asked many good questions about this event.
A Visit From The Dentist/Dental Hygienist:
She explained what are good and bad foods, how to brush are teeth, and other fun filled activities.
Peek In Our Week:
She is intently working on the 100 Board. The Hundred Board is a key Montessori Mathematics material, which helps children make the leap from the recognition of numbers, to understanding how they belong in a sequence.
She is working on the Continent Puzzle Map that is found in the Cultural Subjects Area. Montessori continent puzzle maps teach children geography through hands on exploration. They help children understand the world by building spatial awareness and a sense of the relative sizes and locations of continents and countries.
Both of them are working on language workbooks.
He is writing numbers from 1 to 100. This will help his fine motor skills, concentrations, and help him recognize the pattern of the ten column.
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Presidents of the USA Letter Of The Week: U u Rhyming Word Of The Week: bet Next Language is Tagolog
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Greater Than > , Less Than < , equal to = Synonym Of The Week: FAT- Overweight, big, bulky, heavy, plump Sight Words Of The Week: more these
Next Week in Kindergarten: Review Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: APPROPRIATE- suitable, fitting, apropos, correct, proper Sight Words Of The Week: would about
Kinders making their favorite symbol…
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
We collected data on eye color last week. This week we transferred that data to a bar graph. Three children have blue eyes, 1 green eyes, 5 have brown eyes, and 2 have hazel eyes.
Future Happenings:
*NO SCHOOL for Teacher In-service Day – Friday, February 14th
*NO SCHOOL for President’s Day – Monday, February 17th
*Akron Art Museum Field Trip– Friday, March 14th (details to follow) It is FREE!
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
The boy has skills.
I have the kinders fill my water bottle and put flavoring in it. I got new flavors and they were pretty excited.
She was really getting into a story she was telling me
This week in Aspen we traveled to the Arctic and the Antarctic! We bundled up in our Arctic gear and braved the cold as we explored both the North and South Poles ! In doing so, we learned that the Arctic and Antarctic are so cold and frigid because they are far away from the Equator. Aspen learned that the Equator is the imaginary line that hugs our Earth like a belt.The closer we get to the Equator the warmer it gets because the Equator receives the most direct sunlight. The farther away you are from the Equator the less direct sunlight hits the earth surface and it gets colder . We also discovered that each of these super cold places are home to different types of animals. These animals that live in these harsh environments have found ways to adapt to living in such extreme environments. Therefore, the vocabulary terms adaptation, migration, and hibernation were also introduced this week as we learned how these animals manage to survive arctic temperatures. During our exploration of Polar environments, we discovered that many of the animals living in these areas have adapted by having a thick layer of fat called blubber to help keep them warm. During the work period, we listened to relaxing classical music while viewing scenery and wildlife from the Polar Regions, while engaging in cultural activities and Polar science experiments. This week the Aspen children got to experience what it was like to have blubber with our Blubber Experiment. We got to stick our hands into icy water! Our experiment involved placing one of our hands into a bag that was surrounded by Crisco oil (representing blubber). We then placed our other hand into a plastic bag with no Crisco ( blubber). The Aspen students got to see how long each hand could brave the icy cold water while determining which hand was kept warmer. It was decided unanimously through experimentation that the bag with the blubber was warmer! This experiment showed us just how amazing adaptations can be and how well blubber protects these animals! Aspen then spent the week exploring a variety of Cultural activities exploring the Life Cycle Of A Penguin, labeling penguins, and exploring various animal adaptations! Did you know, that Polar animals have rounded bodies with shorter limbs to reduce surface area and retain heat, and some animals have fur on the bottom of their paws to protect them from the cold while helping them to grip icy surfaces easier? Aspen learned this and more! Ask your Polar Explorers what they learned this week.
This week Aspen also had Grandparents Day. The Aspen students got to be teacher for a day and taught their grandparents math, language, cultural, sensorial, and practical life lessons. It was an absolute pleasure to meet your family and the Aspen children truly wowed their grandparents. We would also like to thank you for participating in our book fair encouraging the importance of literacy and learning!
Next week we will be revisiting our lessons involving adaptation, hibernation, and migration while focusing on hibernation! Sunday is Groundhogs Day! Will he see his shadow??
Exploring the Life Cycle Of A Penguin!
Moveable Alphabet Fun! Building phonetic words using our Sound clues!! A great Sound Detective looks at each clue when sounding out words!!
This week we delved in the subject of the five senses. We decided the sense of touch is not limited to your fingertips but almost everywhere on your body(did you ever step on a Lego in your bare feet?). The foot sends a message to the brain and the brain tells you that you should say “OUCH!” We can hear loud/soft, high/low pitched sounds. As the sound travels though or ear canal and hits our eardrum the vibrations send a message to the brain on what kind of sound you hear. We see with our eyes and see bright and dark colors. We smell with our nose and particles land in the cilia. Then the cilia sends a message to the brain and the brain decides if the smell is good or bad. We have taste buds on our tongue and when the food or drink hit the buds a signal is sent to the brain. The brain then tells you if it is yucky or yummy. We experimented with all senses but the experiment of taste was the most fun…. see below The Wall Of Disgust.
After drinking Lemon Juice(Sour)
After eating unsweetened baking chocolate(bitter)
The spitfest that ensued after the baking chocolate.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: S s Rhyming Word Of The Week: bup
A Word From Mr. John(I “heart” Grandparents Day):
Did You Know(I am sure this brings so much joy to every little girl in Scotland.):
Scotland’s national animal is a unicorn. In Celtic mythology, the unicorn represented purity, innocence, masculinity, and power.
A Gander At Grandparent’s Day:
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Your children can now count to ten in 13 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish).
Know Your Languages(Swedish):
Chinese New Year(Year of the Snake):
Year the snake 2025 – The snake is a wood animal, which represents growth, flexibility and tolerance.
Peek In Our Week:
Two students working on the knobbed cylinders and It did turn into a race. Children begin working with the Knobbed Cylinders from the age of three years old. They are primarily used to teach children to visually discriminate between dimensions; however, as competency grows, child can begin to differentiate with touch.She is working on matching lids to the bottles which promotes visual discrimination and fine motor skills. It may look like she is pained to work with this material but she really enjoyed it.Dilegently practicing her cursive.She is tracing and labeling internal organs. When she finishes an organ she shows me, I quiz her on the organ, and she gets the answer correct.
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Pollution, Recycling Letter Of The Week: T t Rhyming Word Of The Week: bed Next Language is Tagolog
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Reviewing Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: SKINNY- thin, lean, emaciated, scrawny, slender Sight Words Of The Week: other some
Next Week in Kindergarten: Review Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: FAT: overweight, big, bulky, heavy, plump Sight Words Of The Week: more these
The kinders are choosing their own books and writing them down on their wish list.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
Sorry, no pics. It’s been a crazy week. We took a count of how many boys and girls were in the lesson. We also recorded the color of eyes of the student. With this information we will put the gathered data in a chart form.
Future Happenings:
–NO SCHOOL for Teacher In-service Day ‐‐ Friday, February 14 -‐
–NO SCHOOL for President’s Day — Monday, February 17th —
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
You shouldah seen the other guy!Cutey Patutey!One of my feeder crickets escaped. The children observed with a magnifying glass. Eventually, they drew and labeled his parts.She came back from holiday with a new hairstyle. We be jamming, mon!
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things(States and Things):
This week the children had a thrilling time learning about dinosaurs! They explored how dinosaurs lived millions of years ago and discussed fascinating facts like how these creatures were reptiles, with some being carnivores and others herbivores. They also learned about the important role paleontologists play in discovering dinosaur fossils. The kids were especially curious about why dinosaurs went extinct, and we delved into the idea that an asteroid may have hit earth causing dirt and dust to go into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun. The children enjoyed many hands-on activities, including digging through a sensory bin to unearth dinosaur bones, labeling different dinosaur parts, and matching each dinosaur to its corresponding skeleton. It was a ROARsome week!
Grandparent’s Day
Our special Grandparent’s Day was a heartwarming celebration, where grandparents were invited to visit and spend quality time with their grandchildren. They enjoyed a collaborative work session, where grandparents and Blossoms worked together on various Montessori work activities. It was a joy to see them share in the learning process. Families had the chance to explore the book fair, picking out new books! The excitement continued with a fun and science experiment with Mr. John! What a wonderful day, and we’re so thankful that our grandparents could join us!
Enrichment Spotlight – Music with Ms. Lisa!
In music class, the children were captivated by the story of Peter and the Wolf, learning how each character was represented by a different instrument. They enjoyed listening to the music and identifying the sounds of the instruments, helping them connect the story to the melodies and rhythms that brought it to life.
Coming Up Next!
We will be starting our unit on the HUMAN BODY next! This unit always sparks some great questions and fun dinner conversations!
Wednesday, Feb. 5: 100th Day of School! Dress like you are 100 years old and celebrate with a pizza party!
Welcome to the Mega Blog! This blog will cover everything the Aspen class has focused on for the past two weeks! My apologies in regards to not sending last week’s blog out prior to today! However, things worked out, as we received a surprise two day school week due to the severe cold and Arctic weather here in Ohio! I hope that everyone stayed nice and warm and had lots of family fun! All the children recalled and shared their stories of all the fun they had! Did anyone attempt any fun cold weather science experiments?? Please share them with us!
Week Of 01/13/25 – 01/17/25
This week in Aspen we reviewed the concept of matter and explored the Water Cycle even further. Aspen discussed the vocabulary terms precipitation, evaporation, and condensation. One of the things we discovered was that the term precipitation refers to water that falls from the Earth ‘s atmosphere to the Earth’s surface. Aspen also discovered that precipitation encompasses different kinds of weather. Such as: rain, snow, sleet, and hail. At the same time, we also found out that temperature plays a huge role in determining what kind of precipitation we receive. Currently, in Stow our temperature is very cold, so if we get precipitation, it will fall in the form of snowflakes. Therefore, we decided collectively to take a closer look at snowflakes. In doing so, Aspen watched a really interesting SciShow Kids video on snowflakes and a really fascinating video where we got to view snowflakes under a microscope on YouTube. Aspen learned that snowflakes start as hexagons because water molecules bond together in a six- sided lattice structure as they freeze. From here they form dendrites when they fall through the clouds. Molecules will then attach themselves to the six points of the hexagon forming branches or dendrites. We further learned that temperature and humidity also determine what kind of snowflakes form. For instance, the more moisture or humidity there is in the air the more intricate the snowflakes will be with more branches (dendrites).
Aspen also engaged in an in class science experiment. We collected snow from a very clean looking portion of our schoolyard area. We then brought our snow indoors and practiced our observation skills! Observation means to look, observe, watch and not touch! As we observed and kept our snow undisturbed we noticed something shocking! Our clean snow contained lots of dirt and particles that were only visible once it melted! This reinforced what we learned about water molecules attaching to dust particles in the atmosphere as they formed snowflakes. It also reinforced why it’s not a great decision to eat snow! What a fun filled wintery week we had in Aspen!
Week Of 01/20/25 – 01/24/25
This week in Aspen we learned all about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Aspen learned that many years ago there were unfair laws that involved discriminating people based on their appearances. Those individuals with dark skin were discrimanted against and were treated differently than those with light skin. Aspen was shocked to discover that based on how a person looked they were treated differently and unfairly. In fact, many unfair laws were established and people were not treated equally. We then discussed how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to change these unfair laws. He sought to show the world how unfair they were by protesting peacefully emphasizing the unjustice. We read one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’.s famous quotes stating , “Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. ” After reading this quote we discussed what it meant. Aspen learned that by modeling kindness and respectful behaviors you can show others the error of their ways. We then talked about what protesting peacefully meant and learned all about Rosa Parks. We learned that some of those unfair laws involved how and where individuals could sit on a bus. Therefore, one law stated that if you had dark colored skin you had to sit at the back of the bus . At the same time, those individuals would also have to give up their seat to a light skinned individual if no seats were available! Even if you had been sitting there first, giving up your seat was expected! If you didn’t give up your seat , you could go to jail! Aspen learned that this is exactly what happened to Rosa Parks. Rosa refused to give up her seat to a light skinned (white) man and was sent to jail because of it! The entire class agreed this was completely unfair!! We learned that Rosa and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used this situation as an example to change the world by changing those unfair laws. The change began with the bus laws and eventually lead to other unfair/unjust laws being changed as well. As a result, many of those unfair laws were changed and now people are treated more fairly! Because, of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and all of the individuals involved in the Civil Rights Movement you can no longer discriminate based on looks and differences. Everyone is entitled to receive the same opportunities and should be treated with respect, kindness, and love no matter what!
In order to illustrate how unfair these laws were, and how it affected those involved we role played or re-enacted the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Aspen students got to take turns playing Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, bus riders, the man asking for Rosa’s seat, the police officer, and the bus driver. We all got to experience what it must have been like for Rosa! Many children mentioned how unfair it was, and how sad or scared Rosa must have felt. We all agreed as a class that everyone should be treated equally and fairly no matter what! We then discussed ways we could also help change the world ! Our Aspen students had so many great ideas! Take a look at our door and the wall in the hallway to see some of our ideas.
Our thematic topic for the week of 01/27/25 – 01/31/25 is the Arctic and Antarctic. We will be exploring how many animals have adapted to living in a cold and harsh environment. We will also discuss the concepts of migration and hibernation.
Fun with the I Spy objects game! Matching objects to their corresponding sounds.
Practicing sounding out phonetic words with the CVC Words activity.
Transferring water using a baster!
Practicing cursive handwriting.
Everyone loves Amora’s braids and beads! There is a huge interest in doing hair in the Aspen classroom! Therefore, our Aspen students were our inspiration for our newest Practical Life activity! We all get to learn how to braid and bead hair!!
This week we learned a bit about the internal organs. We started with the brain which is like the computer of the body. It tells our body how fast to breathe and how fast our heart should beat. We discovered the lungs help us breathe and puts oxygen in our blood. Our stomach digests food, the small intestine take nutrients out of our food and large intestine gets the remaining water from indigestible food and creates waste (poop)(that word produced laughter) or as I referred to a bowel movement. The kidneys process excess water and creates pee (more laughter) or urine. The liver removes toxins from the body. We found out that the largest organ of the human body is the epidermis. The liver is my fave internal organ. What is yours?
This brave and dazed boy is modeling the Internal Organ work.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: R r Rhyming Word Of The Week: but
Did You Know(Numbers, Letters…):
Imagine someone writing out the numbers one through 1,000—the word forms, not the numbers. One, two, three, four…and so on. Eventually, this person might start to notice the conspicuous absence of one letter (the second most common in the English Language) no less. It wouldn’t be until this person reached 1,000 that they would finally write the letter A. You may say one hundred AND one but that would actually be 101.1 (one of my pet peeves)!
1,000 Thousand A
GO BUCKEYES. 2025 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
A Word From Mr. John (College Cuisine):
Cultural Subjects:
Foreign Languages: Romanian Your children can now count to ten in 16 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian).
Know Your Languages: (Romanian)
January Half Birthdays: A Montessori classroom prides itself on having a multiage class. Here is our newest 3 and a half year old student.
They say it comes in threes:
–If you are a baseball fan, then you know who Bob Uecker/Mr. Baseball was. I enjoyed his work.
–Big Chuck/ Charles Schodowski was a Cleveland personality. If you were at a sleepover (in my day) you were found in front of the TV watching The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show. RIP Big Stache (the certain ethnic pierogi eater)!
-David Lynch a giant among men in the film industry. I was not familiar with him until 1986 when I took a date to see Blue Velvet at Oberlin College. After that I was hooked on his use of the surreal clashing with the mundane. RIP and I hope you are enjoying that black cup of coffee and a slice of cherry pie.
Specials Space (Music):
In Music Class the students are learning about Peter and the Wolf and how the different instruments represent the different characters. The above picture the students are walking like grandpa (2 hurting backs and one walking with a cane). During this one of your children said “We are walking like Mr. John.” I love your children!
Peek In Our Week:
Two friends working together. The Stamp Game is an educational tool designed to teach mathematical concepts to young learners using the Montessori method. This hands-on activity helps children develop a concrete understanding of basic mathematical operations, including addition, subtraction, and eventually multiplication and division. Also, it’s an introduction into the abstract. The main purpose of the Montessori Number Rods (the material she is working on) is to help children associate the names of the numbers with their respective quantities as well as help children understand the sequencing of measurements and quantities. She was pretty excited to completed the work and she let out a giggle. This attracted the attention of another student.They are working on the Triangle Construction Box. What does the child learn by working with the Triangular Box? This activity encourages the child to become more patient, it promotes his level of concentration and this activity also prepares the child for geometry that will be done later on in mathematics.Again, as I call them, Mutt and Jeff, are working together again. They are working on the Six Bead Chain. The long bead chains represent quantities from 1-100 and are arranged in repeating bead sequences to facilitate skip counting, number patterns, and multiplication. Additionally, when each section of a long bead chain is folded end to end, it creates a square, representing the square of a particular number
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: 5 Senses Letter Of The Week: S s Rhyming Word Of The Week: bup Next Language is Korean
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Reviewing Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: NICE- kind, pleasant, delightful, good, helpful Sight Words Of The Week: first then
Next Week in Kindergarten: Review Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: SKINNY- thin, lean, emaciated, scrawny, slendy Sight Words Of The Week: other some
Kindergarten buddies.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
Due to the short week I decided to keep the students in the classroom.
Future Happenings:
******* Please read the email or Remind message about the PEANUT ALLERGY in the classroom ******
–NO SCHOOL for President’s Day — Monday, February 17th —
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
I was going to say you should have seen the other guy. Then I noticed one dot was red and the other orange. False alarm. Just paint!The boys. A rare sight in the classroom.Taking a break from a rigorous work cycle.I want to fly like an eagle…. He’s a fan!
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things(Don’t Go Chasing Unicorns):
Sing the tune “Don’t go Chasing Waterfalls” by TLC.
