This week in Aspen we revisited our lesson on trees focusing on conifers or trees that stay green all year long! We learned that these types of trees remain green all year and they keep their leaves through the winter. During group lesson we learned that these leaves are called needles and conifers bear cones that contain seeds. At the same time, we also learned how to identify and name different types of conifers and evergreens. We also got to observe and touch differnt types of conifer branches that our classmates brought in for our botany tray. We then watched a very interesting Scikids video about conifers and watched another video that taught us how to determine if a tree is a Spruce, Pine, or Fir tree. The Aspen kids were then given a mission to investigate, observe, and report to the class if they had a conifer or evergreen in their home or yard. Many of us realized we had one in our living room to celebrate the holiday season!
This week in Aspen we were also busy practicing our songs for the upcoming AMMS Christmas Show! We practiced singing our songs, how to stand on the stage carefully , respectfully, and practiced saying our lines (for those students that have them). If your child has lines for the program have them practice at home as well. This week during group lesson we will be practicing for the Christmas program.
BOOK SHARE WILL BE ON FRIDAY THIS WEEK!!!
Fun with the Moveable Alphabet! Working on beginning sounds and building words that match the objects in our phonetic object basket!
More Moveable Alphabet fun! Learning how to create and read words in cursive.
Making bubbles with the whisking activity.
Working on addition with the gingerbread button activity.
Working on the sponge painting wreath craft. Gluing sequins, bows, and pom poms to decorate it.
A Peek at Our Week in the Cherry Blossom Classroom!
The Cherry Blossom Classroom has been learning all about Holidays! We started with Thanksgiving – we discussed Pilgrims and Native Americans, feasts to celebrate the harvest, and things that we are grateful for. We hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
This week, we discussed two holidays – Hanukkah and St. Nicholas Day. We talked about where in the world these two holidays are celebrated, the history behind the celebrations, and the symbols associated with the holidays. We created menorahs in class and will have a special St. Nicholas Day surprise on Monday!
Wooly Bear Winter Predictions!
One of our students found a couple wooly bear caterpillars at her home. She shared pictures of Spark and Rambo and we observed how much brown and how much black we saw on the caterpillars. We discussed that some people believe the wooly bear caterpillar can predict what type of winter weather we will have just by how much brown and black you see on their bodies! FYI, the wooly bear caterpillars are predicting a long, cold, snowy winter!
All New Works for December!
Take a look at all of our new work trays for December! We are having so much fun exploring new materials!
Enrichment Spotlight – Music with Ms. Lisa!
Cherry Blossom students are working hard preparing for our Christmas Show! We practiced singing on stage this week!
Peek Into Next Week!
We will continue our study of different holidays around the world – focusing on Kwanzaa and Las Posadas. We will also continue preparing for THE CHRISTMAS SHOW!
Letter of the Week: Yy
Number of the Week: 1-10
Important Dates:
Christmas Show Rehearsal: Wednesday, December 8th
Christmas Show: Friday, December 10th
Pajama Day: Friday, December 17
Winter Break – No School: December 20-December 31. School Resumes on Monday, January 3rd.
Line Time: We are practicing our lines and practicing the songs for the Christmas Show
Practicing For The Christmas Show
Did You Know? Glaciers store about 69 percent of the world’s fresh water.
December Birthdays: A Montessori classroom prides itself on a mixed aged classroom of ages between 2 1/2 and 6. Here is our newest 5 year old student.
A Message From Mr. John (Angela and Emily):
Cultural Subjects: 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, Swedish, Tagalog, Hebrew, Korean)
Peek In The Classroom:
Our high school intern helping a student work with the Knobless Cylinders found in the Sensorial area. The purpose of these cylinders is to develop child’s fine-motor movements, concentration, hand-eye coordination, and visual perception of dimension. The material also provides experiences of seriation and gives the child basic language important in math.
He is working on the 9 Tray that is found in the Math area. The Montessori 9 Tray is an early place value work. Your child explores and builds a physical place value chart on the floor with Golden Beads and large number cards, units through thousands.
Ms. Angela is creating quite a stir while presenting a lesson with the Square Bead Chains. Also called the Square Chains. This activity teaches the child skip counting which is preparation for multiplication. It also indirectly prepares the child to understand squaring numbers.
Friends working on sorting together. Maria Montessori’s sensorial work uses “sorting” in specific ways that work to use all of the child’s senses, one at a time, in order to refine them. The goal is to train the brain to create more organized thoughts and ways of retrieving information.
Peek Into Next Week: Line Time- Practicing For The Christmas Show
Letter Of The Week- No Letter Of The Week
Rhyming Word Of The Week- No Rhyming Word Of The Week
No new languages until the next year
Academic Enrichment: Weekly Theme: Addition with the Golden Beads (Static/No Carry Overs)
Handwriting: We practiced writing in cursive three letter words
Next Week: Weekly Theme: Addition with the Golden Beads (Dynamic/Carry Overs)
Synonym Of The Week: No Synonyms
Sight Words Of The Week: No Sight Words
The magic number is 10.
Upcoming Events: Christmas Show Rehearsal: Wednesday, December 8 at 6pm to 7pm (not a dress rehearsal).
Christmas Show: Friday, December 10. Arrive at 5:30pm (take your children to the restroom even if they say they do not have to go!)
Pajama Day and Show and Tell: Friday, December 17 (Please No Weapons)
Christmas Break: Monday, December 20. Returning Monday January 3
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
The Great Cornholio
I’m not sure if he has an eyelash in his eye or he is winking at me.
BUCKEYE FOOTBALL! We went over the traditions of Script Ohio and the TBDBITL entrance to St. John’s Arena and watched xany Buckeye football clips. Because this is xichigan week!
This is the GREATEST rivalry in all sports and this is not just a gaxe it is a way of life! If you do not understand… watch the first 3 xinutes of this video… This vid always brings a tear to xy eye.
Cultural Subjects: Brutus is the xascot of The Ohio State University. Brutus throughout the years:
Peek Into Our Classroox:
Peek Into Next Week: Line Tixe-Practicing for the Christmas Show
Letter Of The Week- No letter Of The Week
Rhyxing Word Of The Week- No Rhyxing Work Of the Week
Next Language is No language next week
Upcoxing Events: Christmas Show Rehearsal: Wednesday, Decexber 8 at 6px to 7px (not a dress rehearsal).
Christmas Show: Friday, Decexber 10. Arrive at 5:30px (take your children to the restroox. Even if they say they do not have to go!)
Pajaxa Day and Show and Tell: Friday, Decexber 17. (Please No Weapons)
Christmas Break: Xonday, Decexber 20. Returning Xonday January 3
This week in the Aspen Room we learned all about the Pilgrims, Native Americans, and the origins of Thanksgiving. We learned all about the Pilgrim’s journey to the New World, what they found upon arriving at the coastline of Massachusetts, and how they survived (lived). As we researched the life of a Pilgrim we discovered that they were given some much needed assistance from the Native Americans. Living in a new unknown environment held many obstacles and without the help from a Native American Tribe called the Wampanoag the Pilgrims may not have survived or established our tradition of Thanksgiving! The Wampanoag showed the Pilgrims the best places to fish and hunt, what foods were safe to eat (berries, plants, and fruit), and a very unique and new way to plant corn ensuring a fertilized and healthy harvest. Ask your child about this special way of planting that the Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims! Because the Pilgrims were so grateful for the help and assistance from their Native American neighbors they held a huge feast or a “Thanksgiving” for all that they had. The Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag to join in their celebration of Thankfulness thus establishing the tradition of Thanksgiving! After learning all of the above information, and exploring the lives of the Pilgrims and Native Americans, we took our turn sharing what we are thankful for during group lesson. All the children had many kind and thoughtful things to share and expressed their love and appreciation for their families, friends, and pets! It was such a heartwarming experience listening to all the things that the Aspen children were thankful for!
It was also a very busy week in the Practical Life area as well! This week the Aspen students explored a variety of transferring, mixing, and fine motor exercises using utensils they see family members using during the holidays. We learned how to measure with a measuring scoop, mix with a wire whisk, and use measuring spoons.
In Kindergarten with Mr. John the kindergarten students explored U.S currency learning all about coins (change) and dollars! They learned how to identify a variety of coins while learning the corresponding amounts they equal. In Reading Group we reviewed past phonograms (letter teams), practiced fluency (learned the definition of fluency), practiced comprehension skills finding information in a text, and challenged ourselves with a new phonogram! We also reviewed our rhyme, “when two vowels go walking the first one does the talking!”
Next week our topic is Table Manners and Place Settings
BOOK SHARE WILL BE TUESDAY NEXT WEEK!!!
Associating quantities with their symbol (number) with a fun Thanksgiving math activity!
Learning how to whisk and measure while transferring!
Line Time: Native Americans/Thanksgiving- We talked about Native Americans and how Indians were named Indians. On student informed us that Christopher Columbus landed in North America but thought he was in India. Hence, the name. We talked about how Native Americans were indigenous. Then the Pilgrims came over from Europe on a ship called the Mayflower. The pilgrims had a rough go of it at the beginning because they didn’t have enough blankets or food. They could not just go to Target or Giant Eagle to get supplies because at that time there were just woods and wild life.
A Message From Mr. John (This Is Us):
Did you know?: Apparently, if you microwave grapes cut in half they’ll catch fire! PLEASE TRY THIS AT HOME AND TAKE A VIDEO, PLEASE!!!!!!
Know Your Languages (Korean {Squid Games}):
Cultural Subjects: 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, Swedish, Tagalog, Hebrew, Korean)
Specials (Taekwondo)
Stretching before class.
Peek In The Classroom:
This student is working on the 9 Tray. The Montessori 9 Tray is an early place value work. Your child explores and builds a physical place value chart on the floor with Golden Beads and large number cards, units through thousands.
Our intern helps a student with a lesson with the Knobless Cylinders. The purpose of these cylinders is to develop child’s fine-motor movements, concentration, hand-eye coordination, and visual perception of dimension. The material also provides experiences of seriation and gives the child basic language important in math.
Ms. Angela creates a buzz and has interested observers while presenting a lesson on the Square Chain. This activity teaches the child skip counting which is preparation for multiplication. It also indirectly prepares the child to understand squaring numbers.
These three girls are having fun sorting colored marbles. Maria Montessori’s sensorial work uses “sorting” in specific ways that work to use all of the child’s senses, one at a time, in order to refine them. The goal is to train the brain to create more organized thoughts and ways of retrieving information.
Peek Into Next Week: Line Time- Thanksgiving
Letter Of The Week- No letter Of The Week
Rhyming Word Of The Week- No Rhyming Work Of the Week
Next Language is No language next week
Upcoming Events: THANKSGIVING BREAK: Wednesday, November 24 to Sunday November 28 (returning Monday, November 29)
Christmas Show Rehearsal: Wednesday, December 8 at 6pm to 7pm (not a dress rehearsal).
Christmas Show: Friday, December 10. Arrive at 5:30pm (take your children to the restroom. Even if they say they do not have to go!)
Christmas Break: Monday, December 20 Returning Monday January 3
Academic Enrichment:
“Show Me The Money” gesture
WeeklyTheme: Currency – Identifying coins and bills
Handwriting: We practiced writing sentences in cursive Ea ea, Ee ee, Ei ei
Next Week: Weekly Theme: Using a ruler (inches and centimeter)
Synonym Of The Week: No Synonym Of The Week
Sight Words Of The Week: No sight words of the week.
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
Either he went face first in an orange frosting cupcake or he is growing an orange goatee.
I’m not sure if he is winking at me, has an eyelash in his eye, or he is looking at me like I have three heads.
We uncovered a nest of students.
Your kids Say The Darndest Things (All About Mom… My mom is a relaxing girl that likes rainbows):
Line Time: Dinosaurs- We traveled back in time and discovered some fascinating things about certain dinosaurs. We learned that dinosaurs no longer exist and that they are extinct. We know dinosaurs exist because scientist found their bones or fossils. From these fossil we saw that some teeth were long and sharp to tear flesh from it’s prey which belonged to meat eaters or carnivores (T Rex). Some teeth were flat for grinding plants, leaves, and branches and belonged to plant eaters or herbivores (Brachiosauras).
Who remembers Dinosaurs? Not the Momma!
Did You Know? (What’s The Diff?)? I am a week late since this would have been apropo during Halloween…. hehe. The word cemetery (from Greek κοιμητήριον, “sleeping place”) implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs. The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.
Message From Mr. John (My Mop):
Cultural Subjects: Your children can now count to ten in 15 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic in the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagalog, Hebrew)
Know Your Languages (Hebrew):
Specials (Music):
Freeze Dance!
Peek In The Classroom:
This student is working on the Phonics Folder which is an pre-reading exercise. Phonics is a reading method that allows a child to learn the sounds of letters by developing an understanding of how these sounds are used individually, in groups and whole words. Phonetic instruction is the foundational stepping stone in a Montessori Language Arts program.
Look at this guy focusing on a work in Practical Life (you can almost see the tongue sticking out, lol). Practical Life in Montessori is purposeful activity, develops motor control and coordination, and develops independence, concentration, and a sense of responsibility.
She is working on her Kindergarten Binder and is practicing cursive. Dr. Montessori chose lower case cursive because the gentle curved lines are an extension of the natural movement of the child’s hand. When writing in cursive the act of connecting the letters that form a word help the child’s mind to see those letters as a word.
A Kindergarten student showing g me his daily workplan. Work plans are an essential element to the Montessori education. Each day students are to check off the work that they have completed, and present it to the teacher.
Peek Into Next Week: Line Time- Pilgrims/Thanksgiving
Letter Of The Week- M m
Rhyming Word Of The Week- bop
Next Language is Korean
**Did you noticed that the letter of the week and rhyming word of the week are Mm Bop!**
I couldn’t resist, lol
Academic Enrichment:
Kinder students using arms to make “quarter after” or 12:15
Weekly Theme: Telling Time To the Quarter Hour
Handwriting: We practiced writing in cursive vowel blends Ao Au
Next Week: Weekly Theme: Currency, Bills and Coins
Synonym Of The Week: No Synonym of the week this week
Sight Words Of The Week: been down
Upcoming Events: THANKSGIVING BREAK: Wednesday, November 24 to Sunday November 28 (returning Monday, November 29)
Christmas Show Rehearsal: Wednesday, December 8 at 6pm to 7pm (not a dress rehearsal).
Christmas Show: Friday, December 10. Arrive at 5:30pm (take your children to the restroom. Even if they say they do not have to go!)
Christmas Break: Monday, December 20 Returning Monday January 3
Friends, Frolic, and Fun:
The “Unknown Student”
I wish I could get away with the hair and yogurt on the shirt without being judged. lol
Cutey pututey times 6
BFFs. Strong friendships are formed in the classroom.
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things (I Like Carrots):
A Peek at Our Week in the Cherry Blossom Classroom!
We continued our focus lesson on Animal Classification this week! We reviewed vertebrates and invertebrates. We introduced two vertebrate animal groups – Birds and Fish! We learned the difference between warm blooded and cold blooded, feathers and scales, lungs and gills!
One of our amazing parents shared with us their bird feeders via their live cam this week! We were able to observe various types of birds throughout the day. We discussed male vs female, the different colors we saw, and the foods they ate. We even saw a few squirrels! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing experience with us!
We also took a field trip to Mr. John’s classroom to observe all the different fish he has in his aquariums. We observed how the fish move their fins and tails while they swim, and looked hard to spot gills. We found it super interesting that fish breathe through gills!
Art for Kids Hub!
During our bird and fish lessons this week, we took some time to draw our own animals using Art for Kids Hub on YouTube! These are wonderful step by step art lessons for kids and the children loved challenging themselves!
And just for fun… a joke from one of our friends.
“What is pizza plus dice?”
“Domino’s!”
Enrichment Spotlight – Science with Mr. John!
We absolutely love Thursday afternoons when we get to visit Mr. John in the Science Lab! We are doing very well using our 5 senses to observe as scientists and vocalizing our hypothesis before each experiment.
Happy (belated) Halloween from the Cherry Blossoms!
Thank you for joining us for the first annual Absorbent Minds Truck or Treat!
Peek Into Next Week!
We will continue our study of Classification of Animals. We will review Vertebrates and Invertebrates. We will review Mammals, Bird, Fish, and introduce Reptiles and Amphibians!
Letter: Ii
Number: 9
Languages: Counting in German and ASL
Important Dates:
November 12: Parent/Teacher Conferences – No School for Students
A Peek at Our Week in the Cherry Blossom Classroom!
We continued our focus lesson on Animal Classification this week! We reviewed vertebrates and invertebrates. We introduced two invertebrate animal groups – Insects and Arachnids! We learned that insects have three body parts (head, thorax, abdomen), and six legs! We also spent some time discussing arachnids and learned that they have two body parts (cephalothorax and abdomen) and eight legs! We talked about spinnerets and the different types of thread spiders use, and learned that spiders turn insects into smoothies so they can drink them! A little bit gross and a little bit fascinating!
Mr. John kicked off our arachnid lesson by visiting our classroom with his tarantula! Some of us were curious, some of us were cautious, but we all asked LOTS of questions!
Oh my, the Handwriting!
Cherry Blossoms worked hard on their handwriting this week! You’ll notice theres a few different ways that teachers will introduce handwriting skills.
Our youngest students will work with the sand tray and the sandpaper letters. This gives them a very sensory based approach to beginning those handwriting skills.
As our fine motor skills strengthen, children will be introduced to either the chalkboard or dry erase board. We begin by introducing the baseline, midline, and top line that will assist us in forming our letters. Then we introduce beginning strokes, such as swing, down, and circle. These movements will form our cursive letters later!
After our children are comfortable with those beginning strokes, they will be introduced to individual sandpaper letters. We will practice tracing the sandpaper letter while being introduced to the language that assists us in forming that cursive letter. For example, the letter t is formed by “begin at the baseline, swing up to the top line, down to the baseline, pick up your pencil, and cross at the midline.” Then we will use that language we learned and practice forming our letters on the chalkboard or dry erase board!
Once we are comfortable with that skill, we’ll practice in our handwriting folders! Phew! Handwriting is hard work!
Enrichment Spotlight – Music with Ms. Lisa!
Ms. Lisa has been working with us on recognizing whole note, half note, quarter note, and eighth note and what that sounds like in music. We also have been working on allegro (fast) and adagio (slow). We practiced with our bodies in music class, but we also practice with our lunch song before we eat!
WE WERE BOOED!
Peek Into Next Week!
We will continue our study of Classification of Animals. We will review Vertebrates and Invertebrates. We will review Mammals, and introduce Birds and Fish!
Letter: Jj
Number: 8
Languages: Counting in German and ASL
Important Dates:
Monday is the last day! : Usborne Book Fair – Join us in person or online! https://v2805.myubam.com/
November 5: Trunk or Treat
November 12: Parent/Teacher Conferences – No School for Students
This week the Aspen class learned all about Living and Non-Living things! Aspen spent the week examining the characteristics of Living and Non-Living things and then used our knowledge to make classifications. We classified objects within our environment into these two groups. Some of the characteristics we learned about Living things are; living things grow, living things are made of cells, living things have some form of movement, living things respond to the environment, and living things reproduce. Throughout our week we took a look at a variety of living things and got to observe some of their charicteristics. The children observed Oreo moving and reacting to the environment around him. To our amazement Mr. John brought in Charlotte the Tarantula for us to observe and ask questions about spiders. Finally, we took a look at plants and how they fit into the classification of being living organisms.
This week in Kindergarten the children learned all about Insects and Arachnids. They learned how to classify them and label the parts of each. Mr. John also enlisted the help of Charlotte the Tarantula to illustrate charicteristics of Arachnids! In Reading Group, we practiced our Sound Detective skills utilizing our previous knowledge from past Reading Group lessons. Thus, reviewing the phonograms (letter teams) and sight words that we have already learned. At the same time, we practiced the lowercase cursive letter u paying particular attention to the lines on the paper.
Next week our topics include; bats, spiders, and all things Halloween!! We will be learning some Halloween words or phrases in Spanish!
Charlotte stopped by the Aspen room to say hello!!
Ms. Tonya had a Spider plant that reproduced and grew baby spider plants. A young spider plant is called a spiderette or a pup! The Aspen class had the opportunity to take a look at this amazing plant up- close and observe the roots beginning to grow on the baby plant.
A better look at one of the Spiderettes!
Having fun in art class practicing our fine motor skills and following directions! The Aspen class drew different types of lines to create a fish.Practicing handwriting skills with the dry erase board.Sensorial exploration with the Color Tablets by learning to grade color from dark to light.
