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 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!
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.
This week we looked at the skeletal system and if we didn’t have a skeleton we would be one messy blob on the ground (insert a flagellant sound). 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.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week: Q q Rhyming Word Of The Week: bub
Did You Know:
Koalas have fingerprints that are almost identical to human fingerprints. Koalas are the only non-primate animals with unique fingerprints.
A Word From Mr. John (I refuse to accept old age):
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).
Know Your Languages: (Romanian)
Specials Space (Science):
We learned about how Polymers love each other and like to hug each other tightly. But if they are too far apart they can’t touch each other shown when pencils pierce a plastic freeze bag and when you pull out the pencils.
Peek In The Classroom:
Look who is reading her first novel… Charlotte’s WebShe is working on the Five Chain. This will help in skip counting and multiplication.Montessori Puzzle Maps are educational tools designed Montessori Puzzle Maps are educational tools designed to teach geography to preschool-aged children through hands-on learning. These wooden maps break down the world into different regions, allowing children to explore continents, countries, and bodies of water by handling individual puzzle pieces through hands-on learning. These wooden maps break down the world into different regions, allowing children to explore continents, countries, and bodies of water by handling individual puzzle pieces.He traced and labeled all the continents.Her job is to sort 40 books/ 4 sets of 10. See how she organized her task?
Peek Into Next Week:
Weekly Theme: Internal Organs Letter Of The Week: R r Rhyming Word Of The Week: but Next Language is Korean
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
This Week in Kindergarten: Reviewing Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: MEAN: selfish, unkind, malicious, hurtful, evil Sight Words Of The Week: now made
Next Week in Kindergarten: Review Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: NICE: kind, pleasant, delightful, good, helpful Sight Words Of The Week: first than
An action shot of the kindergarten students doing their assigned chores.
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
Class of 2025 Kindergarten Class. We learned about the Great Lakes and that they make up 20% of the world’s fresh water supply. We learned a really cool acronym of HOMES and a little about the Edmund Fitzgerald. We even played the song The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
I remember riding my bike uptown Amherst and bought this 45 record from Ben Franklins in 1976. As we got older my friends and I would joke… if you want the party to end play The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.LOL
Future Happenings:
******* Please read the email or Remind message about the PEANUT ALLERGY in the classroom ******
-NO SCHOOL Monday January 20 for MLK Day. Don’t be that family that shows up.
She is the first to be dismissed and last to finish. So type b. In her defense on this day she was telling EVERYONE that passed that she was 3 years old.Cheetah print is the crowd favorite. Two subjects in the background and the adult has cheetah print.There’s A New Kid In Town (sung to the tune of that 1976 Eagles song)… that hit the ground running.Winter Fun!
Your Kids Say The Darndest Things (Danny Go and Dad):
Exploring Winter Wonders in the Cherry Blossom Classroom
The winter months bring a wealth of learning experiences as our young students explored the fascinating concepts of hibernation, migration, and adaptation this week. With the season’s chill in the air, it was the perfect time to delve into how animals survive the cold, and these curious learners embraced the opportunity to discover the wonders of winter.
Finally warm enough to explore winter outside!
The Science Behind Winter Survival: Hibernation, Migration, and Adaptation
Our little scientists engaged with the themes of hibernation, migration, and adaptation by exploring how animals prepare for the winter. They learned that some animals, like bears, hibernate to conserve energy during the colder months, while others, such as birds, migrate to warmer climates. They discovered how some animals adapt to the cold by growing thick fur or blubber to stay warm.
We asked all the children if they would like to hibernate, migrate, or adapt during the winter months. Which would you like to do if you could choose?Sorting different animals by the way they survive the winter months.
A Hands-On Science Experiment: Blubber and Cold Weather Survival
One of the highlights of the unit was a science experiment designed to show the importance of blubber in keeping animals warm in freezing conditions. The children eagerly participated in an experiment using Crisco, which acted as a stand-in for animal blubber. Each child placed their hand in ice water while wearing a sandwich bag coated with Crisco, experiencing how blubber helps insulate and protect animals from the cold. This tactile experiment not only brought the concept to life but also sparked discussions about how different animals use unique adaptations to thrive in winter.
Did the “blubber” keep our hands warmer when touching the snow? Ask your child!
A Cozy Winter Tale: The Mitten by Jan Brett
As part of our winter theme, we read Jan Brett’s The Mitten, a beautifully illustrated story that captivates young imaginations. The book tells the tale of a mitten dropped in the snow, where various animals seek shelter inside, creating a cozy, snug fit. The children loved discussing the animals in the story and drawing parallels between the animals in The Mitten and the real-life adaptations and behaviors they had been learning about.
Sequencing the animals from The Mitten by Jan Brett.
Learning About Feelings – Yellow, Green, Blue, and Red
In addition to exploring the wonders of winter, our Blossoms also focused on emotional awareness and expression. Through engaging activities, they’ve been learning to identify and associate different feelings with specific colors. The children discovered that happiness is often represented by the color yellow, calmness by green, sadness by blue, and anger by red. This color-emotion connection will help them articulate their feelings more clearly, allowing for better self-awareness and empathy toward others.
Coming Up Next: DINOSAURS!
Monday, January 20: NO SCHOOL/Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Thursday, January 30: Grandparent’s Day!
Monday, February 3: 100th Day of School – dress like you are 100 years old! (Date subject to change in case of a snow day.)
Exploring Winter Wonders: An Adventure with Snowflakes and Snow!
Welcome Back! Winter is here, and our Blossoms have been diving into the wonders of the season! We’ve been learning all about the characteristics of winter, snow, and snowflakes, and we even conducted an exciting experiment with freezing and melting snow. It’s been a fun-filled, educational first week back!
Discovering Winter’s Magic
To start, we introduced the children to the key characteristics of winter. We talked about how the air feels colder, the days are shorter, and, of course, snow! The kids were eager to share their experiences with snow, and we had some wonderful discussions about how snowflakes are formed, why snow falls from the sky, and what happens when it gets really cold outside.
Snowflakes
We also took a closer look at snowflakes! Did you know that every snowflake is unique? We learned that no two snowflakes are exactly alike, and each one is made up of a speck of dust and tiny ice crystals that form in a special pattern. The children loved how the snowflakes looked under a magnifying glass and enjoyed matching them with one of our science work trays. Older students practiced their sewing skills by creating beautiful snowflakes.
Freezing and Melting Snow
The highlight of our week was definitely our snow experiment! We brought in some snow from outside, and the children were able to touch, feel, and examine it up close. Then, we placed the snow in different containers to see what would happen when it was exposed to warmth. We watched as the snow slowly began to melt and turn into water. The kids observed the changes carefully, and we talked about the process of freezing and melting. They were excited to see the snow “disappear” and discussed how snow can melt when the temperature rises. We also put some of the snow into a cold place to see how it would freeze again, allowing the children to witness the transformation of water back into snow. This hands-on experience helped them understand the concept of temperature and the cycle of freezing and melting in a very real and fun way.
A Peek at our Work Trays
Throughout the week, we incorporated winter themes into our activities. From creating snow covered evergreen tree crafts to singing songs about snowflakes, the children had a blast while learning about the winter season. We even added some winter-related work trays throughout the classroom, such as measuring weight with items you would use to build a snowman and “writing the room” by finding winter themed words and copy writing.
Looking Ahead
Next week we will continue our exploration of winter by focusing on what the animals around us do during the winter months, as well as take a closer look at a book titled The Mitten by Jan Brett.
We have also been counting the days of the school year since the very first day – we are currently 85 days smarter! On the 100th Day of School we will celebrate with a pizza party, as well as have your children dress up like they are 100 YEARS OLD! It’s one of our favorite days of the school year!
Upcoming Dates:
Monday, January 20th – NO SCHOOL/Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Line Time: To honor the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. we learned a bit about his life and his accomplishments. The students became actresses and actors as they recreated Rosa Parks making her stand on a bus in Montgomery Alabama. The students enjoyed playing the part of the bus driver, Rosa Parks, “the mean guy”, a police officer, Martin Luther King Jr., and passengers on the bus. We discussed our differences such as skin color, eye color, hair color, and gender. Then we discussed how we are similar. We talked about discrimination and segregation. We talked about if someone with red hair wouldn’t be allowed to do art “just because” they have red hair or if anyone who had blue eyes would have to go to a different classroom with less materials, broken crayons, or no books “just because” they have blue eyes. I had only boys fetch the chairs for the skit and brought that to the attention of the class. We had some very sad girls…. I did let the girls take the chairs back after the skit.
Below is a picture after the skit where everyone can sit where they want. The thumbs up means the students approve.
Line Time (the other stuff): Letter Of The Week- Q q Rhyming Word Of The Week- bub
Did You Know wombats poop is in the shape of a cube?: Yes, you read that correctly. This furry Australian marsupial squeezes out nearly 100 six-sided turds every day. How does this happen you may ask? The wombat’s intestines contract in sections, with the stiffer parts contracting faster than the softer parts. The softer parts squeeze more slowly, molding the final corners of the cube.
AMessage From Mr. John (Great week to start 2025):
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).
Know Your Languages: (Romanian)
Specials Space (Science):
We learned diapers are more absorbent than paper towels.
Peek In The Classroom:
She is working on the Spindle Box where she is learning the concrete relatio0nship of quantity and symbols from 0 to 9. He is working on the First Introduction of Decimals. He is learning the concrete relation ship of the unit, ten, hundred, and thousand columns (quantity) and then symbols. She is working on the Nine Tray where she delves deeper in the unit, ten, hundred, and thousand columns. Here she will compose numbers wit quantity and symbol from 1 to 9,999.Look who is reading!?
Peek Into Next Week: Skeletal System Letter Of The Week- Q q Rhyming Word Of The Week- bub Next Language is Korean
Academic Enrichment aka Kindergarten:
My carefree kindergarten students.
This Week in Kindergarten: Reviewing Telling Time Synonym Of The Week:SICK, weak, unhealthy, ailing, infected, frail, ill Sight Words Of The Week: who could
Special Kindergarten Group/SKG:
Your well behaved Kindergarteners studied the continents and Pangea.Pangaea was a super continent that existed 200 to 300 million years ago. It was made up of all the landmasses on Earth, including what are now North America, Africa, South America, and Europe. The name Pangaea comes from the Greek word pangaia, which means “all the Earth”.
Next Week in Kindergarten: Review Telling Time Synonym Of The Week: MEAN: selfish, unkind, malicious, hurtful, evil Sight Words Of The Week: now made
Future Happenings: ******* Please read the email or Remind message about the PEANUT ALLERGY in the classroom ******
-NO SCHOOL Monday January 20 for MLK Day. Don’t be that family that shows up.
A very cozy and relaxed work time.Small but mightyI am not sure what is going on here but it looks interesting. Then there is a photo bomb.A comforting hand while discussing Martin Luther King and Rosa Park and how Afican Americans were treated before the Civil Rights Movement.
Your Kids Say The Darndesat Things (rushing in the morning):
