Lesson: With the holiday , field trip, and the fun field day on Thursday we did not have kindergarten lesson. Although, on Wednesday we watched School House Rock/ Grammar. The students absolutely enjoyed it and said I taught them the same stuff from the show. Ya, Mr. John is not as dense as he looks. LOL
Cultural Subjects: We can now count to ten in 28 different languages (English, Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi, Turkish).
This week our “Peek” was written by our students! These students read our previous blogs, took pictures around the room, and filled in a blog template. The students did some editing together, and with a teacher, so what you will read below is their final product. There are still some misspelled words in their final product, but in a Montessori classroom we focus on the process, instead of the end result. Dr. Montessori believed when we put all of the emphasis on the final product, we devalue everything leading up to that point. This can discourage repetition which will make mastery of a skill difficult. The purpose of the students writing the blog is to provide you with a glimpse into the room through their eyes, to provide them with practice of real world skills, and to give them a deeper understanding of the materials in the room. We hope you enjoy their work!
“A Peek at Our Year” by the 2018-2019 Elementary Class
Tyler
This year my favorite work in 5th grade was cubing. Cubing is a fun math. It can be confusing. I learned and memorized a lot of new facts. My goal for next year is to plan a fun learning field trip. My goal for next year is to be more calm.
Ainsley
My favorite field trip was to the Cleveland History Museum. My favorite event was the book fair. One of my favorite times in the classroom was taking TerraNova Tests. My goals are to get 100% every time and to take good notes.
Camilla
My favorite field trip was when we went to the history museum where we dissected a sheep heart. One of my favorite times being in the classroom is when we do a big work that we like. One of my favorite works are the early humans folders. My goal for next year is to focus. My other goal is to get better at math.
Maddex
My favorite work is Lattice Multiplication. Tyler and I do it together. My favorite field trip was the museum. I like to work with my friends and teachers. We have so much fun. My goals for next year are to do my best and to master division on paper.
Anelise
I really like to do multiplication on paper. I really like the Wax Museum because we got to do a backdrop. I really like gym because my grandpa is the coach. I really hope to stay organized. I really hope to learn division on paper.
Zachary
Lattice Multiplication is one of my favorites. Handwriting is also my favorite. Multiplication on paper is also a favorite work. My goals are to learn division on paper and early humans.
Annelise
Meeting Jane Goodall was my favorite part of this year. My favorite work is Lattice Multiplication. I liked making a guitar. My goals for next year are to have good notes and to make my work neat.
Andre
My favorite things are the Checkerboard, Peg Board, and the Imaginary Island. My favorite field trip is the McKinley Museum. My goals for next year are to always get my work done, to never give up, and to start off the year with 100%.
Isabel
I really like Checkerboard. I loved the “Instrument Petting Zoo.” I also loved the Cleveland Zoo field trip. I hope to learn more great works. I also hope to make new friends.
Darin
Remington
I liked to do the Wax Museum because we got to do a speech. I’m thankful that I learned multiplication on paper. I’m glad we got to go to a museum. I hope I learn division on paper. I want to learn Racks and Tubes: 4 Digit.
Ellie
I love when we went on our first field trip. I like when we did the International Festival. I like to do handwriting with Ms. Kelley. My goal is to master the Multiplication Bead Board. My goal for next year is learning the water cycle.
Caiden
My favorite field trip was when we went to the McKinley Museum. It was also fun when we went on buses for our travel. I also loved when we had people in our parents’ cars. That was really fun. Next school year, I hope to be more organized and more kind.
Reese
I think I learned a lot about angles. My favorite work is science. My favorite thing to do in the classroom is journal. My goal for next school year is doing math work. My goal is focusing.
Myles
I am happy and glad that I learned the Golden Mat and Multiplication Bead Board. I learned to have better neat print and cursive handwriting. My goal is to every week get 100%. I want to learn addition on paper.
Griffin
The Wax Museum was fun. It was great. I was Charles Dickens. My goals next year are to always be happy and always get my work done.
Madison
I like handwriting. I had fun at the Cleveland Zoo. Stamp Game is fun. My goals for next year are to work hard and to have fun!
Kenadie
I like the lessons. I love my friends. I love school so much. My goals next year are to do nice things for friends and to get good at things.
Thank you for a wonderful year! Enjoy your break and we will see you in August!
Line Time: I just wanted to extend my thanks to my assistants Ashlie and Kathleen. Without them the classroom would not run as smoothly as it did this year! I wanted to thank all the parents that made the decision to send you children to Absorbent Minds Montessori School and it was a pleasure teaching your children. The last day of school is always a bitter sweet day. Sure, I get to sleep in and lead a lackadaisical lifestyle for a few months but I realize I won’t see my returning students for three months and the non-returning students I may never see again. This day truly has a range of emotions. Exiting students are always welcome to come to my classroom and read to my class!
I ended up losing the bet regarding how long I could hold out to get a haircut (see below pics). It drove me crazy!!! The hair was falling into my eyes. I thought I had permanently foggy vision and was not safe for driving. I felt there were bugs crawling on my face and things were constantly in my peripheral vision. The last time I had hair this long was like 1979 and I was listening to a 45 record of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” Dark times indeed. LOL Now I am back top my civilized look, driving much better, and I may crank up the radio when Sweet Emotion comes on.
Aerosmith circa 1979
As I always say after my morning line time banter……. Your teachers are glad that you are here. You are special and unique children and special and unique people. I am proud of what you do AND I love you very much.
Cheers!!!!!!!!
Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 28 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi, and Turkish).
Fun Fact: Question: What is Mr. John Going to do the first week of Summer Break?
Answer: Sleep in!! zzzzzzzzzz
Peek In Our Classroom:
Saying good bye to our kindergarten student. Best Wishes!
Next Week: Line Time- How to get a good night sleep.
Letter Of The Week- zzzzzzzzzzz
Rhyming Word Of The Week- Sleep
Next Language will be- Dreamland
Snack will be brought to you by No Snack For You!!!!
Upcoming Events:
********* I hope you have your celebrated summer ********
I guess I’d better think up a way to spend my time.
Just when I’m ready to sit inside, it’s summer time.
Should I go swimming or get a friend to hang around?
It’s back to summer, back to basics, hang around!
Fun, Frolic, and Friends:
I may look happy but I am dying on the inside with this long hair.
Line Time: Put on your space suit and get ready to explore our solar system. We started with discussing the planets nearer the sun then worked our way to the furthest reaches of our solar system. Mercury is our first planet and is the closest to the sun. Venus is the second planet. Even though it is further away from the sun than Mercury it is the hottest planet in our solar system. The third planet is near and dear to our hearts. It is the planet earth. It is the only planet in our solar system that has life. The next planet is Mars and is known as the red planet. The next planet is the biggest planet in our solar system and has a big red storm that has been raging for centuries. That planet is Jupiter. Saturn is the next planet and has really cool ring around it that are pieces of rock and ice. Uranus is next and it spins up and down instead of side to side like all the other planets. Neptune is the last planet in our solar system. I did not forget about Pluto. Oh! Poor Pluto. Pluto was once a planet but now has been demoted to a dwarf planet. As a side note did you notice that some planets were named after Roman Gods and Goddesses? Some of the students made the connection.
Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 28 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi).
Fun Fact: German Chocolate Cake is named after an American baker by the name of Samuel German, and has no affiliation with the country of Germany.
Fire Department Field Trip and Police Visit:
Officer Russ brought is partner Jorik a Belgian Malinois police dog. Officer Russ explained what police officers and what police dogs do to protect people
The children enjoyed the visit to the Fire Station. The firefighter dressed in his fire fighting gear and sounded like Darth Vader when he talked and breathed. We toured a fire engine and looked into an ambulance.
Peek In Our Classroom:
A scene at the art table. Art is one of the many ways children express themselves. Art is a way for children to communicate their feelings. It is through art that children develop their fine motor skills. In the Montessori environment, we provide open-ended art activities that help children explore and use their creativity.
Even when you can count on your hand how many workdays are left the students continue to be hard workers.
The students have fun making their own tie dye t-shirts. We made them for better identification at the Cleveland Science Center.
Next Week: Line Time- Safety
Letter Of The Week- U u
Rhyming Word Of The Week- bec
Next Language will be- None planned
Snack will be brought to you by Lucas
Upcoming Events: ######## NO SCHOOL MONDAY MAY 27 ########
*** Great Lakes Science Center Field Trip, Tuesday May 28 ***
********** Field Day, Thursday May 30 **********
Fun, Frolic, and Friends:
I found a Conglomerate in my driveway. When I took this picture I heard that comment exactly 11 times.
I am dyin’ here. Even after the student got a haircut he still has longer hair than me. I am thinking of throwing in the towel.
Lesson: Capitalization- Our last official weekly lesson was on Capitalization. You children now know that the word at the beginning of the sentence it is always capitalized. When you refer to yourself with “I” the I is always capitalized. Also, any proper nouns are capitalized.
Cultural Subjects: We can now count to ten in 28 different languages (English, Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Greek, Japanese, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi, Turkish).
This last week the kindergartners listened to another Mo Willems book called We Are in a Book!. In this book Piggie and Elephant (Gerald) figure out that they are in a book and readers are reading them. They start interacting with the reader and make him/ her say words. Gerald and Piggie are very entertained by the fact that they can make the reader say silly words. The kindergartners were entertained as well and thought the characters were hilarious. They were so excited that they wanted me to read the story again!
After the readings the students got to share what they thought about the book and discussed how the characters were feeling throughout the story. They wrote and drew about what they were wondering about after the first reading. For the last reading group, they made Piggie and Elephant puppets and acted out the story while I read. The students were thoroughly engaged during the readings of the Piggie and Elephant series. It was a joy to teach reading group this year and see the kindergarteners grow in their reading skills. I hope you all have a fun and safe summer!
These past two weeks have flown by!! Last week we had a blast with grandparents day! Everyone had so much fun watching science experiments by Mr. John,creating four different crafts, exploring the book fair, and spending time in our room working together!! Grandparents was also our theme for that week as well! Together we read books, lead discussions about what makes are grandparents so special to us, and had fun creating crafts for our grandparents!!!
This week is all about the farm!! Our class is so excited about our field trip on friday!! Together we have lead discussions about all of the different types of farms there are in our country!We also have been reading some great books on the different animals you would see on a farm, baby animals, and the different jobs people have if they worked on a farm.
this little cutie has been working so hard on our Nomenclature cards. When working on these she is learning how to sort, categorize, and learn the different names of the animals. she is also writing out all of the name cards, which is a great extension to this card work! When working on our continent puzzles the child is introduced to a sensorial activity related to working with the countries/continents of the world. They also stimulate an interest in the systematic study of the world and its people. The child also gains focus and concentration skills. This guy right here is reading his first Dr. Seuss book!! He has been working so hard this year on his letters, word building, and with his reading!! Way to go!!
REMINDERS:
Tomorrow is book share day!!
Friday is our fiels trip, so please be sure to wear comfortable clothing and shoes! Also, please pack a brown bag lunch!
Today I sent an email out about our last day of school so don’t forget to check those out!!!
Dinosaurs: We learned that dinosaurs roamed Earth for about 165 million years and that there were hundreds of species. Then about 65 million years ago a huge meteorite or comet hit the Earth, making dinosaurs become extinct. Some dinosaurs we studied were diplodocus, tyrannosaurus, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus and triceratops.
Work Time
Compound Words: These students are learning that when two words are used together they form a new meaning. For example, sun and flower becomes sunflower.Sand Tray Writing: This child is practicing writing his first name in cursive in the sand tray. He is developing multiple skills involving his eyes, arms, hands, memory, posture and body control.Addition: This child is using the bead bar box to discover that when you put two small numbers together you get a larger number and that this process is called addition.Trinomial cube: This child is learning how to build the trinomial cube, while also getting an introduction into algebra and preparation for the formula a3+3a2b+3a2c+6abc+b3+3ab2+3b2c+3ac2+3bc2+c3.Planets: This child is putting the planets in order starting with the one closest to the sun Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.Number Rods: This child is experiencing the qualities of each number and learning their names and what each quantity physically looks like.
Line Time: Animals Groups- This week we talked about what groups of animals are called. Here is a list of what we learned…
Pack of dogs
Muster of peacocks
Pride of lions
Gaggle of geese
Murder of crows
School of fish
Pod of dolphins
Heard of cows, horses, and elephants
CONGRESS of Baboons
Mischief of rats
Not a Flock Of Seagulls (I ran) but a colony of seagulls
Cultural Subjects:
Your children can now count to ten in 27 languages (English, Latin, Sign Language, Spanish, German, French, Japanese, Greek, Arabic with the Lebanese Dialect, Italian, Russian, Romanian, Swedish, Tagolog, Hebrew, Korean, Hungarian, Irish, Kiswahili, Welsh, Dutch/Flemmish, Polish, Serbo-Croation, Cebuano, Malay, Hindi, Farsi).
Fun Fact(s): Sheep in New Zealand- According to Statistics NZ’s agricultural production statistics, N.Z. has an estimated 29.5 million sheep. This means that the sheep-to-person ratio is actually about six sheep per person.
There are 19 billion chickens on Earth, a full 12 billion more chickens than humans.
And you thought The Planet Of The Apes could happen. Ha! Watch out for the chicken apocalypse!!!!!
Birthdays: The Montessori Classroom is a mixture of 3, 4, 5 6 year old students. Here are our May Babies.
Peek In Our Classroom:
The preparation of snack is a daily chore in the morning.
This is the proper way to carry a chair.
More puzzle map work. The teacher is giving a lesson with the continent puzzle map.
Am impromptu meditation session in the nature center.
Next Week: Line Time- Solar System
Letter Of The Week- O, o
Rhyming Word Of The Week- Bod
Next Language will be- Turkish
Snack will be brought to you by Ryan
Upcoming Events: *** Great Lakes Science Center Field Trip, Tuesday May 28 ***
***** Fire Station Field Trip, Wednesday May 22 *****
