This week in Aspen all of our students became Nature Explorers! They began the first of many botany lessons learning all about the Parts Of a Tree. Aspen also learned about the functions or job each part of a tree has to keep the tree growing strong and healthy. Therefore, we learned that each part of the tree has a special job. Here is what Aspen discovered. The roots are like the tree’s feet. They grow underground and help the tree stand tall and strong. Roots also drink up water and nutrients from the soil.We then learned that the trunk is the tree’s body. It’s strong and sturdy, holding up all the branches and leaves. The trunk has a special job of carrying water and nutrients from the roots all the way up to the leaves. It’s like a big straw! The Aspen children then had a special opportunity to explore and investigate a cross section of a tree trunk! Aspen even found the holes in the wood that act like straws to transport the water! The students also learned that the branches are like the tree’s arms. They stretch out from the trunk and hold the leaves, flowers, and fruits. The branches help spread out the leaves so they can catch lots of sunlight in order to perform their job. Leaves are the tree’s food factories. They use sunlight to make food for the tree through a process called photosynthesis. It’s like magic! Leaves also help clean the air we breathe! Did you know……that humans and trees help each other? They have a symbiotic relationship! The Aspen students learned that the oxygen that we breathe comes from trees! It the result or the waste the leaves release when engaging in photosynthesis! At the same time, the gas we get rid of when we breathe out called carbon dioxide is needed by trees! This gas is used by the trees to carry out photosynthesis and make food for the tree! Finally, we learned that the bark is the tree’s skin. It protects the tree from getting hurt by bugs, animals, and bad weather. Bark can be smooth or rough, and it comes in many different colors.

As we learned all this amazing information during line time lessons we then applied our knowledge utilizing the tree puzzle to reinforce the vocabulary terms we learned. Then we practiced labeling the tree puzzle, used three part classification cards to explore vocabulary terms in detail, explored each function of the tree in detail, and classified leaves while matching them to tress! Some of our students even traced and labeled the tree puzzle to create their very own tree! Aspen also had the opportunity to go on a Nature Hunt and took our lesson outdoors. Outdoors we were able to observe trees up close! We were able to find and identify each part of the tree and even found leaves to make leaf rubbing pictures using the leaves we found! Some of us even used the bark of trees to make bark rubbing pictures! Our adventures in Aspen this week were so much fun! Ask your child all about what the learned this week!!

In Kindergarten Readers and Writers Workshop we have been focusing on our observational skills in order to practice being a great “Sound Detective “! We have focused on what sounds each letter of the Alphabet makes and even practiced combining sounds to form phonetic words with the Moveable Alphabet. At the same time, the Aspen kindergarteners have also been practicing writing on lined paper focusing on the proper formation of each letter!

Next week we will be learning all about Apples and their Life Cycle! See you Monday!

Fun with the Color Tablets!!

Making a leaf rubbing during our Nature Hunt!

Classifying parts of a tree! Matching pictures and words!

Cultural work with the Europe puzzle map!

Labeling the parts of a tree!!

Tree Puzzle fun! Matching the corners to fit the pieces in while learning about each part of the tree!

Hello Aspen families!!! We have completed our third week of school and the Aspen classroom has been filled with excitement, learning, and getting to know each other. The Aspen children have begun to settle into their daily/weekly routines and as a result the classroom is a busy and bustling place! The Aspen teachers have had great fun giving lesson presentations while getting to know our newest Aspen students. Returning students have been most helpful modeling classroom expectations, respectful behaviors, and helping their newer classmates while receiving new presentations themselves. The Aspen classroom is becoming a thriving community while exploring the social aspects of the classroom environment and learning new concepts/skills.

This week Aspen learned all about the Seasons and the Months! The Aspen students discovered that there are four seasons that have unique characteristics. Therefore, as a group we learned the names of each season and discussed how we identifying each season! Aspen then discussed that there are twelve months in a year and learned their names as well! At the same time, we also learned the “Reason for Seasons” with our Seasons Experiment! We used our Painted Globe to demonstrate the spinning and rotation of our planet Earth to visually experience why the seasons occur! We learned that during the summer our part of the Earth receives lots of direct sunlight which warms our part of the world so much that it is hot! Then something truly special occurs! As our Earth spins and rotates it will tilt on its axis giving us less direct sunlight! This change in the amount of sunlight in our part if the world causes the temperature to drop slightly giving us the cool temperatures of Fall! Then…our Earth continues to spin and rotate tilting more giving us even less sunlight leading to the super cold and freezing temperatures we experience during the winter. Did you know not every part of our planet experiences four seasons like Ohio? Did you know some places on Earth have only two? A rainy season and a dry season. Did you know that while we are experiencing Summer the southern hemisphere has Winter? The Aspen children learned all of this and more during their exploration of Seasons and Months this week! Ask your child what they discovered!!!

Next week we will be learning about Plants (Trees)! We will take a look at how they grow, learn the parts of a tree, engage in tree classification activities, and explore the trees around us on the playground! See you Monday!

Exploring Seasons with the Painted Globe and a flashlight (our Sun)!

Exploring seasons while sorting pictures with characteristics of each season!

Moveable Alphabet Fun!

Teens and Tens! Learning about number quantities while exploring the teen numbers!

Pink Tower Extensions!

Hello Aspen families!! Welcome to the Aspen Blog where we fill you in on all of the weekly happenings and adventures in Aspen! The past two weeks have focused on the transition from the home environment to the school environment while acclimating to our schedules, routines, and navigating the classroom! We have had so much fun seeing old friends and making new ones! Many new friendships have already been established and it has been a blast getting to know each other! Ms.Angela and I are honored to have the opportunity to teach your child and we are looking forward to a great year!

In regards to morning Group Lessons, we have focused on our Procedural Movement Lessons or the “How To’s” of the Montessori classroom! The Aspen students have learned; how to walk the line, how to raise their hand during lesson time, how to listen politely (one person talks at a time), how to carry a mat, how to unroll and roll a mat, and how to carry a tray! At the same time, the Aspen children also learned our Good Morning Song and the Days Of The Week Song! Ask your child to sing them for you! In fact, this week we even began our calendar work learning the names of the Days Of The Week and how to find the date on a calendar! We were also very lucky to celebrate three Birthdays!!! Thank you to those children and their families who brought in special treats for us to celebrate!!

This week Aspen also got to begin their Enrichment schedules! We had music with Ms. Lisa, Art with Ms. Lindsey, and Science with Mr. John!! We had so much fun in each of our Enrichment Classes and the Aspen students excited to learn more!!

Next week, Aspen will be learning all about Seasons and The Months! See you on Tuesday!!!

Fun with Kindergarten Follow-Up work!! Tracing the Fish Puzzle.

Learning about the Continents!

Cylinder Block Extensions!!

Learning all about quantities with the Number Rods and Cards!

Exploring Practical Life activities! Learning how to weave ribbons!!

Using “Sound Detective” skills to match picture clues to their corresponding letter sounds!!!

This last week and a half has flown by! First we learned all about Reptiles and Amphbians! We learned that reptiles are cold blooded and that most lay eggs. We also learned that most reptiles leave their babies alone, except for the crocodile We also learned that amphibians are also cold blooded and have smooth, moist skin! We also had fun identifying all the types of animals we have learned about at the Akron Zoo on our field trip!

We also talked about Summer Safety during the final few days of school. We learned that 911 is the number to call in an emergency. We also talked about strangers and about the safe adults we can trust. We also talked about making sure we always wear helmets when skating, riding our scooters, or riding our bikes outside.

It has been a wonderful school year! I consider it an honor and a privilage to teach your children! As Maria Montessori said, “If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.” Your children are truly a ray of hope and sunshine in my life!

Have a wonderful and safe Summer and we’ll see you in August!

This week, we learned All About Birds! We learned that all birds have a beak, two wings, two legs, have feathers, and are warm blooded. We also learned that not all birds fly! We also learned the french song ” Alouette” which is a song about a lark and and we also learned the Parts of The Bird.

Grandparents Day!

Thank you to all the wonderful grandparents who came on Thursday to spend the morning with your grandchild! It was such a wonderful morning!

A Peek Into Next Week:

-All About Reptiles and Amphibians

This week, we learned all about Mammals. We learned the mammals are warm blooded, breathe oxygen from the air, and give birth to their babies. We learned that a Blue Whale is the largest animal in the world! We also learned that a Duck Billed Platypus is also a mammal, even though it lays eggs!

A Peek At Next Week:

-All About Birds

This week, we learned all about Insects! We learned that insects have three segments to their body: head, thorax, and abdomen. They also have six legs and two antenna. We also learned about the Life Cycle of the Butterfly and how the butterfly starts of as an egg, then the egg hatches and out comes a caterpillar! The caterpillar then eats and eats and spins a chrysalis and after several weeks, emerges as a butterfly!

A Peek Into Next Week:

-All About Mammals

This week, we learned all about Outer Space! We learned the names of all the planets in our solar system. We also learned that our Sun is a star! We also learned that all the planets orbit the Sun! We also learned that one orbit of the Earth around the Sun takes one year! We also learned about the International Space Station and watched a video clip of Neil Armstrong walking on the Moon!

A Peek Into Next Week:

-All About Insects

This week, we continued to learn all about Australia! We learned that in Australia, people greet one another by saying ” G’day!”. We also read a story about a baby kangaroo called ” Pouch”, and we learned that baby kangaroos are carried by their mothers in a pouch on their body. We also learned that Australia used to be called New Holland!

A Peek Into Next Week:

– All About Asia

This week, we began to learn about Australia. We learned that Australia’s Summer is durring our Winter here in Ohio! We also learned that kangaroos, wombats, and koalas live in Australia! Ms. Mel also practiced some Japanese vocabulary with our students durring our Afternoon Group Lesson Time! We also had so much fun on our Pajama and Movie Day, we were able to watch great movies with the Best VPN made a netflix guide!

A Peek At The Week After Spring Break:

-Continuing to learn about Australia.

-Beging practicing for the Festival