We said goodbye to our almost 2-week old chicks in May. Our students got to see them grow, their feathers change, get messier and much more active! We even had an escapee or two from the brooder! Now the chicks are in the care of a school family who knows how to keep them growing into healthy, thriving chickens. For our next unit, all Montessori students sprouted a corn seed in a plastic bag, so we could see the sprouting process. We checked on the little greenhouses every day for signs of growth. After they sprouted, everyone planted their own seed into the garden, where we will watch them grow into tall, full corn plants. We'll see over the summer and into fall how big they get! The next two weeks, we will be learning about our solar system. We are also preparing for Kindergarten graduation and our Montessori Potluck Picnic, both on June 10th. Montessori Kindergarteners, please dress in Sunday best. Everyone else, please be in uniform, as we will all attend Mass together. Graduation is a short ceremony with a song and handing out diplomas. Then we will meet on the lawn outside of the Montessori classroom, sing a song for all the families, and then picnic! If you have blankets, we can use them to eat on. If you haven't already, please RSVP via the sign-up genius link to let us know how many will come and to sign up to bring food and supplies to share. Thank you for your support of this wonderful tradition! June 10th is a noon dismissal, so after the picnic, you may enjoy the playground with your young ones, or simply take them home. Our "Summer Adventures" program is filling up fast. If you're interested in a week-long morning program of outdoor and indoor Montessori fun for your child, please contact a Montessori teacher or the office for details.
0 Comments
Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! We have 7 new lives to celebrate this week! Seven of our twelves incubating eggs hatched. On Monday morning, we found 2 eggs pipping (cracking), and by the end of the day, two more were pipping, but none were really hatching. We heard cheeping coming from the eggs, and occasionally, one would shake slightly.
Well, overnight, seven chicks hatched, and it was crowded in the incubator by Tuesday morning. What a wonderful surprise to see when we come to school! Our class will care for the chicks until the end of next week. Our students have already observed how much stronger they seem to be, how much they are now eating and drinking, and the mess they are making in the bedding in their brooder. Feel free to come by whenever you can to visit them! Friday's early dismissal would be an ideal time! The end of the school year is coming up quickly. We will be holding our End of the Year Potluck Picnic. This will be scheduled for June 10th, after Mass and Kindergarten Graduation, lasting until the noon dismissal. Our whole class will attend Mass to watch their Kindergarten friends graduate, and then we will go to the Montessori Children's House to have a picnic on the lawn. Mark your calendars! And keep an eye out for a Sign-Up link to contribute food or supplies to the picnic. It's a cherished Montessori tradition, that unfortunately, was disrupted by Covid, but we're glad to bring it back. Continuing in the month of May, our class will continue to observe the chicks. We will also learn about plants and seeds for our gardening unit. Later in the month, we will explore work with the Solar System. Finally, thank you for all who gave gifts, treats, and kind words for Teacher Appreciation Week We love our Montessori families! Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! Last week, we celebrated Earth Day (a bit belatedly) by recycling paper! Each child made their own piece of paper using unwanted paper from our classroom, following the steps of our "assembly line" paper factory.. We learned that we could make it new again, rather than letting it go to a landfill. Here are some photos of the process: We have also been quietly and carefully incubating chicken eggs, in the hopes of having baby chicks 7 days from now. Our students know not to touch the table that the incubator sits on, and to observe quietly. Of course, right now, there's very little going on that we can see! The signs above the incubator reminds us of the sound that we use for quiet (sh), and the number of days the eggs have been incubating. Please say a prayer that we will see new life emerge next Tuesday, May 10th! For the month of May, we will focus on plants and seeds, and also learn about the Solar System. We anticipate going outside much more often with warmer, gentler weather!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! He is risen! Remember those "Alleluias" we put away for Lent? Well, we "unburied" them and handed them to each student to take home, as a reminder of the joyful fact that Jesus, indeed, lives! Hello from the Montessori Children's House. We hope you had a joyful and restful Easter break. Our students were so happy to return to school, and we were so happy to see them! Even though we had an Easter "celebration" on the day before break, it didn't feel right to "unbury" the Alleluias until the actual Easter Sunday had occurred. Here's some images of our last day before break: In the next couple of weeks, we will be waiting for our eggs to grow into chicks! Today is the first day of incubation. In 21 days, we hope to see a dozen chicks hatching. Please say a prayer for our tiny charges. We are learning to be quiet and watchful so they have the proper conditions to grow.
We are also learning that Earth Day is this Friday. To honor the holiday, and celebrate taking care of our Earth, we will recycle paper. Every Montessori student will make their own piece of recycled paper, instead of our used, unwanted paper going into the landfill! Thank you for reading! Have a blessed week! Today, March 11, the Montessori Children's House celebrated our 100th day of school. We have been counting since the very first day. It is one of our student jobs to add a unit bead in the afternoon to mark another completed day. Today, we commemorated the day with lots of hundred-themed activities. Every day, in our classroom, children have access to the hundred board, and the ten square chain. Today, we added hundred board grids to fill in with animal counters, colorful game chips, and marbles, as well as stamping 100 colorful stamps, tracing the numerals 1-100, and coloring worksheets that say "Happy 100th Day of School!" Please enjoy these photos from our special day: In the morning, we gathered together at our rug to count the days together. We counted 9 ten bars, and 9 unit beads. We added one more unit bead. We learned, from our golden bead lessons, that we could exchange 10 unit beads for another ten bar. And then we exchanged our 10 ten bars for a hundred square! The completed chart was then hung on our classroom timeline.
On Monday, we will continue counting beyond 100 days! Hello again from the Montessori Children's House! We hope you all had a fabulously relaxing Winter Break! We are wrapping up our February unit this week; even though it's now March, it's hard to let go of some of our February work. This year, the challenge of matching all the Presidents' pictures was particularly popular! We have also continued to learn about money, the names of coins and their denominations. Today, Ash Wednesday, we officially marked the beginning of the Lenten season. Father Luke and Father Ryan visited our classroom to give us our ashes. Each student also learned about being thoughtful and reflective in a concrete way, by drawing a joyful picture, and copying or tracing the word "Alleluia" on the paper. Then we folded those papers and put them away in a box, "burying" our Alleluias for the forty days of Lent until Easter Day, when Jesus rose to heaven! Then we can "unbury" our Alleluias once again! Each student will bring home their Alleluia drawing for Easter. Ms. Teresa also read the Easter Story from our Children's Bible, and will continue to do so regularly for the whole Lent season. Ms. Kathy has introduced a school-wide project to encourage each class to brainstorm every week about ways in which we can Pray, Fast, and Give for Lent. Today, the Montessori class had their first brainstorming session. We decided to Pray for God and Mary, Fast from our favorite food, and Give a toy away. Please reinforce these concepts at home! We also hope to have more days during which we can go outside. We were able to this week, and the children benefited greatly from the exercise in the fresh air! Please continue to dress your child appropriately for the weather, and thank you for all those who have kept snow gear here for the winter. Finally, we know that everyone is choosing what's best for their families regarding masking due to Covid 19. Many parents have reached out letting us know their preferences for their children. Thank you to those who have. If there's any questions, do not hesitate to let the Montessori team know. A quick email or note helps us know what your preferences are, so that we can reinforce them here at school.
Hello again from the Montessori Children's House. It has been a while, and we are recovering from our fractured schedule! January was the month to learn about land forms, such as islands and lakes, archipelagos, and volcanoes! We have been learning the names of these geological formations, filling models with water, and drawing and labeling them in our journals. Today, we finally brought out the volcano model, which students have made "erupt" with vinegar and baking soda. So exciting! We also have read many different versions of the story "Stone Soup." We have learned to compare and contrast different elements of literature, such as characters and setting and plot, as all the stories are similar, but not exactly the same. Valentine's Day is next Monday, and we will celebrate with a party. We will have cookie decorating, coloring sheets, and special Valentine arts and crafts for the whole morning. Families may send in Valentines and/or small treats to share, but it is not required. Every student will have a "mail" bag that they have decorated, to bring home Valentines. If you do send in gifts and/or cards, please do not individually address them to students, as that makes them much harder to deliver. However, this is an excellent time for your child to practice writing their name, if they are able, to sign the cards! Please be aware we have 32 students in our class. Thank you for all families who donated goodies and coffee to us for Catholic Schools' Week. We, teachers and students alike, appreciate the support and the "extras" that make our school days a little sweeter! Hello! Where has the time gone? We are quickly approaching Christmas, and our Montessori students are learning about Advent, preparing their hearts for Jesus' arrival. We are striving to keep the classroom a relatively calm environment, since we know there's so much excitement surrounding Christmas wherever our students go. We had a visitor drop off gifts for St. Nicholas Day. Every child received a labeled stocking of gifts and treats! A big thank you to St. Nicholas' helpers who made this happen! We have also been enjoying treats brought in by our classroom angel family (the Latonas)! Thank you for making this holiday season a little sweeter. Mr. Polen, the Music teacher, will be recording our Christmas concert on Friday, December 10th. Please send your children in Christmas clothing. We have been practicing our song every day. Maybe you've heard it sung at home, too!
We will be preparing a meeting link for our video conferences on December 20-21 (the first two days of Christmas break). Keep your eyes out for a sign up to schedule your time. Report cards will be emailed by December 10. Hello from the Montessori Children's House! That wintry weather is coming, and we are feeling the difference. It's time to ask all families to send in a set of winter wear to keep at school for our outside play. We ask that you please send snowpants, a warm hat, and waterproof gloves. Boots may be worn to and from school, and we recommend that your child keeps a pair of easy-on sneakers (velcro is great) for daily wear in their cubby. Thank you for helping us get our necessary fresh air and exercise!
For the month of November, we have been studying different kinds of winter squash. We have, on our shelf, an acorn, spaghetti, butternut, and hubbard squash. We will be cutting them open any day now, to explore their insides. We have also been talking about hibernation and migration, We've learned that we have to change how we behave when the weather gets colder, and so do the animals around us. Some go to sleep and some travel to warmer places. Report cards will be sent out by December 10. For new families, please know that the report card is for three years worth of Montessori learning, as we encourage families to send their children for the full three-year cycle. If your child is just in their first year, three years old, there may be many subjects that are just introduced, or not applicable yet. Rest assured, using the same work for three years, but at different levels, helps a child master skills. Now, please enjoy some photos of our friends at work: |
Author
Ms. Teresa is just one of the three fantastic teachers in St. Mary's Montessori Children's House! |