P1 Blog for May

This month, we learned about insects.  These fascinating creatures are invertebrates, have 3 body parts, 6 jointed legs and 2 antennae.  Insects breathe through special tubes called spiracles.  Many insects are beneficial to our world as they pollinate flowers and keep garden pests at bay.  Students enjoyed learning about many different insects through labeling activities, puzzles and patterning activities.  We also enjoyed learning about the continent of Africa and its great variety of animals. 

Here are some photos from this month:

May Activities in P1

We were so happy to host a Someone Special and Me tea this month!  Students invited a friend or family member to join them on campus to enjoy a few treats, receive a special gift and watch a short performance.  It was wonderful to see so many friends and families in our courtyard for this event!  Thank you for your participation!

Someone Special and Me Tea

This month, the Kindergartners had 2 special events.  We celebrated the year with Kindergarten Late Night.  Kindergartners made a special glow in the dark tee shirt in preparation for the evening.  We enjoyed a pizza dinner here at school followed by crafts, fun and games.  We had such a great time!  

Kindergarten Late Night

Kindergartners also celebrated all their accomplishments with a Moving Up Ceremony.  We had beautiful decorations set up in the Outdoor Classroom and the Kindergartners received a diploma, a special tee shirt with their classmates names and a fun photo. They also took their Unit Books home!  This binder is a compilation of all the units we studied this year.   Please take some time to go over the Unit Book with your child and marvel at all they have learned!

During the summer months, families often ask for suggestions that they can do to keep learning a part of their child’s daily routine.  Reading is always one of the best things to do.  Read to your child, have them read to you as best as they can.  We also like to encourage children to help out around the house with chores like making their bed, unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry or dusting or sweeping.  These activities not only give your child a sense of responsibility, but help them understand that families work together to keep their house and yard clean.

Here is a list of further activities you can do with your children during the summer.

50 Independent Activities for Children to Do at Home

We would like to thank all of you for your support and kindness this year!  We could not have done it without you!

Have a wonderful summer!

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini

April Activities in P1

April 30 blog

Rainforests of the world took center stage this month. We enjoyed lessons on the different layers of the rainforest and the many different animals that live among them.  We were fascinated by spider monkeys, sloths, jaguars and poison dart frogs. We also learned about the many different products of the rainforest including pineapple, oranges, coconut, papaya, coffee, chicle (the stuff in chewing gum that makes it chewy), cinnamon, vanilla, rubber, wood and medicines.

This month we also learned about birds. Birds are vertebrates, but have hollow bones. This makes them light enough to fly, although we did learn that there are some birds that do not fly, such as ostriches and penguins. Birds also have beaks, feathers and breathe with lungs. Many birds build nests and lay eggs. We loved reading about many different kinds of birds in books on our science shelf. 

We also learned about recycling and caring for our Earth. We discovered the difference between biodegradable and nonbiodegradable by comparing a green bell pepper with a plastic spoon.  The children were fascinated as we observed the green pepper gradually changing from fresh and green to wrinkled and orange as it went through the process of decomposition. The plastic spoon did not change at all. This powerful comparison helped the students understand the concept of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable and we were able to apply this to a sorting lesson. We also discussed what happens to the trash we throw away (it goes in a landfill) and simple ways we can reduce the amount of trash we create by using cloth napkins, washable lunch and snack containers and refillable water bottles.

Here are some photos of activities in P1 this month:  

April Activities in P1

April was also filled with many events here at school.   Our students enjoyed some fun group games with Ms. Kini during our Color War day.

Color War Fun

We loved having parents visit our classroom during Parent Child Nights.  It was so wonderful to see so many families attending and to see some of the amazing work the children do. Thank you for attending!  

Parent Child Night Photos

Coach Bob organized many fun outdoor activities for Field Day!  Students loved splashing in the pool, getting wet during the sponge relay races and running through an obstacle course.  Thank you Coach Bob!

Field Day Fun

Monday, May 2 is the P1 Someone Special and Me Tea.  We will begin at 9:15 in the courtyard.

May is the last month of the school year and we have a few important dates to remember:

Friday, May 13 is Kindergarten Late Night!  From 5:00 – 7:00 the Kindergarten students are invited back to campus for a special dinner and an evening filled with fun, games, arts and crafts as we celebrate all that we have learned this year!  

Wednesday, May 18 is the Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony held here at school.  Watch your email for further details!  

Friday, May 20 is the last day of school! 

Thank you for all your support this year!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini

March Activities in P1

This month we loved learning about Dinosaurs!  This is a favorite unit of study for many of our students. These ancient creatures that once roamed the earth are fascinating to our students. We became paleontologists this month as we learned about the different characteristics of dinosaurs to help us understand if they were herbivores or carnivores. Most herbivores walked on four legs and had small mouths. Most carnivores ran on two legs, had claws for grasping its prey and big mouths. We used this information to sort dinosaur models into appropriate groups.

We also learned about amphibians this month. Amphibians are often confused with reptiles due to their many shared characteristics. Both are vertebrates, both are cold blooded, both lay eggs.  Amphibians differ from reptiles by laying their eggs in water. All amphibians start their lives underwater and breathe with gills. As they grow, they develop lungs and move out of the water onto land. Students had a chance to study the life cycle of frogs and label a few of the many different kinds of frogs and toads that live on our planet.

This month, we also studied different aspects of Asia. Ms. Melissa lived and taught in Japan for a year and shared some of her experiences with the class. We practiced using chopsticks in Practical Life and a favorite activity in the classroom was a puzzle from Tokyo that has the Japanese hirigana writing system on it, one of the 4 alphabets that the Japanese use. We also learned a few words in Japanese: tomodachi means friend, hashi means chopsticks, and ohio gozimas means good morning.

Thank you to all of our families for your thoughtfulness and generosity during Teacher Appreciation Week!  We truly felt loved and honored!

Here are some photos of our many activities in March:

P1 March Photos

Next month brings some very exciting events to our campus!  We will be doing a Food Drive for Three Square during the week of April 4-8.  Flyers will be distributed and boxes will be placed outside each classroom door for donations of canned and dried goods.  

We are also excited to be hosting Parent Child Night at the end of the month!  This is an opportunity for you to come into the classroom and let your child show you some of the wonderful things they do during the day.  Please sign up for a specific date and time to visit P1.  A link to Sign Up Genius will be sent out on Friday, April 1.  

Spring Break is April 11 – 15 with school resuming on Tuesday, April 19.  We hope you all have a wonderful time!

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to let us know.

Thank you!

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini

Zoology in the Montessori Classroom

March 15 Blog

Zoology (the study of animals) is a large component of the Montessori curriculum.  We study animals for a variety of reasons.  They are interesting, sometimes cute and sometimes scary.  Learning about animals helps children classify the world around them.

As children study animals, they develop powers of observation.  By looking at the physical characteristics of an animal, we can tell if it is a mammal, a reptile, a fish, an amphibian or a bird.  Once we can recognize what kind of animal we are looking at, we know a great deal of information: Mammals are warm blooded, breathe with lungs, have fur or hair on their bodies and give birth to live babies. Reptiles are cold blooded, also breathe with lungs, have skin or scales covering their bodies and most of them hatch from eggs. Fish are cold blooded, breath with gills, have scales covering their bodies and lay eggs. This month we learned that amphibians and reptiles have much in common. They are both cold blooded. But while reptiles breathe with lungs, amphibians start their life under water and breath with gills! As they grow, their bodies change and they develop lungs. Their bodies are covered with skins and they lay their eggs in water. All of these types of animals have one thing in common:  they are all vertebrates. (Next month, we will wrap up our vertebrate studies with birds!)

Studying animals also helps us learn about the world. Different animals live in different places and need different things to survive (environment, food, water, shelter). Penguins can survive in the extreme cold of Antarctica, Bighorn Sheep can live in hot, dry deserts and coyotes are so adaptable they can live just about anywhere! This leads to an understanding of habitats and an appreciation for our planet as well as the importance of taking care of it so animals can live and thrive.

Learning about animals leads to reading, writing and research activities. As children develop reading and comprehension skills, they love doing their own research on animals. We always have books on the different animals we are studying so that students have the opportunity to look at pictures, make observations, read information and learn on their own.

Here are some pictures of past and current animal studies in P1.

Zoology Photos in P1

Thank you all for meeting with us for Parent Teacher Conferences. It was wonderful to take the time to talk with you about your children!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel let us know.

Thank you!

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini

February Activities in P1

During the month of February, we loved learning about Oceans and Marine Life.  We discovered that fish are vertebrates,  breathe with gills and their bodies are covered with mucus that helps them move through the water.  The Kindergartners worked on painting an Ocean Wall in our classroom.  They made a model of a coral reef with water, seaweed, coral and a variety of marine animals that we studied in the afternoon.  The Kindergartners also used this work to teach lessons on the different ocean animals to the younger students in the classroom.  

Here are some pictures of the Ocean Wall and other February work in P1:

Ocean Photos and other work in P1

We also had a fun Valentine’s Day celebration in our classroom.  Students exchanged valentine cards and gifts. We played games and did some arts and crafts and enjoyed a snack of strawberries and whipped cream.

Here are some pictures of our Valentine’s Day activities:

Valentine’s Day fun

Ms. Kini did a presentation on Chinese New Year.  This year is the Year of the Tiger.  Ms. Kini shared the story of how the Chinese calendar was created and how each year is named after one of twelve animals.  Students learned what their own Chinese zodiac animal is based on the year they were born.  Then we played a fun game to find others with the same animal by making the noise their animal makes and listening for someone making the same animal sound.  Ms. Kini also had a small gift for each child and demonstrated the appropriate way of giving a gift using both hands and receiving a gift also using both hands. 

Here are some pictures of Ms. Kini and the students during our Chinese New Year lesson:

Chinese New Year Activities

March is right around the corner.  We will be studying dinosaurs, reptiles and amphibians and learning about the continent of Asia. Parent Teacher Conferences are in March.  Please sign up for a time to meet with us to talk about your child’s progress.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thank you!

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini