The Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten classroom is typically organized into six areas, including:  Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, Cultural, and Art.  There are seven areas in our classroom because we offer Spanish immersion.

The jobs are typically organized so the easiest job is on the top left corner of the top shelf progressing to the the most demanding jobs on the bottom right corner of the shelf.

The organization of the shelves helps develop a sense of order and predictability in the children as they progress through the materials.

 Montessori materials are also often presented in a left to right motion.  This pattern helps train the children’s hands and eyes to move from left to right in preparation for reading and writing.

Each of the areas are organized by the overall curriculum with different monthly themes that direct our attention to a particular continent, and subject matter such as space, oceans, or insects.

There is conscious effort, especially in the practical life area to use real household items and in science to teach nomenclature that is used by scientists. This empowers the student to learn correct usage of an item, or to clearly identify a plant, an animal, or an object by its full name.

Exploring some animals found in Antartica.

As the child matures and moves into higher grades, the foundation for relating to their world from a real life perspective has been laid.  Confidence grows when knowledge is rooted in real life, and the naturalness of the association of an object with its features and descriptions.

Contemplating the 1,000 chain.

We were so delighted by the turn out of our families who attended “Parent/Child Night.”  Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and appreciation for your child’s work.  Having you step into their educational world reinforces your child’s view of themselves as a learner, and as a teacher!

We are wrapping up this month’s study of snow and ice studies, and what better way to do that then to make ice-cream!

Thanks to the attentive guidance of Ms. Ashley (Carson’s mom) and Ms. Jessica (Grace’s mom) we made “ice-cream in a bag,” and the children really enjoyed the process, as well as the results.

REMINDERS

Kindergarten enrollment information night is on Wednesday, 2/3/2016 at 5:00pm.  Come and get a sense of how and why the Montessori Kindergarten curriculum is so effective in laying a solid academic foundation for your child.

First grade enrollment information night is on Thursday, 2/4/16 at 5:00pm.  See for yourself the bridge between the Montessori pre-school/kindergarten class and the lower elementary class experience.  Meet the teachers and see where the process will lead your child.

Rainforest animals will visit us on Monday, 2/8 at 10am.

Valentine’s day celebration will be held on Thursday, 2/11 in the morning.  If your child wants to participate, please have them sign 26 valentine’s.  We encourage you to keep it very simple so that the distribution of the cards is kept easy.  With this in mind, please do not address the valentines with specific child’s names, and please do not supply candy or other “gifts” with the cards.

No school on Friday, 2/12 due to teacher in-service.

No school on Monday, 2/15 in celebration of President’s’ Day.

The PTO family dance is on Friday, 2/19.

THANKS

A special thanks to Carsyn and her family for providing delicious snacks, and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

We have settled nicely back into our school routine and find that the children are moving through the classroom with purpose and ease.  Our theme this month includes studying the solar system, stars, and constellations.

Solar system job demonstrating planetary distances from our sun.

As we gaze upward, the enormity of the universe begins to dawn on us and the children seem to grasp the idea that Earth is a planet (along with seven other planets) in our solar system and the sun is actually a star.

We encourage you to do a little stargazing with your child and let them experience the wonder of the night sky.

Now that the winter weather has arrived, please continue sending your child to school with jackets.  Mornings, especially in the outdoor classroom, are quite chilly and jackets are required if students wish to work outside.

Most of our younger students are mastering the technique of putting on their jackets.  We teach them a couple of ways of doing so.  If there is a hood to the jacket, we show them how to pull their sleeves out, put the hood on their head, then fit their arms through the sleeves.  

Another way is to place the open jacket on the floor, have the child stand facing the top of their jacket, bend down and place their arms in the sleeves, then flip the jacket up and over their heads.  You may want to have your child show you!  

Exploring some animals found in Antartica.

Zipping a zipper takes a lot of practice and we show students how the two pieces need to be lined up; once it is going, we hold the bottom firm so that they can experience the feeling of pulling the zipper up.

It’s also helpful to let your child practice buttoning their buttons. Once again, please make sure that your child’s jackets are clearly marked with their names.  

Counting by “5’s” using the Five Chain.

The Chinese acrobats entertained and amazed us this week with their supple flexability

and their deep levels of concentration.

Lighting a candle; using a lit candle balanced on her chin!

Thank you to the parent volunteers who helped escort our class to the Smith Center to see “The Cat in the Hat” performance.  For some of our students, that was their first theater experience.  We appreciate the focus and care that our volunteer parents brought to this important task.

Please mark your calendars to visit P1, on Thursday 1/28, and have your child show you three of their favorite jobs in the classroom.  From 4:00-4:45, we invite families (students and parents) who have last names starting with the letters A-M to come to school and let your child guide you through three lessons.  At 5:00-5:45 we invite all our families whose last names begin with N-Z to come to P1 and learn from your child.  This is truly a moving experience when you see your child sharing their favorite works with you.  We look forward to seeing all of you here!

REMINDERS

No school on Monday, 1/18 in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. day.

Thank you to Vivian L. and Gabriel, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.