“Reduce, reuse, recycle” is the melody to a song that we have been singing in the classroom this month as we look at the importance of carefully using our natural resources. On that note, we encourage the children to pack a cloth napkin to use during lunchtime, eliminating the need for a paper napkin that must go in the garbage. School lunches come with a water bottle, which the children are in the habit of recycling.  Any leftover water is collected in a blue dish pan, which we pour on the plants outside. We started this recycling effort last year and the children naturally did it again this year.

This month, we are doing an experiment involving a green pepper and a plastic spoon.  We are observing the decomposition process of the green pepper day by day, and witnessing the plastic spoon has not changed one bit!  As the children will report, the green pepper is biodegradable and the plastic spoon is non-biodegradable.

Earth Day takes place on April 22, which gives us a chance to explain to the children that all of us are caretakers of the Earth.  We show respect to the Earth by being careful not to let the water just flow out of the faucet when we are washing our hands and brushing our teeth, to put our trash in the trash can, and to turn off lights if we are not in the room.  Caring for the Earth is the same as caring for ourselves.

We so enjoyed the parent presentations on South America.  Thanks to Cristy (Camilla’s Mom), Jenny (Hayden’s Grandmother) and to Heidi (Carl’s Mom) for sharing their experiences of living and traveling in South America.  

Our students love to learn from our parents and we look forward to future presentations.  We are talking about Africa and insects during the month of May. If you have any direct experience with those themes and would like to speak to the class, please let us know.Kindergartners enjoyed their “Pippi Longstocking” chapter book party with pancakes, hot chocolate, and whip cream.  They also got to be “Thing Finders” just like Pippi, and located wooden spools and beaded necklaces in the classroom.

REMINDERS:

Spanish Fiesta is scheduled for Wednesday, May 2nd at school from 9:00-11:00.  This is the chance for our students to enjoy arts and crafts, music, and food, all the while using their Spanish speaking skills to communicate with Coronado HS AP Spanish students.

Mother’s Day Tea is coming up on Friday, May 11th at 10:30am in P1. All mothers are invited to attend. If a mom cannot attend, please send a special someone in their place.  Each student is allowed one guest due to space restrictions in the classroom.

Kindergarten Late Night Party is happening on Friday, May 18th from 5:00-8:00pm. We will have a sign-up sheet available soon for parent volunteers to help make this celebration fantastic.

Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony takes place on Wednesday, 5/23 from 1:30-2:30pm.

Gardening together with all of the kindergartners.

Thank you to Jonny and his family for providing our classroom with delicious snacks and beautiful flowers.  

During the  month of April we are studying South America, birds, recycling, and care of the Earth.  We have been recycling paper in the classroom since last year.

A separate trash can is set up in the room where we dispose of paper and paper towels.  Once a week, we also recycle the plastic bottles from pizza Mondays. Next week, we will be going on our final class field trip to Springs Preserve.We will make our way through the park and spend most of our time in the recycling display room.  Please be sure your child wears their orange, FMS shirt on Tuesday 4/10.

Figuring out which objects are recyclable and which ones are garbage.

As our school year draws to a close, we reflect on the growth and development we have seen in all of our students. 

Working with the binomial cube.

We have watched students emerge as break through readers, other students writing in full sentences, and budding mathematicians grasping operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with ease.

This is truly the springtime of our year where the fruits of our student’s efforts is seen in the quality and productivity of their work. Montessori instruction is process driven where each step in doing a work is methodically explained and then practiced by the student.

It is satisfying, as teachers, to see the academic and social roots in our students take hold. Playfully encouraging math skills and keeping up with reading (aloud or silently) are excellent strategies for keeping skills sharp, and for nurturing your child’s love of learning.  

REMINDERS

Spanish Immersion Fiesta (at school) on 5/2 from 9am-11am.

Working with the multiplication board.

Please join us for our annual Mother’s Day Tea on Friday, 5/11 at 10:30-11:15 am.  As classroom space is limited, we request only one guest per student (mom or other special relative/friend if mom cannot attend).

Kindergarten Late Night party (at school) on 5/18 from 5pm-8pm.

Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony on 5/23 from 1:30-2:30pm.

Last day of school on Friday, 5/25  – dismissal is at 11:15am.

THANKS

A great big thanks to Noel and her family for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.