As we enter the first week of April, it’s hard to believe spring break is just around the corner!  March was filled with different experiences from Asia, including discovering various animals that live in that part of the world, learning about different writing styles used in China and Japan, and how other children live and go to school.

Making sushi.

We also had a great deal of excitement as we learned about dinosaurs.  Children love the idea of these often enormous animals that roamed the world millions of years ago. We had interesting discussions about the differences between herbivores (plant eating dinosaurs) and carnivores (meat eating dinosaurs).

Discussing the attributes of the dinosaur to determine if it is a carnivore or herbivore.

We are grateful to all of the families who met with us during conferences, giving us the chance to speak face to face about your child and the overall growth we have seen throughout the school year.  We know that an integral part of a Montessori education is the support that parents bring to the process. We have also observed that the most valuable Montessori experience occurs when the school environment and the home environment have symmetry, creating a true learning community for our children.

We were given a chemistry lesson from Oscar (Logan’s father) as he showed us how to create a tornado in a test tube (hint, a magnet in the water-filled test tube responded to the agitation of the magnetic hot plate).  We also saw how common household items could test positive for being an acid or a base.

UPCOMING FIELD TRIP NEWS

On Thursday, April 4,  all P1 and P2 students will be going on a field trip to Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary which is home to birds, goats, emus, and many other animals.  In 1920, a 1500-acre parcel of land was purchased by Leonard and Elda Gilcrease. Over the years they ranched the land and then eventually gave the current parcel to the city to create a sanctuary where animals can be brought and cared for.  Please have your child wear their blue/teal colored FMS shirt.

Playing “concentration” using picture cards of animals from Asia.

REMINDERS:

Friday, April 12 is half-day dismissal at 11:15.  Spring break is from April 15 – April 19. Teacher in-service is on Monday, April 22.  School resumes on Tuesday, April 23.

We will be studying South America, parts of the flower, birds, and environmental awareness during the month of April.  If you have experience with any of these subjects and would like to make a short presentation (15-20 minutes) to our class, please let us know.  The children and the teachers really enjoy these interactions.

Doing dinosaur research.

THANKS:

A great big thanks to Sophia, Vanessa, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

Spring has sprung!

FMS embraces Dr. Seuss Day with unbridled enthusiasm, as Theodor Seuss Geisel was an inspired humorist and author.

Every year in March, the entire campus celebrates the author’s birthday, including activities focused around literature penned by Dr. Seuss.  Children dress up as their favorite character, and we explore different ways of inspiring our students to experience the whimsy and depth of his stories.  

Part of the joy of reading his books is his genius for creating interesting and fanciful stories that rhyme.  

Rhyming is a skill that we weave into our language curriculum and is an invaluable tool for reading development.  It is especially helpful for early readers to experience literature from this playful and humorous vantage point.

We were very grateful to Christie (Scarlett’s mom) for helping to make our special “Cat in the Hat” fruit snack and for Andrea (Olivia’s mom) for helping students paint a “red fish” or a “blue fish” to accompany the story of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Dinosaurs, amphibians and reptiles are front and center in our March studies, along with the people, plants and animals of Asia.  We encourage our families to share their cultures with the class, as it helps to apply knowledge we gain in class.

Paleontology work.

Completing a dinosaur puzzle.

Calligraphy work.

The annual PTO Family Fun Run is this Saturday, March 16th. Please come run or walk, and enjoy a pancake breakfast with our community.  Benefits from the race directly support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and to support Cash Martin (a beloved primary student diagnosed with pediatric leukemia).

Creating a life cycle of a frog work.

Learning about the land form isthmus and the corresponding water way called a strait.

Half day dismissal at 11:15 am on Thursday, 3/21 and no school for students on Friday, 3/22 due to parent-teacher conferences.

Completing a hand-drawn map of the United States.

A great big thanks to Keely, Camila, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

Matching continent puzzle pieces with their corresponding names.

Animals of Asia cards used to play “concentration.”

Teaching about the fish on our ocean wall, to our younger students.

Snow in Henderson!

Our Valentine’s Day celebration was sweetened by the making of heart shaped pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

Thanks to Heidi (Carl’s mom) and Victoria (Roman’s family friend) for mixing and cooking the pancakes with us.

Students came to class wearing their comfy pajamas and spent the morning doing Montessori work in between playing games, doing crafts (thanks to Andrea, Olivia’s mom), and exchanging Valentines.

We are deep into the ocean blue of our studies this month including marine plant and animal life.  One wall in the classroom is dedicated to creating a typical ocean ecosystem with fish both big and small, seaweed, and sea anemones.

A kindergarten student giving a lesson about the ocean wall to a younger student.

Our students helped paint, and then cut out the sea plants and animals. This visual model gives all of us a chance to admire and appreciate the ocean life on Earth.  Next week, Kindergartners are taking a field trip to the Estes McDoniel marine lab. It is such a great opportunity for our students to be hosted by the Estes McDoniel 5th grade students to learn about marine animals that we discuss in class.  We know that pairing tangible experiences with information really makes the difference in the level of understanding and engagement for our students.

REMINDERS

Friday, March 1st is Dr. Seuss Day on campus.  Students and teachers are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character.

Saturday, March 16th is the PTO Charity Fun Run, where donations and funds raised will be given to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to support Cash Martin (a beloved primary student diagnosed with pediatric leukemia). Come out and enjoy the morning by walking or running, followed by a pancake breakfast!

Thursday, March 21st is a half day due to parent/teacher conferences. Dismissal is at 11:15am.

Friday, March 22 there is no school for students due to parent/teacher conferences all day.

THANKS:

A great big thanks to Olivia, Morgan, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

We concluded our study on space and the solar system with a guest appearance by Dr. Johnny (Jack’s father), as he is a chemist who works with materials that make rockets.

 Johnny came to the class with a model rocket, spoke about its parts, and answered general questions from the students about space exploration. Thank you, Johnny!

We appreciate having our parents visit the classroom to present real life experiences and expertise about any subject we are studying.  Please refer to the cultural curriculum summary you received at the beginning of the year, or refer to the monthly calendar for a reminder of the subject we are covering for the month and let us know if you are interested in being a guest speaker.

Every year at about this time, the Kindergartners reach the 100th day of instruction.  We had a celebration in the afternoon to honor the milestone of being in school for 100 days.  

Kindergartners were invited to bring in a set of 100 things.  Some students brought in 100 pennies, stickers, or paperclips; we even had a few 100 piece puzzles!  We also played games, had a chance to stack and build with 100 plastic cups, and imagined what we would look like when we reached 100 years of age!

Thanks to all of our families who attended Parent/Child night.  This evening gives each student a chance to demonstrate their skills and helps parents to see in person some of the work that is done in the classroom on a daily basis.

Sorting animals from Australia.

Walking the line.

We hope that all the families who attended the PTO Family Dance had a good time.  A big thanks to the PTO board and parent volunteers who helped make the event a beautiful, fun-filled evening.

REMINDERS:

Thursday, 2/14 is our P1 Classroom Valentine’s Day celebration.  Children may wear pajamas and bring in valentines to share with the other students.  There are 26 students in our class.

Completing this month’s self-portrait.

No school on Friday, 2/15 due to teacher in-service.

“An exploding nebula.”

No school on Monday, 2/18 in honor of President’s Day.

Completing the 1,000 chain.

Thursday, 2/21 at 8:30am is the next PTO general meeting in the multi purpose room.

Working in the garden, with Daniella, the Green Our Planet gardener.

Thursday, 2/28 is the Kindergarten field trip to the marine lab located at Estes McDoniel Elementary school from 9:45am-1:00pm.  Kindergartners are asked to wear their teal blue FMS shirt and bring a disposable lunch, including bags and containers.

THANKS:

A great big thanks to Jack, Ben,and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

We are closing out the first month of the new year, and the students have embraced our solar system, space, and constellation studies with gusto.  Kindergartners methodically created their own paper version of the solar system after hearing lessons from Ms. Melissa and Ms. Diana about each planet.

Creating planet books.

Keeping with Montessori practices of presenting material in a concrete way, the children were taught about our solar system through songs and movement.  During whole group instruction, one child was chosen to be the sun, another the earth, and the third child represented the moon. The proper rotation times were then recited. For instance, “it takes 365 days for the earth to go around the sun” and “it takes 28 days for the moon to go around the earth.”  An ample supply of planet books in our science area gave even our students the chance to learn about our solar system.

Learning about “magnetic and non-magnetic” objects.

Exploring Arctic animals.

On to a more earthly subject, considerable effort is used to teach and reinforce grace and courtesy in the classroom.  Every Wednesday morning, Ms. Melissa gives a whole group peace lesson. At times she had talked about what makes someone a good friend (a good friend is kind, a good friend is helpful, and a good friend listens to your words).

Playing Spanish bingo.

It has been wonderful to watch our students employ these guidelines in some of their social relationships! Ms. Melissa routinely emphasizes the importance of using good manners.   It has a profound effect on the room when students are using their good manners.

Practicing grading colors from dark to light.

As their interactions are respectful of each other, the room is more peaceful and deeper levels of concentration and learning are experienced in the space.  Let’s keep this process going both at home and at school. We find that the more children use “please and thank you” in their daily interactions, the more natural and unprompted their responses become.

THANK YOU

Thank you to Evangelina (Roman’s mom) and Heidi (Carl’s mom) for orchestrating the cooking project this month.

REMINDERS

Wednesday, 1/30 is kindergarten re-enrollment information night at 5:00 pm for the 2019-2020 school year.  All families who have currently enrolled pre-K children are encouraged to attend.

Writing in Spanish.

Thursday, 1/31 is 1st grade re-enrollment information night at 5:00 pm for the 2019-2020 school year.  All families who have currently enrolled kindergarten children are encouraged to attend.

Friday, 2/1 is the PTO Family Bollywood Dance from 5:00 pm-9:00 pm, see you all there!

A Kindergartner giving a “touch tablet” lesson to a younger student.

Tuesday,2/5 is Parent/Child night where your child demonstrates favorite works in the classroom. Families whose last names begin with A-M are invited to the classroom from 4:15 pm-5:00 pm. Families whose last names begin with N-Z are invited to the classroom from 5:00 pm-5:45 pm.

SNACK AND FLOWER THANKS

A great big thanks to Noel, Simon, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.