“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 another 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.

One of the interesting experiments that we are running, is to place a fresh green pepper on a tray along with a plastic spoon.

We are observing the decomposition process of the green pepper day by day, and seeing that 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 happens to be today, 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.

Kindergarteners enjoyed their “Pippi Longstocking” chapter book party with pancakes and whip cream.  They also got to be “Thing Finders” just like Pippi, and located wooden spools and gold “coins” in the classroom.

Thank you to all the parents who traveled with us to the Children’s Discovery Museum and helping us to have a safe and fun field trip.

Ms. Diana conversing in Espanol with her students.

Catching a quiet moment to do the “100 Board.”

Doing practical life jobs:

Mother’s Day Tea is coming up on Friday, May 6th at 10:30 am 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.

Counting is so much fun in the outdoor classrom:

Thank you to Cortland and Cooper for providing our classroom with delicious snacks and beautiful flowers.  Cooper, we really enjoyed having the red roses from your garden!

Well, Spring has sprung and we all feel the pull of Summer coming.  The children want to spend as much time as they can in our outdoor classroom making art, experiencing the water table, working with puzzles and making paper airplanes.

Ladybugs and praying mantises are busy doing their work in the greenhouse, giving our students the opportunity to see the work insects do.

Our school has been actively engaged in the Great Kindness Challenge, a nationwide challenge dedicated to creating a culture of kindness on campuses.

With the help of our upper elementary and middle school students, we have made bookmarks that are hanging in the trees on our playground.

 Inside the classroom, the children have been busy making “kindness necklaces” threading 7 beads on a string, while thinking of kind deeds they can do for themselves or others.  Finally, with the help of Jennifer (Chloe’s mom) and Gabriela (Francesca’s mom), we also made chocolate chip cookies that were delivered to our local fire station.

South America is the continent we are studying this month, with emphasis placed on learning about the rainforests including the plants and animals who inhabit that very productive ecosystem.  Earlier in the year we were visited by actual animals who live in the rain forest.

We are also learning about birds and their characteristics.  These unique animals are fascinating to study since the students can observe a great variety of birds in the Outdoor Classroom including pigeons, quail and hummingbirds and even a woodpecker or two.

Thank you to all the families who participated in the Fun Run and bid on our art auction items.  Ms. Melissa was so happy running the 5k, she could have done a second one!  

Our final, full class field trip is coming up on Wednesday, 4/20.  We are visiting the Discovery Museum.  Please have your child to school by 8:15am.  We are loading up the bus and leaving school by 8:30am.  We will be back on campus for lunch.  Also, please remember to have your child wear their neon yellow FMS shirt.

Thanks to Madison, Cooper and Cortland (and their families) for providing our classroom with healthy snacks and beautiful flowers.

Table washing encourages large motor skill development.

We appreciate meeting with our families last week during parent/teacher conferences.  It is so helpful to us to have the opportunity to meet one-on-one and exchange direct feedback about your child.

The foundation for a child’s academic life begins at home.  Parents are the ever present model for learning and for demonstrating behavior that is most helpful for the child in interacting with their peers.

The love of learning is ignited through the interactions of the parent with their child. If there is interest from the parent to their child’s world, the child will learn to wonder about their surroundings.

In the exchange of conversations, the child develops their language skills and gains confidence in expressing themselves.  

We are currently studying the continent of Asia, amphibians, and dinosaurs.  Some dinosaurs were plant eaters and others were meat eaters.

Making an impression of a dinosaur skeleton

You may ask your child to explain some of the physical differences between herbivores and carnivores; in other words, if you were looking at a dinosaur could you readily tell if it was a plant or meat eater?  

Amphibians have the distinction of starting their lives in the water (think frog) using gills to breathe, then they develop the ability to use lungs and move about on land.  Amphibians need to stay near water, although they don’t need to actually live in the water.

Looking at the life cycle of a frog.

Kindergartners giving a tour of our fish wall, to younger P1 students:

Giving a tour of our fish wall.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Dr. Seuss Day celebration and appreciate the parents who helped make it so successful:  Elaine (Elliott’s mom), Jessica (Grace’s mom), and Dana (Enaara’s mom).

Thank you to Rachel (Austin’s mom) for sharing her treasures from their family’s recent trip to Australia.

Thank you for the generous outpouring of food for our recent food drive.  We  were able to donate over 50 bags of much needed food to the Boulder City Food Pantry. Our donations filled up their pantry, and their staff were very grateful to receive our donations.

Spring break is coming up starting on Friday, 3/18 after a half day of school (dismissal at 11:15 am).  School will be closed from 3/21 through 3/28, with school resuming on Tuesday, 3/29.

Completing a “volcano book.”

Thank you to Vivian L. and her family for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

If you are a parent of a Kindergarten student in our classroom, you may have noticed that there was a “100 Days of Kindergarten” celebration last week.  You may be asking yourself, “have 100 days of school already passed for this year?” and “why is it so important to acknowledge this milestone?”  The answer to the first question is a resounding “yes!”

Since the first day of school the Kindergarteners, along with Ms. Melissa and Ms. Diana, have been keeping a number roll tracking each of the days spent in our afternoon Kindergarten class.

It is relevant as it gives the children a tangible reflection of the passage of time, allowing them the opportunity to recognize the concepts of days, weeks and months.  Also, it is such a significant number, that it gives us the chance to immerse the students in the manipulation and identification of what 100 really is.

On the actual 100th day, the children were involved in several “100” themed activities; counting and eating 100 pieces of popcorn, using 100 plastic cups to build different designs, cutting American cheese into the number 100, and collaging the number 100.

Students were also challenged to complete 4 sets of 25 exercises ( 25 jumping jacks, 25 hops, etc.) to make 100.

In the Montessori classroom, we build several early math lessons around number recognition and its one-to-one correspondence (recognizing the symbol and the amount it is representing as the same thing).

After 0-10 is mastered, the teens and then the tens are introduced, which eventually leads to doing the 100 board.

Successfully completing the 100 board is a milestone in our classroom.  It is done by sorting all 100 numbers into their corresponding “families” and then placing the tiles in sequential order.  Once this standard way is accomplished, students are invited to arrange the titles in various patterns such as backwards, zig zag, and in a spiral.  

We look forward to our parent teacher conferences coming up next week.  As you enter the classroom, you may notice our “ocean wall.”  

This is a science/art project that Ms. Melissa brings to Kindergarten during the month we study oceans.  Each of the fish are drawn close to scale, with all of the actual colors and markings done to match the actual animal.  As the Kindergarteners learn the names and characteristics of the animals, they will be giving “ocean wall” tours to the younger students.

A special thanks to all of the parents who drove and chaperoned the Kindergarten field trip to Estes McDoniel Elementary School, for a look at their wonderful marine lab.

There is nothing like a real life example to making a lasting impression upon our young students.

We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss day next Wednesday, 3/2.  Please feel free to have your child dress up as any Dr. Seuss character.  We will be celebrating the creative genius of the author by setting up several arts and crafts projects, and a cooking project in the classroom during the morning.

REMINDERS

Thursday, March 3 is half day dismissal at 11:15 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Friday, March 4th there is no school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences.

Spring Break begins on 3/18 with dismissal at 11:15, followed by no school from 3/21-3/25.

No school on 3/28 due to teacher in-service, school resumes on Tuesday, 3/29.

A great big thank you to Austin and Sydney, and their families for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our classroom.

One of the underlying themes in the Montessori classroom, is the teachings of “grace and courtesy.”  This plays out in many ways in the classroom, from rolling up a mat so the next student can use it easily, to saying “excuse me” when bodies accidently bump into each other.

At lunch time, after hands are washed and lunches are laid out, we sing a song together called “The Earth Is Good to Me.” The teacher then says, “Bon appetit, now you may eat.”  

This is a daily reminder for the students to wait for the children around them to set out their lunches;  instead of devouring their food as soon as they get it out of their lunchboxes.

It also directs the children to think about how everything we need to survive comes directly from the Earth, and it allows them to experience gratefulness.

Here is the song in English:

The earth is good to me.

So, I thank the earth

for giving me, the things I need

the sun, the rain and the apple seed.

The earth is good to me.

Bon appetit, now you may eat. (spoken)

When Ms. Diana is managing lunch, we sing the song in Spanish.  

Here is the song in Spanish:

La tierra es muy buena.

Asi, que le agradezco

por darme a mi, lo que necesito

el sol, la lluvia y la semilla.

La tierra es muy buena.

Buen provecho, puede comer. (spoken)

Please encourage your child to sing this with you, especially the Spanish version, as it will reinforce our efforts in the classroom. Thank you!

Thank you to Karri (Gabrielle’s mom), Dana (Enaara’s mom), Janell (Sydney’s mom), and Ashley (Carsyn’s mom) for helping us with our Valentine Day celebration and to the families who donated supplies.  You made it very sweet for all of us!

February 16-26

(boxes will be located outside each primary classroom for your donations)

Help us support the Boulder City Senior Center!

           Food drive for the Boulder City Senior Center’s Food Pantry!

One of the many services the Boulder City Senior Center provides for local senior citizens is a food pantry. Each week senior citizens are given the opportunity to receive a free bag of food to help supplement their fixed incomes. This service allows for senior citizens to feel empowered and remain independent in their own homes. Unfortunately, the food pantry is on the verge of being shut down due to the lack of funds and food available. Help us make a mark in our community by donating food to their food pantry!

Ideas of food to donate:

*Any non-perishable food items

*Cereals              *Soups           *Peanut Butter

*Tuna Fish         *Noodles       *Spaghetti Sauce

Kindergartners cutting out fish to go on our “ocean wall.”

cutting out fish for our “ocean wall.”

REMINDERS

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

rainforest cockroaches.

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

PTO family dance is on 2/19 starting at 5pm to 8pm at the Dragon Ridge Country Club.

Egyption animal assembly on Monday, 2/22 at 10am.

Trabajo de Espanol (Spanish work).

A big thank you to Steven and Alexander (and their families) for providing delicious snacks and beautiful flowers for our room.