We celebrated “America” last week, as the entire FMS campus was transformed to represent different regions of the United States. P1’s room represented the Midwest. With some careful planning (thanks Amalia) and plenty of creativity (thanks Sophia), we had milking cows in the barn, ice fishing, cheese sampling, crawling through a prairie dog habitat, and various crafts.

Thank you to all of our parent volunteers for helping us to create, setup, and run this special event.  We also appreciate our four middle school students, Tristan, Kassie, Sofia and Sarah, for volunteering in our classroom and for wearing such great costumes.

We were also visited by “Project Wild”, filling the multipurpose room with a variety of animals rescued from former pet owners.  

The assembly started off with “Larry” the legless lizard. He is known as the glass lizard because he is very delicate.

Unlike a snake, a legless lizard hears with ears and can shut his eyes using his eyelids.  We saw and heard a 4 weeks old baby goat and all it wanted was its bottle of milk. She really sounded like a baby crying for its bottle!

Our Primary Music Performance will take place next week, Tuesday, 11/6 at 9:00am in the multi-purpose room.  Please have your child wear dark, solid colored pants and their blue FMS shirt. Pants can be jeans. We look forward to sharing this performance with you.

We are hosting our first Parent/Child Night on Thursday, 11/15 starting at 4:15-5:00 if your last name begins with A-M, and at 5:00-5:45 if your last name begins with N-Z. Come experience your child sharing the jobs that they have learned in the classroom. You can see first-hand the materials they use and get a deeper sense of their daily activities inside the classroom.

REMINDERS:

No school on Monday, 11/12 in honor of Veteran’s Day.

No school on Tuesday, 11/13 due to a teacher in-service.

Kindergarten field trip to Red Rock Canyon on Thursday, 11/27 from 9:45am-1:00pm.  Please have your child wear their blue FMS shirt and bring a lunch packed in a disposable bag.

Thanksgiving break is scheduled starting Wednesday, 11/21 through Friday, 11/23.  School resumes on Monday, 11/26.

THANKS:

Thanks to McCoy, Linnea, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as flowers for our classroom.

“Freckle Juice” chapter book party.

In a primary class mixed with three age groups (preschoolers, pre-kindergartners, and kindergartners), kindergartners are considered to be the role models for the class often giving cultural and practical life lessons to their younger peers.

Every afternoon, the kindergarten class is structured with a formal lesson covering the curriculum item for the day and then students begin their work cycle with a follow up writing assignment.  Math, science, reading and Spanish goals are then completed by the students.

As more responsibilities are given to our kindergartners, more learning experiences are also provided.  For instance, kindergartners go on additional field trips like the recent one to the fire station and an upcoming field trip to Red Rock Canyon.

Favorite children’s chapter books are read to the kindergarten classes each afternoon. Once a chapter book is done, Ms. Melissa and Ms. Diana create activities centered upon the main themes in the book and a chapter book party commences.

“Freckle Juice” chapter book party.

It often includes eating a delicious treat, doing artwork, and then playing games. These hand-on activities reinforce main themes read in the books and gives our students a deeper exposure to the main characters in the books.

Several times a year, outside educational groups are brought to school to provide an assembly for all of the primary students.  We recently had drummers from Africa entertain and educate our students.

 During the assembly, three performers graced our stage with song, dance, and story. Humor and education were woven into this high energy performance. Students learned that “ja, ja” (pronounced “wow, wow”) are the African words for “yes, yes.”  

Children were reminded that Africa is the second largest continent in the world with the second highest population of just over 1 billion people living in 54 different countries. There are nearly 2,000 languages spoken throughout the continent, with 10 main ones used most often including English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, and Swahili.  As part of the cultural curriculum, students learned about the importance of music, dance, and storytelling in the African culture and they got to experience it firsthand!

Dancing on stage during the African Drummers Assembly.

See you at the annual FMS/PTO Fall Festival.  A school wide event that you won’t want to miss!

Labeling the parts of a pumpkin, in Spanish.

REMINDERS:

Celebrate America Day is Wednesday, 10/24.  Your child may dress up in any costume that reflects any of our 50 United States, or they can simply dress in red white and blue!  Primary students will be dismissed at 11:15am.

No school on Thursday, 10/25 due to teacher in-service.

Our garden flowers.

No school on Friday, 10/26 in honor of Nevada Day.

THANKS:

To Evangelina (Roman’s mom) and Brianne (Ben and Alex’s mom) for providing a beautiful cooking project (pumpkin muffins).  We also appreciate Christi (Camila’s mom) for helping out with making calendar art.

Thanks to Noel, McCoy, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as, flowers for our classroom.

Completing Black Elk’s medicine wheel. A lesson on peace from our peace curriculum.

At the beginning of every month, you can expect to see different cultural, art, and science materials coming home.  The materials reflect the particular theme and subject matter found in our curriculum. For instance, we are introducing the concept of “vertebrates” and “invertebrates”  along with mammals in our science area. Jobs on the shelves reflect this curriculum and any of the work coming home is an extension of our monthly themes.

One of the areas that gets a big monthly update is called Practical Life. The Practical Life area offers students a chance to develop practical skills that help them do things in life like slicing a strawberry and serving sections to a friend, or tweezing and pouring jobs designed to build the coordination and strength in the fingers to correctly grasp a pencil and learn to write comfortably.

Ever wonder what the themes are for the month?  We invite you to look carefully at the calendar your child brings home at the start of the new month.  A small art project (tied to the current theme) is made by the children and attached to the calendar. You will notice on these calendars that we include monthly themes and also highlight important dates for you to be aware of.

Completing the 100 Board!

These themes may give you discussion topics with your child, or enrich their new found knowledge with your experience.  The year long curriculum can be found in the parent information packet we distributed earlier in August, during parent orientation.  

Hand washing job.

The scholastic book fair was a big success and we appreciate the generosity of our families who donated books to our classroom.  

Our Kindergarten field trip to the fire station was well attended and informative.  We appreciate the watchful care our parent chaperones brought to their important task.

REMINDERS:

The PTO Fall Festival is on Friday, 10/19 from 5:00 pm -8:00 pm. Come and enjoy the lovely weather, games, music, and food with the whole FMS community.  We are looking forward to seeing all of you there!

Learning about the geometric solids.

Working on the 1,000 chain.

Celebrate America  Day is on Wednesday, 10/24. Your child may dress in a costume representing any state in the Union.  They will enjoy an “excursion” through several classrooms, with each room hosting different states in the United States.  An all school parade will commence around 11:00 am (parents are invited) and students will be dismissed at 11:15am.

No school on 10/25 due to teacher in-service.

Sequencing the knobbed cylinders.

No school on 10/26 in observance of Nevada Day.

THANKS:

Thanks to Caroline, Roman, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as flowers for our classroom.

“Normalization” is a Montessori concept that describes a time when the students are truly engaged in the work of the classroom.  It is best experienced as a quiet, focused hum in the room.

If a person were to walk in at that moment, it might take them a while to spot the teachers, as they are giving lessons on the floor and it is obvious that every student is engaged in meaningful activity.

How does that happen?  It all begins with the prepared environment.  P1 is organized into areas. There is language (including Spanish), math, sensorial, practical life, science, cultural, and art.  Each one of these areas is defined by the shelves holding specific materials. Work is placed on the shelf in a manner that is useful and interesting. The introductory (easiest) work is on the top of the shelf going from left to right, with the most challenging work positioned on the bottom of the shelf.

A math shelf.

The children are given specific lessons from the work on the shelves, and they are also taught to return the work to the exact place they found it.  This system allows the students to move independently around the classroom working with a large variety of materials. Since the primary classroom is multi aged (3-6 years old), materials are visible and available for the range of ages and ability levels of the students.  It is common to watch younger students observing larger works being done by their older peers.

Dr. Montessori observed in her classrooms (over 100 years ago) :

Normalization comes about through “concentration” on a piece of work.  For this we must provide “motives for activity” so well adapted to the child’s interest that they provoke his deep attention. Their success in this is dependent on the use of the objects for the purposes they are designed to serve, a thing which is also conducive to the child’s “mental order.”  If they are used with care and precision, this leads the child to the “coordination of his movements.”

~ The Absorbent Mind, Dr. Maria Montessori, pg.206

We have already experienced this quiet hum in our classroom this year, and are pleased with the level of concentration and purposeful movement in the room.  

REMINDERS:

The annual book fair started on Monday, 9/17 and runs through Friday, 9/21. The fair will be hosted in the multi-purpose room.

Parent teacher conferences are scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, 9/20 and all day on Friday, 9/21.  Half-day dismissal on 9/20 @ 11:15am and no school for students on 9/21.

THANKS:

Thanks to Scarlett, Vanessa, and their families for supplying healthy and beautiful snacks, as well as flowers for our classroom.

As the students have become familiar with the routines, procedures, and processes in P1, we have watched friendships bloom and strengthen. We have witnessed our Kindergartners extend a helping hand to their younger peers, showing them things such as finding a job on the shelf, building a puzzle together, helping a child with their shoes, and including new friends in their play at recess.

It speaks to the depth of kindness and empathy that our students possess and how deeply they care about the roles they play in helping our younger students find their footing in our classroom.

We have been talking about emotions…what they are, what they feel like, and identifying the name of the emotion in relation to the feeling.  Ms. Melissa delivered a lesson involving one student holding a bandanna in front of their mouth and simply using their eyes to convey a particular emotion such as being happy, sad, or angry.

Another child tries to recognize the emotion being expressed. So far, the students have enjoyed this job immensely.

We have resumed our “Take Home Reading Program” this week.  This is where students who are reading are offered a classroom book to take home over the weekend and read it to their parents.

You will notice the book is put into a plastic bag with your child’s name on it.  If your child is participating in this program, please enjoy hearing your child read it to you, and then help them to return the book the following Monday.  

REMINDERS:

PTO’s first general meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 9/6 at 8:30 am in the Multi Purpose Room.

Our annual Scholastic Book Fair begins on Monday, 9/17 and runs through Friday, 9/21.

Parent/Teacher conferences are starting the week of 9/17.  There is a half day dismissal @ 11:15am (no lunch at school) for all primary students on 9/20.  No school for students on 9/21 due to parent/teacher conferences. Conferences are best attended by parents only, child care services are available by FMS staff during the duration of the meeting.

Kindergarten field trip to the fire station will take place on Thursday, 9/27.  Please make sure your child is wearing their new, blue FMS tee shirt and proper footwear, as we will be walking to station #97 located on Amador Lane.

Working with “Eye Spy” in Spanish with Ms. Diana.

THANKS:

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