As we approach the end of March, 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.

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).

Working, using her Spanish language skills.

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.  A willingness to see that individualized, hands on approach to education is worth the effort and cost.

Binomial cube lesson being given.

Practicing with the trinomial cube.

We have 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.

Kindergartners enjoying a chapter book party celebrating having finished reading “Not My Father’s Dragon.”

Upcoming field trip news:

On Thursday, April 20th, 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.

Special thanks to Karen  (Willow’s grandmother) for giving us a wonderful  tour of South Korea, and the many wonderful experiences she had visiting the country.

REMINDERS

Friday, April 7th is half-day dismissal at 11:15.  Spring break is from April 10 – April 14. Teacher in-service is on Monday, April 17.  School resumes on Tuesday, April 18.

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.

“Scrubbing a table” using large motor skills.

THANKS

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

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

Every year in March, the entire campus celebrates the author’s birthday with activities focused around  literature penned by Dr. Seuss.  Children are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss 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 for the parents who helped to make our Dr. Seuss day so fun.  Diana (Gabriel’s mom) cut all the materials for our “Cat in the Hat” craft, and then Janell (Sydney’s mom) beautifully managed the table where the children did the craft.

Our snack for the day was cooked by the children under the careful supervision of Karri (Gabrielle’s mom) and Mae (Vivian’s mom).  Green eggs and ham never tasted so good. Thank you all for your help.

As we embark on our trip to the Montessori Conference, we are excited to be among Montessori teachers from around the country.  It is a great time to hear new ideas and see different ways of presenting materials.

Some of our favorite authors and presenters will be there such as Ms. Sonnie McFarland, author of “The Inner Light of the Child.”  We use her text as the backbone of our peace curriculum.

Special thanks to Will and Nancy Grounds (Valentina’s parents) for teaching our class about Australia.  

It is always appreciated to have parents come in and share their cultural experiences about the continent we are studying.  Here is the schedule for the remainder of the year:

March:  Asia

April:     South America

May:     Africa

REMINDERS:

Parent/teacher conferences are set for the afternoon of 3/23 and all day on 3/24.  Half day dismissal for students on 3/23 will be at 11:15am and no school for students on 3/24.

Saturday, April 1 is the PTO Family Fun Run.  See you all there!

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

In the spirit of love and generosity, we are so grateful to our families who contributed to our community service project.  Ms. Melissa and Ms. Nancy made two trips to the Henderson Animal Care and Control with an abundance of food, blankets, paper towels, and pet toys.

The staff at the shelter were impressed with the amount of donations and the materials were exactly what they needed!  We toured the facility and saw many cats and dogs that looked so sweet and eager to have a life with a family.  We were impressed with how clean and well cared for the animals appeared.

If you are thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, this is a good place to begin your search.  The Henderson Animal Care and Control is located at 300 E. Galleria (Henderson, NV 89011 702-267-4972).

Our Valentine Day celebration was sweetened by the making of heart shaped pancakes, strawberries, and whip cream.  

Thanks to Karri (Gabrielle’s mom) and Mae (Vivian’s mom) for mixing and cooking the pancakes for us.  

Students came to class wearing their comfy pajamas and spent the morning doing Montessori work in between playing games, doing crafts, and exchanging valentines.

We also appreciate all the families who drove and chaperoned our Kindergarten students on their field trip to the Estes McDoniel marine lab.  

Final look of our ocean wall.

It is such a great opportunity for our students to be hosted by Estes McDoniel 5th grade students and to learn about marine animals that were discussed in class.  We know that pairing tangible experiences with book learning really makes the difference in the level of understanding and engagement for our students.

Counting in Spanish.

REMINDERS

Dr. Seuss Day, Thursday 3/2.  Children are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Dr. Seuss character.

Completing a book on the parts of a fish.

Teachers will be attending the American Montessori Society conference and students will be dismissed at 11:15 am on 3/9.  No school for students on 3/10.

Learning how to read a friend’s emotions.

Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up:

•  3/23 half day dismissal at 11:15am  
•  3/24  no school for students

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

Thank you to all of our families who attended Parent/Child Night.  Unraveling the Montessori method and understanding its effects upon your child from a holistic perspective is an ongoing process.  Seeing and hearing your child demonstrate a work is useful in helping them to feel positive about their knowledge and gives you insight into how they are learning academically.

As Montessori teachers, our aim is to create an environment that is orderly, stimulating, inviting and easy for the child to interact with the materials.

Labeling ocean animals.

We introduce concepts from a concrete point of view so the child can use as many of their senses to grasp the concept.

Pin punching the 7 continents.

For instance, working with our Language materials, we introduce the sound of “a” by playing “I Spy”, a simple game to help them hear the beginning sound of a word.  The child is given a plastic ant and is asked to identify it.  We ask if they can hear the sound at the beginning of the word “ant”.

Once they are beginning to associate the sound of “a” with the word ant, we have them trace a sandpaper version of the letter “a.”  

This literally creates a neural pathway where the child associates the sound and the feel of the letter at the same time.  Once the student can identify the beginning sound of an object and associate the symbol (letter) that goes with it, we introduce sound sorting.

Students then handle objects whose name begins with the sounds they are practicing and place the appropriate object with its corresponding sound (ant goes with “a”, squid goes with “s”, etc.).

As the student retains the sounds they are learning, they can then group sounds together and build words.  “A”, “n”, “t” can be sounded out individually, until the child realizes that those three sounds together form the word “ant.”  

Other language materials where the “a” sound is found in the middle of the word.

Once decoding is in place, the student begins to recognize more and more words, and reading has begun.  This process of moving from the concrete to the the abstract  is applied to all areas of the classroom including Math, Language, Spanish, Science and Cultural.

Using a “circle map” to create a “tree map” about the planet Venus.

The same principle of teaching sound recognition and then building words is used by Ms. Deana in her Spanish lessons.

Working with Spanish sounds.

Building words in Spanish.

Hand painted ocean wall.

This “ocean wall” is painted fresh, by the Kindergarten class every March, when we are studying the oceans.  It brings to life the ocean environment and gives the Kindergartner students the opportunity to give tours about ocean plants and animals to our younger students.

Exploring the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Completing a book about the parts of a fish.

Working with number rolls.

REMINDERS

Friday, 2/17 Kindergartners will celebrate their 100th day of Kindergarten.

Working in Espanol with Ms. Deana.

Monday, 2/20 there is NO SCHOOL as we celebrate Presidents’ Day.

Wednesday, 2/22 Kindergartners will visit Estes McDoniel Marine Lab.  Please provide your Kindergarten child with a sack lunch and have them wear their FMS field trip shirt.

Making a valentine.

THANKS

Thank you to all of our families who are helping to make the Galaxy Dance an “out of this world” experience for our student body.

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

We are closing out the first month of our new year, and the students have embraced our solar system, space and constellations 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.  

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.”

Completing a page about Mars.

An ample supply of planet books in our science area gave even our youngest students the chance to learn about our solar system.

On to a more earthly subject, considerable effort is used to teach and reinforce grace and courtesy in the classroom.  This week, Ms. Melissa delivered a lesson on using “please, thank you and excuse me.”  In a style that is direct, kind and simple, Ms. Melissa conveyed to the students the importance of using these words as they interact with each other and with the teachers.

It has a profound effect on the room when students are using their good manners.  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.

Giving a cultural lesson.

Let’s keep this process going both at home and at school.  We find that the more children use these terms in their daily interactions, the more natural and unprompted their responses become.

THANK YOUS

We were delighted by the presentation by Amalia (Guillermo’s mom) about Spain. In addition to good visuals, she reinforced her lesson by providing warm bread and olive oil for the children to eat.  Then she set up her juicer and the children tasted fresh orange juice!  Gracias!

Our children were also treated to a fun and edible lesson in the kitchen as Karri (Gabrielle’s mom) and Mae (Vivian’s mom) made fruit and cheese rocket ships on a stick.  Delicious, fun and in line with our current solar system studies.  Thanks!

REMINDERS

Wednesday, 2/1 is kindergarten enrollment information night at 5:00pm for the 2017-18 school year.  All families who have currently enrolled pre-K children are encouraged to attend.

Thursday, 2/2 is 1st grade enrollment information night at 5:00pm for the 2017-18 school year.  All families who have currently enrolled kindergarten children are encouraged to attend.

Completing an addition equation, using stamp box materials.

Tuesday, 2/7 is Parent/Child night where your child demonstrates favorite works in the classroom.  Families whose names end in A-M are invited to the classroom from 5:00pm-5:45pm.  Families whose names end in N-Z are invited to the classroom from 5:45pm-6:30pm.

Friday, 2/10 is the PTO Family Dance from 5:00pm-8:00 pm, you won’t want to miss this!!

SNACK AND FLOWER THANKS

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