P1 September 30 Blog

Building Independence at Home

One of our goals in the Montessori classroom is to build independence in our students.  We want and expect them to practice lessons, take care of the classroom and its materials and move from one task to the next on their own.  Building independence takes time, modeling and practice but the end result is a child that can move and function freely within a safe environment.

When students are at home, it may feel like you, as a parent, must entertain them every minute of each day.  Not only is this an unrealistic expectation, it is exhausting!  However, there are many things you can do at home to help your children build independence as well as be participating members of your family.

Here are some ways you can build independence at home:

Show your child how to dust a particular room in the house.  

Show your child how to sort laundry (towels, washcloths, their own clothes) into piles, then fold or roll towels and washcloths appropriately.  Show them how to put their own clothes in the appropriate drawer or closet. 

Show your child how to empty the dishwasher.  Have them put away the dishes within their reach and where to set other dishes for an adult to put away later.

Show your child how to sweep the driveway, sidewalk or patio to clear leaves and dust away.  (They do this in the Outdoor Classroom!)  They could also sweep the floors in the house.

Ask them to walk the dog (if you have one) around the yard.  Teach them to give your pet appropriate food and water.

Create a to do list with some consistent chores (making their bed, brushing their teeth, getting dressed, etc. ) that they should do every day.  Add a different chore for each day of the week

Example:

Monday: make your bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, get dressed, sweep the driveway

Tuesday: make your bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, dust the living room

Wednesday: make your bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, empty the dishwasher

Thursday: make your bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, sort and fold laundry

Friday: make your bed, get dressed, brush your teeth, walk the dog 

Here is a link to some other ideas for building independence at home.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F3T5yu2RSadVYrXiii6gizlIkow-rDZE?usp=sharing

October is right around the corner and that means new units of study!  We will be learning about Anatomy and bones, the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates, what are mammals, our five senses, the continents of the world and pumpkins.

We will also be holding International Children’s Day in our classroom.  P1 will be representing different regions of  Africa.  While we cannot have parent volunteers in the classroom, we would love to have parents join us virtually to showcase a traditional costume, a photo blog of a trip or talk to students about their culture or experiences from a trip to Africa.  

We will also be setting up a Zoom viewing time that you can join and observe the activities going on in P1.

Here are some photos of students working on P1.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F3T5yu2RSadVYrXiii6gizlIkow-rDZE?usp=sharing

P1 September 15 Blog

Developing Conversational Skills:

One of the most frequent questions we are asked is “What is my child doing in class? I ask them about their day and they say ‘nothing’ or ‘I played’”. At this stage in their life, most children do not have enough language skills to give a detailed account of their activities during the day. It is also difficult for children to visualize and remember details of the classroom or the playground once they are in a different environment such as home.

One way to get greater detail from your children is to ask them more specific questions about their time at school. Did you go to the Outdoor Classroom today? What did you see while you were there? Can you tell me about a job (an activity) that you did with Ms. Gayle (the Outdoor Classroom teacher)?

The August blog described Sensorial materials in the classroom. Asking your child if they worked with something specific such as the Pink Tower, the Brown Stairs, the Color Tablets or the Knobbed Cylinders. It takes time for the students to learn the names of the materials in the classroom. Talking about specific materials not only helps develop conversation skills but helps your child become more familiar with the classroom environment.

You could also ask your child about the friend they are sitting with for the week. We encourage the children to have conversations with each other during snack and lunch in order to develop friendships and build our classroom community.

Click on the link below to view some of the students working in P1. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-iaq8Kvva7ToQffVFh38HTbiyn6E15mO?usp=sharing

The Kindergartners had their first chapter book party of the year! We finished reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume, a story about a young boy who wants freckles and buys a ‘secret recipe’ for freckle juice. Our next chapter book is a favorite of Ms. Melissa’s called Pumpkin, Ginger and Spice by Margaret G. Otto.

Spanish vocabulary that we are learning this month:

Food

Apple – manzana
Grapes – uvas
Pineapple – pina
Banana – platano
Pear – pera
Eggs – huevo
Milk – leche
Cheese – queso
Beans – frijoles

P1 Poems and Songs for the September

Pizza, Pizza
Pizza, pizza, it’s a treat
Pizza, pizza, fun to eat
Ooey-gooey cheese so yummy
Crunchy crust goes in my tummy
Pizza, pizza, it’s a treat
Pizza, pizza, fun to eat!

Apple Tree
Away up high in the apple tree
Two red apples smiled at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could
And down they came and, mmm, were they good!

Fire Truck Song (sung to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel”)
Down the street the engine goes
The firemen fight the fire
Up the ladder with the hose
Out goes the fire!

Hello, P1 Families.

As our students dive deeper into the Montessori classroom, they are introduced to the Sensorial materials such as the Pink Tower, Knobbed Cylinders, Colored Cylinders, Brown Stairs, and Color Tablets. The purpose of these materials is to develop the five senses (sight, sound, touch, smell and taste).  For practical reasons, we are focusing on developing the sense of sight, sound and touch this semester.  

However, these materials build a multitude of skills in addition to developing the senses.  Many of the Sensorial materials have a sequence of ten items (cubes, cylinders, tablets, etc.) so the children are subconsciously receiving the concept of counting as they take each piece from the shelf and carry it to a work space.  As the students carry the materials, they are incorporating gross motor skills and using upper body strength that assists in developing the fine motor control needed for holding a pencil for writing work.  The Sensorial materials also teach concepts of big and small, tall and short, thick and thin which builds a concrete understanding of vocabulary concepts in English and Spanish.  These materials provide foundational growth for math skills, handwriting and reading as well as developing the senses and building fine and gross motor skills.

Here are some pictures of our students working in the Sensorial area.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11z9Dl-uuJCGkLRicHMZ4h7LWw2GNX2NJ?usp=sharing

September is coming along with slightly cooler temperatures (YEAH!).  With a new month, comes new units of study.  We will be learning about Safety, Community Helpers, Apples, Nutrition and Food Groups, Plants and Animals,  and concepts of Land and Water.

School will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 7 and also for Teacher In Service on Tuesday, September 8.  School resumes on Wednesday, September 9.

Looking for some new lunch ideas for your child?  Here is a link to some fresh ideas.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y6simNytdZ-wE_yOXNDuHArFe-mwymvmR3UwWhYaAAQ/edit?usp=sharing

As always, if you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  

Thank you!

Main Office:  702-407-0790

Primary 1:  [email protected] (goes to all 3 teachers)

Lead Teacher:  Melissa Eckes:  [email protected]

Co- Teacher: Diana Marquina:  [email protected]

Support Teacher: Kini Tan:  [email protected]

Thank you!

P1 Teachers

Welcome, P1 Families!  

As the new school year begins, we are so excited to see our students back on campus!  While we have been getting to know our friends, we have been focusing on developing healthy practices in our classroom that includes lessons on hand washing, social distancing and understanding why we wear masks.  We have also begun the process of building our classroom community by spending time introducing the students to each other, singing name songs and enjoying outdoor time in small groups.  

Each week, students will be assigned a table that they will use for individual lessons, writing and art work and eating snacks and lunch.  Our plan is to change the seating assignments each week so the students have opportunities to build social skills and develop friendships.  Each child has their very own pencil basket with supplies they will need to complete their work.  Students also have the opportunity to work on the floor using yoga mats that can be cleaned after each use.

Click on the link below to view some of the students working in P1.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rwOBIoRSl3ER-7MGHX8TjFr4jF_tj3SK?usp=sharing-7MGHX8TjFr4jF_tj3SK?usp=sharing

This month we will be learning about seasons, the weather and clouds.  The students enjoyed a lesson on the names of the seasons in Spanish during the first week of school.  

Winter – El invierno

Spring – La primavera

Summer – El verano

Fall – El otono 

We have also been learning the days of the week in English and in Spanish:

Sunday – Domingo

Monday – Lunes

Tuesday – Martes

Wednesday – Miercoles

Thursday – Jueves

Friday – Viernes

Saturday – Sabado

We will keep you updated on the happenings in P1 through our bimonthly blog.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

Main Office:  702-407-0790

Primary 1:  [email protected] (goes to all 3 teachers)

Lead Teacher:  Melissa Eckes: [email protected]

Co- Teacher: Diana Marquina:  [email protected]

Support Teacher: Kini Tan:  [email protected]

Thank you!

P1 Teachers

As we close this unusual school year, we are so grateful for our families and our students.  The amount of flexibility and willingness to embrace our necessary remote learning is admirable.  We know it is much better to teach in person, and to have those subtle and important observations of our students as they receive lessons and engage with the materials.  It is the social interactions that we have missed the most the past two months.  Just losing the morning handshake is a profound change.  Despite all of this upheaval, we have continued to unite together around our common desire to help deliver a meaningful education for our students, your children.  It is our partnership that is our strength.

We are so grateful for all the time and effort parents put in throughout the school year, at home listening to reading or looking over work.  Special thanks to our roommothers, Christi and Lisa, for helping us stay in the loop with school activities.  The monthly calendar art was supervised by Kristy, and our monthly cooking project was organized and supplied by Evangelina, Heidi and Michele.  We appreciate this generosity and interest in making special moments for our students.

We sincerely hope you have a safe, healthy and restful summer, and we look forward to seeing you at the start of the new school year.

Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Nancy