The P4 teachers are so excited about the 2014-2015 school year at FMS! This year we intend to implement new works and exciting ideas into the classroom. Our goal is to allow the children to discover a love of learning and to follow each student at their individual academic and social level.
Kindergarten students completed their 100th day of class by creating a “100 Day necklace.”
From the first day of school, way back in August, we start logging the day and date of the Kindergarten class. We use a number roll to do it and each day we talk about the date and the number of days in school. This simple interactive conversation becomes a lesson in knowing the date, counting sequentially and even remembering the total count. It also stirs up excitement about reaching the actual date! Near the 100th day we celebrate the accomplishment with activities such as counting 100 steps on the playground, counting 100 objects around the room and doing special art projects, like the necklace.
We also completed our January Kindergarten studies on the solar system and spent considerable time making our own models.
Working in practical life
Developing fine motor skills
Practicing writing
Completing the long “6” chain
REMINDERS
Monday 2/14 we will celebrate Valentine’s Day in the classroom. If your child wants to bring valentines, please provide 26 and have your child sign them. Please do not address any valentine to a specific student. Also, please do not provide goody bags or toys. Students can wear pajamas if they want to. Let’s celebrate being friends!
No school on Monday 2/21 as we are celebrating President’s Day.
Future teachers, doctors, artist, pilots, chefs and dancers!
We began the new year studying the solar system, Antarctica and the polar regions. Our classroom is organized in areas like, language, math, sensorial (classic Dr. Montessori materials), cultural/science, art and practical life. Every month a new curriculum theme is implemented giving our students new materials to work with and ample opportunities to create meaningful lessons.
Matching planets to their pictures.
The power of the Montessori classroom is to present information and ideas rooted in real world experiences. Profound ideas like gravity and the placement of the planets around the sun can be explained in practical simple ways that give students a foundation of knowledge that is accessible and memorable. Our intent is to lay out the building blocks of knowledge in such a way that our students begin laying the foundation for a life long practice of learning and being curious about our world and their place in it.
Creating an igloo.
Placing Asia on the control map.
Working with the short chains.
Completing a language box using the movable alphabet
So much of what happens in the classroom are building on social skills, communications, grace and courtesy. We establish processes of how to sit in a large group setting, how to transition into eating snack, eating lunch lining up to go to recesses. Each of these situations teaches our students the importance of being responsible for themselves and to respect the space and place of others.
“Identifying emotions when you can only see my eyes”- from our Peace Curriculum
Using the brown stairs
Parts of a fish puzzle.
Cutting a spiral (like a spiral galaxy).
Language box work.
Alphabetizing words.
Learning numbers.
Doing four digit addition.
Completing the 100 board.
Practicing 1-10.
The intent of the Primary Montessori classroom is to help foster order, concentration, coordination and independence. So much of early learning is developed between the hands and the mind and the more young children can touch and manipulate materials, the deeper their connection to the underlying concepts
Sensorial material.
Knob less cylinder work.
Counting 1-10.
Reminders:
Please provide a cloth napkin with your child’s lunch as we are using them as a placemat to place their food items on. We are also singing a song called “The Earth is Good To Me” before we eat lunch. You may want to ask your child to sing it for you:
“The Earth is good to me
So I thank the Earth
For giving me the things I need
The sun and the rain and the apple tree,
The Earth is good to me.”
Then we say “Bon apatite, you may eat!”
Practicing writing.
Connect the dots to make a penguin.
Kindergarten information Night is via zoom this Wednesday (1/26) at 5:00 pm.
First Grade Information Night is via zoom this Thursday (1/27) at 5:00pm.
During the month of November we have learned about North America, reptiles and the complex beauty of the Mojave desert. We have settled into an easy routine of leaning new concepts and practicing ones previously learned. Process in a Montessori classroom is the lifeblood of learning. Every “job” in the room is presented to our students in such a way that they can duplicate the steps, explore the materials and successfully return the job back to its proper place. This creates order in the way lessons are learned and it is the hope that this same order guides our students in their own internal process as they work with the materials.
Coloring the map of North America.
At the end of last month, we enjoyed the Aloha spirit by transforming our classroom into Hawaii. It was a morning filled with dancing, coconut bowling, flower making and a little taste of the fruits of the islands. Our special thanks to Sara (Lana’s Mom) for painting the ideal beach scene hanging in the front of the room!
As we enter into the holiday season, we take stock of all our bounty and how precious this time is that we share together.
Reminders
We will be celebrating Thanksgiving next week. There is no school on Wednesday (11/24) through Friday (11/26). School resumes Monday (11/29). Enjoy!
We are entering the glorious season of Fall in the Mojave! Please send your child to school with a jacket as it can get breezy and cold especially in the mornings when they work in our outside classroom. It is very important that jackets are labeled with your child’s name, as you can imagine when jackets are misplaced, it is much easier to find the right owner if we can verify with their names. Thank you!
Using sensorial materials.
Many jobs in the classroom are designed to activate fine motor skills so that the pincer grip is developed. The pincer grip is the way a person holds a writing instrument. The proper grip is holding the pencil between the thumb and the first two fingers. When a child is writing, the bottom of the hand (near the pinkie finger) is pressing firmly upon the table. In the Montessori philosophy, writing is developed before reading, so this is a very important developmental stage. All materials are placed in a “left to right” manner, to help train the eye and the brain for reading words “left to right.” One of the best ways to develop the pincer grip is to cut using scissors.
Every Monday, we have a peace lesson where we learn about Black Elks medicine wheel, using a peace rose to solve conflicts and now we are learning about the circles of awareness (body, mind, emotions and love light).
Our Peace curriculum book
Sitting on the cushion and experiencing peace.
Our student council (made up of seventh and eighth graders) inspire us to dress up on Fridays to show our school spirit. Last week was “super heroes” and this Friday (10/22) will be dress up in Fall colors.
We will be celebrating America next Thursday (10/28) and convert our classroom to the state of Hawaii! Aloha!! We encourage you to have your child dress in Hawaiian themed clothes! There will be no lunch and students will leave at 11:15am. There is no school on Friday 10/29 in celebration of Nevada Day.
During the morning work cycle, P4 is a mixed aged classroom, with children ranging in age from 3-6 years old. After lunch, kindergartners from P4 and P3 combine together and create a dedicated kindergarten class. Kindergartners work in all areas of the classroom completing goals in writing, reading, math, science and heart (sensorial area). Also, at the close of the day we read a chapter book. Yesterday we finished reading “The Boxcar Children” and then had a little party to celebrate this accomplishment and to help our students solidify their knowledge and appreciation for the story. Students brought in shoe boxes and they decorated their box with pictures from the story.
Making her “Boxcar Children” piece of art
Kindergartners doing their afternoon goals:
writing
doing a language box.
working with knobbed and knobless cylinders
One of the founding tenants of the Montessori philosophy is to help teach children how to be peaceful people. Dr. Maria Montessori was creating her original work during the First WWI and she knew that instilling a personal sense of peace in her students was essential. She wanted to impress upon them, to recognize their feelings and to be able to express those feelings face to face with a friend when differences arise. We use a “peace rose” with the children where the first child holds the rose and initiates the conversation by saying their feelings “I am mad that you cut me in line”, then they pass the rose to the other child who says, “Well, I was sad because I was actually there before you”. The children work out their differences then end the conversation by holding the rose together and saying “peace” or “friends.”
We have also learned about Black Elks Vision of Peace. Black Elk, a holy man of the Oglala Sioux shared his vision of peace. Some times all people walk the black road of difficulties (life lessons) and other times all people walk the red road of peace. When people walk the road of peace the tree of life flowers and birds are drawn to its beauty.
Doing “Black Elk’s Medicine Wheel”
Our student council helps build our school spirit by asking students to participate in “crazy hair day!”
