A Montessori Classroom

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-23T17:05:00.000-08:00

We're looking forward to a wonderful year of the dragon. Clean homes with blooming flowers in vases will bring good fortune through the year.

Firecrackers were invented in China. They are lit throughout the 15 day festival.

Here is a nice little string of paper firecrackers to make.

First, give each child a pretzel stick (not to eat just yet!), several pieces of red paper that are about 3 inches by 5 inches and a 2 foot piece of string.

Roll a piece of the red paper around the pretzel stick. Tape it.

Use a small awl and piece of carpet felt from a paper punching activity to punch a hole through the center of the tube (firecracker).

Tie a knot at the end of the string. Push the other end of the string through the hole in each "firecracker" to make a "string of firecrackers"!

Hang them around the room.

You can't dampen these spirits!

2011-09-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Although these girls are clearly happy to be back, the rainy days were a fitting start to the school year that came on the heel of a sudden change in our administration. After a frantic August dealing with business related surprises, with the help of devoted parents and friends, the school days, now, are sunny, inside and outside.

Mrs. T used the opportunity to introduce cloud types to the class. This is a good site for planning a lesson on cloud types.

waves of whales!

2011-05-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

We've been reading about the whales in the sea and using our whale models that are to scale with each other. The children painted these whale cutouts to look like their corresponding models. With the help of their teacher, several children figured out the size of a person next to the whales. That inspired some to improve upon the scene by drawing and cutting out people to swim among the friendly giants. And hearing about the practice of whaling for blubber and whale meat prompted the addition of "no whaling" signs to be posted in the ocean!

And whenever I teach about whales (especially the blue whale) who swim in the northern ocean hunting for plankton to sweep into their baleen-filled mouths, we talk of the blubber that insulates the whales from the coldness. I always have this little demonstration ready for them :

Put a lot of vegetable shortening in a heavy plastic quart bag. This will be the whale's blubber. With your hand inside another heavy plastic sandwich bag, push into the shortening-filled bag to form the shortening into a 1 1/2 inch wall under and on all sides of your hand. Make sure no shortening oozes out of the top of the bag or gets on your hand. Remove your hand, leaving the bag inside the bag holding the shortening.

Have a large bowl of ice cubes and water ready. Each child puts a hand inside the clean bag stuck into the shortening bag. You place their hand in the bag in the "blubber" inside a half gallon plastic bag (to make sure no water gets inside their hand or the "blubber"). Now push their hand in the bag in the "blubber" in the large plastic bag down into the ice water. Surprise!

2011-05-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

Every year at this time, it's exciting to see the 6 and almost 6 year olds discover that they really can write. For some it takes a bit of nudging. To those who are intimidated by the task of writing about something, I tell them to just write whatever they are thinking at the moment. Likewise, to those daunted by the request to write a sentence, I say that any thought that is in their head is likely to be a sentence. This relaxes them from the initial panic we often see upon suggesting this activity. The result is empowering. Suddenly there are little authors everywhere avidly writing story after story.

Spring fun

2011-04-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

Another great idea from Play Based Learning. The children can also make their own garden supports with the plastic pipes and connectors.

paper bag basket

2011-03-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Your children can make this simple paper bag basket for spring. Use plain brown lunch bags. This is a clean Panera bag, hence the design on it.

Start by cutting from the top to just above the bottom of the bag at 1/2 inch intervals.
Using a dull knife, pull it along the bottom of each strip to curl them. Or the children can roll the strips on a pencil to curl them.
Voila! A basket (or nest) ready for filling. Also~ two opposite strips could be left uncurled, then joined at the top for a handle. It probably should be reinforced, though, with a heavier strip glued underneath from the inside of the basket, under the handle to the other side.

Japan

2011-03-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

We have present and past Japanese students. Their contribution to the culture of our school is priceless. Our hearts and thoughts go out to them and their families during this dreadful time in Japan.

Happy birthday

2011-03-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

Mrs. D., our founder, celebrated her 90th birthday this past weekend. Dozens and dozens of former students and parents of former students converged upon the school to greet her. She was surprised and delighted to be so honored. Over the years she has touched the lives of well over a thousand children and their parents. She still enjoys being in the school to see the children's work and listen to them read.

A Fraction Game

2011-02-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

I use this game to introduce fractions to kindergarten age children and higher. Through it, they learn that when the denominator number is smaller, the fraction piece is larger. It also helps them to visualize how fractions can be added together.

Our fraction circles range from 1 whole to a circle of ten tenths. For the game, I made up 3/4 by 3/4 inch squares with all of the fractions printed on them. There is one "1" and two "1/2" squares, three "1/3" squares, etc. To begin the game, the children place each of the fraction labels on the corresponding red fraction piece.

I cut label stickers to fit each side of two dice. On the sides I wrote fractions up to 1/10, since that is how far our fraction circles go. Each player (usually two) takes the base circle from the whole and the half fraction pieces. A child can play alone or with a friend. the object of the game is to see who can fill up their base circle first. The circle must be filled up exactly. Sometimes no one wins. They are eager to play again until there is a winner.

I begin by explaining that one half is one of two parts, one third is one of three parts, etc.

A player rolls the two dice, however, he can only use one of the fractions shown. He must choose the one that will best fill his circle. If neither fraction shown will fit into what remains of his circle, he must try again on the next turn. Although there often is no winner, this is a popular game.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2011-01-29T21:16:00.000-08:00

Practicing making Chinese characters with these little overlay booklets. Each one shows the strokes for making a single Chinese character for a word. The pages are transparent to show how to build the character. Since each character fits into a square, plain paper divided into squares is used for practice. We use individual small squares of paper.

Tiger Moms

2011-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've heard the growl about "Tiger Mom" parenting. For the last 30 years, our school has attracted Asian families. Typically, these parents do expect excellence from their children. The children that I've known are well loved by both parents. Recognizing the potential and ability of each child to learn is part of the expression of that love. This was also part of Dr. Montessori's philosophy. She expected more of the children in her charge than any other educator of her day. And just as Dr. Montessori provided the children with materials and experiences to meet her expectations, Asian parents often use their free time to instruct and monitor their children.

While many of these children may spend their free time at home doing math problems at the kitchen table or diligently practicing an instrument, they are proud of their achievements. As a teacher, it is a joy to work with them. They are eager and not afraid to learn new materials and processes. They show respect for their teacher and other adults. Yet, these same children, appropriately and happily have fun, laugh and enjoy friends in school throughout the year.

Amy Chua's "Tiger Mom" is a bit extreme. However, the message that when you expect more you get more and that the child will benefit from the experience with self confidence that could not have been achieved any other way, is true.

To encourage or not ...

2011-01-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

This young boy enjoys using the moveable alphabet and is capable of reading the words but reluctant to reading them on lists or in short books. When asked to read, he declined but Mrs. T paid no attention, sitting with him, coaxing him to read a simple book. He plodded through, and upon completion of the last page, he gushed, "Mrs. T, I'm glad you ignored my complaints!"

We find that many children need a bit of nudging, in reading as well as math. These are important areas and areas where the children themselves are happy to make strides. I imagine that is because their parents value progress in those areas. In this way, we still "follow the child" while helping those who need it, to make the right choices.

painting

2010-12-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

Some children have such a smooth flow of activities throughout the day. After performing several tasks requiring thought in math and practicing new skills in writing, she quietly put on the apron and began painting. An educationally productive break in the Montessori style, where just changing activities rests the mind.

2010-11-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Hope your Thanksgiving was delicious, and that your break was energizing.

If you're still in the mood, here are some goodies on Native Americans:

http://www.montessori-units.com/free.html

2010-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

We've reviewed materials with each child and introduced new ones. The class hums with activity from morning until afternoon. We love working toward milestones with words, shapes, numbers, movement and our inter personal relationships, but we also can't forget one of our favorite holidays.

Native Plants for balance

2010-09-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Carol has a great philosophy.

I like her videos.

always busy

2010-08-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Well, here is someone who spent a seriously productive summer!

Although I believe that anything a child does, except watching the you-know-what all day, is seriously productive.

sea shells in the sand

2010-07-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

This simple beachy craft can be done right on the sand. At home, school or take a box of plaster of paris along to the beach. Form about a 3 X 3 inch square about 1 1/2 inches deep in damp sand. Use petroleum jelly to grease up the inside ridges of a scallop shell. Press the outside of it into the sand in the bottom of your square. If the sand has bits of shells and seaweed in it, that's fine. It'll make an interesting surface. Now fill the sand "box" with plaster of paris. Let it sit for an hour, then carefully remove the block of plaster of paris. Let it sit for several more hours to fully harden. Pull off the shell to see the cast underneath.

If you use a clam shell, grease the outside of it where it has ridges. Then put it in the sand hole with that side toward you (up). You can use a ruffled, rough oyster shell this way, also.

Scratching in the child's name and date makes a nice memento.

painting flowers

2010-06-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Except during the winter, there is always something blooming around our school. Narrow gardens border the building, the edges of our small parking areas and the corners of each playground. Perennials are mixed with vegetables and tomato plants. Often, upon bringing in a fresh bloom, one of us will demonstrate painting the flower. We talk about the shapes we see in the flower, the part of it we choose to paint first, the thickness of the brush we choose and the colors we see. Upon completion, the demonstration painting is set to dry away from view. The bloom is left in its vase, close to the easel. The children go back to their work. Those who choose to paint the bloom use what they have learned to help them record their observations. The interpretations always vary. Unlike many Montessori schools, we take pride in displaying everyone's work. We encourage the reluctant artist and easily find beauty in all of the results. We feel it is important to take advantage of this age before children decide they "can" or "cannot" draw.

2010-06-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

The past nine months have flown by. But while circumstances took me out of state, the classroom buzzed on. The children grew intellectually and socially. The school's founder had her 89th birthday this past spring. And as she blew out a candle on her cake, a seasoned first grader silently exclaimed, "Whew, eighty-nine, and she can still blow out a candle!"

cicadas ?!

2009-09-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

Two lovely but deceased creatures captured everyone's attention and sparked the school year's first book making project. Examining the cicadas with a magnifying glass, each part of the insect is colored and pasted into the book with its matching name.

Science lessons in the classroom are meaningful and vibrant when they grow from daily experiences. After a while, children look forward to each day with anticipation, wondering what new discovery will be made or what question will be answered.

Back to School

2009-09-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed how the first day of school always brings the appropriate weather. Suddenly the mornings are crispy, the afternoons are sunny and warm and the darkness of the evening creeps in earlier each day. As you can see, the children are already preparing for the fall apples. Not shown here, but shown in one of last year's posts, is Mrs. T's apple matching activity for several varieties. Many of the children already know the names of at least 5 different apples. Drying prints of apples cut both crosswise and lengthwise cover every horizontal space in the art corner.

a little Jackson Pollock

2009-08-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

I walked into my daughter's home 2 weeks ago and spied this painting above her fireplace. Admiring its flow and colors, I was surprised to hear that her 3 1/2 year old son had painted it.

She prepared him by showing him some Pollock paintings at www.kaliweb.com/jacksonpollock/art.htm . Click on Shimmering Substance 1946, Autumn Rhythm 1950, Number 7 1951, and Convergence 1952. They are good examples of his drip style. Then she showed him a video of Jackson Pollock painting at www.youtube.com/ . Do a search for Jackson Pollock action painting, then click on Pollock Painting (1950). I must warn you, though, the video shows Pollock with a cigarette in his mouth. There doesn't seem to be one of him without it. But the video is important to stress the free style. In it he tells of using no preliminary sketches and the freedom to let the painting evolve and change. Nothing is regarded as a mistake. Just the way a young child naturally paints.

Then, just as Pollock worked outside, my daughter laid a fresh canvas out on the lawn. She dressed little Matty in an apron and old rain boots. Using little plastic flip top bottles of craft acrylics, she showed him how to drip and squeeze and spray out the paint. He chose colors and got to work. At a moment when her attention was directed away, he swooshed his hand through the paint, creating what artists call a "happy accident". Then he placed some dried bits of flowers on the wet paint and declared his work completed.

the portrait artist

2009-07-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Of course, school has ended and the summer session is on. But this happened just after Fair Day. One of the treats given by PoDS was the presence of an artisit who tirelessly drew a portrait of every single child in the school. Each child took their turn sitting in front of her as she drew child after child. The scene inspired one of our young men to do the same. His classmates were happy to sit for him. It's always a renewing affirmation to see children of this age (five and six years) with enough confidence and minimal experiences to be unafraid of the outcome or the criticism of others. It's equally pleasing, then, to see how uncritical and accepting the class was with his efforts!

money money money

2009-06-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here are two activities that we used to help teach about money. Our money stamps are kept on a tray that shows their matching coins, their values and names. I make up little books with an amount written on each page. The children love stamping the appropriate coins on the page.

The next picture shows the money game. From midyear until the last day of school, it proved to be fun and challenging. Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters are separated into compartments in a tray. In the center is one dollar coin with a small booklet showing various coin equivalents. To make the booklet, I used the money stamps to show that two nickels equal one dime, two dimes and one nickel equal one quarter, etc. A child throws one dice then takes that number of cents. For example, if the dice shows a five, the child may take one nickel or five pennies. As coins are accumulated they should be exchanged for coins of higher value. The goal is to have four quarters, which are then exchanged for the dollar coin. The first to get the dollar coin is the winner. Since this is mostly a game of luck, all of the players have a fair chance of winning. In our classroom, children of all levels enjoyed this game. They get great practice with counting, addition, counting by fives and tens and recognizing the coins and their values.

And probably the most important lesson learned in this type of game is sportsmanship. Initially, a few children would get distressed upon losing the game. A teacher or a sympathetic classmate would sit with the players to help them keep track of their turns, use the little book of coin equivalences and remind them to exchange smaller coins toward the goal of quarters. Because of the luck factor with the dice, cooperation between players and peers is fair. In our class, the children seemed to realize this themselves, as there were many happy games with helpers nearby.

2009-06-08T16:44:00.000-07:00

Only one more week of school. I don't like to think about it. I'm going to miss every one of the children in our class. Thinking back to the first weeks of school last September, it's hard to imagine that these are the same children. We've seen them mature into responsible students, develop their skills in reading and math beyond expectations and we've enjoyed the blossoming of their very varied personalities. I can't think of a better or more interesting group of people with which to spend my time.
These last weeks have been a surge of activity. Bead chains are being recounted, spelling quizzes are requested, the garden is still being planted and dug and finger paintings are produced. All this to the tune of Raffi's Like Me and You, often heard sung in the background. And the whole school seems to have picked up Y A Un Rat, the little French song that the class sings.

Fair Day

2009-06-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to PoDS ! The children had a wonderful Fun Fair Day last week. Here are some pictures of them enjoying the bean bag toss with Holly Jolly, the balloons she created for them and thanks for the popcorn, the pizza, the ice cream, the beautiful portraits drawn of each child, the face painting and the prizes for everyone. And a big thank you from all of the teachers for their "prize" and the delicious lunch this week. We are all looking forward to the show and picnic coming up next week.

2009-05-31T17:22:00.000-07:00

After showing the class comparisons of the pink tower and the brown stair, several children came up with their own.

Subtraction using the fractions is a popular activity.

How many cups make a pint? How many half cups make a cup? We are finding out.

A few weeks ago we read two books on Amelia Earhart. The children liked hearing about her independent personality and her busy youthful life. Some made their own Parts of an Airplane book by tracing the plane on our light table.

2009-05-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

We've been talking about India lately. Using these little factual books that also show how to draw the animal, many of the children are drawing tigers and Indian elephants. They have a kurta to try on and and a child-sized turban and sari to wrap onto themselves. We have Hindi numbers to practice and stories to read. We smelled some Indian spices and ate some mango.

2009-05-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

We did get back in the garden last week, ridding it of practically all those pesky weeds. The peas, lettuce and radishes have suddenly grown with all this rain. As soon as it dries a bit we'll be back to digging compost holes and planting more seeds. The children feel really good seeing the result of their work. They are careful with the baby plants, taking care to point out what is growing to children from the other class. They treat every pill bug, worm and centipede with care. Last week one boy cautioned his classmates to be gentile with the bugs by stressing several times, "They are defenseless!"

2009-05-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

The children didn't get to work in the garden last week, but hopefully, they will tomorrow. Meanwhile, some of the children have been interested in planning road trips with the help of our Highlights highway map of the U.S. Others have been exploring the properties of magnetic attraction between metals, other magnets and through objects. Yet others are excited about solving 4 X 4 KenKen puzzles.
Mrs. T. has taught the whole class a lovely song about global living. Each child has worked on flags representing the 24 countries in the song.

Today we talked about India; the foods, the Hindi language and its influence on our language, numerical system and culture. Then we shared a mango.

In the next few days we'll talk about some of the animals of India, try some of the clothes of India and hear about some of the customs of India.

The radishes are growing. . .

2009-05-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

and so are the weeds. We're not certain if the lettuce seeds have sprouted or if we just have a zillion new little weeds. We'll wait and see. E.W. is holding one of the garden's residents. The children were happy to get back out in the garden after so many days of rain and wetness. We used the rainy days to plant pea seeds in a glass inside our classroom. They have already sprouted, letting us see the root growing downward and the stem growing upward. Yesterday, they grew another inch. The first leaf was unfolding today. We also have a radish, a carrot and an onion planted inside glass tubes, hoping to see how they will develop under the ground.

2009-05-05T10:41:00.000-07:00

Between the garden and the fence is a small area where the children can use shovels to dig holes. We try to respect the worms that we encounter, realizing that they are living creatures and that they help us in the garden. We already used 2 of the holes to hold the compost the class has been collecting from their lunch and snack scraps (fruits, vegetables and egg shells only).

Now it's a garden.

2009-05-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

We planted radish and lettuce seeds last week. Then we watered, then hoped for rain and on Friday, it did! Just to see how dense the weeds population was, here's another picture of the weeding process. Without 16 weeders this would have been a much more tedious job.

After raking away the old mulch, each child placed a brick or two to form a path. Here are some of the boys finishing the path by filling it with the old mulch.

We have a bin with 1 Sharpie pen, lots of plastic markers and the seeds. I showed them the seed packets. We saw the long thin lettuce seeds and the little round radish seeds. We read that the lettuce had to be planted 1/4 inch deep and the radishes at a 1/2 inch depth. I wrote "lettuce" on a popsicle stick and made a line 1/4 inch from the end. I did the same for the radish seeds, but with a 1/4 inch mark on it. I put the seeds in little containers to keep them from spilling out. Each child dug a little hole with our tiny cultivator, checked its depth with the popsicle gauge, planted 2 seeds in the hole (just in case) and wrote what was planted on the plastic marker. Each planted 2 lettuce and 2 radish seeds. Now we have a garden full of plastic markers.

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T12:51:00.000-07:00

Finally the weather cooperated and allowed us to begin cultivating the playground garden. We divided the class into two groups; the "dragonflies" and the "caterpillars". The garden isn't big enough for more than 8 children to be digging, raking and planting at the same time. But it's just the right size for the two groups to plant and care for. Today both groups learned how to dig out each weed with its root. And even though they each worked hard, we still have more weeds to pull tomorrow!

sold !

2009-04-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Gone to loving homes are all the beautiful pieces created by the children. I'm glad we have pictures of them. The money PoDS earns through the auction brings some wonderful programs to our school. This fall, they gave us all a memorable Native American experience, then the Lehigh Valley Zoo thrilled us with animals of numerous types. And before school ends for the year, PoDS will host a school-wide festival on our playground.
We give a huge thank you to PoDS and the many parents who attended, bid upon and bought the children's work.

more for PoDS auction, Friday, April 17

2009-04-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

Here is that box that LC was working on. You can see his finished chipmunk popping out of its hole to EW's chipmunk sniffing a flower. JF painted the grass, RM drew the running chipmunk, LW made the sun, JK the bees, ML the snowflakes, TK the sleeping chipmunks, . . . Like most of our pieces, every child in the class contributed to this box. They're quite a team!

PODS auction pieces

2009-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks the children have been occasionally working on these pieces for the PODS auction. Here is LC drawing a chipmunk emerging from its den to warm spring raindrops falling on the grass. Each side of this box has a scene of the chipmunk during each of the four seasons.

EN is shown drawing a detailed bug on the chair. While some painted the sky and grass and clouds, the rest of the class took a turn at drawing another bug crawling about on it. Examining specimens and poring over bug books since the fall gave the class plenty of ideas for this project.

Just click on any of these pictures to see them larger.

Dear Mr. President,

2009-03-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

We've finally reached the present day after introducing each and every president in their order. Well, I did cheat, talking about Lincoln out of order to coincide with his birthday. We found out about the pets, the big events from who could vote through inventions to space travel, who had the neatest handwriting, how fast Jimmy Carter could read and presidents' former jobs. The picture shows part of the rows of presidential portraits covering the wall. As you can see, Grover Cleveland was president both before and after B. Harrison, however we didn't have another picture of G.C. Immediatly, our artists got to work on another G.C. portrait. Then, to cap off all of this information, I wrote out the address of the White House and suggested that each child could write a postcard with a question or a comment for President Obama. Here's what some of the children wrote:

Dear Barack Obama, I like your name. Dear Mr. President, I like that you got to be president. Dear Mr. President, How old are you? I am 5 years old. Do you know that you were against Hillary Clinton?

2009-02-27T19:00:00.000-08:00

J.K. made use of her snack between bites.

For the past few weeks the children have been painting a stool, boxes and this little chest of drawers for the PODS auction. Here are some of them putting their signatures on the back of it. I'm amazed by the children's fine work.

insects, reptiles, birds and mammals!

2009-02-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today Mandy, from the Lehigh Valley Zoo visited the school. From 1 tiny and 3 medium sized carriers, she showed a hissing cockroach, a turtle, a snake and 2 screech owls. Mandy encouraged each child to touch the cockroach's exoskeleton, the turle's shell, the snake's scales and the owl's feather. To introduce the final animal, a mammal, she passed around a piece of camel fur. We were all curious to see what hid in the last carrier. E.W. muttered, "Uh-oh, I think it's a bear." E.N. cooed,"Oh-h-h, she brought a little camel!" No, but it was this sweet bunny. Thank you, PODS, we learned a lot.

words to live by

2009-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

Last week two of our students were peeling oranges for snack. One was having difficulty with the task. Mrs. T. overheard one of the children's encouragement to the other: "If you keep on trying maybe you can do it." The response: "Yeah, that's the world; that's the way life is."

history lessons

2009-02-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

We've been reading book after book about our early presidents and enjoying all of them. We made Abe Lincoln's log cabin and some tried drawing him. One of the books showed his signature. Since it was put on our light table, tracing it has been a popular way to practice a little cursive writing.

Today we read a book about George Washington's favorite breakfast. It was too simple to not try it. So here are the hoe cakes frying. Surprisingly, everyone loved them and came back for seconds.

Next week we'll begin learning fun facts about more of our past presidents. What kind of pets did they have? One had two alligators. What did they like to eat? How did they have fun in the White House? How did they help our country?

snow fun

2009-02-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

J.K. shoveling and R.M.'s legs near M.L., H.K. and T.M. putting the final touches on the new playground buddy.
Another avid shoveler.

sweet valentine's day

2009-02-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

Montesorian Michelle Irinyi eloquently defends the celebration of Valentine's Day in this post for the North American Montessori Center.
For all of you busy multitaskers, this quote from her post sums it all up. "Valentine’s Day isn’t all about romantic love. It’s about friendship. It’s about the love we share with those around us. It’s about teaching children to care about those around them. "

Every day counts - the bead chains

2009-01-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

It has gotten a bit too cold for the great outdoors, but we've got plenty to keep us busy. For several weeks, now, many of the children have been interested in counting the bead chains. This first picture is of the bead chain material. This material illustrates the squares and cubes of the numbers 1 through 10. Note the bead squares and cubes sitting on the little shelves to the right. The top shelf holds color coordinated boxes with the counters and chain for each number's square. Hanging are each of the chains that when folded together would become that number's cube.
The next picture shows a child being introduced to this work. She is shown how the short two chain can be folded into the two square. Then she is shown how the long two chain can be folded into the two cube. Then she is shown how 2 two squares can be put together to make a two cube. The chains are counted and the counters are placed. The lesson is repeated with the three chain.

If the child desires, s/he can continue with the other chains in their order.

At its simplest, this activity is good for practicing the order of the numbers. That after 29 comes 30, and after 39 comes 40, etc. On the next level, it illustrates skip counting; counting by twos or threes or fives. On another level, an older child will see the multiplication tables. And finally, this material illustrates the squares and cubes of these numbers and their relationships with each other.
Counting the bead chains is a popular activity in the classroom. I believe it is the thrill of accomplishment. As the chains get longer, the image of a daunting task is found to be readily achieved with just a little perseverance.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-27T04:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday morning several students were dressed in red. Ready to welcome a new year. This is M.L. and A.T. (measuring). L.W. also looked her best, and brought a delicious snack of Asian treats.

snow snow snow

2009-01-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

It's so nice having the snow cover the playground. The children have covered our windows with paper snowflakes. Paintings and cotton snowmen hang on our walls. Unfortunately, the extreme cold has kept us inside more than usual. We used the extra time to talk about Antarctica. But today was sunny and tomorrow should be a bit warmer. In snow pants, boots, hats, mittens and jackets, children squealed with delight as they made snow angels and gathered armfuls of snow.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-30T18:30:00.000-08:00

I hope you are all having a nice break. We are planning for the new year and looking forward to seeing everyone next Monday.

Montessori on the fly

2008-12-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

Here is an entertaining 3 minute 45 second video of Maria Montessori's life and work:

www.video.google.com/videoplay?docid=748019594080989064

more Montessori kids

2008-12-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here are a few people who also revelled in the experience of a Montessori education:

www.michaelolaf.net/google.html

we've got time

2008-12-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

The clock is placed low on our wall, but most of the class is at a complete loss as to the meaning of the numbers. Hence, we've been encouraging the use of the Montessori clock materials. First, a child simply matches the clock face to the "1 o'clock" or other corresponding label. Then the clock faces are stamped in the tablet and the child writes the time and draws on the clock's hands. A slew of other activities follow, then the child works on the "half past" clock faces.

Before introducing the "quarter to" and "quarter past" clock faces, I like to use this material that Mrs. T, designed. It is perfect for garnering an understanding of all the numbers and minute notations on a clock. All this takes time, though. The children are young, and learning to tell time is not easy. We encourage but must never frustrate. The goal of Montessori is to give the children the tools to succeed on their own.

writing "stories"

2008-12-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

Some of the children have begun writing stories. Mrs. D. first suggested the assignment to the class in general. At that time, many of the children looked at her with looks of surprise. Within seconds, some of those looks changed to smiles at the thought that Mrs. D. found the class to be so capable. Since then, a number of children of varying levels often choose to write stories. The subjects range from "a cat sat on a mat" to family and school events. They are usually one small tablet page in length. The importance of all this is the evident self confidence to try something bold and that these simple stories are advancing fine motor, word order, decoding and spelling skills and giving the children another way of expressing themselves. Not everyone has begun this adventure. Some need more time and when we see they are ready, we will not fail to encourage them.

Dancing around the room...

2008-12-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

Enthusiastic dancers following Rob as he beat a drum and sang a lively Native American tune.

2008-12-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

In November Rob came and spoke to the children about the local native American culture. Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta went his drum as we entered the basement room where he had baskets, skins and artifacts waiting for us to see and touch. He told us the story about Rainbow Crow. The children were thrilled to feel the warm winter fur of a deer and the prized softness of a beaver's fur. Later, in the classroom, L.W. practiced weaving and many drew pictures of Rainbow Crow. This one was drawn by E.N. The next school day, L.W. brought in this paper model of a Native American rattle that she had made at home. She remembered Rob's rattle made from a deer's leg bone and hoof nails.

helping each other

2008-11-24T16:15:00.000-08:00

Just had to post this, although it was taken a few weeks ago on a cool day. However, many of the children are still always eager to help when the need arises. If someone drops a little drawer of division beads, there is an immediate patter of feet as numerous children rush to contain them.

More recently, we've been reading and talking about the Native Americans and how they once lived. Here, two boys proudly show off the little mat they wove with plant stems.

Everyone's excited about reading!

2008-11-14T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here is J.F. after matching pictures with their beginning sounds. This was a few weeks ago. She's beyond that now, making words with the "mumfable alphabet". Oops!

It's the moveable alphabet. And here is M.B. moving around the letters to form words. Listening for the sounds in the words hones reading and spelling skills. Learning to read well is a gradual process taken one step at a time.

We strive to have each child practice reading skills every single day.

An alpaca, colorful Diwali and jumping in leaves

2008-11-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning a darling alpaca visited the school, then R.M.'s and T.M.'s mothers told us about the Indian holiday, Diwali. They showed how colorful designs called rangolis are made on the sidewalk outside of homes. With the traditional materials of yellow, orange and black lentils and rice flour they led the children in making several rangolis. Here is L.C., H.K., L.K. and E.N. working on a design.

Later, upon seeing leaves covering the playground, the children took their little rakes and made this large, soft pile, then took turns jumping and tumbling into them. This is A.T.

2008-11-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

With velcro so prevalent, I sometimes wonder if we really need to know how to lace. But then, this morning, as I was tying my shoes, the lace suddenly snapped. It doesn't happen often, but I suppose lacing is a handy skill.

Tying, like lacing is learned through practice, usually just a few times, once each day. With tying, though, I tell the child that s/he is really teaching her or his fingers to tie. Each bow helps their fingers learn another step of the procedure. I am just as excited as the child when those little fingers are able to tie a bow all by themselves.

Halloween Parade

2008-10-31T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today the children came to school dressed in their Halloween costumes. There were princesses, heroes, friendly creatures and witches and even a helicopter. The children gathered inside their classrooms as their parents gathered outside with cameras in hand. It is always such a sweet surprise for the children, as they emerge from the school onto the porch, to see the paparazzi that awaits.
Lucky for us that we had a sunny day to parade around the park. Back inside, we read stories, created art, sang songs, practiced French and shared treats. The children work so hard every day. This was a well-deserved break.

2008-10-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just 4 of the adorable jack-o-lantern bags made by the children for their Halloween treats.

Because skeletons are one of the Halloween icons, we've been learning about the bones in our bodies. You'll soon see cut and pasted skeletons and painted skeletons coming home. Since one of our students recently broke a bone, this lesson is especially meaningful.

It's the season for apples. Mrs. T. made this apple matching exercise, then helped the children peel and cut their apples to be cooked for applesauce. As it cooked, the whole school enjoyed the scent. All agreed that the applesauce tasted delicious.

I wasn't quick enough to get a shot of anyone peeling their apples. Here is the aftermath. We showed the children how to hold the apple and peel away from themselves and their fingers. Then Mrs. T. or I washed and cut their apples in half, cored them and watched as each child cut the halves into quarters, keeping hands and fingers always on top of the little knife. Again, I couldn't get a picture. As you could imagine, all my attention was focused.

2008-10-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

We are pleased that everyone now has the habit of turning off the bathroom light and closing the door when finished. However, determining if the bathroom was occupied or unoccupied was difficult. Clever Mrs. T. solved the problem. When the switch is lowered, the light is off, therefor the bathroom is empty, or open. When the switch is up, the light is on because someone is occupying the room, and so we say it is closed.

From caterpillars to the leaves they eat ~

2008-10-21T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the caterpillars the children made from the egg cartons. They're creeping up our walls! But enough about bugs. Now we're examining leaves! We are using some of the zillion maple leaves covering the playground to make leaf rubbings and prints.

The children made little Parts of Leaves books, labeling a leaf's veins, petiole, midrib, margin and blade. Last week we took advantage of the beautiful weather to hike over to the park in search of specimens for leaf books.
Here they are at the base of an oak tree, discovering the acorns hanging above and even more on the ground around it.
Upon returning to the classroom the leaves were pressed in books. Today we worked together to identify, label, create covers and bind them. The finished products brought many sweet smiles.

crickets, grasshoppers and woolly bear caterpillars

2008-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

Showing the class a Woolly Bear caterpillar. We could see its little pro-legs and its true-legs.
With great concern, these children spent part of their playground time searching for food to nourish our classroom guest.
Then R.D. found this young cricket. All who came to look at it saw the long delicate antennae that distinguish crickets from grasshoppers, who have short thick antennae.

The Seguin boards

2008-10-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

This is Seguin Board I. With this, a child learns that our teen numbers are made up of a ten and a number of units. It helps children in writing these numbers and in understanding our base ten system. E.C. caught onto this quickly and had a good time with the task.

This is the Seguin Board II. A.N. is matching the correct number of ten bars and a one to nine bead bar to a two digit number. Through this Seguin Board children gain a better understanding of two digit numbers to 99.

getting buggy on insects

2008-10-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for all the egg cartons that were sent in for our class. The children are still busy making their own insects with 6 legs, 2 wings, 2 eyes and 2 antenna, of course. Here is E.W. and J.K. painting their creations.

hanging around on the playground

2008-09-30T17:25:00.000-07:00

H.K., A.T., T.K., L.Z. (not yet in our class), M.L. and A.N having a blast on a beautiful day.

Division

2008-09-28T19:35:00.000-07:00

Solving division problems with the Division Board is usually a popular activity. With this material a child can divide one and two digit dividends by up to nine divisors. Skittles are used for the divisors and beads are used for the dividends. It is easy and entertaining for a child to see when the beads are shared equally among the skittles and when there is a remainder. We often are besieged with two or three children happily pleading "I want to do division".

The Bank Game

2008-09-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

As in all Montessori classrooms, the range of math materials the children use is wide. But all of the math concepts and procedures are taught through handling the special materials designed about one hundred years ago by Maria Montessori. They count beads to solve simple addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. They use the division board to solve simple division problems. The Seguin boards show the children the base ten system in our teen and double digit numbers.
The bank game, pictured above, shows the relationships between the units, tens, hundreds and thousands. Eventually many of the children will use the thousand cubes, hundred squares, ten bars and units of the bank game to solve simple and long math problems. When I was a child, I learned to do long addition through memorizing the trick of working from right to left, placing the right digit of a 2 digit answer under the problem's line and carrying the left digit into the next line of numbers to add. It worked, but children do much better when, through the use of the Montessori materials, they discover and understand why.
I'll follow this, soon, showing you the division board and the Seguin boards.

How was your day?

2008-09-14T18:25:00.000-07:00

Many children give no more than a one word answer to this question. Not much to satisfy a parent's curiosity about their child's day in school. Here's an idea and some questions to ask to get your child to "spill the beans" on his/her daily activities.

View this blog together, discussing the pictures and who might be in them.

Ask any or a few of these and your own questions:

Was anything funny today?
Did you help anyone today? Who? How?
Did anyone help you?
Who did you work with today?
Who did you play with?
Did you learn something new today?
What choices did you make today?
Did anything surprise you today?
Was anything challenging for you today?
Did you discover anything today?
What questions were you asked today? How did you answer?
What problems did you solve today?
Can you draw a picture or make up a song about something you did in school today?

If you have any other good ideas to share with fellow parents please share them in a comment.

spider webs

2008-09-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

First the children paint the ground, stems and grasses, then they paste on flower petals, a yarn web, 8 spider legs and a pom-pom head and spider body. Here are a few of the resulting spider web pictures. They certainly have brightened up these rainy days.

Is it even, or is it odd?

2008-09-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here is S.S. with her completed Cards and Counters work. It drew the attention of several of her classmates. Quite a few opened new tablets to list numbers under even or odd headings. Children are reviewing and moving forward with new material. Most are learning the routine of a new classroom, having snack, choosing activities and helping to keep their room and materials neat and orderly.

Remember, to see any image larger, just click on it. And don't forget the PODS meeting on Monday 7 to 8 P.M.

Meet the Teacher

2008-08-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Summer is at its end. Even the weather feels as such. Tonight is our Meet the Teacher night. Classrooms are prepared. The cubbies are labeled with lots of new names. Teachers are ready and looking forward to welcoming a new group of smiling and chatty children on Tuesday. Although many of the faces in our classroom will be familiar, I am excited to really get to know each child's strengths and interests. Along with reading and math, we base a good part of our curriculum on shared interests. The projects, learning sessions and discussions that arise will enliven our classroom throughout the year.

Summer Renewal

2008-07-31T02:41:00.000-07:00

We're well into summer, and two big projects are nearly complete. Two of our teachers have reorganized the materials and supplies room and the small playground has grown with the addition of a super-large sandbox. "Where", you say, "could a super-large sandbox actually fit?" You'll be surprised to see how nicely the small playground has been extended.

The Summer Session has ended. Classrooms are full or filling up, calendars and supply lists for the upcoming year are being mailed and teachers are readying their curricula.

Here's a snappy picture of a dad made by his adoring daughter for Father's Day in June.

Yay for Reading Skills!

2008-06-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

The entire class has been ecstatic about our "treasure" hunts on the playground. During our morning work time groups of 4 are escorted outside. Each child grasps a different set of instructions to follow toward a hidden treasure. Some finds require perseverence. But these "pirates" don't give up and they are awfully eager to help each other.
Today is our School Spring Picnic with each class providing entertainment. We had our last rehearsal this morning. Everyone is giving it their best. They'll be giving a great performance!

classroom tidbits

2008-06-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

- signing the Thank You note for another yummy snack.

- a rousing time playing the Money Game.

- planning routes for cross-country trips.

so many artists

2008-06-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

Simply looking carefully and talking about what is seen opens many eyes to more details than I imagined. We started with a beautiful multi-colored tulip. Each child bravely touched their brush full of paint to the paper. And each one created a striking still life on the black water color paper. Now the peonies are blooming, and "peony gardens" are appearing on the easel.

whale & fish puppets

2008-06-06T19:15:00.000-07:00

Whales, sting rays and scaley fish that bite!

Still Working

2008-06-05T15:25:00.000-07:00

The school year is coming to a close but the class is still a group of eager learners. Today, one of our little students wore this Hindi quote on her shirt: The deeper you dig in the sand the more water will flow. The deeper you learn the more your knowledge will grow.

Fair Day & Mother's Day

2008-06-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Along with busily preparing for the annual Spring Show, we got interested in whales, which led to fish, then whale puppets, then a sting ray puppet which I found on the net and other various fish puppets with pictures to follow.

For Mother's Day, with encouragement to look carefully at their mother's features, the children made thoughtful and adorable, if not always accurate, portraits of their dear moms. We especially enjoyed passing on the why I love my mom comments. I like my mommy because "she plays that swing ball game with me"; "she makes nice pancakes"; "she loves me a lot"; "I do".

PODS gave the children a Fair Day last week. They loved it. Moms doled out freshly made popcorn (a big hit), pizza and snow cones (another sought after treat). On their own, children obediently stood in lines for face painting and balloon animals, flowers and swords.

Playground sights

2008-05-13T18:46:00.000-07:00

When talking about India I showed the children a little book that names the parts of venomous snakes, namely, the cobra. Mrs. T brought a selection of books on snakes from the library. Closeup pictures of hissing snakes made one child question whether the photographer was still living. After all, being that close to the pictured rattlesnake surely must have resulted in a fatal bite.

She also arranged for another teacher to show the class her two pet snakes as she fed them each a frozen mouse. Some wrote pages about the snakes, painted pictures of them and made origami cobras. Everyone made a painted, cardboard tube wiggly snake.

Then, last Thursday on the playground, a child sited two water snakes lying on plant debris that had fallen into the creek! I love our playground. It has space to run plus a wonderful mix of equipment and nature to play on and around. There's a big old silver maple tree that rains its helicopter seeds upon us. There are small cedar trees and a small Japanese maple to run around. There are piles of mulch, bars, a plastic rock wall, stairs and tree trunks to climb. The creek with its resident fish and ducks flows just outside the fence. One brave duck sits on her nest of eggs in a corner of the playground. There is a deck overlooking the creek, two slides, a sandbox and a train for fanciful adventures. No wonder every child's face is grinning as they run through the gate for recess. Kudos to J.D. for its design and maintenance.

2008-05-01T16:21:00.000-07:00

Talking about China and India led the class to the Himalaya Mountains which stand between the two countries. We used my little Mountains book to learn the names for the many parts of mountains. Everyone made their own mountain range with paper mache over paper cones. They were painted with snowy tops and rivers flowing through the valleys.
The enthusiasm didn't stay in the classroom. On the playground the sandbox became a long mountain range. It's so nice when the children come together as a team. And so good to see their smiles of accomplishment.
See a full screen image of any picture by clicking on it.

Sold!

2008-04-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the auction hosted by PODS. What fun it was! We are grateful to Michele Wahlmark and Paula Hannam for all the work and time they dedicated to this event. As the auctioneer, Paula set the tone for a lively and jovial evening. She pounded the gavel

for numerous benches, chairs, frames, boxes, piggy banks, stepping stones, tea sets, seventeen quilts and a bird house. Michele had the children's work displayed around the room. It brought many oohs and ahhs. In addition, there was a silent auction for gift cards to golf, enjoy a mini facial and have dinner in any of several fine restaurants. We feasted on small sandwiches, shrimp, cheese and pastries. The proceeds will be used to treat the children to a special activity filled day before the end of the school year.

To all who attended, to Michele for the superb job in organizing this, to Paula for auctioneering and for beautifully sewing together all of the children's quilt squares and to all of the children and the teachers who worked together to create all of the objects -

Thank You !

2008-03-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the Parts of an Egg books made by many of the children in the class. The first four pages of the book have the individual egg parts pasted in and labeled. This shows the final, completed egg. Each part is again pasted in, one on top of the other. On the last page, this child chose to write her thoughts on eggs. Before presenting this activity, Mrs. T. gave each child a hard boiled egg. Each peeled off their egg's shell, then the membrane, then the albumen and then reached the yolk. The final act in thsi exploration? Eating the egg!
Next, we took our scientific inquisitiveness further by putting a raw egg into vinegar for a few days last week. The acidic vinegar immediately began dissolving the calcium in the shell. This was obvious by all the tiny bubbles of gas covering the egg. By Friday, soft flaps of shell were peeling off the membrane. Upon washing off the rest of the now soft shell, the children got to hold the shelless egg and see the albumen and yolk through the transparant membrane. It was exciting.

2008-03-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

We're all welcoming spring and hoping for some warmer days. Birds are avidly visiting the feeders.

All of the benches have been beautifully painted with flowers, pictures and flags of the world. As you can see here, as each child's portion dries, Mrs. T masks it off so the next artist doesn't accidentally paint into or over someone's work. For that reason, the end result looks almost too good to be true, as one parent noted upon seeing the finished benches after her conference with us. We miss seeing them in the classroom, but whoever gets them will have a unique and lovely piece.

2008-02-25T15:52:00.000-08:00

Here's the stool ready for PODS. Most of the class worked on just this piece. Mrs. T. showed them some paintings by Kieth Haring. They easily copied some of his images onto the stool. We have one more stool, a box and some frames to be decorated. I can't wait to see what the children come up with next! I suspect paintings may be musically inspired since this month brought all of our class the opportunity to play wind and string instruments and to see a wonderful program combining art with music.

As you see, February was busy. Aside from Valentine's Day, we celebrated Chinese New Year, making Chinese flags and making origami goldfish. We learned about George Washington and Abe Lincoln, who became the subject of some terrific portraits.

2008-02-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

We're so thrilled with how well the children are decorating the wooden pieces and ceramic tea set that PODS will auction off.

Earlier this year, I introduced the class to my little How To Draw An Elephant book. Many of their drawings were still posted on our bulletin board when this project came up. Mrs. T asked several of those children to recreate their drawings on this chair (some are on the back). Then I showed the class some examples of patterns in print and on fabrics. After creating their own on paper, some of those children recreated their patterns as borders on the chair.

It's beautiful to see the care and concentration as each takes his/her turn. Currently they are working on the tea set and a step stool covered with frolicking figures.

ni hao (hello? in Chinese?)

2008-01-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

Someone help, please. Tomorrow we begin learning about China. I've enlisted the help of three young scholars. Their expertise will be much appreciated. It will be an adventure!

Here are some pictures of friends.

Fire Drill !

2008-01-12T13:00:00.000-08:00

One day last week a young child pulled the fire alarm. The entire school hurried outside. The fire trucks arrived and several firemen in full gear came into each classroom to ascertain our safety. Everyone was thrilled with the response to this unusual "fire drill". A large group of our boys huddled together watching the activity. One wide-eyed fellow looked toward the teachers and announced,"This is the most exciting day of my life!".

Above is a child working with the moveable alphabet and, on another day, making a large equilateral triangle with several smaller equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles. Next is a child grading the tones of the bells.

Happy New Year !

2008-01-05T17:53:00.000-08:00

Before the holiday the excitement of counting the chains of the squares and cubes of the numbers one through ten began spreading through the class. Upon the childrens' return to school this past week, the thrill of completing one chain then moving on to the next has continued. It's as much a joy for us as it is for the children to see their concentration and work pay off with happy exultations at the completion of each chain.

As always, our easel remains another popular spot in the room.

2007-12-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

Wow! The weather outside is frightful. But the class has been delightfully understanding about not being able to play on the icy playground. The children are always so busy that lunchtime arrives before we realize that we haven't been out on the playground.

We did have a lot of fun learning about the Native Americans. The class discovered how easily fiber (twine) can be cut by laying it down on a stone then pounding it with another stone. That is how they cut the twine to sew their little canoes together. Then they each made a little clothespin Indian Brave and Squaw. Many brought in shoe boxes to create a diorama of a village. They cut, colored and pasted trees for a forest around their villages. With sticks glued around the edges of the box they made a fence to keep out the wild animals. Some made a longhouse and many made teepees to shelter the clothespin natives.

Everyone fashioned pots out of red clay. Next we'll try making coil pots.

2007-11-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Oh my, it's been two weeks since I last posted! I've had a little too much on my plate lately.
The class has been buzzing along. During one morning, a large, but dead, evergreen tree in front of our classroom windows was cut down. We all enjoyed watching this amazing feat. Upon completion, one of the tree specialists came to our door with a question. As soon as we opened the door, one of our boys greeted him with a loud and hearty "Good job!".
The children are wonderful. They're all so eager to learn. Right now we're on Thanksgiving break. I hope everyone is having a lovely time with their families, small or large.
We used the story of the first Thanksgiving to look at the lives of the early Native Americans. In the coming week or two we'll have fun experiencing some aspects of the Native American way of life. We'll find out what they ate and wore, where they slept, how they played, learned, spoke and how they made things without metal tools. I can't wait!
But in the meantime, here is somebody labeling and drawing all of the geometric solids. Good job!

Leaves - everywhere!

2007-11-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Leaves have been falling for several weeks. Using a child-sized wheelbarrow and rakes the children eagerly keep the playground fairly clear of them. Although our unusually warm days have past and long pants are now worn. Mrs. T took this photo. I love the play of warm sunshine with the shadows.

2007-10-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy this article reprinted with the permission of The Montessori Initiative:

Compassion and Peace
Despite its global nature and the fact that Montessori is continuing to add schools and students on almost every continent, not every month brings us items that qualify as "News". However, there is still plenty of information that we can share with you.

On his recent visit to the United States, the Dalai Lama spoke at the University of Indiana to a filled basketball stadium. "We must teach our children with compassion," he said. "As a child, I learned more from the teachers that taught me with compassion and a smile than I ever did from those that taught with a frown." He went on to stress, "Through that example, our children will learn compassion and they will learn to apply compassion when dealing with others. With compassion, we can learn to understand one another and appreciate our differences rather than become afraid of them. Compassion is the first step towards 'internal disarmament'. When we can disarm ourselves, we can learn to concentrate on disarming the world we live in. It is too late for our generation. Our generation's responsibility is to the children. We must teach the children with compassion so that they will learn compassion. With compassion, they will work to solve the problems that we cannot. With compassion they will work on the problems that are manmade. They will care about global warming and they will work to turn the tide. They will care about human suffering and they will work to turn the tide. With compassion they will understand that we all have a shared responsibility to one another. Eventually, when enough have learned compassion, we will have peace." [We have edited his comments in summary].
The Dalai Lama could have been a Montessori teacher. Maria Montessori made it clear in her writing that through education of the child comes peace. That is why compassion and a global understanding of our world is such an important part of every Montessori students learning. Dr. Montessori wrote the first "Rights of the Child" for UNESCO. Those rights are all based on compassion. As Montessorians, we continue to teach with compassion to our students. As adults, we must remember it when we deal with one another.

Crazy for Cursive

2007-10-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

A lot of our older boys and girls have got the cursive bug. They've been hammering us with daily requests since September to teach them this and that letter in cursive. It's wonderful to see so many children independently and enthusiastically directing their education. the skill of forming the letters correctly isn't always easily mastered. But these children practice willingly and on their own. They forge ahead, writing spelling words, rhyming and singular and plural exercises in cursive even though it isn't required. Every day is a treat.

Snacks, a Fire Truck and Paper Mache

2007-10-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

For starters, a big "thank you" to all of you parents for sending in good, healthy snacks for the class. We've had fruit, cheese, crackers, carrots with dip and and a great snack mix made by one of the boys. His mother sent in cups for serving it, all the ingredients, the recipe and a big bowl. Her son loved mixing the pretzels, cereal, raisins and M&Ms (it's o.k. to cheat once in a while) for his classmates.

Yesterday, our Deputy Fire Chief, a Fire Marshall and a real fireman brought a pumper truck to the school for a great demonstration of the gear and equipment used to fight fires. Unknowingly, the camera card in my camera was full. So I didn't get any pictures. Darn.

But the class loved the demo and showed quite a degree of knowledge about smoke detectors and the "stop, drop and roll" rule. One even correctly identified the huge tool that's used to cut open cars in emergencies. Then they made their own pictures of the big red fire truck.

Since our class has been discussing the earth, inside and out, many of the children chose to make a paper mache model of it. We talked about its inner core, outer core, mantle, crust and plates. We saw pictures of volcanoes forming mountains and how millions of years ago, the continents were joined. From here we'll explore the periods of dinosours, then the separate continents and more land and water forms.

We used clean plastic dome tops saved from a summer of smoothies and iced teas to paper mache for each earth half. The children are happy to put recyclables (paper, plastic, cardboard) in the bins and re-use some nonrecyclables in projects.

2007-10-01T17:08:00.000-07:00

Currently, some popular activities in the classroom are making numerous shapes with the wood triangles, putting together the puzzle maps and using the cursive sandpaper letters then practicing, practicing and practicing writing them.

Pictured is a clever invention that I spotted under construction one day. "What is it?" I asked. "A web shooter" was the answer. Of course.

2007-09-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here is one of our girls using the beads to complete some addition problems. Also pictured is one of our classmembers punching out a bay after finishing the lake and the island. There is always so much going on. We certainly won't run out of pictures.

This morning while working with one of the teachers, an astute young boy said,

"Look at my blisters. They're from climbing.

My Grandma said, 'This one popped'. But I didn't even hear it!"

"I could do this all day long."

2007-09-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, that was said by one of our class's many lively boys. He had just been shown the Bank Game and was happily taking turns with a classmate being the banker, then a customer.

A few days later on the playground, one of our boys announced "There's a tarantula over there!". Considering that our school is in the Northeast, one of our teachers investigated. Just as thrilling to the children was the fact that the little creature was a daddy-long-legs.

sewing buttons?

2007-09-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

As usual, the day passes quickly. Another lovely birthday celebration with muffins and 5 trips around our "sun" in the center of the circle of children.

There's quite an interest in learning to sew a button onto fabric. It's become popular to use that skill to decorate one's own shirt, jumper or shorts with some of the many buttons in our button bowl. I love the children's creative ideas for the buttons!

They are also having fun using the hundreds, thousands, tens and units bead material, punching out land and water forms, making words and practicing reading skills.