Native Plants for balance

Carol has a great philosophy.

I like her videos.

always busy

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

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

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.

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 ?!

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

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.