Week 3 Sept 11- 15th

Week 3   Sept 11 to the 15^th

The goal of early childhood should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.-  Maria Montessori.

Hello Parents!  

Congratulations for surviving your first full week without your bundles of joys.  I have enjoyed them immensely!   This week was spent reviewing some classroom rules, experiencing our specials (Spanish and Music) and introducing some new works. 

Monday: After the long weekend, many children are showing signs of being under the weather, with runny noses, small coughs and tired eyes.  Please encourage your child to have an early bedtime to ensure they have enough energy for school and the coming cold season! We introduced the new birthday policy with Finn’s Birthday walk.  We thank Finn’s parents for celebrating with us as Finn orbited the sun 5 times!  Right afterwards we jumped into Spanish class with Senora Rosa.  This will be a great year of Spanish and we hope to incorporate basic Spanish vocabulary into our everyday class as well.  With our slightly shorter than usual work time, the children managed to find some meaningful works.   Several of our older children explored the Geography section, working on the Continent and Oceans maps.  Some students explored the red rod work and related that back into the math rod work (quality association for a number).  Many students explored the Practical Life area, with some older students taking on the responsibility to make themselves tea for their coughs.  (Also I will be adding class tea to the wish list).

Tuesday:  We started the day off with the Season Mat, which we explained how Earth rotates in near circular orbit around the sun.   We focused on how the earth isn’t any closer to the sun in its orbit, rather its tilt cause the four seasons, although I must admit, we’ll be spending the year grasping that concept as part of the birthday walk review.  The big picture is that they should all recognize the four seasons and name them.  We entered work a long work cycle with popular works such as labeling farm animals, math number rod work, world maps, sandpaper letters, finger sensitizing, and body management.   New matching works  include tactile boards and walking the line in practical life.  Some of the K students also worked on their spelling works and reading.

Wednesday: We had very exciting morning.  A student noticed a strange brightly color sphere on our tree and spent the morning recess hypothesizing what insect, animal or plant it could be.  After morning circle, she was taught a lesson in dissection, and discovered that it was an orange berry inside a seed pod for the Magnolia tree.  We then identified the parts of a seed (husk, seed, testa, embryo, and radicle).  At morning circle we reviewed grace and courtesy with respecting workspaces, and reviewed that unfinished works may say out with wooden name tags marking them.  Our other very exciting news is that we discovered that it was our tenth day of school this year, so we marked that by tying out ten sticks together with blue ribbon.  Our new works included a stationary pumpkin rubbing work to be used to decorate the barn dance next Friday (Sept 22). Today was the first day of music class with Mr. Wolfe.  The children broke into two groups and danced or did movement songs to “Pop Goes the Weasle,” “Animal Action,” “Peanut Butter on the Railroad Track,” “London Bridge” and “Freeze.”  Don’t worry, no students were harm in singing about peanut butter in our nut free classroom. :)

Thursday:  We reviewed the months of the year at morning circle using the season mat with the 12 point star.  The children read and labeled the month in the proper order (smaller student had help from older students).  New works included a fish puzzle, two sorting fish works, as well as another knobbed cylinder work in sensorial.  The fish work proved popular today, and the older students are already asking for the nomenclature cards to build their own fish.  Another barn dance decoration work was introduced today: Garland Making with pony beads and paper leaves.  Some of the children enjoy tracing and cutting out leaf shapes on colorful paper, while other made patterns in pony beads for the garland.  This string work proved to be a very complex task and many younger children lost interest quickly, instead they focused on the pumpkin rubbings.  But older students enjoy the multiple step process of threading a needle, choosing a pattern and repeating it several times over a long length.  I cannot tell you how impress I am with all these children today, their focus, concentration and coordination made me think I was back in the lower elementary level.  It was an amazing day!

Friday:   Thank goodness for Friday!   Our first full week ended with barn dance decoration works.   At morning circle we review the classroom rules of respecting someone’s work and the classroom materials.  Several students busied themselves with pumpkin rubbings and pattern work with the garlands.  Our younger students enjoyed the practical life area while others asked for math lessons.  This was also our first pizza Friday, so lunch brought a new level of excitement this week, when pizza magically appeared at their places.  To be honest, watching their excitement over this was amazing.  “Will another piece appear if I finish this one?” It was also one of our quickest lunch periods.  The nappers had a great nap while the non nappers had a good work period and then another reading of Charlotte’s Web.  In case you are following Charlotte is trying to save Wilbur’s life by teaching him to spin a web. 

Okay here are many pictures of the past week.  I hope you enjoy!

<3 Preschool Staff

Important dates:
September 22   Barn Dance
October 4   Class Pictures
October 6  Progress Reports Issued
October 9   Columbus Day (no school)
October 25   International Day 

              

Sorry we got a bit carried away with pictures this week :)