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~School Year 2018/19~ Montessori News 6.5.19 Final school days… My how time flies! It hardly seems possible that we are closing in on our final days of school. Since the 100th day of school, way back in the day J the children have been guesstimating what numeral the last day of school would fall on. The majority voted it would fall on 250! Although we haven’t had that many days of school, we have had a school year full of learning and amazing growth. The children have truly enjoyed “seeing” time pass one day at a time as the numbered index cards wrapped around the class walls. This Timeline represents a year of school days, seasons, and special events. Now on day 174, (apparently we are off a couple of days J) the children are able to count the tens, double digits, months and Fun Friday’s J These past weeks have been spent finishing up projects, maps, and work from their unfinished folders. The following highlights are from each of the curricular areas: Practical Life-Monthly Taste testing graphs created by the kids by tallying class data for cooking and baking. Last months Hawaiian salad was a hit! -Math graphs, and spatial relations in using the Attribute shapes. Community Awareness: At long last, our patience has paid off as a male Cardinal, the children named Robert now visits our feeder twice daily. What joy and excitement he has provided. We love seeing him up close and everyone stops and quiets down so he won’t be scared off as he feeds. We have seen him nesting in the bush beside the feeder and the children are delighted when they see him out on the school roof or locate him by his call, which they all now know. Sensorial: Lessons on the Geometric solids and Geo cabinet and exploration of Angles. Science: Special Things About Animals: Spots/Stripes, Heads/Tails and an introduction to nocturnal animals. Math: Advanced lessons for: Static & Dynamic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. -Under the excellent tutorage of Mrs. Mennella, the children have been “giving” me lessons and have shown grace and patience when correcting me, and the utmost respect when instructing me to “Stay focused Mrs. Ronda!” Language: At this point in the year, everyone has a solid grasp of the consonant sounds and vowels. Working at their level, the children have benefited by the personalized language lessons they’ve received by Mrs. Robinson. -Exercising their knowledge, Story writing is at a high. Relevant Grammar and Punctuation rules have been introduced and are now present in the children’s writing. Geography: All preprimary students have completed at least 1-2 Continent maps and Kindergarten students 3-5 maps, all of which have been celebrated and recorded in their passport booklets. These booklets have become a source of pride as the children have stamped a different continent in, after completing another map. History: Passage of time lessons have continued with the completion of our school Timeline, Birthday Timelines, Student Travel Timelines, our ABC Countdown to Summer and the addition of our Spring photo which we recently added to our Season Tree Pictures displayed in the hall. Art: Introduction lesson and activity for blending Primary colors to make Secondary colors. Student Safety: Fire drills, Tornado & Lock-Down drills and the Kids Smartz packet on Child Abduction. As the year winds down, we’ve taken the time to reminisce on the past year and reflect on what’s ahead. We have discussed the future of our Kindergarteners going into first grade and that of their younger peers stepping into the shoes of being the eldest students, and becoming Kindergarteners themselves next year. These conversations on change have been a mix of emotions. Like them, Mrs. Mennella and I can’t help feeling Melancholy as well. But we know that growing and moving on to bigger and better things has been the goal. And when we look at the children, where they started and where they are now, we know that goal has been achieved. With every success from every hurdle, with every smile for every frustrated tear, with every sigh for every completed work, we have all celebrated with genuine joy and pride. Mrs. Mennella and I are deeply proud of every strand of success the children have experienced. Together we worked to create an environment that was full of wonder, exploration and possibilities. Maria Montessori’s stand on educators not being “teachers but Directresses” rings with truth for us, as we were just facilitators in guiding the children to realize their boundless abilities, inner gifts and amazing talents. We are truly grateful for being able to work, laugh, play and guide these little souls that we are blessed to spend time with. We thank each and every one of our families for supporting our efforts from snacks, to volunteering. We are especially thankful for the dedicated time and efforts put forth by Mrs. Robinson every Wednesday for Language Enhancement. But most importantly, we thank you for entrusting your children in our care. It has been a privilege. As everyone embarks on a new path, we wish you all safe travels, happiness, success, and a wonderful summer ~ Blessings, Mrs. Mennella and Mrs. Ronda Ps. A message from Mrs. Zhou (Jane’s Mom) “Thank you all for making this school experience so positive and wonderful for Jane. You have all made her so happy. She does not want to return to China but stay here at Children of Peace!” April, 2018 A New Season... Although Winter lingers, Spring has sprung, here at Children of Peace. The classroom, always evolving, reflects continued growth and new interests of both students and Teachers. Since Winter Break we have welcomed four new students, two of whom arrived from China. Honestly speaking, everyone has been met with the transition challenges that occur with new additions, and that of a second language in class. But it is with pride that I report the children are learning character building in the valuable areas of acceptance, patience and respect for personal differences. They are learning to appreciate growth and to celebrate personal achievements that their new classmates are experiencing. With a class of 19 now, Mrs. Mennella and I continue to strive for balance, order and a peaceful environment. "Peace" is an intrinsic part of our community. "Line" or Community Time, continues to be the platform for this vital notion. Sharing her heart and experience, Mrs. Mennella has started leading Line Time on Fridays, implementing sign language for the days of the week in a catchy song we all enjoy. The date is built with Bead bars and wooden numerals, reviewing what "Family" each numeral is in. ie 4 is in the unit family, 13 in the teen family, etc. Mrs. Mennella ends with a beautiful motto and blessing of peace that the children all give each other. It's simply beautiful. Curricular highlights for Language, include continued progress in emergent story writers. Apart from sharing them with their classmates, all stories are now being displayed in the hall, providing a sense of value and self pride for writers. We also have several new readers in class, all of whom are progressing quickly. Fluent readers now have the choice to create Reading Log Sheets to record their own progress. A new addition in the Language area is our Audio Center, a small nook where the children can exercise independent reading/listening using headphones and follow along storybooks used in conjunction with a CD. -In Math, we are currently on day 146 of our school year. Prior predictions of school days are now being re-evaluated and adjusted by the children. With a solid basis for basic addition and subtraction, the class is exploring both skills, in a variety of ways using the colored bead bars, Golden Bead materials and collections of glass beads. Understanding the concepts of addition and subtraction has given way for inspiration and creativity with familiar materials. One student recently created a work using the colored bead bars to explore all the ways of making 7, 8, 9, and 10. Mrs. Mennella has also introduced Dynamic addition and subtraction to students at that level, as well as creatively using math materials for extensions and variations to keep things fresh and new. The Kindergarten class has had advanced lessons on Greater Than/Less Than, math story problems, and a variety of advanced extension activity sheets used with various materials. -In History, Martin L.King, Rosa Parks and Sit-In boycotts were among the topics explored for Black History Month. Kindergarten students will start a mini unit on Peace Makers, after Spring Break. -In conjunction with Black History Month, the Kindergarteners presented their second Special Project Presentation on Inventors and Inventions. After choosing an invention of their choice, they created a display board based on their research and gave an oral presentation to the class. All presenters were awarded Science awards and posed for a group picture. -In Science, new Nomenclature ( "Parts of") is added regularly to compliment units of study or student interest. i.e. American Red Fox for adaption, Parts of the daffodil for the study of spring bulbs. Upon return from Spring Break, we will be starting a unit on Nocturnal animals and plan on coordinating a field trip to Lincoln Park Zoo to visit the small mammal house where bats and other nocturnal animals are housed. While on the subject of animals, with great happiness, I can report that we have seen a male Cardinal at our bird feeder, which means other birds are visiting it as well! In hopes of enticing a variety of birds, we have introduced a feeder that hosts a round fruit/seed ring. -In Geography, the children have had introduction lessons on Land and Water Forms: lake/Island. Interest in World flags is at a high and in the vein of relativity, I have purchased individual flags representing the ethnicities of the children and then created "Heritage" extension sheets to associate its country of origin, its continent and coordinating flag. ie "My friend _____ is from the country of Italy. Italy is from the continent of _____. This is the flag of _________. The children filled in the blanks, stamped the continent in it's place and finally colored, cut, and pasted the flag on the sheet. This activity inspired us to created large flags to paint. All current Heritage pages and World flags are also on display. We are still hoping that our Children of Peace School flag will eventually be hung out side when a flag pole is purchased. - In Practical Life, Grace and Courtesy lessons have culminated in "Tea with Mom and Dad" and has been met with great success, proving to be a memorable time for our families. If you have not yet had tea with your child, you can still schedule it. Having had the experience, the children have also enjoyed having Herbal Tea as an occasional option for snack. Cooking on Fridays continues to be a highlight for everyone, especially the Kindergarteners who look forward to exercising their serving skills to the staff members as part of Grace and Courtesy. A new Practical Life exercise is Flower Arranging. We will keep some arrangements for our classroom, with the remaining arrangements to be passed out to individual classes in Building A on Mondays, and collected on Fridays. This will be a nice way to connect to the school community outside of class and to familiarize themselves with future teachers. Also in Practical Life, in past months, the children have had the opportunity to grind coffee beans for coffee, enjoy sliced lemon wedges for "Lemon Water", and create spicy scent sachets for Winter and Lavender/orange sachets for Spring. Also, in caring for our hermit crabs, the children are responsible for crushing food pellets with a mortar and pestle. Sewing activities geared towards exercising fine motor control, are available in various stages of difficulty. Starting with simple ribbon weaving on a metal frame, exercises continue on to a weaving frame with yarn, small hand crafted weaving boards, a small sewing hoop used with a plastic needle, sewing geometric shape outlines on burlap with a large blunt nosed needle, sewing buttons on material secured by hoop frames using embroidery needles and an introductory loom for pot holders. A large loom will soon be brought in so the whole class can work on it. -In Sensorial, the Geometric Solids have been introduced along with the geometric tray cabinet and cards. As you can see, each season has something of interest that builds upon prior skills learned. Every day brings something new to the children because every day they come in with new knowledge and confidence. Working together brings about a sense of solidarity and peace. Definitely something to be grateful for~ Wishing everyone a wonderful Spring Break. Enjoy! Mrs. Ronda and Mrs. Mennella Nov./Dec. 2018 ~The Passage of time... One can hardly believe that we are on the 80th day of school already! The winter season has begun and the class is thriving in the routine of school life. Mr. Fred a favorite school sub, remarked with amazement this past Monday "Mrs. Ronda, It's incredible how centered the children are in such a short time!" I agree. The children have meshed well. Friendships are strong, and spirits are happy. Together, Mrs. Mennella and I have strived for balance in all areas of the class. Consequently, everyone has been hard at work mastering the lessons already presented and moving on to new challenging materials in all curricular areas. All of the initial lessons have paved the way for the wonderful work now being displayed. -In Language, children working on Word building are in the process or already capable of working with all five vowel sets as well as with picture cards. Emerging readers are working on dictation, reading and writing word lists for "Word Families" or readers from the Bob Book Series. Advanced materials that Mrs. Robinson has now incorporated for individual lessons on Wednesdays include, objects beginning with consonant blends for word building, the introduction of long vowels and grammatical corrections for story writing using the moveable alphabet. Budding writers have blossomed and are now writing beautiful stories from the heart. Ideas are inspired by personality, nature, science units and the changing seasons. Fellow classmates look forward to hearing the stories and enjoy being able to comment or ask questions on story content and illustrations. -With the current Science unit on Winter Animals and Survival, we've been learning about Hibernation, Migration and Adaptation. Highlighting some of the featured animals discussed, I created nomenclature sets for the Brown bear, Cardinal, squirrel, deer and beaver. I have had requests for the Canadian goose and Red fox, which I may get done over the winter break. TBA ;) When we come back from break, we will continue with Animal tracks and winter plants for Botany. In the vein of being mindful of the challenges of winter for our animal friends, we have continued to try to entice our feathered friends with cheerio garlands and making sure the bird feeder has fresh bird seed. But sadly, we have not seen any birds visit our feeder. We continue to watch and hope the birds will come, but fear we may have placed the feeder too close to our windows... -In Geography, Mapping has exploded! New students have finished their World maps and are being inspired by various Continent maps being worked on by their peers. Something new is the addition of mini country flags for individual continents. Students are even bringing back completed maps to add the flags! With the black and white image of each "mini" flag, the children have to carefully study actual flags or flag cards in order to replicate them in color, before cutting and pasting them on their coinciding country. -In Math, we have been exploring the pattern of numbers using our School time line. In linear fashion, the children have delighted in seeing familiar patterns of ten (10,20,30,etc.), double digits such as 11,22,33, etc. and counting Fun Fridays which are noted with a smiley face. We have also decided to color code the numbers according to seasons. Something that sparked a lot of interest was noting the number of days that one of our students was away in India. Mrs. Mennella has been diligent in note keeping and presenting advanced lessons at each students level. In the past weeks, variations on lessons for the teen and ten board have been given, as well as advanced lessons for multiplication, and static addition and subtraction. New materials introduced include skip counting using the 100 board, the Short Chains, and the beaded Squares that depict the concept of Square Roots. Lessons given at level and in small groups assures growth in skill and confidence. -Moving on to something a little less intense, the Art area has come alive with the addition of glitter! It has been creatively used to enhance drawings, seasonal shapes for punching out and most recently for winter themed story writing. -But it is Practical life that is most popular, due to cooking and baking. Ethnic tools, various gadgets and culinary terminology have been used for recipes that include: pancakes, Coconut Rice Pudding, waffles, Mexican hot chocolate, quesadillas, Thumbprint cookies and Mexican wedding cookies. With the goal of incorporating language, reading and writing, we have also been graphing cooking experiences, creating recipe booklets and recently introduced Rebus recipes. Grace and Courtesy lessons have continued with the children taking turns in greeting and serving staff with baked goods on Fun Friday. Needless to say, Everyone now looks forward to Fun Fridays. So much so, that we were invited by the third grade class to come and cook with them. So last Thursday the Kindergarteners modeled a prior cooking lesson they had earlier this year for "Friends French Toast". It was a hit! Also, as part of Practical Life, "Care of Self" activities have been implemented for the colder weather. So far, they include the usage of a natural hand sanitizer using essential oils to help with germs due to colds and coughs, and a set up of vaseline, Q-tips and a mirror for dry lips is now available as well as hand cream with extra moisturizers for hand washing. - The last area of the class that I'd like to highlight is the Peace Corner. This area is my personal favorite and is being used by the children regularly now. Here, they have grown to appreciate the beauty of "Silence" and "Alone Time". Situated near the back of the room, it is closed off by a sign alerting others that "Silence is in Progress". This area houses a variety of activities geared towards creating a "peaceful moment" for the child. Our Peace corner incorporates the components of nature, faith, and the respect of privacy. Materials include a sand and rock Zen garden, a sea shore Zen garden with sea shells, and glass sea animals, an oil bead timer, quiet toned music boxes with hand cranks, a hand carved thumb piano in the shape of a sea turtle, a basket with faith based figurines, books on Peace and GOD, a peace board with magnetic Peace messages, and a set up for punching out a peace dove door hanger. A new addition to Peace corner is the massage basket which contains various hand massagers, illustrated exercise cards, a mini timer and soft rugs for two friends to use. - And just for fun, based on the popularity of "Elf on the Shelf", our class has "Mouse in the House"! The character from the book series If You Give A Mouse A Cookie... "moves" about the classroom every few days in a game of "I Spy". Once spotted, the children are not to move him or tell their friends where he was spotted, giving everyone an opportunity to find him. As of this week, we voted on taking turns to move Mouse, every Fun Friday, so that everyone will get an opportunity to hide him. This will be done at dismissal :) As you can see, there are lots of wonderful things happening in class. Now that Parent Conferences are behind us, and Winter break approaching quickly, energy is high. With the special events scheduled for this last week of school, the children are pretty excited. They're ready for "Jingle Bingo" on PJ day and everyone is prepared for the Opening song "Peace" for Christmas in the Round. As we come to end of another blessed year, on behalf of Mrs. Mennella and I, we thank you for all your support, generosity and trust. Our days in the classroom are busy, but truly happy ones. Wishing all our families a safe and fun break. See you next year! ~Gratefully, Mrs. Ronda and Mrs. Mennella Aug./Sept./Oct. 2018 "Something's Old, Something's New"... This school year began with many changes. With the combining of the two Preprimary Montessori classes, and no three year olds, the class environment has taken on a whole new personality. Old acquaintances have blossomed into new friendships and new students are finding their niche. We have 10 returning students and 5 new students in the class. In addition, Mrs. Menella has joined me as an experienced Assistant Teacher. Her in depth understanding of the Montessori method has proven to be invaluable in the short weeks we have been together. She also brings knowledge, patience, dedication and love to our class, from which the children and I are benefiting immensely. To complete our team, Mrs. Robinson has rejoined our class on Wednesday mornings, working with the children on Language & Reading enhancement activities. Seeing that skill levels are so varied, at the present, we have children just learning letter sound association, some who are working on 3 letter word building, emerging story writers and readers in all levels. Schedules: The past weeks have been busy and full of transitions. Although returning students are familiar with school and class routines, they have been learning new additions to their day and have been wonderful in helping their peers learn them as well. Among the most important, are the ones that start the day. Line time is our community time, here we take attendance and greet each other in song. We also discuss the days agenda, and go through daily updates for the calendar, weather and school timeline. Today is 36th. day of school and although still learning what the "passage of time is", the children do understand that on the 100 day of school, we will have a party! They have also been adjusting to the transition of class time, to that of enrichment classes. Although the children enjoy the extra classes, it is very important that they learn the attributes of uninterrupted work periods, which they have on Mondays and Thursdays. On these mornings, we all take full advantage of the Montessori "3 hour work cycle". Here, the child is able to work at a leisurely pace, totally immersed in his work choice. Being able to complete one or more activities, uninterrupted, from start to finish, gives the child a great sense of accomplishment. On these days, I have noticed that the classroom is more peaceful and when we get a chance for note taking, the children take great pride in telling us what they have accomplished that morning. Working first, in designated areas on each week day has helped the children to focus and has aided them in learning the process of decision making. The days we work uninterrupted are my personal favorites, but if asked, I'd bet the children would say their favorite day was "Fun Friday". It is a day of free choice and a time for finishing up work from the week. The kids really like the idea of making their own work choices and they're enjoying the cooking experiences we've already had. Our introduction to cooking was making homemade koolaid playdoh, where basic language was introduced. Terms such as kitchen tools, ingredients and recipe, set the tone for cooking instructions such as "stirring, beating, adding and mixing". With this knowledge, the children were given the means to understand the relevance of everything combined, which made for a happy and meaningful experience. Our second cooking class consisted of simple rebus cards that explained how to prepare their own snack: "Ants on A Log". Last Friday we actually cooked, incorporating the usage of an electric skillet. Following a sequence of cards, together with a partner, the children made their own French Toast with me cooking it on the skillet. It was a huge success. Need I say, they are TOTALLY looking forward to baking? :) Fun Fridays are still the days when Ms. Winter comes for our American Sign Language class. Being mindful of the new students, she is going through and introducing the alphabet and many of the children already know how to sign their name. We are reviewing words and simple phrases from last year, and being sensitive to what's going on in the class, Ms. Winters incorporates new words relevant to the childrens environment and current studies. Examples of some simple command signs would be: "go, come, stop, eat, more, thank you and please". Given titles and descriptors, we have learned how to sign, "Mother, Father, brother, sister, and friend". In a nut shell... All in all, our days together have been full of meaningful experiences. We are learning different things in different ways, and learning from each other. Academically, the children are learning how to focus, make choices, and how to complete an activity from start to finish. They are learning how to articulate a lesson point and to recognize the control of error in an activity. They are learning the language of dimensions in Math and Sensorial, and the Nomenclature ( "Parts Of") of things in Language and Science. In Practical Life, they are working with materials that provide exercising gross and fine motor skills. They are learning independence in serving themselves snack and how to clean up after themselves. They are also learning to be aware of their environment and the care of it i.e.: Flower arranging, watering a plant, leaf polishing as well as sharing in the care of our two hermit crabs, Herman and Heidi. Academic highlights in classroom areas include the following group lessons for: (Note: these are in addition to individual lessons given to each student) Practical Life: Using the Hand Washing stand for snack, serving snack, rolling and unrolling a work rug, properly carrying a chair, and building with the Pink Tower and Brown Stairs. Science: Living and Non-living, Land/Air/Water, Vertebrate/Invertebrate, body awareness, our skeleton, the passage of time: the season wheel, monthly calendar, School timeline, daily weather chart, week days, and an interactive story introducing the months of the year. And our current Science Unit on seasons, leaves, trees and seeds. Geography: Land and water globe, continent globe, The world map. Language: Sandpaper letters, blending sounds, Nomenclature card sets, daily story time and literature activities. Math: Skills incorporated for our daily calendar: Numeral identification, counting, association of quantity, sequencing, greater than/ less than, graphing and prediction. Grace and Courtesy: Greeting each other, using words of encouragement, making and articulating apologies, and blessing each other at Line Time. This involves shaking their neighbors hand, making eye contact and saying " __________ I give you peace and love". We have also been learning the meaning of a "motto". Since school started we have learned the following mottos. We use them regularly and have them posted on our door. Our class motto is: "Kind words, gentle hands, peaceful thoughts". Other mottos include: "You can't be a smart cookie with a crumbly attitude" "Wrong is wrong even when everyone else is doing it. And Right is right even when no one is doing it". Hopefully, these highlights give you a glimpse into the days we spend learning together. Every day is filled with new things to discover, master and create. But more importantly than the academics are the things we won't find on the shelves, for they are the lessons of life. We are learning to care for one another, realizing that the world does not revolve around us, but includes others. We are learning what respect is and how to respect each others rights, privacy and work. We are learning to take care of each other, physically as well as emotionally. We are learning how to properly discuss something important, to consider an other point of view, and learning the difference between "helping" and "tattling". We are learning to respect differences and each others preferences and beliefs. And most importantly, because Children of Peace is a faith based school, we are learning how to pray and to appreciate the heart thoughts in all prayers. We recently had our first lesson in faith when we prayed for the safe recovery of Herman our hermit crab, when he got out of his tank over the weekend. Greatly concerned, the children stopped working to look for him. When their efforts came up empty, Sydney suggested " Mrs. Ronda we can make a flyer for our lost hermit crab" and put it up in school", which we were scheduled to make after the nappers woke. However, the Kindergarteners decided to continue the search and after earnestly looking "everywhere" were elated when we miraculously found him alive under a shelf, across the room after we prayed. It was a beautiful and sacred moment~ Life is good in our class. With much appreciation, Mrs. Ronda and Mrs. Menella P.S. Many thanks to all our families who have blessed our class with snack, cooking items, paper goods, flowers and a special thanks to the Alonto family for our new birds houses and seed. Pictures coming soon! ~School Year 2017-18~ April, May, June Last days... Dear parents, It's hard to believe that we are entering the final days of the school year. Seems like we were just celebrating the highly anticipated 100th. Day of School! But here we are "Counting Down to Summer"... I'm so glad that we joined the Early Childhood Program in participating with the countdown. The children have throughly enjoyed and anticipated each day. To be sure we are adopting it as an annual event! At this point, the children have a solid understanding of The Passage of Time. They have correctly estimated that we will end school on the 179th day in attendance ( I think we may be off by one number, but I would never tell THEM that! I take full responsibility of the possibility of miscounting somewhere). After reviewing the months and seasons that have passed and realizing that we spent them together, it has been eye opening for the children. Already they have made suggestions to improve our "School Time Line". So as of next year the following suggestions will be implemented We will be noting special days and their dates on the posted cards so that we can review special events :) And we will also be creating a Birthday board that will be posted all year so that everyone will be able to view how many birthdays are in each month. Science~ Looking back on April's science unit on the Solar System, I reminisce with Pride, the wonder and excitement of the children as they learned about this wonderful universe we are a part of. Their beautiful, finished projects reflected their knowledge and understanding of the Solar System. The songs they learned reflected their love of it. However, I think we would all agree that May's unit on Dinosaurs was by far the most favored unit of the year. Expanding the usage of language in a practical sense, scientific terminology was introduced. Terms such as "Classification" were used to explore and understand operations in life, from the Pre-historic era to our world today. Using my children's large collection of Pre-historic animals, we learned how they could be classified in various groups and highlighted a different one weekly. We started out with the classification of Dinosaurs, Pterosaurs, and Plesiosaurs. In the weeks to come, we classified them by size Large, Med. and small, how they traveled/habitat: " Land , Air and Water", how they moved: feet, wings, flippers, what they ate: Herbivore, Carnivore and Omnivore, how they ate: Hunted or foraged, where they fit in the food chain: Prey or Predator and how they lived socially: solitary, within a herd or within a pack. As you can imagine, with the rich usage of language, we were allowed to imagine how it might have been to have lived in prehistoric days and had many wonderful conversations that led to some pretty exciting stories. To wrap up things up, we incorporated our dinosaur unit with our on going unit on Vertebrate and Invertebrate which served to broaden the children's perspective on how vast the animal kingdom actually is. Moving to the categories within the Animal Kingdom of Vertebrate/Invertebrate we learned that habitats can host the same animals and with it came advanced language. Ex. Fresh water turtle/ saltwater turtle. Geography~ What can I say... the proof is in the pudding! Much to my delight, the children have completely embraced mapping and several grew to share my favorite day to be Thursday as that was Map day :) Everyone has completed 1-3 maps this year and they have proudly recorded their work in their passports. I don't need to say how beautiful their completed maps are, but proudly note that indeed they are. With each meticulous punch on each outline of each country for each continent shows the level of self control, growth and maturity that the children have gained after a few short months. At this rate, I have no doubt that by their third year they will have completed all seven continent maps, including the World Map and the Untied States map. In addition, those students in the Kindergarten program have completed the three maps for this years U.S.A. unit, all of which required advanced mapping skills. Lastly, as an extension to mapping, Flags of North America were used in conjunction with the N. A. map. Matching the flags to it's country, and making the extension booklet gave the children the opportunity to associate and to grow an awareness of individual countries. In addition, every time someone went on vacation, we were treated to pictures, postcards and mementos. Most recently, in addition to a map, Ms. Starr shared her trip to the Dominican Republic through weekly updates, face time and videos. In this way the children were transported through technology in an instant! Language~ The children are blooming and have grown at incredible rate in the Language area. I cannot not stress enough the importance of the time and efforts Mrs. Robinson has put forth in working with each child this year. They now all have a pretty solid understanding of the alphabet sounds, they're able to associate them with their names and can blend consonants and vowels. We have several fluent readers, emerging readers and those that are in various stages of blending sounds. Using the moveable alphabet letters, we have story writers, sentence writers and those capable of word building 3-letter words to spelling longer words phonically using objects. With the exception of one or two, everyone is labeling and or recording their own work. Copy work is also in use now for labeling Nomenclature books ( Parts of), Object word building and labeling countries for maps. I even have my own "little secretaries" who take the initiative in writing reminder notes for me these days! I am thrilled to think of what they will be working on when they return in August :) Sensorial and Math~ Understanding that the aim of each Sensorial activity is math based, explains how the Sensorial area naturally segues into the Math area. Hence the fact that both these areas are always situated side by side in the Montessori classroom. Younger students are instinctively drawn to the Sensorial materials and that indeed was the case this year. Our 3/4 yr.olds spent a great deal of time in the Sensorial area. Learning to think scientifically and critically allowed them to explore, problem solve, and create designs that incorporated dimension, symmetry and creative extensions based on their personal interests and knowledge. This critical time of gross motor building in the Sensorial area is a natural bridge into small motor work in the Math area. Starting with early works of associating numerals with quantity for 1-10, the children transitioned to works increasing in quantity and operation. Moving through the teen boards, ten boards, short bead chains, addition strip board, multiplication board, long squaring chains to name just a few, allowed the children to grasp the concepts of math games utilizing the knowledge they gained. Each game progressed in difficulty based on concepts learned. Early games included the Mystery Game, Dominos, the Cat and Mouse exchange game and Making Tens using bead bars and the introduction of dice. An advanced Math game several students started playing a few weeks ago is the game of "Infinity" that I created many years ago. It involves accumulating quantity using dice, and the Golden Bead materials (units, ten bars, hundred squares and thousand cubes). Using these materials, the children exchange quantities of ten for the next ten until a group of ten can be "exchanged" for the next sequential set. Ex: Once ten unit beads are accumulated using the die, they are exchanged for a ten bar. When ten, ten bars are accumulated, they are exchanged for a hundred square. When ten, hundred squares are accumulated they are exchanged for a thousand cube... In addition to exchanging and accumulating quantity the student is also required to record their amassed quantity on paper. Here Place Value is implemented to record quantities at the end of their fifth turn, (chips are used to keep track of turns). The control of error for Montessori math materials is that each place value is color coded; accordingly, the children color code their recordings so that everything is coordinated and easily identified by the student. The beauty of this game is that once recorded, the student can pick up where left off each time the game is played. And true to it's name "Infinity" it's a game of never ending numbers, and most children are thrilled when they realize what mass quantities look like. All returning students who started playing this year will be able to pick up and continue next year :) Practical Life~ With the warmer weather, we have switched from baking to using kitchen tools to prepare, serve and use in following simple recipes. Grace and Courtesy has been implemented all year and has moved from the classroom to sharing with staff members on our floor as well as the office staff. Recipients have voiced their appreciation and lavishly complimented the children on their skills and manners all year long. This positive reinforcement has helped children who were a bit shy to push themselves and grow with the speaking opportunities that sharing a prepared snack has provided. Already we have suggestions for snack options for next year which will allow the usage of new tools. We will be sure to continue our tradition of serving Tea. This was a popular highlight that every child enjoyed. If you were not able to come in for tea this year, know that it will be back next year. But we cannot discuss next year without finishing out this year. So without further adieu, I'd like to take this opportunity to voice my gratitude one last time this year... Although it has been said several times this year, one can never say "thank you" too many times. So I say,"Thank you" for all the support you blessed the classroom with. From supplies to kitchen appliances and bakeware, to the quality of snacks everyone benefited by, to time volunteered in class and for field trips. The extra fee, treats sent in, and those paid for in the Countdown to Summer was an added blessing that everyone enjoyed. The rich environment the children thrived in was that of collaboration. Thank you for enriching our class way beyond it's budget :) On a personal note, I thank everyone for all the tokens of appreciation I received this year. Though never expected, every gift was accepted with a heart of gratitude. The thoughtfulness of each gift, note and message always blessed my spirit and heart with deep appreciation. Every note and drawing I received from the children was recieved with the knowledge that that token of affection came from a sacred place. A child's heart. Your child's heart. As everyone knows, an honest heart never "does to receive". A serving heart is always blessed because it gives. Freely I gave, freely I was blessed. The circle is complete~ Parting Thoughts.. In closing, I can't help but reflect on the beginning of the year. To think on how fast time has passed. To think of what the children were capable of when they started and where they are now, is amazing. As their teacher, I revel in each of their accomplishments. They worked hard in learning many new things and setting goals. They learned to push past what they thought they were capable of and learned to relish in their achievements and success. In terms of collective growth, our Kindergarten base is pretty strong for next year. We already have several new four year olds enrolled and they will benefit by the maturity and knowledge of this years class of undergraduates. I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to have served in the capacity of teaching and mentoring the children in our class this year. Each child brought a unique quality to the classroom. Each child hosted and freely shared a spirit that created a unified environment full of growth, laughter, and love. The genuine spirit of trust, respect and affection that the children bestowed upon me has blessed me everyday I have spent with them. These priceless moments far outweighed the challenging ones... Although it may sound like a cliche, it is with truth that I say, it is I that learns far more from the children I am entrusted with. For it is the lessons of the heart, their hearts, that I am schooled in every year. Lessons in trust, patience, perseverance, different perspectives and unconditional love are those I receive and learn from. All of this stems from you, the parents of these dear little ones. So I also thank YOU for bringing such lovely souls into this world. I am honored to have spent such wonderful moments with your children this year and I look forward to next year. Wishing Everyone a wonderful, happy and safe summer~ Gratefully yours, Mrs. Ronda and Ms. Starr Feb/March News~ In the Classroom...3.28.18 Happy Spring Everyone! 100th. Day of School The highly anticipated celebration of the 100th. day of school was once again a huge hit in the class. With the help of Curious George, we started things off by making crowns. Throughout the morning, the students were able to visit several stations that featured various activities highlighting the quantity of "100". Activities included counting, stringing, connecting, sequencing and coloring. My favorite, was watching the students exercise self control in silencing themselves for 100 seconds! This year we implemented data recording where the students created a check list of activities they had participated in. And what's a celebration with out a special snack? Thanks to Sydney, we had Blueberry muffins. Colton brought in mini cupcakes and Isis brought in Cheddar Bunnies and brownies :) As expected the children decided to continue the time line. As of today, March 28. we are on the 138th. day of school. Feathered Friends~ Thanks to Rishaan for bringing in pine cones. Everyone who wanted to, was able to make a bird feeder for our feathered friends. Using sun butter and bird seed on the pine cones, the children hung them on the bushes outside our windows and enjoyed watching the birds come for a snack. This is an activity that will resume next winter and with the two full bags of pinecones from Coltons back yard, there will not be a shortage of feeders next year! Paz, Shalom, Peace~ It was absolutely wonderful to be able to Celebrate Dr. MLK Day for our February Prayer service. Discussing the mature subject of racism and equality was carefully broached with the concepts of courage respect, love and forgiveness. These attributes were a part of several conversations, where we also discussed what a "Peace Maker" was. Reading several stories on Martin Luther King, the children were deeply affected by life examples of inequality in the South and how it affected and influenced the life of Dr. King. Given a chance, the children expressed their feelings and truly appreciated the hope and power that Civil Right Marches gave people. To give them a better sense of this important time in our history, the children held signs much like those used in Marches, during the Prayer Service. They also sang two Civil Rights songs that they still sing spontaneously while working in the classroom. We have since continued the theme of "Peace" in our class with stories, poems, and quotes all of which are now being displayed in their art work. Last week we discussed and agreed to implement the "Golden Rule"in the class and in honor of the students killed in Florida, Children Of Peace students participated with over 300 schools in a "March for Peace". Our classroom joined the students in 6-8th grades on a march around the school. It was a momentous experience as people waved, car horns beeped and pictures were taken. I was honored to lead them as we all chanted in unison "March for Peace". Telling them that they were making history, and that someday they could say "I marched for Peace when I was a child" was amazing~ Language & Science News: After Spring Break, we will be starting a new unit study on Vertebrates and Invertebrates. It will incorporate writing, word building, classification and Nomenclature for the 5 classes of Vertebrates and 5 Invertebrate classes. Thanks to the time and effort of Mrs. Robinson, the children have flourished in Language. We have several readers, budding story writers, many children doing word building, and almost everyone is able to copy and write their own labels. Consequently, "Parts Of" books or Nomenclature has become very popular. With the new additions and classifications of various animals such as "freshwater and salt water turtles introduced, there will be plenty of choices. I encourage you to take the time to go through each book brought home, as much effort has been put into the making of it. To give you some insight, there are three parts to each set. The Labeled cards are put in order, then are placed horizontally at the top of the rug. Next, the the mute picture cards are matched and placed under the labeled cards and then the labels are added under the mute picture cards. The next step is to count the labeled cards and to count out a blank outline sheet for each "part of" the object. After this step, for each "part of" the child will color only the highlighted 'part" on each card. When all "parts of"the object are colored in the final sheet will highlight the whole object. The final step will be the writing of the label and upon completion, will finally be assembled and put into booklet form. Extra, Extra! At Juan's request, as a special part of this unit, we will also be learning about dinosaurs! It is a passion of mine and I am delighted to be able to fit this unit in this year. We will focus on classifying dinosaurs in several different ways: Land, Air and Water, Herbivores, carnivores and omnivores, Pods and Packs,families and biomes. Congratulations to... Colton who was nominated "Student of the Month" in January, Rishaan in February and Isis for the month of March. Also awarded was Aarvi in January for "Citizen of the Month, Niyla in February and Sydney this month. All children nominated truly earned their awards and were acknowledged during the assembly as well as in the class. Naturally, everyone now wants an award, so we have been discussed what each award means and what it means to be "happy" for someone else, even when personally disappointed. Thank You! -For Oliva providing snack for our Disney on Ice field trip :) -For the Teacher Appreciation gifts from Noah, Oliva and Isis :) -And on behalf of the children and myself :) THANK YOU for all the yummy chocolate and treats brought in and shared for Valentines last month and for Easter this month! January News~ In the classroom...1.24.18 -Prayer Service~ A Big thanks to everyone who was able to come out for our MLK prayer service. I have it on good authority that our parent turn out was the highest this year! Your presence is noted and very much appreciated by the children. They look forward to seeing their family seated as their special guests and it gives them a boost of confidence. Please know any hiccups in the program are totally on me as I still suffer from the jitters! The children on the other hand are excited and ready way before I am. Their willingness inspires me to think beyond the familiar format for Prayer Service. Consequently, we received several compliments and Mr. Fred who was subbing for the 7th graders that day, made it a point to come and congratulate the children on a job well done. He then told the class that he was so inspired by their performance in singing a civil rights song and the messages their signs held that he taught his students the meaning of several of them. This show of support is what shapes future experiences with success and lasting impressions. As their teacher I was mighty proud of them and the message they helped convey on such a memorable day. I think MLK would have been pleased… From generous hearts~ Thanks to the generous donation of Mrs. Mary our local volunteer, we now have a complete set of North American flags, flag stands and other miscellaneous items. I also would like to thank everyone who humbly asked family and friends for gift cards from “Caring for Classrooms”. At last count our classroom has received a little under $ 700! I am still receiving gift cards and have yet to spend them. I have hopefully sent out thank you emails to every supporter. Please know that I sent in a class photo to be posted on C o P face book with all the items that were purchased before winter break. Science~ In case you don’t know already, we have started a new science unit on the Solar System. Incorporating a variety of hands on materials, books and writing components, we will be covering the planets, moon, constellations and space travel. Our introductory unit included a story on the Solar System by Dr. Seuss, a model displaying planetary order and the concept of the planets rotating around the largest star, our Sun. We also learned a song about the order of the planets to the tune “I’m a Little Tea Pot”. The children’s enthusiasm lets me know this unit will not be rushed through! Language~ Thanks to the dedication and time Mrs. Robinson has generously given the children in reviewing letter sounds, the class is well on their way to letter sound/recognition and most of the children are moving on to work with advanced language materials. We have several readers who are proudly reading to their peers now. We have also been blessed by the generous time and expertise of Ms. Robin, who specializes in Language. She has helped me to revamp our Language area, which was in great need. We now have an impressive variety of language materials in varying levels and we just received a new set of Movable alphabet letters for word building and story writing. Kindergarteners in her Tuesday class, work with advanced materials and under her tutelage they have made exceptional progress in reading, writing and grammar. Sign Language~ Our class is flourishing in sign language class with Ms. Winters. Keeping things relevant, the children learned some special signs that they used in simple sentences for story telling. Examples for November include: flag, stars and stripes, and in December we learned: snow, Christmas tree, lights, glow, angel, star, ornament. I have also put together a binder with the sign language sheets Ms. Winters brings each week. Reviewing the sheets, the children enjoy giving each other “lessons”. Practical Life~ Fun Friday cooking and baking has been a highly anticipated time for the children. In the last few months, we have made Pumpkin Pudding, Mexican Wedding cakes, Thumbprint cookies, chocolate chip pancakes, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Each time we cook, we review the language of “Tools, Ingredients and instructions”. This inspired me to create activities for the Practical Life shelves incorporating baking utensils and labeling the activities. Exercises range from exploring “how many 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2 cups make a cup”, leveling flour using measuring spoons, using a spatula, grating soap to be used for whisking bubbles, salt grinding, and using a rolling pin to roll out Playdoh for cookie cutters. Next week coffee grinding will be introduced. After grinding coffee beans, the children will be able to bring home freshly ground coffee as a gift to their favorite coffee drinker :) Hospitality~ As part of our grace and courtesy lessons, the art of serving tea will soon be implemented. It is my hope that every student is able to invite a loved one for a cup of tea that they themselves will serve. They can invite parents and or grandparents ( one guest per day) for tea and then have the opportunity to work together for one activity. Visits can be scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday mornings between the hours of 8:30 to 10:30. Each child will bring home a formal invitation once parents have scheduled a date. If you are interested, please let me know of a date and I will send home an invite with your child. Ps. I welcome any friend who donated a gift card from“Caring for Classrooms” to come in as a guest for tea. Kindergarten News… To give parents of our younger students an idea of what the Kindergarten students are doing I am sharing a letter that went out recently. Dear Parents with the beginning of a new semester, we will be starting a new unit in Geography. We will be focusing on the seven regions of the United States. Activities will include creating a folder with sections for each region, and activity sheets for each state. These will include an activity fact sheet and a state flag sheet. We will also be working on several different maps. . One will be a map w/ the state birds and the other for state flags. Until spring break we will be focusing on Geography on both Tuesday and Thursday. At that time we will resume Art Appreciation and will feature the Naturalist and Artist John James Audubon and a Science unit on botany. This is a big unit but I’m sure the Kindergarteners will enjoy it and be pleased with the end results. Yours, Mrs. Ronda PS. After reading Sonia’s book “Stranger In The Woods”, a story about children feeding wildlife in the winter, we have decided to feed the birds in our community. Therefore we are in need of Pinecones, which will be hung on the bushes outside our window. I did go to Michaels Crafts but did not find them. I fear they may be out of season. Note: For the benefit of our feathered friends, only unscented, natural pinecones can be used as feeders. FYI: Don't forget next week starts Catholic Schools Week! November/December News~ In the classroom...12.11.2017 ~Hearts of Gratitude~ As the Autumn season comes to an end, there is much to reflect on. Being mindful of the plight of others, we are humbly reminded of our blessings. Here at Children of Peace, blessings come in moments that are gone in an instant and go unnoticed if we're not conscience of them. Reflecting at the end of my day reminds me that is is the simple things that fill the heart with peace and satisfaction. Things such as eco-friendly cleaning supplies that disinfect our environment, eases my mind in knowing that our class is clean, and more importantly that the air quality is safe for everyone. The weekly donations of distilled drinking water is priceless. Organic snacks that provide live nutrients for the children in my care is a simple but extravagant concept that I wish all children could partake in. A rich environment that is constantly evolving to the needs and interests of the children is a commitment that I am deeply grateful for. But, it is the children that provide the purest blessings of gratitude. Their trust, love of learning, laughter, positive energy and willingness to follow my lead are profoundly moving. Every day holds something to be grateful for and everyday I am... November Highlights: Our Thanksgiving Prayer service was an experience that was rewarding for the children and appreciated by everyone. Their efforts were applauded by many of our staff members who made it a point to congratulate them for a job well done. With the exception on mine, any jitters the children may have had initially, have all been dispersed for they are already asking when our next Prayer Service is! A big thanks to Moms who helped their child practice for the service. It is my goal to provide all children interested, a speaking part by the end of the year, as we have two more services. Our Thanksgiving Feast was a fun time for the C of P community and gave the children the opportunity to meet and eat with their peers in Building B. Thank you to our volunteers Mrs. Coronado, Mrs. Cuadros, and Mrs. Sharma who helped serve food. Lastly, I thank everyone who came out for Parent Conferences. I think it safe to say, they were informative, enjoyable and far too short! NOTE: For those who are interested in obtaining their child's pictures from Trimester 1 and School Memory video, please download the What's App so I can forward them, as I will be deleting them from my phone after Christmas to clear up storage space for Tri. 2 pictures. December News: With December comes the excitement of holidays, vacations and time with family. In the class, we've been discussing winter holidays of different cultures. With the sharing of family traditions, we have also discussed the fact that not everyone celebrates the same holidays and with that acknowledgment, we must respect the right of differences. This weighty conversation came on the heels of the discrepancy of wether Santa was real or not...Whew!! that was a conversation I had not planed on. Hopefully the children were satisfied at the conclusion of our group discussion and the validity of "My Mom's said..." was left in tact! "Fun Friday's" have been bumped up a notch with the inclusion of cooking and now baking. So far we have made Quesadillas, pumpkin pudding for which we wrote an experience story (the booklets sent home where a result of this activity) and chocolate chip pancakes. Last Friday we baked Thumbprint cookies and this week we will make Mexican Wedding cakes. Cooking and baking are both a part of Practical life that incorporate skills in math, such as measuring and differentiating between tools and ingredients used in a recipe. Grace and courtesy also play a part in introducing the art of etiquette. This is practiced when the children are given the opportunity to share what they've made and to serve it to others. After the children serve themselves and eat, they are now taking baked goods to staff members in our building and wishing them "Happy Friday". Upon returning from Winter break, Practical life exercises will include pouring and spooning using measuring cups and spoons as well as baking utensils such as a sifter, rolling pin and spatula. In the vein of incorporating Language, we will also start making simple recipe booklets. Please know, these cooking experiences would not be possible without your generous donations to the class. So on behalf of the children, Ms.Starr and myself, we thank you for making "Fun Fridays" delicious :) On this note I would like to thank parents for providing items that truly enhance school life for the children and I. Thank You to: -Oliva and Sonia for sending treasures such as shells, pine cones, coloring sheets and post cards collected on family outings and vacations. -Noah for sharing nature pictures on his weekend excursions. -Arasi for the bottle of Serenity Oil for our Peace Corner. -Colton for the Essential oil Peace blend used in our diffuser. -Nathan for the butter cookies sent in :) -Sydney for the hand mixer needed for baking. - To EVERYONE for supporting our class with the art and paper supplies and all the healthy snack items. Please forgive me if I have unintentionally forgotten anyone. Know that everything sent in is appreciated! And lastly, Thank You for everyone able to participate in the Library book exchange. The children are enjoying the first installment of Winter themed books. Enjoy the winter break and Happy New Year! With Gratitude, Mrs. Ronda September/October News~ In the classroom...10.23.2017 A new season..Welcome! Fall has arrived and just as it transitions from one phase to another, so it is within the classroom. At the moment, this years stats are: 14 students. 5 returning and 9 new, 6 boys and 8 girls. Our newest student is Rishaan who joined us last Thursday. We also have a new Assistant, Ms. Starr, who started this past Monday. No stranger to CoP, she interned in the 4th grade last year. Starr comes to our class highly qualified and I am pleased to have the opportunity of working with her. I am also happy to announce that we have two weekly volunteers in the class. Ms. Mary a local Parishioner visits on Monday mornings and Mrs. Robinson comes on Wednesday mornings. She spends time with each child to help with the introduction of Sandpaper letters and in reviewing consonant sounds and short vowels. This is a vital part of the classroom, because as soon as the children learn 3 consonants and a vowel, they can begin spelling three letters words and reading. Schedules: The past weeks have been busy, exciting and full of changes. Everyone has been learning class routines, and among the most important, are the ones that start the day. Line time is our community time, here we take attendance and greet each other in song. We also discuss the days agenda, and go through daily updates for the calendar, weather and school timeline. Today is 45th. day of school and although still learning what the "passage of time is", the children do understand that on the 100 day of school, we will have a party! They have also been adjusting to the transition of class time to that of enrichment classes. Although the children enjoy the extra classes, they have learned quickly, to relish the pleasure of uninterrupted work periods on Wednesdays and Thursdays. On these mornings, the students take full advantage of the Montessori "3 hour work cycle". Here, the child is able to work at a leisurely pace, totally immersed in his work choice. Being able to complete one or more activities, uninterrupted, from start to finish, gives the child a great sense of accomplishment. On these days, I have noticed that the classroom is more peaceful and when it comes time for note taking, the children take great pride in telling me what they have accomplished that morning. Working first, in designated areas on each week day has helped the children to focus and has aided them in learning the process of decision making. These two days are my personal favorite, but if asked, I'd bet the children would say their favorite day was "Fun Friday". It is a day of free choice and a time for finishing up work from the week. The kids really like the idea of making their own work choices and are anticipating up coming cooking and baking days :) Fridays are also when Ms. Winter comes in to give us our American Sign Language class. So far, she has introduced the alphabet and many of the children already know how to sign their name. We are all learning simple command signs such as "go, come, stop, eat, more, thank you and ride". Given titles and descriptors, we have learned how to sign, "Mother, Father, brother, sister, and friend". Ms Winters is careful to stay tuned in to what's going on in the class and always incorporates relevant words ie: "birthday", we learned the sign for "butterfly" when Noah brought in Monarch chrysalis and the words "frog and toad" in reference to our field trip to the theater last week. Which by the way was WONDERFUL! We are currently on our second book in the series of "Frog and Toad" and have started listening to the music cd at lunchtime. Reflections... All in all, our days together have been full of meaningful experiences and we are learning in different ways from each other. Academically, the children are learning how to focus, make choices, how to articulate a lesson point and the control of error in an activity. They are learning the language of dimensions in Math and Sensorial, and the Nomenclature ( "Parts Of") of things in Language and Science. In Practical Life, they are learning independence in serving themselves snack. They are also learning to be aware of their environment and the care of it i.e.: Flower arranging, watering a plant and leaf polishing. We will soon get a class pet to cultivate the care of an animal. But more importantly, we are learning to care for one another, realizing that the world does not revolve around us, but includes others. We are learning what respect is and how to respect each others rights, privacy and work. We are learning to take care of each other, physically as well as emotionally. We are learning how to properly discuss something important, to consider an other point of view, and learning the difference between "stating" and "accusing". We are learning to respect differences and each others preferences and beliefs. We are learning to pray and to appreciate the heart thoughts in all prayers. We are learning what "Peace is" and what a Peacemaker is. And we have adopted the motto "Peace begins with a smile". On this note, I respectfully share the thoughts of a recent discussion we had on "What it means to be nice" Sonia: " When you are kind to someone", Niyla "When you give someone a hug and a kiss", Sydney "You don't want to ever be mean", Oliva: "You need to say Sorry", Nathan: "You get hurt if you fight", Noah: "If someone hits, you don't want to be their friend", Colton: " Nice means "being careful". Happy Birthday to Niyla, Arasi, and Nathan, all whom turned 5 years old! Thank you to everyone for generously bringing in such healthy and delicious snacks as well as the flowers and paper goods. Ps. We are still in need of a ceramic or stainless steel med. sized mixing bowl and a hand mixer for baking. These items do not have to be new. Gently used or borrowed will work just fine :) With Peace, Ms Ronda ~School Year 2016-17~ May News~ In the Classroom...5/31/17 So long, farewell, it's time to say adieu.. We are unbelievably in the last days of school. With our school countdown almost complete, I can hardly believe how quickly this year went by. I say this with a melancholy spirit... As we wind down mentally and physically, the children work at a leisurely pace these days. There is much talk of "moving on". Moving up in grade, as well as going to new schools. As their teacher, it has been my honor to spend every day that we have had together, and I am proud of every milestone and achievement. But before I share my heartfelt thanks, some last thoughts to wrap up this school year... Science Tadpole update: The 7 tadpoles that made the transition from pond to tank were all able to make it to the fourth stage of the 5 metamorphic stages of a tadpole. The children were privileged to view them first as tiny tadpoles and then to watch the development of their hind legs, then the development of their front legs and finally to froglets sporting a mere bit of a tail. When they suddenly died over the course of a day and a half, the children were heartbroken. Once again we visited the concept of death and discussed the laws of nature versus an artificial environment. Although dying is a part of life, their tender hearts still mourned the spirit of life that they had learned to appreciate in the tadpoles. Watching the amazing transformation of the tadpoles was a rare opportunity that we were blessed with and I can safely say, on behalf of all the children, we are thankful for every moment~ On a happier frog note, due to the popularity of the Frog and Toad series as well as the audio from the musical that the class has enjoyed so much, I have the pleasure of passing along the following announcement from Nelesn's Mom. The CCT (Chicago Children's Theatre, The Station at 100 S. Racine Ave. will be putting on the musical play "A Year with Frog and Toad" Sep. 19-Nov. 5, 2017 ! Don't miss this smash hit. I can personally vouch for it as I took my children to see it on its debut performance. It was fabulous! Before we leave the subject of science related items, please note that we did not finish out the year with a unit on birds. The children were so fascinated from the praying mantis that Noah brought in, that I decided to switch our last unit to insects. Besides learning the nomenclature of an insect, we have insect activities throughout the class in several areas. Interest is high as we started the unit off by introducing the parts of an insect with a felt presentation, building it piece by piece and then recreated it by making insect kites. Once again adhering to the Montessori philosophy of "following the child's interest" the learning taking place is relevant to the "now moment". Oh I almost forgot, we have a new red beta fish which we named in honor of our friend Lori. Since he lives in China and China's flag is red, honoring our pet fish with Lori's name was unanimous :) Fun Friday's... Friday's were definitely anticipated! Highlights from this semester include: - Free Choice which most of the children used to finish projects that they were working on such as Maps. - 7 recipes from the Small Bites "Look and Cook" curriculum. -Nature Bingo -And several object lessons from a book entitled: What is God Like? The lessons described an attribute of God such as "God is like a rock: He is strong and mighty. Kindergarten news... Science: As a follow up of the field trip to the Shed Aquarium, each of the Kindergarteners were asked to chose an animal to report on. Each of the reports were presented on poster board with specific information and each of the students gave an oral report and participated in a Q&A session afterwards. Every report was beautifully presented and proudly displayed. Prayer Service: Having hosted three prayer services this year, the children really grew an appreciation for them. For our final service, our Kindergarteners led the entire program, taking turns, reading the scripture passages, prayers and leading the songs in voice and sign language. They were personally thanked by the deaf devision for an excellent job in signing. P.M. Classes: The kindergarteners finished out the semester with a unit on the State of Illinois in Geography and a study on the life and work of Georgia O'Keeffe for Art Appreciation. We ended the study by creating a Time Line of her life. Also, both Montessori 1 and 2 classes will be taking a special field trip to the Chicago Art Institute to view works by the Artists we studied this year: Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Georgia O'keeffe. Besides enjoying a picnic in the museum garden, we are all looking forward to viewing masterpieces up close and plan on taking a class photo under the huge mural "Clouds Above Sky" by Georgia O'Keeffe. Finally a Big THANKS! To all our families, I am so very thankful for all of the participation and help our class was blessed by this year. From the generous gifts loaned and donated for cooking and snack preparation, to the delicious snacks sent in every week, the much needed class supplies, The Library Book club and all of the volunteers that escorted us on field trips. Our class would not have had such a wonderful and enriched year without the support of every family. Every treasure sent in from nature, living and non-living :) to treasures sent in from trips and vacations, as well as those from the heart, I thank you from the bottom of my mine. You have made my first year here, welcoming and memorable. It has been a joy to work with every child I was blessed to care for this school year. Please know that although I will miss everyone going off to new schools, I wish only the best. Please come back and visit :) Wishing everyone a happy and safe summer and I'll see you in the fall! Sincerely yours, Mrs. Ronda April News~ In the Classroom...4/30/17 "April Showers bring May Flowers" Spring is definitely here! With all the rain, we have been to see first hand the budding and greenery come to life on the trees and bushes outside our windows, as well as a nest that a Cardinal pair have taken residence in! With the warmer weather, the children are happy to be outdoors again and I am blessed to see the world through their innocent eyes and and pure sweet hearts. As their Teacher, I am reminded how often we take for granted the little things in life or forget to appreciate the natural beauty of our world. The children delight in every dandelion picked and love to put them in vases for the classroom. They marvel at the busyness of what they are convinced are "Fire Ants". ( I have not had the heart to contradict the accurate information that Noah gave his peers about Fire ants. So the children observe from a safe distance as no one wants to get bitten because he has informed them that it would "hurt very, very badly"! ) Being able to learn, teach and share is a valuable lesson not always in the possession of us adults. Children are the greatest teachers for their perspective is honest, untainted and full of wonder and joy. In last months update, I mentioned that the next upcoming Science unit would be on the Ocean to coincide with our recent trip to the Shed Aquarium. However, thanks to Noah, we have tadpoles! So our current unit is on the Life cycle of frogs. The rate at which the tadpoles are growing and changing has kept the interest and excitement of the children, who are learning important observation skills. Being able to articulate the changes and having the scientific language to describe and discuss, makes for fascinating conversations among the children. The science area now hosts a variety of activites geared towards frogs including, Parts of a Frog, life size models of the frog in all stages of its life cycle, a nomenclature puzzle, several different activity sheets, and sequencing flash cards. As the Montessori way, I have tried to carry a unit theme over in other areas of the classroom. In Language we have started a series of chapter books entitled Frog and Toad by Arnol Lobel with a coordinated puzzle of 100 pcs and as an added bonus, we have been listening to an audio on selected stories from Frog and Toad inspired by the musical play produced by the Children's Theatre in 2009 here in Chicago. The children have been having a lot of fun singing some of the songs that are so much more meaningful, now that they have heard the coordinating story :) In Practical life, we have a mini frog scrubbing activity that further refines the pincer muscles as well as control. While we're here in this area, I'd like to mention that as part of food preparation, I have introduced a mini juicer for lemon water and a vegetable slicer for cucumbers and carrots. Both have been used to introduce a Grace and Courtesy lesson on "Serving and being Served". After the vegetable is sliced and arranged on a plate, its placed on a tray with a cup of ranch dressing and a cup of toothpicks which are used for serving. The "Server" than goes around with the tray and asks a friend " Would you like to try some?" The recipient than is says either "yes please" or "no thank you". This lesson is a culmination of independence gained through preparing their own snack in the last months. Having guests for Tea in the classroom is also part of Grace and Courtesy and has been a huge success. Thank you to everyone who has been able to come in for Tea so far. It has been a highlight of anticipation for the children to fill out an invitation for a guest, just as much as the actual event. I encourage anyone who has not come for Tea, to schedule a time before school ends. FYI: the children are keeping count among themselves who has come in so far! Kindergarten News... Now that we have finished up our unit on North America, we will be starting our final geography unit which will be on the state of Illinois. Besides the geographical components of Illinois, this study will incorporate fun state facts, famous people, cooking and historical music. At the end of the unit, the Kindergarteners will have a binder with all of their work as a keepsake. Art Appreciation: Our current featured artist is Georgia O'keeffe which is a personal favorite of mine. Together both the Kindergarten classes of Montessori I and II have been reading about her life and work, doing various language and art activities and will end our unit by creating a beautiful time line on her life that I created for them. Before going onto our final art appreciation unit, we will be making Georgia's own recipe for vanilla ice cream and visit the Art Institute to view her work as well as works of prior artist we have explored this year. To say the Kindergarteners are excited is an understatement! They are really looking forward to viewing art they have learned so much about. Fun Friday's! At the request of the Kindergarten class, we have been playing a variety of games on Fridays. Our newest game being dominos, and I have to say, we have had a healthy dose of competition going on, as in: them against me! I have also incorporated the Little Bites curriculum based on healthy eating. Using the activity sheets and food cards provided, I created a game using the featured food cards which go in 3 different categories: Go foods, Slow foods, & Whoa foods. After playing this game and sorting them under coordinating traffic light cards, we turned the cards over to see if they were categorized correctly. The kids were pleasantly surprized when the results were revealed. To their great dismay, they discovered that something that is as totally yummy like Pizza is a Whoa food! Afterwards, as part of the lesson, we discussed the components of a recipe: ingredients, tools and how to follow a recipe. They then colored, cut and assembled a recipe booklet and then used it to create the featured recipe which they loved. Peace Makers~ As an on going concept throughout the year, we have continued to discuss what Peace is, how it can be obtained and who can be one. We have discussed the concept of a Peacemaker in a variety of storybooks as well as in biblical stories we have been reading on Fridays. One children's story that was particularly meaningful and powerful, is a story titled "The Golden Rule" which shares the renditions of this proverb from the perspective of many different cultures and religions. The children were amazed when I told them they were "Keepers of Peace" and had been practicing the "Golden Rule" already. Explaining that simple, deliberate and random acts of kindness, heartfelt compassion and positive words are all a part of what makes a Peace Maker, not only filled them with pride but empowered them in the realization that they can be a part of a much bigger picture in life. To reinforce their efforts, "Peace Maker" awards will be given out when the occasion calls. I have asked the children to consider not only modeling the attributes of a "Peace Maker" which we discussed as a group but to be on the look out for other "Peace Makers" as well. It is my pleasure to announce that we have had one recipient awarded already. It was awarded with pomp and ceremony and received with glowing pride :) Until next month, may all our hearts be filled with Shalom~ With Gratitude, Ms. Ronda FYI: Our final Science unit for the class will be on birds and for the Kindergarteners, a art unit on John James Audubon. March News~ In the classroom...3/28/17 In preparation of the Cultural Fair, each classroom picked a country to learn about and ours was Brazil. We explored the Rain forest biome and the Amazon river. Related activities were incorporated in almost every curricular area of the classroom. A few highlights include: frog and iguana scrubbing in Practical Life, Poison Arrow Dart frog sorting in Sensorial, and Parts of the Anteater, Caiman, Three Toed sloth, and Vampire bat in Language. There was also a variety of coloring sheets highlighting various rain forest animals available in the Art area and in Science there were several activities on rain forest frogs, with the focus on "poisonous and non-poisonous". Thanks to the wonderful selection of Library books sent in, we read about life in the rainforest, including the ecosystem, animal life and the indigenous, Cuna people. There were two main components to the Cultural Fair. Each class prepared something to share for visiting classes as well as a special presentation for the school assembly. On the day of the fair, every student was given a passport that was stamped in each class visited. There, the students were able to view projects, display boards and in the younger classes, participate in activities. Our class showcased a display board on the layers of the rainforest, cards on the life of the Cuna people, life size animals from the rainforest and a beautiful framed Blue Morpho butterfly that Anna brought in to share. After lunch, the whole school gathered for the Cultural Fair assembly. Every class presented something reflecting the country they showcased. We were treated to ethnic songs, dances, plays and poems. Each and every performance was spectacular! Our class presented a poem about the Anaconda snake and as a special touch, the children spent days stuffing a 17' anaconda that I had made! We learned that females grow longer than males. Ours was a female and we named her Ann :) For our presentation, the children donned camo scarves and safari hats, then recited the poem "The Anaconda". Six facts were shared by six of our students. After the fifth fact, "Ann was unveiled and pulled from a bag. The whole audience erupted with gasps, and our poor Principle quickly exited due to a phobia of snakes! As our whole class held Ann, she was then coiled around Anna who read the last fact. It was a lovely presentation and the children were delighted with their efforts :) After wards, all guests were invited back to classrooms to view displays. There we took a class picture with "Ann" and thanks to Isis and family, the children enjoyed a special snack featuring Brazilian tree nuts and dark chocolate covered berries representing the Cocoa bean. The Cultural Fair was a wonderful way to end school before a much needed Spring Break! These days, "Ann" shares the book nook coiled and ready to give a hug to anyone brave enough to ask for one! Elsewhere in the class... Science: In spite of the fact that we barely had any snow this winter, we still made pinecone feeders for the birds and hung them outside our windows in January. The children have since been rewarded for their kindness. To their delight, they have observed a pair of Cardinals visiting the feeders. Since they were hung at eye level, the children have been able to view the birds up close. This has also been an opportunity to exercise self control as they have had to stop and be perfectly still so as not to scare the birds away. Lately, we have also noticed sparrows visiting the feeders too. The children mistakenly thought they were babies, so this prompted me to put out coloring sheets of city birds the children may see while they are out and about. Using realistic colors, the children have created some beautiful illustrations of Cardinals, sparrows, pigeons and house finches. Sensorial: At long last our smallest pink cube has arrived and the children have been creating imaginative extension designs with the Pink Tower and Brown Stairs. Due to each day featuring a specific area, more materials are being explored. One of which are the Constructive Triangle boxes. Each of the five boxes features the exploration of different angles. The youngest boys in class have been working with the boxes almost daily and consequently have mastered several boxes. Feeling very confident, they are now offering to give "lessons" to the girls! Practical Life: Activities in Practical Life are changed regularly and difficulty in skills learned are increasing. Pouring, spooning and grasping activities all geared towards refining the pincher grip are requiring a greater degree of self control in movement and sequencing. Something new that has been added in Practical Life, is sewing. We currently have two activities out, the first activity is geared towards learning a simple running stitch using a small wooden hoop with pre punched holes and a large plastic needle, the addition of "sewing" in beads has now been added. The second sewing activity introduced, includes a real blunt edged needle, latch hook squares and yarn, giving use to weaving skills learned. Additional activities introducing new skills will be added as the children advance in skill level. Geography: Mapping has taken off in all directions and almost everyone is working on a map. The World Map is the first map introduced and thus suggested as the first to make. North America is second and the USA map is third before the other continent maps are introduced. To date several World maps have been completed, two North America maps and two US maps are in progress and one of our students has started Asia and Australia as well! Language: Letter sound/recognition is paying off as we have several budding readers, and several children using objects for word building, poem writing and story writing. Recently, two of our kindergarteners used magnetic letters to write out the first stanza and chorus of "Let it Go" from the animated movie Frozen. Math: Besides using traditional Montessori math materials, the children are now enjoying math manipulatives and games. Highlights include building, measuring and creating designs using the cuisenaire rods, building quantity using speciality dice and bead bars, the bankers game, 45 layout and a very challenging game Isis brought back from Hong Kong. As of yet no one has been able to reconfigure the puzzle, including several teachers! And last of all, due to the popularity of counting the first one hundred days of school, we have continued with our timeline of school days. As of today we are on the 131st. day of school and now, the children love counting the days by tens! Ps. Don't forget to schedule coming in for tea! FYI: Upcoming units of study: Birds and the Ocean. Happy Spring~ Ms. Ronda February News In the classroom...2/14/17 The past few weeks have been a whirl wind of activities! Things started with our second Prayer Service dedicated to M.L.King's birthday. During the week prior to the service we practiced familiar songs on hope, learned a theme song on Dr. King and read various stories on his life. For our younger students we focused on Dr. Kings childhood and personal events that shaped his character. For our Kindergarteners, we read stories which discussed the issue of racism, inequality, non-violence and courage. Language activities on the importance of Dr. King's life were displayed on our hall wall along with those of the upper grade classes. MLK Day will segue into the start of our Peace curriculum, which will continue throughout the rest of the year. Catholic Schools Week at Children of Peace was a wonderful time of strengthening connections between our families and school, between the students and faculty, and that of the upper and lower grades. The activities of the week were fun and inspiring. Our class came in third place for the largest penny donation for the American Heart Association, the field trip for Disney on Ice was a hit, and as a spin off of "Who's Your Teacher?", we had our own version of "Who's Who?" where the children guessed who's baby picture belonged to who. They are still enjoying the pictures and love being able to name them. Coincidentally, two other big events occurred during the week. The first one being, Chinese New Years, which started on that Friday. We enjoyed a special presentation given by Bethany's Mom, during which she explained the lunar calendar and meaning of some of the cultural traditions and festivities during the first days of the New Year. In addition, the children were given New Years gifts and a special treat for snack. Secondly, we celebrated the highly anticipated "100th. day of school"! The day included several activities that incorporated the quantity of 100. The children enjoyed the concept of this timeline so much that they have requested that we continue to mark each day till the last day of school! They are making guesses as to where the last card will end up. Pictures highlighting the day can now be viewed on the school website! As promised, as part of our grace and courtesy lessons, the children have been given a lesson on serving tea and have been told that they can invite each of their parents or grandparents on separate days for tea and the opportunity to work together for one activity. Each child will bring home a formal invitation once parents have notified me for a tentative date. Choices are Tuesday and Friday mornings. Please know, Tuesdays are best as we are in class the whole morning. If Friday works better, Tea can be scheduled before or after sign language class which is held in the classroom. So far we have had two Moms for tea and it has been a huge success. Please let me know of a date and I will send home an invite with your child. Up Coming news... Coming up later this month, we'll be going on our next field trip to the Peggy Notebart Nature Museum. Feel free to visit their website to view highlights of the museum. Seeing that February is Black History Month, we will be reading grade appropriate story books highlighting famous African Americans, such as Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Ruby Bridges and Jackie Robinson. Lastly, in preparation of next month's Cultural Fair, we will be soon be learning about the Rain Forest as the country our class will feature is Brazil. Plans for our class presentation will be announced later! Thank YOU! A big thank you for the continued support of all class items donated as well as snack. In addition to these items, including coffee beans, ingredients for recent and upcoming cooking projects include, cookies, quesadillas, and pancakes. As a continuum of snack preparation and cooking, Practical life exercises geared towards developing skills needed for a particular recipe will now be incorporated. An example is a soap grating activity that will serve as an prerequisite to grating cheese for quesadillas and mini pizzas. Cooking cards with sequenced step by step instructions for a particular snack recipe will soon be introduced for the children to prepare their own snack. Fire Safety: Last month we had another fire drill and up until now, we have taken advantage of having a "heads up" notice. This allows us to notify the children of the fire alarm, to get their coats, and to switch from their slippers to their shoes. However, after discussing that drills are supposed to be spontaneous, it is understood that from now on, a notice will not be given and that the drill will be carried out as it is meant to be. With the safety net of being notified no longer available, lots of reassurance was given helping the children to understand the importance of safety first, over possessions( like back packs) or comfort ( like coats). This sparked an in depth conversation on "what if's". Questions such as "what if someone is in the bathroom?, or "what if we are in PE?" or "what if we are napping?" all of which were serious considerations as to how we would proceed if our escape route had to be altered. This led to other questions pertaining to home, such as where smoke detectors are located, and what the escape route is at home? This vital conversation lasted around 40 minutes, giving everyone a chance to ask questions and listen to concerns of their peers. Please consider discussing with your child fire safety and emergency procedures at home. FYI: We have received news that Lori Mo is doing well in China and has started school! His Mom says he misses everyone and has fond memories of which he still talks of. This holds true for our class as well. This was evident in pictures Lori's Mom sent us via email and also during our Chinese New Years Celebration. Therefore, having his address, I will be mailing him a package from our class. Please send in any drawn picture or note signed and dated by your child asap. It is my hope that in keeping connected the children and Lori will learn the value of true friendship. As some of our students made out Valentine cards for Lori today, I will be sending those as well. Lori's Mom has promised to mail us something back from Lori as well. January News In the classroom...1/10/2017 Happy 2017 everyone! Although Winter break is always a fun time, it's good to get back to the routine of school. To start things off, we'd like to welcome our newest student Claribel who joined us this week. As for the rest of us, one of three, of our students is back from over seas. The children happily welcomed Isis back and enjoyed showing her the time line that was kept for her. She now joins us in marking the days for her other two classmates who are due back later this month. The new year, brings a few new things in class, one of which is the Library book club. The children are very excited and everyone is asking when it's their turn to bring books in! We had our first instalment of books this Monday and by popular vote, we will be getting new library books every two weeks so that everyone should get a turn before school ends. To correspond with our religious curriculam, another new additon on Friday mornings, will be a short lesson incorporating a bible story, craft and simple prayer adapted from the beattitudes. This will tie in with the new Character curriculum that was implemented this year here at Children of Peace. Each lesson includes highlighting a specific character trait with a corrsponding animal featured on a poster and mini card. So far we have discussed character cards on attentivness, being responsible and compassion. I have also tried to read stories related to that specific trait. As a way of connecting home and school, a character pledge will be sent home so that families can review and discuss each character trait and how it can be applied in everyday life. Keeping things fresh, new activities are regularly introduced in all areas of the classroom. Now that we are in full swing of the winter season, we have begun our Science unit on migration, hibernation and how animals survive in the winter. This is in conjunction with our mini unit on Animal Tracks, which would be accentuated if only we had snow! But snow or not, it is cold and in the course of discussing the weather and temperature outside, we thought a good way to show "compassion" to our feathered friends, would be to make some natural bird feeders for the bushes outside of our class windows. Anna has brought in several pine cones which we will be using along with peanut butter and bird seed. We have been able to observe several kinds of birds that stay throughtout the winter including a pair of Cardinals. Hanging the feeders on the bare bushes will provide a wonderful opportunity to view the birds close-up. In other areas, new additions include: coffee grinding in Practical Life, which many of our parents have already enjoyed :) Following a sequence of simple directions which includes, measuring, grinding, packaging and clean up the children have enjoyed the process from start to finish and then bringing it home as a gift. As an extension, and introduction to Hospitality, the art of serving tea will soon be implemented. It is my hope that every student be able to invite a loved one for a cup of tea that they themselves will serve and then work together for one activity. In Art area, the primary colors have been intoduced in using the art easel. In the next weeks, we will be incorporating lessons on "warm and cool" colors that the children have been learning in Art class with Mrs. Hill on Mondays. On the oppposite side of the easal, we are using the chalk board in learning to write the word "Peace" in different languages with various paint brushes and water. Seeing that Chinese New Years is coming up, we started with the card featuring Chinese writing. In Language, we are now on the 5th. set of sounds and only have a few letters before the whole alphabet has been introduced. We now have seveal readers, spelling is blooming and story writing is just emerging! These are exciting times for the children and every stepping stone accomplished is worthy of celebration. Keeping things relevant to vacations :), the winter season and it's holidays, we have some new nomenclature card sets which some of the children really enjoy,( so much, that they are making personal requests, for me to create for them! ) At this point I have put out Parts of the Reindeer, snowman, Palm Tree with it's fruit the coconut and will soon add the Fir Tree and Snow drop ( a bulb that blooms in the winter). Requests include, Polar bear, Panda bear and sea shell. The Math, area has been rearraged a bit to dispplay the Short Bead Chains. This skip counting work includes Bead chains 1-10 and thier corresponding counters of 1 to 100. In Geography, as an extension of all the Punch out work that has been available in the art area, Map work is in full swing and several children are working on various maps, including the World Map, North America and Asia. Last but not least is History. Everyone was excited to start the new year out with changing the month, the year, our Chicken Soup with Rice poems and calendar. As of today we are on our 86th. day on our countdown of the the "first 100 days of school". Plans on our party will soon begin! P.S. In case any one is wondering where questions or comments are coming from pertaining to "hunting, killing to eat and animals eating each other", we had a discussion on the food chain in reference to surving. My apologies for not mentioning that before we went on break! December news... In the classroom...12/6/2016 Thanks to everyone, attendance for Parent Conferences was 100%! Everyday brings about new changes and new growth in the classroom, and everyone is already working hard. An area that has exploded is Language. With the exception of two students, who are now on set 5 ( lkw/short vowel u), everyone else is now on the 4th set of sounds (rsp and the short vowel e). Within the last four days, two readers have emerged! All the work in reviewing sounds and blending is paying off, and we celebrate these mile stones as huge personal accomplishments :) Bumping things up, we have now incorporated a new componant when reviewing letter sounds. Last Friday, after discussing the placement of "beginning sounds, middle sounds and ending sounds", we played a word game that consisted of thinking of words that begin with an initial sound, i.e. "a" for: acorn, alligator, ax, etc. Please be sure to continue reviewing your childs sound booklets when they go home as this will only speed things up in moving onto the next set of sounds. In History, the children were excited to change the calendar number cards to December, realizing that it was the last month of the year. We have also started learning two versions of our Chicken Soup with Rice poem and one on the Moon. At this point everyone knows we are counting down the days till we begin a new year. Another area in the Passage of Time is that of the School time line. As of today, we are on day 70, which, stated one of our Kindergartners, is 7 tens with only 3 more to go before we get to 100 ! We will soon begin plans for the 100th. day of School party :) Utilizing this timeline in a practical way that the chlildren have related to is marking the cards for fellow students currently abroad and out of class. At this time, we have a student in Hong, Kong, Korea and India. Along this line, we also said goodbye to our classmate Lori, who moved to Beijing, China the weekend of Thanksgiving. We celebrated by exchanging gifts and sharing a treat with him and his family. Lori was genuinely surprised and pleased with all the gifts he was given by the childen. His Mom, asked me to convey her heart felt thanks to everyone for sending Lori off on such a positive note. At this point, not everyone has grasped the concept that saying goodbye to Lori was a permenant one. This coupled with the death of our second fish "Shimmer" has brought about much conversation of loss, and death. The concept of "permenant" is not an easy one, and I know that it is one of life's lessons that takes a level of maturity to understand. I'm sure you as parents will be able to have this discussion with a greater level of insight than I've been able to, in spite of my best efforts. In Practical life, we have been enjoying hot snacks as promised. So far we have had oatmeal with diced bannanas ( by the kids), dates and oatmeal, mini bagels with cream cheese, multigrain waffles & real maple syrup ( the children wanted to know "which maple tree the syrup came from :) and once again due to the generosity of one of our families, last Friday, we enjoyed french toast using our new hot griddle! Within the next two weeks, we will be baking cookies and although, I doubt any will make it home, I'll make sure the recipies do! Now that the winter season is upon us, we will be starting a new Science unit on Hibernation, and animal tracks, as well as a unit on snowmen, just for fun. In biology, we are just starting to talk about the Animal Kingdom classifications, and Vertebrates/Invertebrates. As you can see the children are busy and as everyon knows, all work and no play is no fun. So after a heartfelt and insightful comment made by one of the Kindergartners, we have instituted "Fun Friday's". Here the children will have free choice first, before a challenging work and a baking project or special craft after Sign Language class. And last but not least, I'd like to thank everyone who was able to attend our first prayer service. To say it was a sucess would be an understatement!(says a modest teacher :) The children loved being on stage, leading the songs and performing the special we surprized everyone with. They Rocked, and can't wait till our next Prayer Service which is in January. Just wait till you see what we've planned for that one! P.S. Don't forget to send in those box tops. They are collected every week at the end of prayer service. AND a huge thank you to everyone who made purchases from Small Hands. Our class will be recieving a check to purchase items soon. When we get it, I'll be sure to let eveyone know what their participation bought for the class :) November news... In the Classroom...11/8 First off, the children and I would like to welcome two new additions to our class! Ms. Alice has joined us, and although it has only been a few days, the children are adjusting well. They are acquainting themselves with with her and delighted to see Ms. Bertha when she pops in to say "hi". Secondly, we have a new beta fish: Shimmer :) As the Autumn days fly by, the children have been enjoying bringing in Fall "treasures" from nature. We have had leaves of every shade, be presented on Line as well as rocks and twigs :) Being able to share their finds and pass them around to be viewed is something that more and more of the class is participating in. This is a good time to practice speaking to an audience, and making observations. This also makes for a longer Line, which in turn has its benefits. Waiting for turns to view and speak, provides opportunities for developing patience and controlling the body. Everyone is now able to make silence on the line, which is increasing in time everyday. Here, they are required to close their eyes, still their body and breathe deeply, until a signal is given. As of today, we are on the 53rd. day of school and yesterday, as a group, we counted the days by 10's and marked them. We have also started a time line for the absence of one of our classmates who is visiting family in Hong Kong. In Practical Life, the chlidren are now preparing their own toast, using a smiley face bread stamper! Providing bamboo tongs and closely monitoring the children when taking the toast out, has enabled everyone to have the satisfaction of preparing their own snack. Thanks to our class families, the variety of snack choices have been appealing and delicious. Just to name a few, the children have enjoyed, gold fish, crackers, sun butter, toast and butter with apricot, raspberry and apple butter, fresh fruit, carrots with Ranch dressing and ingredients for trail mix. I also introduced a spiral veggie grater which the children used with organic carrots for snack. Mostly everyone loved eating carrot spaghetti and the consensus was to use it in the future to make pasta sauce in our crockpot. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, we will be using our newly donated Mixer, baking sheets and measuring utensils for baking and preparing for a day of festivities soon to be scheduled. In Language, We have begun to learn the November Chicken Soup with Rice poem, and we have several new works on the shelf, including animal and picture tile matching, several activities that include writing and copy work, object letter/ association, object/ word building with short "a" and we are now ready to move onto the 3rd. group of consonants. In Math, depending on their age, the children are working on various levels of numerals and quantity, several variations for addition, and skip counting. In History we will be focusing on American Indians and their relationship with the Pilgrims. In Art, the children have been creating beautiful art work on the chalk board and are enjoying having it viewed by their classmates. We have added an Autumn stamp activity and recently made Kool aid play dough together. Enjoy the recipe! Kindergarten Enrichment- Ms. Robin and I have decided to take turns in month increments in sharing Fridays with the Kindergarten classes. Last month they were with me. We decided that Fridays were "Game Days". Focusing on Math related games, the children had the freedom to move from rug to rug and switch partners in playing any of the game choices. Besides building Community, learning to play cooperatively and learning game rules, math concepts included: creativity, problem solving, transititioning from one game activity to another and moving independently It was a huge success with the children giving good reviews on the activities. Last Friday, just to change things up a bit, they played Twister! This month they will be with Ms Robin. Prayer Service- On Tuesday the 22nd. our classroom will be hosting the school's Prayer Service. The theme will be Thanksgiving. The children will be leading songs that they have been learning, some with sign language. All family and friends are welcome to attend to see your child, as chairs will be set up for guests. Last of all, everyone should have received an email inviting them to sign up for Parent Conferences on Wednesday the 23rd. If you will be out of town, please let me know asap to reschedule your child's conference. If you have not received an email with details, let me know. " October news:
Pumpkin Farm Field Trip Our trip to the Pumpkin farm was great fun! For some of the students, this was their first time on a school bus. Highlights included an introductory movie, tractor ride, 3 tents of exotic animals from different continents, and a "pumpkin eating dinosaur, complete with smoke and sound effects. After lunch, we ended our day in the pumpkin patch, where the children were able to pick out a mini pumpkin, gourd and ornamental corn to take home. Despite the fact that everyone had a good time, the two questions of the day were "Teacher when are we going home and why don't we have to take a nap". Just goes to show "home is where the heart is"~ Ps. A big thanks to our chaperones: Mrs. Kang, Mrs. Mclaughlin and Mrs. Burandt, I couldn't have done it without you! In the Classroom... A warm Welcome! to our newest student William :) Group Lessons: Practical Life- How to handle and operate a chopper, tongs and plastic knife for snacks as well as weaving. Geography- World Map and continent names. Science- Living and Non-living. Math- Addition strip board and 100 board. Language- initial letter sound association and in Art, stamping and punching out shapes. In Practical Life: The children have been enjoying Pumpkin scrubbing, flower arranging and on Tuesday, the children helped chop organic apples to make homemade applesauce in our new crock pot! After explaining how it works, we prepared the chopped apples with cinnamon and distilled water and cooked it all night. In the morning we mashed the apples, added organic honey and enjoyed a group snack. Almost everyone loved it :) I'm thinking oatmeal next time! Science: With the changing of the season, we have started a new unit on trees and leaves. We will be taking walks to observe the changes in the trees, and to collect samples for leaf pressing. Some new activities will include, tree rubbing, leaf stamping, leaf punch-outs, leaf rubbing and leaf lacing. After our 1st. walk this week, we looked at color variations in Maple leaves and discussed where Maple syrup comes from :) Language: We are now on the second set of consonant sounds and have been reviewing them during line time. Thanks to Mrs. McLaughlin, who has been coming in to give "letter sound"lessons, the children are starting to associate the sounds with the written letter. Almost everyone can name, sound and sign the letters: m, f, t, c, b, n, and the short vowel a. This week the Kindergarteners began word building and were introduced to the concept of word families. Farewell Azul... I have the sad news that our beloved Beta fish "Azul" passed away last weekend. This led to a deep conversation on life, death and after death... After we said a prayer for him, we took the time to ponder on everyones thoughts and then buried him out in the yard during recess. After digging a grave, the children who chose to, put a rock on Azul's grave and said goodbye to him~ Thank You! Thanks to the generosity of several families, we have received all of the art supplies requested. The children are especially enjoying the clay and will soon be using the new paintbrushes with the easel I just purchased. We also have a new crock pot and toaster! With cooler weather approaching, the children will now be enjoying warm snacks such as oatmeal, and toast :) Ps. As of Thursday, October 20, we are on the 42nd day of the first 100 days of school! |