Autumn breeze... changing leaves

Can you believe October is almost gone?! We've done tons of fun stuff in the past 2 weeks, so I'll get right to it:

As some of you parents may know, as an intern completing my Montessori certification this year (this is Miss Melissa), I am required to choose a topic to do a year long project on with the kids. I've gone back and forth on many different things that I'm passionate about and have lesson ideas on and have finally decided on: The Four Seasons. :) So excited to get going with the kids on this... I got right to it. I asked my dad up in Boston to mail me foliage, enough cool leaves for every child, and he did! Each child got the chance to choose their own leaf to press and in a few weeks we'll take them out to do an art project. Check it out:

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We celebrated Columbus Day, of course, learned a short poem, watched a short video, celebrated the discovery of our earth not being flat, and started to learn about a compass -- we've got a ways to go but the kids love working with our compass lesson and learning the directions:

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Not only did we celebrate Christopher Columbus, but how about Jack and Alex! Jack turned 4, and Alex turned 6.

Thank you, Jack for your book gift of The Polar Express. Can't wait to read that during our Christmas celebration! And thank you, Alex for The Giving Tree. A story that can be appreciated by children and adults alike. :)

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Halloween is very soon upon us! Did you all love our toilet paper roll monsters?!

and in the Halloween spirit, though most of you got to see during your observations this past week.. our Practical life area has transformed to all halloween activities -- the kids can't get enough :)

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Hard at work...

L to R, T to B: Aidan working with the colored beads, Maureen sequencing events, Sarah classifying magnetic and non magnetic objects, Brandon working with Miss Elizabeth on his number formation, Micaela & Sarah starting the endangered species puzzle, and Mikey practicing his violin.
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After all that hard work we do, we get a little hungry... this week we decided to make a delicious cream cheese fruit dip... mmm mmmmm

• 1 package of 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (recipe calls for 1/2 cup but 1/4 was enough)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

And whisk away!

YUM! We sliced apples to eat with, but I'm confident it could be eaten with any fruit. Delicious.

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After eating, we got back to our chess learning... now that everybody is well acquainted with the positions on the board, we've introduced the pawns:

I'm starting to get a little nervous playing against these kids... they are really picking it up!!

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This upcoming Tuesday the firefighters will be coming to visit, so of course we've got to be prepared. We've been focusing on fire safety... did your kids ask you to make an escape plan for your home??

L to R: Miss Francina sharing our fire safety poster that everybody gets to color for themselves, Josie demonstrating how to feel a door to make sure it's not hot before walking through it, Aidan and Alex coloring their posters.
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Fun in the sun now! Show and Tell this past week brought us some puppies. They were surprisingly well behaved in the classroom all day, loved getting all the attention from the kids, and were exhausted when the day was over:

 & some everyday good times on the playground:

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Well, this post was somewhat of a test to see what happens when I skip a week of posting.... I'd say there's a lot of information to share!!! Hope I didn't keep you for too long and you've enjoyed.

Until next time... :)

ps. don't forget to type your e-mail in the top right hand corner of this blog to get subscribed to be emailed every time there's a new post.

Pssst... October's here!

HEY, ALFREDO!

Doesn't he look like an Alfredo?!

Alfredo is a 5 year old, 18 pound tortoise who loves kids :)

L to R, T to B: Mr. Gavin asking Alyssa "what does he feel like?", Gabriel: "it feels rough," Mr. Gavin with the group, Miss Francina demonstrating how we touch Alfredo, John Paul leading the line to touch Alfredo, Josie knocking on the shell, Timmy: "it feels like a rock!", RJ: "it tickles!"


While we have one animal join us Monday, why not have 2 more join on Friday for Show and Tell??? Big thanks to Martha for sharing her guinea pigs, Chocolate Chip and Peanut! They hung out with us for the morning and were really great guests :)
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When it rains, it pours... and staying inside all day is just not an option... there's too much energy to expend! Take a look at how we release some of that energy when stuck under a roof, but still outside. "Vayan a la puerta!" (Go to the door!) - Get the body moving and brush up on those Spanish skills. (I chose to post this video over "The Hokey Pokey" ... we've all heard that one enough, I think) .. Enjoy!

When the weather plays nice, however - or even sometimes slightly too hot - how lucky are we to have the beautiful University campus to play on?

L to R: Friends cooling off in the fountain, a group of friends gathered on the bench, probably enjoying a breeze.

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Okay, okay, academics!! What about that stuff they come to school for? Plenty of that to go around.... have a look:

Top: Aidan using the movable alphabet to create sentences
Middle Left: Ellie reading in the library, Middle Right: Jack, Timmy & Michael doing botany & zoology puzzles
Bottom: Lucy proudly displaying her movable alphabet spelling words associating with objects.

L to R, T to B: Micaela practicing the violin, Mark doing the eyedropper exercise, Josie ecstatic at her finished product of her very own map of the world, Micaela happily displaying her very own map of North America, Sophia washing her dishes after doing the pickle exercise, and Natalie making her "10 ways to help the earth" poster.

Among all of the awesome work the kids are doing, above are just some of the highlights... every day there are new and exciting discoveries and milestones happening in the classroom.
 “The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences ‘work’.” - Maria MontessoriBeing a part of that "work" with your children is nothing short of a blessing! Below, Miss Elizabeth teaches the kids the very beginnings of chess. Watch out now! It might be time you all brush up on your skills before they come home fully equipped with the knowledge to beat you ;)

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And with these last reminders, we leave you for this week...

• This Wednesday, the 10th is the complimentary hearing and vision screening for the children. If you haven't brought your permission slip back yet, please do!!
• October 25th and 26th are Parent/Teacher conferences so please choose an observation time to come spend some time with us in the classroom prior to then, starting next week. The sign up sheets are taped up on the window next to the classroom door. If you have any questions, let us know!