Busy Bees

The end of the school year is always a humming time in our classroom. The children have gained confidence and built relationships with one another, have engaged in lessons leading them to yearning for more, and the "itch" for summer! Below you will see a number of photos from the last month of your children buzzing about. Enjoy!

Kindergarten Enrichment Day - Art techniques. The children learned about the artist Jackson Pollack and his method to painting. It was raining that Friday so Miss Faini and I newspaper-ed the tiled area and hoped for the best. The children LOVED this activity and some of their feet even looked like canvases when all was said and done.

Working with a partner is more prevalent toward the end of the school year because the children know how to complete tasks independently and with confidence. I love when a younger child asks a younger child to read something to them!

More in-depth and extensions to original lessons are also taking place. We are so fortunate to have access to great technology at Marquette! Many of the Kindergarteners have completed (or are in the process of completing) a research project. While they can't wait to use the computer to type they are happy when they are done because it takes a bit longer than they expected! :)

I'm sure you have heard about the caterpillars and butterflies that went through their metamorphosis in our classroom. The children were in amazement every step of the way and enjoyed watching the butterflies fly away.

Finally, one song via YouTube...

If You're a Kid

I've seen some great dances to this song! 

Da Moose

I stumbled upon this funny fingerplay on YouTube. We watched the video as a class and now perform it on our own. If you want to sing it at home (or figure out what your child is trying to sing!) here it is...

Da Moose

It's been awhile

Though I haven't been posting, we have been ever busy in Room 102. The children are growing, expanding their understanding and knowledge, and preparing for the next step toward their educational journey. It is this time of year that a Montessori teacher can witness the fruit of the child's (and their own!) labor meanwhile, scurrying around digging up and presenting materials to those children who are pushing the cusp of the next Plane of Development.

Ce'Onni observing the salamander eating it's weekly worm. This eating process fascinates the children every week. They love to see the salamander swing it's head back and forth, tackling the worm's wiggles, sucking the worm down in one piece, and the salamander's bulging belly after it's had it's meal.

 Joey showing great pleasure after discovering "sap" on the Vowel Tree a few days after our visit to Bendix Woods where he learned all about maple trees, sap, and syrup.

The following pictures took place last week Friday. The Kindergarten children made "Foaming Monsters". Their faces show the excitement they had as we "watered" and "fed" the monster bellies.

Clips from around the room

I took a few shots to highlight some of our hard workers! Enjoy!

Salma has taken a lot of interest into the flower arranging work this school year. Every morning she looks to see if the flowers and their vase were put back into their basket. She creates a bouquet and sets the vase on an open counter or shelf.

Ce'Onni is literally wrapped up in her sweater! She was working hard at trying to figure out what went wrong behind her, not allowing her other arm to go through the sleeve. Eventually, we got it all figured out.

Dinkeneh and the beloved United States map. Currently, this is his first choice of work each morning. Many other children enjoy this map as well.

Jermyah was very proud of himself when he finished assembling each bolt with it's washers and nuts. He was really working his hands and concentration with this work!

Babydoll Washing

We have had baby doll washing out for a couple of weeks now and the children enjoy that task every day. It is one of my favorite works to eavesdrop in on because I will hear the child who is washing the baby, talk to it while they are washing it, telling the baby everything that they are doing, apologize to it when soap gets in it's eyes, etc. They will definitely be caring moms and dads one day!

Aneitra washing the baby.

Stella making sure she dries every wrinkle this baby doll has!

And finally, Salma swaddled the doll after her bath to warm her up before dressing her back up. So sweet!

A few Winter activities

I don't know about you, but I love to settle in on a cold night with a cup of hot chocolate! One year, as I was sipping on my cozy drink a thought popped in my head: "Hey!, I can make a work out of this!" and so it is.

The tray consists of an insulated mug with lid, inside is the warm water, a bowl with the hot cocoa mix, a spoon and an empty mug.

Piper very cautiously stirring her hot cocoa.

Stella enjoying her cup. Many of the children are unsure of drinking out of the mug when it's full, so they do what Stella is doing and drink from the spoon.

Another winter time activity we have out is Making Snowflakes. Jonas and Tofiq choose this work nearly everyday. I can only imagine how many snowflakes they have up around their house.

Looks of Concentration

The kids picked right back up where they left off before Winter Break! We've had a great couple of days getting back into the swing of it all and starting in on some new works that were put out.

I snapped a couple of pictures of determination and concentration.

A lot of teamwork, determination and concentration going on with this duo who were tracing the pattern blocks onto their paper to create a whole new shape.

Focusing on getting every drop of water into each compartment. This work barely stayed on the shelf all day!