Oh, the Possibilities of the Montessori Sensorial Materials!

On Friday, I challenged the oldest student in the class to build a structure with the Montessori sensorial materials. In this blog have spoken of the "brown stairs", "pink tower", and "red rods" before but not too much in combination with each other. This is because all our training thus far with the materials have been leading up to the following accomplishments. In the beginning of the year we focused on respecting the materials. In the last few months we have practiced transferring the materials from their home on the shelves and across the room to a work mat, one piece at a time; where we have reassembled them, and returned them to their home, one piece at a time. 

Note: If you are exhausted just reading this, imagine how much work it is for a young child!

The challenge was fun for the child, for me as the guide, and for spectators! The structure tumbled a couple of times but the child took deep breaths and told herself, "Never give up!", until she had successfully built the structure (from a picture). We made sure to celebrate the child's success and allowed time for the child show other students and teachers what she had done.

The challenge proved to be motivating, because after an eventful weekend, the child came today (Monday) ready to replicate more combinations of the sensorial materials (from pictures). Two friends joined and together they accurately assembled 5 different arrangements. This brought many  smiles, especially from me. It was just such a great display of teamwork!

After manipulating the materials for a good part of the morning, the children seemed to appreciate the materials more. I suggested we try to repair the chips in the paint that had been collecting over the years, and they were more than willing to paint the damaged edges! It was a good closing activity to the work they had done as a team. Of course I am pleased the pink cubes from the "pink tower" look better, but mostly, I am excited to see who's next to take on a challenge of building with the intelligently designed Montessori materials.

Life Cycle of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar / Isabella Tiger Moth

Just a couple days before Thanksgiving, a cute little Woolly Bear Caterpillar came crawling in the hallway of our school. We had found two other caterpillars earlier in the year that were not so friendly (Saddleback Caterpillar and American Dagger Moth), so we made sure to research the characteristics and needs of this furry creature right away. We read that it could make a good class pet so we made it a little home in a small aquarium. After providing a leafy plant to munch on and a stick to crawl on, we agreed to name the caterpillar "Callie".

In our research we learned that Woolly Bears are pretty common and even have a folklore about them. It is said that the length of the brownish-red stripe in the middle of it's body predicts the winter's weather. Callie had a wide brown stripe, which, according to folklore, means it should be a mild winter.  

No snow yet this year here in South Carolina but we did endure a few really cold days. Although, it was warm enough to take off our jackets outside today… So, I'd say it's too soon to say if "Callie" was right in her prediction.

Around Christmas, Callie had spun a cocoon. Unfortunately, the transformation happened overnight, so we didn't get to see the action. But it made for quite a shocking surprise one morning.

We thought we would be observing Callie's cocoon for a couple more months, for Woolly Bears are known to pupate in the Spring. However, this past Thursday while we were outside playing, the Isabella Tiger Moth emerged from the cocoon!

Through our research we learned that, once the Woolly Bear has pupated, it has only a few days to find it's mate and complete it's life cycle. We were a little sad, because we would have liked to keep "Callie the Tiger Moth" in our classroom for a little while. But, we also felt responsible to release the moth into nature, so it can go do it's thing.

We definitely wanted to release Callie the Tiger Moth on Friday, before the weekend. 

It was a wet, rainy day so we decided to let her outside by our front door. 

 

I feel the process of releasing Callie, was the best way to observe the Isabella Tiger Moth. It reinforced the urgency of the moth completing it's life cycle. And we got to watch it move around a lot more than it was in the small aquarium. Lucky of us, Callie lingered by the door for a little while so we had good opportunity to observe it's body characteristics!

The last few school days the students have been working on creating life cycle diagrams of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar. This multi-step activity began with discussion of the scientific colors we observed on the caterpillar, the cocoon, and the moth. The students then colored pictures of each stage of transformation, cut out each picture, and pasted on a circle (in the correct sequence) the life cycle of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar/ Isabella Tiger Moth. Doing this work would not have been as meaningful if we didn't have that "Callie" crawl into our lives in November, so for our furry friend I am grateful. It was an unexpected lesson plan, but a good one!

The Woolly Bear Caterpillar/ Isabella Tiger Moth is a fascinating insect. Learn more by visiting the following educational resources:

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/woolly-bear-caterpillars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella

Somebody Turned 4 This Week!

The birthday ritual we have kept, of explaining pictures of special moments in our lives, has been an incredibly wonderful experience for us all. It is fun to see how much each child has grown physically. And we make it a point to recognize how far each child has come developmentally during his or her time at our school. 

On Monday, this little girl turned four and she could not have been more excited to be another year older. She has been yearning to be four since before the summer. I must admit, at times this year I forgot she was only 3 years old, for she impressed us by conquering advanced materials early in the school year and has consistently offered her help to her younger classmates, saying in such a cute voice, "Would you like me to help you?" She has a strong work ethic and continually sets new academic goals for herself. It's such a pleasure to have her in our class! Her sweet smile lights up the room and her clever contributions to conversations have us chuckling quite often!

Per tradition, she walked around the months of the year 4 times!

And shared a sweet treat with her friends!

Happy Birthday to a Very Special Student!

Precious December 2013

Ok readers, I'm back! I took a little hiatus from the blogging world during the holidays. December was chuck full of fun activities and gatherings with both friends and family. And at school, we were just like elves in a workshop, working away. Time seemed to pass so quickly between Thanksgiving and Christmas but like the saying goes, "time flies when you're having fun".

I enjoyed looking back at the pictures I took in December, now, a week into 2014. I was reminded of all that we did together in such a short amount of time and I couldn't help but smile. We learned about different culture's beliefs and traditions in December, as well as crafted Christmas gifts for our loved ones. We exchanged beautifully wrapped books with one another. And we collected and wrapped gifts for a family who did not have the means for any presents. It was just a wonderful holiday season!

The following pictures should give you an idea of just how much fun we had at school before the Christmas and New Years break. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!

The People of Our World Have Different Beliefs

Presentations of December holidays were multi-sensory. We tried a traditional food for each Kwanzaa, Las Posadas (tamales), and Hanukkah (latkes). We sang songs that taught us about the symbols and beliefs of the different holiday celebrations. Literature helped us visualize the qualities of the holidays while entertaining us with some fun tales. Playing "dreidel"(the traditional game of Hanukkah), and whacking the piñata (a tradition in Mexico in celebration of Las Posadas), were favorite activities of the children.

Kwanzaa

A song, "Kwanzaa Kineras", described the "7 Principles" and what each candle on the "kineras" represented. We even had the opportunity to speak words in the Swahihi language- Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-demtermination), Ujima (Cooperative Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Business), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), Imani (Faith), and Kwanzaa (first fruits).

Since Kwanzaa is a celebration of the harvest, we ate red tomato slices and sweet green pepper because they are vegetables that are the colors of Kwanzaa. The added bonus was it offered a chance to try a new nutritious snack!

Las Posadas

We read the book, The Night of Las Posadas, which had an alluring bit of mystery but also described well, a tradition on Las Posadas- reacting "Mary and Joseph's" search for shelter before giving birth to "Jesus" in a manger. 

Before tasting corn tamales we read a funny story, Too Many Tamales, about Mexican children helping their family make tamales for their holiday party. The children in the story learned a couple valuable life lessons that we were able to discuss. And I feel after knowing the ingredients and hearing the relative tale, the children were more likely to try a tamale. 

Oh boy, were the kids excited for the piñata! They cheered loudly after every whack. There were mixed emotions, however, when artificial snowflakes fell from the piñata rather than candy… 

Hanukkah

Eating "Latkes" with apple sauce and sour cream, lighting the Menorah, and playing the dreidel game were activities I think the children will always remember!

Cinnamon Ornaments

A Parent volunteer brought in materials to make cinnamon ornaments and mixed it up while discussing the ingredients with the children. 

Later that day we rolled out the pleasant smelling dough to cut holidays shapes.

After a few days of hardening, we were able to paint!

Hopefully your child's ornament will have a scent of cinnamon for many Christmas's to come!

Our Book Exchange

Each child brought in a wrapped book to exchange with a friend. We played music while we passed the presents around a circle. When the music stopped we opened the presents we were holding. Many children were incredibly happy with their new book, while others learned a valuable lesson about the gifts of giving and exchanging.

Wrapping Gifts for Our Adopted Family

Throughout the month of December we collected gifts completing the wish list of a teenage girl and a young boy that would not have gotten presents otherwise. Wrapping the gifts ourselves, was a gratifying process! We built communication skills and demonstrated inspiring cooperative effort.

Constructing a Gingerbread House

It was great to see the children work together on the construction and decoration of the a class gingerbread house. Designing a miniature house with gingerbread and candy pieces is a tradition for many throughout the United States, so I'm am glad we created one together!

We Even Found Time for Some School Improvement

Cleaning the walls and moving our locker space.

Aren't These Children the Sweetest Gifts?

The best presents!