Montessori 2018 Year in Review
Our programming is what makes us stand a part from other schools. If you are looking for childcare near me with great programming in Herndon and Reston, Northern Virginia - you’ve found us! Read more about our activities from 2018.
December 2018
December passed quickly with a flurry of activity and an escalating buildup of anticipation as the winter holidays drew near. The shelves glistened with bells, wreaths, stockings and a tiny tree that must have been decorated and undecorated at least twenty times!
November 2018
During November we also created our traditional gratitude bouquet. Each child closed their eyes to go within to find that which they are truly thankful for and then chose a flower to place into the vase to represent their gratitude. We shared those individual sentiments in our traditional Thanksgiving poem.
We enjoyed reading the Value Tale : The Wright Brothers and the Value of Patience. We discussed how Wilbur and Orville Wright had great patience as they tried many different ways to build a flying machine. We also discussed how the Wright brothers had a great deal of creativity!
We have had an amazing time exploring the continent of Australia! We were so fortunate to have a parent give us a presentation on Australia. He is a biologist with the Jane Goodall Foundation and spoke to the children of his experiences with some of the animals of Australia. We learned about thorny devils, emus, echidnas and kangaroos. We learned a new word; endemic, meaning native to and restricted to a certain area, as are many of the special animals of Australia.
In the afternoons, our kindergarteners have had the opportunity to delve deeper in to their study of Australia. They learned about the Aborigines, the indigenous peoples of Australia. We looked at their dot paintings and learned about their use of symbols to communicate or tell stories.
Right before winter break we took an imaginary chartered flight from Australia to Antarctica. The day before our journey we discussed the weather, what we would need to pack, and what scientific studies we might undertake. We discussed that we would be experiencing summer in Antarctica. When we arrived there were some charming penguins waiting to greet us!
October 2018
We have been enjoying the beauty of autumn; watching the leaves change color, seeing the squirrels gathering acorns for winter and feeling the crisp cool air. Our Practical Life and Art shelves have had a golden hue and a Halloween theme, of course. And the children have been busy pouring, sifting, sorting, spooning, gluing and cutting pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns to their hearts’ delight.
We loved our field trip to Great Country Farms. After returning from the field, and labeling and storing our pumpkins, we met in the farm’s “outdoor classroom” to learn about pumpkins and apples; the many varieties, their life cycles and some interesting facts. At the Pumpkin Station, we saw different varieties of pumpkins, including a French heirloom variety called Cinderella, named after the pumpkin that transforms into a fancy coach in the fairytale. We discovered that each apple has five seed pockets, each holding two apple seeds. We also learned about the importance of bees and pollination, that there are about 7000 different types of apples, and that the most nutritious part of the apple is the skin. Our outing ended with a picnic lunch in the fresh country air and a frolic on the farm’s awesome playground.
We discovered that Kangaroos are a special type of mammal known as marsupials. They are about the size of a jellybean at birth and travel to their mother’s pouch, by gripping onto her fur, where they nurse and grow. After four months, they can leave the pouch for short periods of time, until they are full grown at about eight months. Kangaroos have strong legs and can jump about 30 feet once they get going! Katy was happy to demonstrate. J They use their tails for balance and also to change direction. They can travel at about 35 mph. We learned that kangaroos eat grass, they travel in groups called mobs, and they like to box with each other for fun and to demonstrate their strength.
September 2018
We “leave our work for a little while” and join together for Circle Time each day. This is a time for the children to learn how to be a part of a group. We greet each other, take attendance, sing and do some yoga each day. Some of our favorite September songs and finger plays have been “Open and Shut Them,” “Five Green and Speckled Frogs,” “I Have a Little Turtle,” “The Puppy Song,” and “Shake Your Sillies Out.” During yoga, we have been having fun practicing Butterfly, Flower, Cat and Cow, Mountain, Frog, and Rabbit Poses. We have also learned how to take “big breaths” and to relax and still our bodies in Baby Pose. The children have grown very fond of a recorded version of “The Long Time Sun Song” which is followed by another favorite, “Come On Yogis Now, Smile On Each Other.” We often sing both to end our yoga class.
The Kindergarteners learned about the Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973). He is one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. His work spanned more than 80 years! He mastered many different styles and his work sent messages about politics, society, peace and love. In 1949, Picasso made a poster for the World Peace Congress in Poland and it is because of his poster that the dove is now considered a symbol of peace all over the world! The children looked at some art books and saw how much of Picasso’s art featured guitar images. This was the inspiration for our project. Picasso would sometimes use scraps of wall paper and colored paper to make his pictures look more “real” than traditional painting. We used the same technique to create our guitar collages in class! We thank Miss Lauren for creating these very special art experiences for the children.
May-June 2018
We started May with a wonderful presentation on Bolivia by our parent Mr. Chris assisted by Mason! We learned that Mason’s mom and all his grandparents were born in Bolivia. We learned about the geography, culture, people, and animals of Bolivia. We thank Chris for the delicious homemade empanadas that concluded our presentation
Our Mother’s Day celebration was wonderful! The children had a great time learning and rehearsing for the play, ” Ask Mr. Bear” . They also enjoyed creating the Mother’s Day gifts. We hope you are still enjoying your potted geraniums! If our moms noticed a feel of nature in the scones we baked that’s because we did the mixing and preparing outside on a picnic mat!
A teacher ope discussion posing the question to the children
Why is it important to learn about other countries? ” Responses from the children included; to learn about other people, to appreciate differences, to foster love and peace, to stay connected and to live in peace. These concepts came from our children! How proud we are of our three to six year olds!
We further explored the concept-
Peace begins with Me. We discussed that the actions we can take to create peace fall under the headings:
” I take care of myself, I take care of others, I take care of my community, I take care of the environment. “
We discussed how being kind to yourself..eating healthy food is taking care of self. We take care of others when we show compassion , work out problems , ask-” How can I help ?” We take care of the environment when we don’t litter, when we plant trees. We take care of our community when we include others, ” make new friends and keep the old” We went around our circle with hands on our heart center and individually pledged “Peace begins with me.”
Our class took advantage of the beautiful weather we experienced in early June. One day we took a walk over to Great Harvest Bread and purchased a loaf of honey wheat bread. We enjoyed sharing our bread at the playground, sitting together under a large tree. On our walk back we got to chat with our mailman. We learned a little about his role in the community.
April 2018
On our science shelves the children can now find work and books centered around the study of insects and plants. Going deeper into our insect studies, we began looking at the life cycle of the silkworm. Miss Lauren brought silkworms into our class for the children to observe. We watched as these tiny caterpillars grew, ate Mulberry leaves, grew some more and finally made their silk cocoons!
We learned that if the cocoon the silkworm constructs is unwoven it would be a single thread of about a mile in length!
During the beautiful month of April we celebrated Earth Day by planting a small apple tree in the school yard. This tree is a special one. It was started from the seed of an apple that was enjoyed at our snack table by a student almost two years ago. It has been growing in our classroom.
In honor of Earth Day we also created a gratitude bouquet. Each child spoke of something that they were grateful to the earth for. The children are grateful for flowers and apple trees , that we can plant in the earth, and that our school is “right here on Earth”!
This month we read the Value Tale- Albert Schweitzer and the Value of Dedication. We learned that Albert Schweitzer decided to open a hospital in Africa. The book shares the steps he and his wife took to open a thatched roof hospital that cared for many. His life exemplifies the ” We can work together and find a way.” attitude that brings purpose and satisfaction to life.
The chirping of our “fine feathered friends” was an incentive to begin a science unit on Birds. The children have been busy exploring with the materials and books on our shelves. We have had fun learning the parts of the bird, the unique design and function of their beaks, and the amazing variety of birds. The children are getting pretty good at identifying various local birds. They can also recognize their calls with our popular collection of Audubon Birds with accurate sounds. Everyone is also delighted with the addition of our “Nature Lookout Chair” (named by the children), which is an ideal perch for our curious young naturalists to view the outdoors from our classroom windows.
We were very fortunate to have Miss Mili, a native Peruvian, share a presentation with us. We learned that Peru could be divided into three land regions: the Coast, the Highlands and the Rainforests. We got to see lots of pictures, and see some special artifacts including some wonderful pottery, artwork, stitchery and stuffed animals. The children were delighted to each receive a special flag of Peru, and a Peruvian Animal Finger Puppet. Thank you so much for your presentation and your generous gifts Miss Mili!
February 2018
Our classroom community has simmered along in the month of February. We are like a soup whose ingredients are distinct but have also melded into something unique and different. We have reached milestones that have been appreciated by each other and have allowed us to pause and reflect on all that has come before. We savor these moments. All of the children and teachers have had these “Wow! Here I am!” moments.
We spent time this month reflecting on our friendships and how we express caring and appreciation. The children had fun decorating their Valentines Day bags and filling them with cards and treats for their friends. We had a fun party and all enjoyed making a special craft. We hope you found use for the one of a kind Valentines Day dish! We thank Miss Lauren for spearheading our creative artistic activities
We said good-bye to our “Neighbor to the North” early in the month. Our traditional Canadian Culinary Adventure of Pancakes and Maple Syrup was inspired by a great book titled, “At Grandpa’s Sugar Bush,” by Margaret Carney. The story tells of a young boy, who alongside his grandpa, shares the tasks involved in making maple syrup the old-fashioned way. From tapping the trees to boiling the sap, the two spend many hours working side by side in the woods. Their reward is a delicious breakfast of pancakes and “the best syrup in the whole world.” Our fluffy pancakes, and authentic Canadian maple syrup, were also quite a hit!
The next day, we packed our bags, boarded our MPS Plane, and headed off to sunny Mexico. Throughout the month, we have been busy exploring her beaches, mountains, rainforests, deserts and cities. We have learned about the people of Mexico, including the Aztecs, and practiced some of our Spanish. We have listened to lots of Mexican Music and have been having a great time learning the Mexican Hat Dance. At the time of this newsletter, the children are eagerly awaiting our Fiesta, which had to be postponed due to the weather this past Friday. We are looking forward to a wonderful morning of cooking, dancing, singing and piñata swinging! We will begin our study of South America after our Fiesta.
January 2018
We began our January with a discussion about our wishes for 2018! Some wishes voiced by the children were for “more kindness in the world”, “that everyone is OK in the world”, ” that everyone has stuffed animals and a beautiful rainbow horse” and for “more snowflakes”. One child wished that “people not drive into lanes that have a big X on them” ( was very concerned about this! ) Some children decided to keep their wishes silently in their hearts. Then we envisioned our wishes for 2018 as beautiful balloons that we released up into the air.
Inspired by the book ,” The Kindness Quilt” by Nancy Wallace we have started our own kindness quilt. The children have made individual paper quilt squares representing different acts of kindness that they have practiced or appreciated. Day-by-day our quilt is expanding and decorating our hall. Part of our philosophy as teachers is if we highlight a certain virtue then our minds are noticing all through the day when that virtue is practiced.
In honor of his birthday, we studied about the great Peacekeeper, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We learned that Dr. King was able to bring about great changes during his life while maintaining his peacefulness. We explored the concept of diversity and celebrated our differences. The children wholeheartedly agreed that the world would be extremely dull if we were all exactly the same. We also talked about our similarities, noting that we are all very similar on the inside. We laugh when we are happy, cry when we are sad, yawn when we are tired, and we all need to be loved.
Our Kindergarten Great Artists Project focused on Frida Kahlo this month. The children first listened to a short book about her life and her work titled, “The Artist Who Painted Herself,” by Margaret Frith. Then they set out to duplicate one of her paintings, using first pencil and stencils, and then paint. They had a great time creating their own unique masterpieces.
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