Week in Review : October 20th - 24th

We had another fantastic week in Lower Elementary! We enjoyed a visit and lesson from Ms. Rebecca this week!

For language jobs with week, first grade students practiced matching words that rhymed, created phrases containing an article, adjective, and noun, and had extra practice with homophones. Second grade students worked with homonyms, sorted rhyming words containing various spellings (such as high and sky), and identified regular and irregular verbs. Third grade students continued their work with suffixes, identified rhyming word families, and wrote sentences containing prepositions.

For math jobs, first grade students worked on addition skills with various materials. They used the Bead Frame, addition boards, and the stamp game. They were also introduced to polygons and wrote their number words from 70-80. Second graders solved addition and multiplication problems that contained a missing variable, solved multiplication problems with the checkerboard, and found equivalent fractions. Third grade students solved problems containing missing variables, explored the nomenclature for polygons, worked with adding and subtracting fractions, and had practice with all four operations (addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division).

For cultural studies this week, students explored the changes to the American flag throughout history.

Next week, students will work with all math operations, count money and make change, and put sentences into logical sequence. We look forward to the fun Halloween festivities on Friday!

Montessori Minute- The Bead Frame 

This material is the next step toward abstraction after the Stamp Game. It can be used for instruction in all the operations. The Bead Frame is a special abacus. It is a frame with four horizontal wires each with ten beads color-coded by category; green for units, blue for tens, red for hundreds, green for thousands. Along the left side of the frame are pre-printed symbols 1, 10, and 100 on a white background and 1,000 on a gray background. There is a space between the white and gray areas to denote the movement from one hierarchy (family) of numbers to another. Working with the Small Bead Frame is an important step in the progression from addition with concrete materials to abstract addition. 

Reminders 

*Homework will be sent home each Monday. We also encourage students to read for 30 minutes each night and record it on the reading log found in your child's red folder.

*Students are welcomed into the classroom promptly at 8:00. Students who arrive on campus before 8:00 should attend early care.

*Please send a change of clothes to be kept in your child's book bag. This will help lessen the amount of disruption to your child's (and your) day when bathroom accidents or spills occur. Thank you!

Important Dates 

10/27- Talent Show Auditions 

10/31- Halloween Parade 9:00 Party 1:00-3:00 

              - Please contact Gisele Westercamp if you can help out! 

11/11- Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL  

Week in Review : October 13-17

Even though it was a short week, students worked very hard! We had a great week!

For language jobs this week, first graders worked with homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently), matched adjectives to the correct  noun, and worked with using the correct type of punctuation in sentences (question mark or period). Second graders worked with homographs (words that are spelled the same, but sound different and have different meanings), identified present tense and past tense verbs, and sorted sentences based on their type (interrogative, imperative, exclamatory, or declarative). Third grade students worked with suffixes, symbolized sentences that contained prepositions, and identified types of sentences.

For math jobs, first grade students practiced their addition math facts, solved larger addition problems using the stamp game, and practiced telling time to the our and half hour. Second grade students solved large multiplication problems using the snake game and checkerboard and also practiced telling time to the 5 minute mark. Third graders solved multiplication/subtraction problems with the snake game and also worked with elapsed time.

For cultural lessons this week, students heard the Third Great Lesson : The Coming of Humans, completed a weather lesson which discussed why we have different seasons, and began a unit on astronomy by identifying and defining objects in the solar systems (novas, nebulas, black holes, planets, asteroids, etc).

Next week, students will work with the parts of speech, polygons, fractions, and much more! All students will receive cultural presentations on the Fundamental Needs of Humans and will identify the changes and symbolism behind the American flag through the use of a timeline.

Montessori Minute

The Third Great Lesson: The Coming of Humans 

The Third Great Lesson is the Coming of Humans. This lesson involves the timeline of human chart that along with cards demonstrates the major steps in the emergence of modern humans. In addition, this lesson focuses on the three gifts that make humans special: a creative mind to imagine, opposable thumbs on our hands to do work, and a heart that can love. This lesson introduces many concepts and serves to awaken the curiosity for further study into multiple areas: History (e.g. timelines, prehistory, ancient civilizations, world history, history of specific countries and continents) Culture (e.g. art, artists, music, composers, dance, architecture, design, philosophy, religion, grace and courtesy) Social Studies (e.g. current events, government, economics, commerce) Science (e.g. scientists, inventors, scientific method, inventions, simple machines).

Reminders 

*Homework will be sent home each Monday. We also encourage students to read for 30 minutes each night and record it on the reading log found in your child's red folder.

*It is time for first quarter conferences! Conferences will be held Wednesday, October 15th through Wednesday, October 22nd. We have placed a sign up sheet outside the door to Classroom 3. Please stop by to sign up for a time to conference! Thanks and we look forward to meeting with you!

*Students are welcomed into the classroom promptly at 8:00. Students who arrive on campus before 8:00 should attend early care.

*Please send a change of clothes to be kept in your child's book bag. This will help lessen the amount of disruption to your child's (and your) day when bathroom accidents or spills occur. Thank you!

Important Dates 

10/21 - Make-up pictures and sibling pictures 

10/27- Talent Show Auditions 

10/31- Halloween Parade 9:00 Party 1:00-3:00 

              - Please contact Gisele Westercamp if you can help out! 

11/11- Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL  

Week in Review: October 6th-10th

We had a wonderful week in Lower Elementary! Students enjoyed the presentation of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Children's Theater and our visit to the park!

For language arts jobs this week, first grade students reviewed synonyms/antonyms, completed an adjective grammar box, and classified common and proper nouns. Second grade students studied homographs, identified past and present regular verbs, and capitalized proper nouns found in sentences. Third grade students explored suffixes, reviewed prepositions, and identified common and proper nouns found in sentences.

For math jobs this week, first grade students compared fractions, solved addition problems with the stamp game, practiced counting sets of nickels, and were introduced to the Snake Game. Second grade students compared fractions, solved multiplication problems with the checkerboard, practiced counting sets of mixed coins, and wrote numbers using expanded notation. Third grade students compared fractions, used the checkerboard to solve multiplication problems, practiced subtraction, and counted sets of dollars and coins.

For cultural lessons, students continued their study of flags. Students discussed the symbolism and history behind the American flag as well as proper care and respect for the flag. Students also began discussing weather by defining it as the condition of the air which changes day to day. Students also learned that the sun has a tremendous impact on the Earth as it provides the energy which affects the  weather.

Next week, students will tell time, have grammar work, discuss different types of sentences, and use materials (Snake Game) to complete addition, multiplication, and subtraction problems. We look forward to a great week!

Montessori Minute - Snake Game Addition

Using the colored beads, the child forms the beads in a pattern that resembles a snake. The child previously completed simple addition by discovering and counting combinations of the colored beads that equaled ten. The second step of the Snake Game involves counting and exchanging. The child now physically uses the ten bars to replace the combinations of colored beads.

Reminders 

*Homework will be sent home on Tuesday 10/14 due to the school holiday. We also encourage students to read for 30 minutes each night and record it on the reading log found in your child's red folder.


*It is time for first quarter conferences! Conferences will be held Wednesday, October 15th through Wednesday, October 22nd. We have placed a sign up sheet outside the door to Classroom 3. Please stop by to sign up for a time to conference! Thanks and we look forward to meeting with you!

*Students are welcomed into the classroom promptly at 8:00. Students who arrive on campus before 8:00 should attend early care.

*Please send a change of clothes to be kept in your child's book bag. This will help lessen the amount of disruption to your child's (and your) day when bathroom accidents or spills occur. Thank you!

10/13- NO SCHOOL

10/16-10/17- Parent Teacher Conferences
10/17- School Play at 7:00 p.m. 



Week in Review : September 29th - October 3rd

We had another fantastic week in Lower Elementary! We enjoyed seeing the students all dressed up for picture day!

For language jobs this week, all students completed a quarterly review consisting of all the material we have covered this quarter. Students also practiced reading sight words, took a STAR Reading test, and completed their weekly reading jobs (SRA and Barnell Loft).

For math jobs this week, all students completed a quarterly review consisting of all the material we have covered this quarter. Students also took a STAR Math test and practiced their math facts.

For cultural jobs this week, students explored the Clock of Eras and completed research of a plant found on the Timeline of Life. Students also studied the different types of designs found on flags and identified them by name.

Next week, students will compare fractions, work with adjectives and prepositions, and count money. We also are looking forward to our field trip to the Children's Theater!  It should be a great week!

Montessori Minute -Clock of Eras 

The geologic time scale is a system of chronological measurement that relates geological stratification to time. It is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships between events that have occurred throughout the Earth's history. Montessori attempts to give students a sense of the geological eras on Earth.

Reminders 

Homework will be sent home each Monday and is to be returned the following Friday. We also encourage students to read for 30 minutes each night and record it on the reading log found in your child's red folder.

It is time for first quarter conferences! Conferences will be held Wednesday, October 15th through Wednesday, October 22nd. We have placed a sign up sheet outside the door to Classroom 3. Please stop by to sign up for a time to conference! Thanks and we look forward to meeting with you!

10/7- Lower Elementary goes to Children's Theater
10/7- Open House 6:00-7:30
10/13- NO SCHOOL
10/16-10/17- Parent Teacher Conferences
10/17- School Play at 7:00 p.m. 


Conference Schedule Now Posted!

It is time for first quarter conferences! Conferences will be held Wednesday, October 15th through Wednesday, October 22nd. We have placed a sign up sheet outside the door to Classroom 3. Please stop by to sign up for a time to conference! Thanks and we look forward to meeting with you!