The Week of March 7 - 11

 

We have had a week of fun activities and lessons.  On Monday the third year students were able to attend a basketball game with the fourth through eighth grades.  On Tuesday the entire school was able to attend the impressive understudy performance of Aladdin.  We have also had the very popular Scholastic Book Fair this entire week.  As you can imagine, the Lower Elementary students have been full of excitement and anticipation everyday. 

Our lessons this week were a continuation of last week's lessons.  In our nutrition lesson the students were able to sort food cards by group and read information about the food.  They also created a balanced menu for a meal.  In geometry triangles were drawn and labeled by sides and angles.  We had continuation on the study of division using the Montessori bead board, bingo board and stamp game. Grammar reviews were done for each level.  Each child is creating a book on South America using information collected from previous weeks. Subtracting fractions with different denominators was introduced with the fraction circle box. Finger knitting was introduced as a way of giving students a chance to take a break from their work and relax.  We had many finger knitting chains created in the room.

A Beautiful Week in the Lower Elementary Program

 What an amazing week we have had!  The weather was perfect for spending extra time outside.  We were able to eat lunch at our outdoor picnic tables.  We also had extra outdoor time to appreciate the beauty of our campus.  Flowering Saucer Magnolias, flowering Forsythias and the sprouting of seedlings are a few of the things we noticed.  Children need a connection to nature.  Their concentration improves, their sense of peacefulness grows and their natural curiosity grows the longer children are able to spend outside.  As long as the weather is nice we will continue to spend extra time outside and in our outdoor classroom. 

Lessons this week included writing a biography on a famous woman in history, an introduction to nutrition, a focus on plants, animals and flags of South America, and a review of triangles by both sides and angles.  Everyone had fun making a probability tally chart.  Plurals and singulars were introduces as well as the abbreviations for the days of the week. Division was introduced using some important Montessori materials such as the division bead board, division with the stamp game and the division bingo board.  Next week our nutrition study will include having the children plan a menu using foods in all of the five food groups.   Ask your children this weekend about the five food groups and see if they can identify the food groups from their meals at home.

                                                              

Valentine's Day and a Busy Two Weeks

 Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate with children.  They love exchanging affirmations with their friends. There is always a lot of smiles, happiness and joy in the classroom and it is inspiring to see.  Over the last two weeks we have continued with our studies in South America by looking closer at animals, plants, flags and important places.  In geometry we began our study of triangles by identifying the parts of a triangle.  In science we are continuing our study of human anatomy by looking at the digestive system which will soon lead to a look at nutrition.  In grammar students are continuing to identify prepositions, adverbs and interjections.  In addition students have been creating contractions and identifying suffixes. Students were able to practice making predictions using simple probability.  Finally, each student practiced writing and expository paragraph.  It is truly remarkable how much hard work the students are able to complete each week.  Have a wonderful weekend.

The Importance of a Routine

      In the Lower Elementary learning environment we post a daily schedule and review it with the students during our morning meeting.  Most students check the schedule everyday right after they arrive.  In fact we often have a group centered around the posted schedule discussing what is posted. For the most part, the schedule each week remains the same.  Children are able to easily predict what will happen in their day at school.  They can plan their morning and afternoon work based on the daily schedule.  They look forward to certain weekly events.  Knowing the schedule gives them a sense of control.  A consistent routine at home will reinforce the child's sense of control.  Consistent bedtimes, arrivals and departures from school set the child up for success at school. Doing homework each week is another way to set your child up for success.  Homework can be done on a consistent weekly schedule that allows your child to get the most out of the homework experience.  Please reach out to us if you have questions or need input on scheduling your child's work week.

    This week the students looked closely at the nervous system.  They labeled a diagram of the nervous system and studied the types of nerves.  We also began our addition work with fractions with different denominators.  Maria Montessori's fraction circle box helps the students use their "finger brains" to select a common denominator.  We also continued our work with suffixes, interjections, and prepositions. We also are continuing our focus on the operation of subtraction by supplying the missing minuend in a subtraction problem. Our study of South America was kicked off this week by having each student create their own map of the continent. In geometry we extended our study of angles by looking at angles created by two lines and a transversal.  As you can see, it was a very busy week.  We are all looking forward to exchanging Valentine's on Monday.  Remember to have your child label 38 Valentines with his/her name only.  Have a wonderfully peaceful weekend.

 

The First Week of February 2022

 It has been an interesting week in the Lower Elementary learning environment.  We continued our study of human anatomy by examining the respiratory system. We discussed types of adjacent angles and used the geometry stick box to construct a complementary angle and a supplementary angle.  We learned more about rounding by using rounding to estimate sums and products. We wrote summary paragraphs on North America and shared them with the group. We had a wonderful introduction to Black History Month.  Subtraction continues to be the operation of focus in mathematics.  Language lessons on contractions, suffixes, prepositions and interjections were presented.  Finally, we ended the week by taking a look at the Chinese New Year.  A student shared traditional red envelopes with the Lower Elementary teachers and students. It was a special treat and enjoyed by everyone.

Week of January 17, 2022.

We had a short week due to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.  We are continuing our study of subtraction.  Maria Montessori designed four key materials to help the children grasp the concept of subtraction. A class favorite is the stamp game.  Students are working towards dynamic subtraction which involves borrowing.  We are also subtracting fractions with like denominators.  We are continuing our geometry study of angles.  This week we examined whole, reflexive, obtuse, acute, straight and right angles.  Prepositions and conjunctions are the focus in our grammar area.  North America and Central America are the focus in geography.  We have made maps, looked at animals and are creating reports.  We moved on to the skeletal system in our study of human anatomy.  As you can see, we work very hard and accomplish a lot each week. Please remember to email us if your child is out sick for an extended period of time.  We can post work on our virtual classroom to keep them up with everyone else.  Thank you as always for the support.  Have a wonderful weekend.

A New Year (2022) in the Lower Elementary Classroom

It is great to be back in the Lower Elementary learning environment.  Students were ready to get back to work!  We began a study of North America this week and will continue for the next several weeks.  We also introduced a unit on Human Anatomy.  Next week we will focus on the skeletal system.  Geometry lessons are focused on parts and types of angles.  In mathematics we have zeroed in on subtraction using everything from golden beads to fraction circles.  Thank you for continuing to send your child with a mask each day.  We do daily mask checks and continued social distancing.  Have a wonderful MLK weekend.