Welcome to the AM Primary Classroom

March, 2012

During the month of March, we honored Dr. Maria Montessori.  A timeline of her life was on display for everyone to see.  The focus of Montessori week was Self, Community, Culture, Environment and Peace.  We talked about our feelings, took a tour of Ms. Kim’s class, we sang peace songs and cleaned the stairwell. 

The children have really been aware of the changing season.  We could literally see the leaves growing daily on the trees outside.  It was so exciting to see the beauty right outside our window.  We also learned that in spring we start to see daffodils, tulips, butterflies, rain and buds on the trees.  The life cycle of the butterfly was a big hit with the children.  Some of our younger friends were even giving presentations of the work to other children.

In practical life, green was the theme for St. Patrick’s Day.  This is an Irish holiday that is observed in Ireland and around the world.  St. Patrick, who was born in Britain, was credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland.  People honor him each year with a large feast of Irish bacon and cabbage.

Last week, we had a visit from Ms.Synthia and baby Austin. The children were so very happy to meet him.  Ms. Synthia and Austin are both doing great!

Miss Sarah is excited to be joining us for the next four weeks and I am grateful to have such great help while Ms. Synthia is away.

February, 2012

During the month of February the children learned about transportation.   They learned about all the different vehicles used on land, water and air.  Books about cars, trucks, trains and airplanes were available for them to read.  The continent of Africa was also introduced.  I was able to share special items from Africa such as beaded African animals, photographs, books and art with the children.  We were also treated to a special presentation from Avery’s dad, Mr. Rob, who lived in Nigeria for a few years.   The children were so excited to see the artwork that he brought to show us.

Sarett nature Center visited the primary community this month.  The children were taught about turtles, snakes and lizards.  At the end of the presentation, we were even able to touch some of the snakes.

Our class also joined Ms. Lori’s class to celebrate Dr. Seuss’s birthday.  We watched “Horton Hears a who and ate “cat in the hat” birthday cake made especially for us by Ms. Sue.  The children were so happy to share the Dr. Seuss books that they brought from home.

We also learned about Presidents this month.  We learned about the importance of our president.  The president has a very difficult job to do and he is responsible for the decisions that are made in our country.  

An update from Ms. Lyn and Ms. Synthia

Wish list items for the classroom

v  Wall Cabinets

v  Small pitchers for water

v  Small bowels for pouring

v  Child size broom

v  Small mirror

v  Small whisk

          January 15, 2012

During the month of January, we learned about the four cardinal directions - North, South, East and West.  The children also had a presentation on how to use a compass.  We are really enjoying watching friends working together on this activity.  They have been seen moving around the room eagerly with compass in hand. We also learned about some landforms on our earth.  We discovered all about islands, lakes, gulfs, peninsulas, system of lakes and archipelago's.  Models of these landforms are available for the children to manipulate and pour water into and float a boat and see how that water touches the land.  This has been a popular activity with the children.We really enjoyed our community meeting in the Great Room. We learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how he worked towards equal rights for all people.

Our class started learning about the oceans. We learned that seventy percent of our earth is covered by water. There are many different types of plants and animals that live in that salt water. We also found out that some of the animals that live in the water have a vertebrate which means they have bones and some animals are invertebrates and they have no bones.We just started learning about plants and animals. What the differences are between plants and animals. We Named some plants and animals and learned they require different habitats to live.

 

December 15, 2011

 

Antarctica is a very interesting continent it is the coldest, driest, windiest and iciest climate. Almost all but two percent of Antarctica’s land lies under thick sheets of ice. Survival is very tough but you can find some animals like seals, dolphins, fish, and many different kinds of birds. We had so much fun exploring this wonderful continent.We hopped over to Asia and learned that it is the largest continent on earth and has the largest population count.

The people there have to deal with a wide range of climate conditions like desert areas, river valleys, rugged mountain terrain, coastal cities and much much more. Asia has a huge variety of animals and they coexist with people. Our class is going to narrow our focus on Japan. Japan is an Island country; it has a spectacular landscape and a chain of mountains run down the center.

The Japanese language is written with character each character stands for a word. Buddhism and Shinto are Japans major religions. Our class is having a great time exploring Japan and all it rich culture.We had our first introduction to the farm this month.  We learned about the Cattle family, Horse family, Pig family, Chicken family and the Sheep family. 

 The children learned the names of each animal mother, father and baby. At a later stage, the barn will be introduced and the children will be able to put the animals into the barn.  We also learned about which animals are mammals.  We read books about mammals and had discussions about what characteristics mammals possess.

We had so much fun studying the traditions that happen in December. Hanukah holiday families gather each night of the holiday is a celebration and a chance to remember the great battle for freedom that happened long ago. Kwanza is a time when African-American families gather to remember their history and look forward to their future.

 Christmas is a religious holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus the son of God. We exchange gifts as a way of remembering the gifts that Wiseman brought to Jesus. Santa Claus or St. Nicholas was a real man who lived in Turkey he was generous man who loved children and would bring them gifts if they were good. We hope that everyone has a safe and happy break    

November 15, 2011

Wow, November was such a fun month. We learned all about     Maria Monetssori. Maria was born in Italy; she was fascinated by Mathematics and Science, and designed the core materials in our classroom. Maria Montessori highlighted the child's need for movement and repetition.

     We also studied the Solar System this month. Each day new facts about the planets and the sun were introduced to the children. Books about the Solar System were also avaiable for the children to look at and read. A popular activity in our room this month was arranging the planets in order starting wiht Mercury, which is closest to the sun. It was wonderful to see friends helping each other out with this activity. We would hear conversations around the room about "the sun has graavity" and "Mars is hot".

     We learned all about North America and how we are able to live in this great Nation. Pilgrims sailed fromEngland on a ship called the Mayflower and landed in Boston Massachusetts. The Pilgrims had a hard first winter. When spring came they met Indians and they taught the Pilgrims how to survive off the land. We are very thankful for all that we have.

     Another new activity that was introduced was the body parts matching work. Children were able to match cards together with the same colored body part. We also learned about the five senses-smell, hearing, sight, touch and taste.

October 15 2011 

     October has just flown by, we learned all about parts of the pumpkin from seed to plant. We hammered a pumpkin with golf tees and made a jack-o-lantern which sits outside out classroom on our picnic table.

     We also have been learning about bat facts, for example, where they live, what they eat and they are the only mamal that can fly. We are also painting and sorting bats in the practical life area.

September 6, 2011 

     We would like to welcome you to the 2011/2012 Brookview  School year. We are excited to welcome your child/chilren to our class. We the teachers Synthia and Lyn, want to work together with you to make your child's transition into the class a successful and postive one.

The first few weeks of school we will spend time going over   the ground rules and acclimating to the classroom environment.  We also will be going outside, please send the appropriate footwear with your child/ children. We are so excited to see you on Wednesday, September 7, 2011.