Welcome to Ms. Lori's Primary 3 Classroom

My mission for the classroom is that all of your children share a diverse and joyful community in an environment that fosters independence, competence, a love of learning and a respect for each other and the world around them.  I hope that your children will leave the classroom to plant seeds of joy, compassion, peace and integrity along their path and that they will see greatness in themselves and others.   

Classroom Wishlist Fingertale puppets and storytelling glove 3 sets at $11.99 each and 3mil lamination pouches.                

 Contact me at: ldouglas@brookviewschool.org

Updates from Ms. Lori

5-17-12

Thank you to all the parents who attended the Brookview Auction and for bidding on our classroom project! We are also very thankful that all of the wishing tree leaves were taken. We will soon be receiving new materials for the class.

Our focus in science has shifted to insects. We have insect matching, 3-part match of the grasshopper, fly, bee, life cycle of a butterfly, ladybug, ant and many more insect works to explore.

Our studies include:

Parts of a flag, human skeleton, endangered animals, Peace quotes, parts of a house, May calendar, vowel combinations, blends and diagraphs and I spy puzzles.

Thank you for making teacher appreciation week so special for Ms. Rosemary and I. We truly enjoy being part of your child’s early education.

Upcoming Events:

Board meeting Thursday, May 17 @ 6:00 pm.

The unveiling of Captain Book! Friday, May 18 @ 5:15 pm. (downtown St. Joe.)

Potluck for Ms. Rosemary Wednesday, May 23 @ 11:30. (Students may bring their dish to share with the class to school with them.)

Memorial Day weekend Holiday Friday, May 25- Monday, May 28 (School closed.)

Last day of school Friday, June 1 School closes at 11:00 AM.  No PM class. School picnic will follow.

May 2, 2012

Last week we celebrated Earth Day. We read the book Dear Children of the Earth by Schim Schimmel and discussed how important it is to care for our planet Earth. Some topics we talked about was: recycle, not wasting water, reducing pollution when possible, cleaning up liter and turning off lights when not using them. We ended our study on Earth Day by making a special project. Thank you to all the parents  for your help with preparing the project.

Our studies include: fractions, reviewing multiplication facts, measure (inches and feet), time line of a child, from newborn to nine years old, the inside and outside parts of the human body, Singular and Plural, Contractions and writing stories.

We continue our study of Asia learning about the following countries: Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The children had the opportunity to create a map of Asia and identify the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.  We used a map to locate Mt. Fuji, Japan’s most famous mountain, the Gobi Desert, one of the largest deserts of the world, is in Mongolia, the longest river in Asia is the Chang (or Yangtze) river in China, and two important rivers in Iraq.

The Brookview Auction is this Saturday, May 3, 2012 at 5:00. I hope to see everyone there!

Reminders: Hearing / Vision Screening for Pre-schoolers entering kindergarten next year.

Board Meeting Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 6:00 PM.

Memorial Day Weekend Holiday Friday, May 25 through Monday, May 28 School Closed.

April 17, 2012

The Brookview Auction is soon approaching and we have been very busy working on our classroom project! It has been a lot of fun and the children are really excited with the end results. Our class project will be ready for viewing on the auction website by April 29.

Our focus in science has shifted to mammals. We have mammal matching cards, 3-part match cards of the horse, gerbil, rabbit and camel. We are learning about their different characteristics, such as all mammals have fur or hair, warm-blooded, vertebrates, females give birth to live babies, and feed them milk that their bodies produce. Ask your child what is the name of the only mammal that can fly.

In math we are focusing our attention on the study of coins and money. Some of our favorite works include matching coins to buy merchandise on cards, learning the names of the Presidents, and counting to $1.00 with coins. Other math works include counting pigs and flowers and mammal stamping.

We continue our study of Asia; learning facts about animals and landmarks of Asia.

At this time of the year, the playground can be a very dirty place. Please send your child in appropriate clothing and shoes.

Reminders: Board Meeting Thursday, April 19, 6:00 PM.

Brookview 5K Run April 21.  Don’t forget to register!

Brookview Open House Sunday, April 29, from 2-4 PM.

Brookview Auction Saturday, May 5, 2012.

Hearing/ Vision Screening for Pre-school only May 10, 2012

March 26, 2012

Spring is here, and we’re bouncing with joy and happiness! The children are noticing changes outdoors. Crocuses are blooming and leaf buds on the trees can be seen. Robins have returned and hopefully snow will no longer be in the forecast.

With the coming of spring our science studies have focused on seeds, flowers, spring and biomes.

We are taking a closer look at real flowers to see the stamens, pistil, calyx and the corolla.

Our talk of spring has led us to weather studies. Our studies will include: tornadoes and safety practices, thunderstorms, hurricanes, dust devil, hail, clouds, droughts, flood, dust storm, fog and wind.

We are going to read the story Jack and the Beanstalk and grow our own beanstalk. We will also study parts of a seed and learn what seeds need to grow.

We continue are study of Asia; learning about the countries: Afghanistan, Loas, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Reminders: Spring Break April 2-6, 2012.

Beautify Brookview Weekend Friday, April 13 and Saturday, April 14, 2012.

5-K Run April 21, 2012.

Brookview Open House April 29, 2012 from 2:00-4:00.

Auction Coming May 5, 2012 (We have a great classroom project planned!).

3-14-2012

Thank you for attending your child/children’s conference. It was great to see everyone and have the opportunity to share your child/children’s progress in his or her development.

The classroom has been a busy environment. New practical life materials have come out to capture interest, such as pouring sand with a funnel, flower arranging, and a lot of green pastas used for scooping, spooning, ladling, and green water pouring for St. Patrick’s Day.

Dr. Seuss’ Birthday was a big hit! We learned some facts about Dr. Seuss, and read many of his favorite children’s books. On Friday, we watched “Horton Hears a Who” and enjoyed eating birthday cake. In science we have added bird works. We are learning that not all birds can fly, the parts of the bird, different kinds of birds, and the life cycle of a bird.

Our studies include:

                                                                                                                                             Estimation, Montessori bells and telling time.

We continue our study of Asia; learning about the following countries;

Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal.

Reminders: March 16 Professional Development Day, School Closed.

March 22 Current Student Re-enrollment Deadline. March 23 Open re-enrollment begins

March 25 Brookview Open House 2-4

April 2-6 Spring Break, School Closed

February 29, 2012

February has been an exciting and very busy month. We have had lots of learning, exploring, discovering and discussions going on every day.

 The children had the opportunity to create their own dinosaur and give a presentation to their friends in class. We had some pretty interesting dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are soon to be extinct from our room.

Our current studies include: trees- parts of a tree, different kinds of trees, roots, prehistoric animals, President’s Day, Mardi Gras celebration, and warm and cool colors.

In Science we have added bird lessons. We are learning that not all birds can fly, the parts of a bird, how some birds migrate for the winter, and watching them from our window at the birdfeeder. Soon, we will be making our own birdfeeders to hang outside our class. If anyone is interested in coming into the class and helping with this project, please let me know.

We are starting food prep in our class. If you would like to bring any of the following items in, that would be great! (Crackers, any flavor of jelly, pickles, bananas, and eggs).

This week we are celebrating Montessori week. Our class remembered and honored Dr. Maria Montessori. Her story was retold, and her timeline was highlighted in the office. We will spend the rest of the week emphasizing Self Awareness, Community Awareness, Environmental Awareness, Cultural Awareness and end our last day of Montessori week with Peace Education.

We continue our studies of Asia; learning about the following countries: Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Israel.

Reminders: Parent/ Teacher conferences Monday, March 5, Tuesday, March 6, and Thursday, March 8. School closed Thursday, March 8 and Friday, March 9.

Professional Development Day Friday, March 16. School closed.

Current Student Re-enrollment Deadline. March 22, 2012

February 15, 2012

In science, we are talking about dinosaurs. The children are enjoying digging, researching, and learning interesting facts. To help the students comprehend the true size of the dinosaurs, they unroll premeasured lengths of yarn and stretch it all the way out to get a real understanding of how long the different kinds of dinosaurs really were. It was very exciting for them to watch the yarn unravel… to try to imagine if a particular dinosaur would have fit in our classroom! Some of the dinosaurs were so big that the yarn extends all the way into the hallway.

In our Practical Life area, the children are enjoying water pouring, searching for dinosaurs in the sand, washing a dinosaur, scooping pasta, and sorting valentine objects.

In math, we are counting dinosaurs, practicing numeral writing, researching different ways to make ten, and stamp counting.

We continue our study of Asia; learning about the following countries: Mongolia, Japan, North and South Korea, India, and Turkey. We are learning about the climate, currency, animals, food, flag, and population. Hopefully when you ask your child/children “What’s new at school?” he/she will share all the excitement happening in the classroom.

Reminders:

 February 17-20, Mid-Winter Break. School closed. Todo el Dia open- available by reservation.                                                                                                                                       

February 21, 100^th Day of School (bring 100 objects please).

February 22, Sibling Enrollment Application Deadline

February 26,- March 3, Montessori Week

February 28, Special Persons Day- full day friends 9:00 -10:00am, PM friends 1:00-2:00pm

February 3, 2012

February is an exciting month with Ground Hog Day, Valentine’s Day, and 100th day of school.

Tuesday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. Our class will have the opportunity to hand out Valentine cards to their friends. We ask that they only fill out the “from” part of the card so they can easily distribute the cards themselves. We have 17 friends in our class.

We will be decorating tissue boxes to hold our Valentine cards.

Our current studies include:

Reptiles- lizards and dinosaurs

Nocturnal, diurnal animals.

Omnivore, herbivore and carnivore.

Animals in the winter, hibernation, migration  and animal track rubbing with crayons.

Snow and ice.

Nouns and verbs.

Multiplication.

In Geography we learned Russia is the largest country in the world and is located in Asia and Europe.

The art area has been very busy with many new exciting projects, such as making a snowman out of cotton balls, pin punching a shape of a mitten, painting with rollers and many more.

Reminders: 

February 3-12 Coastline Children’s Film Festival – Various Locations & Dates.

February 7^th Parent Education Night (Montessori Math).

February 8^th Jump Rope for Heart. (Forms are due back February 10^th).

February 9 Board of Directors Meeting.

February 17-20 Mid- Winter Break school closed. Will resume on Tuesday, February 21, 2012

(Todo El Dia open by reservation).

February 21 100^th day of school. Your child/children may bring 100 objects to school for counting. I ask that they are small enough to fit in a zip lock bag.

January 18, 2012

During the month of January, we will change our focus from Africa to Asia.  We will start with the country of China since the children are already familiar with that country from our Winter celebration. We will explore art, music, flags, animals, food and numerous interests. Our journey will end at the Southern tip of Malaysia.

In Science, we are studying reptiles. There are about 6,000 kinds of reptiles. Reptiles have dry scaly skin. They breathe by means of lungs and are cold-blooded. Excitement awaits for dinosaurs!

In our Practical Life area, the children are enjoying water pouring, dish washing, folding baby clothes, scooping beads, stringing shapes and pounding golf tees in play dough.

In math, we are learning at all levels, some children are counting turtles from 1-10, practicing dice addition, using the subtraction board and the subtraction bead frame.

On Tuesday, January 17, we started our day in the Great room by having a community meeting with all the Brookview classrooms. Ms. Jennifer read a book about Martin Luther King Jr. and we sang a few songs with Mr. Larry.

Reminders: January 20^th Snow tubing at Five Pines.

February 3-12 Film Festival

February 7^th Parent Education 6:00 (Math)

February 8^th Jump Rope for heart. (Primary friends will not be participating in the Hop-a-thon this year)

February 14, Valentine’s Day card exchange (more information will follow)

February 17-20 Mid Winter break. Todo El Dia available by reservation.

December 15, 2011

The Winter celebration was a lot of fun, thank you for coming. Also, thank you to Maria Jordan, Maritza Dibkey, Kim Smith, Jennifer Mayo, and Ashlea Dubar for your help with making the evening a great success!

We have been busy at school working on all kinds of new works.

Our studies include:

December Celebrations ( Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza) flour sifting, frosting a cake (shaving cream on a sponge), counting snowmen,  grading sound cylinders (loudest to softest), learning our phone number and address, scrubbing a fish, stringing beads, mixing bubbles in water, using chop sticks to transfer pasta, and our all time favorite giving ourselves a pedicure.

Amphibians- peaceful creatures, hunt live prey, soft damp skin, live around water, cold-blooded with a backbone, breathe water with gills when young, and as an adult it develops lungs.

Parts of a frog, and the life cycle of the frog: spawn, tadpole, and frog.

On Friday, December 16, we will read the story The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone and will make our own Gingerbread boy cookies.

Please send your child dressed appropriately for going outside to the playground. When buying snowsuits, coats, etc. please try to find the one that the child can manipulate independently: check the zipper or other fasteners, as well as the overall garment design. One of the goals in our Montessori classroom is to help the child learn to do for him/ herself. Unmanageable clothing hinders independence and is frustrating for the child.

Friday, December 2, 2011

 Our study of volcanoes has been an exciting journey. We made a model volcano erupt, talked about the “Ring of Fire” where the most activity on earth happens. Earth has more than 1,500 active volcanoes. Most are under the ocean. Some are on land. About 60 volcanoes erupt each year.       

Our studies include:

·         Fish- a cold-blooded animal that lives in water and has scales, fins, and gills.

·         Hand transferring treasures from a bowl of pasta.

·         Using a garlic press to squeeze wet sponges

·          Letter sounds

·         Pouring water from a pitcher to three small glasses

·         Writing

 We continue to learn about Africa, focusing on individual countries and their defining elements such as language, climate, geography, food, flags, and culture, etc.

 Our class is participating in feeding the sheep and goats at Brookview. Our scheduled day for feeding the animals is on Thursdays. We feed them once in the afternoon. The children have been very helpful and excited!

 We have been busy getting ready for Brookview’s Winter Celebration on Tuesday, December 13. We are learning about China and making decorations for the classroom. The Primary students learned an African song and will have the opportunity sing it with Mr. Larry in the Great room at 5:30, the night of the Winter celebration.

Reminders:

·         Saturday, December 3, 2011 Leaf Raking Extravaganza!  10:30-?

·         Sunday, December 4, 2011 Pitch- in Party for the Annual Fundraiser  at Lost Dunes 11:00-1:00

·         Tuesday, December 6, 2011 Upper & Lower Elementary Moving Up meeting.

·         Tuesday, December 13, 2011 Winter Celebration at 5:30

·         Friday, December 16, 2011 PP3 making Gingerbread cookies.

·         Friday December 23, 2011 making Stone Soup (more information will follow).

·         December 26-30 Winter Break All programs closed

·         January 2-6 2012 Winter Break.  School closed.  Infant and Toddler open only

·         School will resume on January 9, 2012

November 16, 2011

We continue our journey through Africa, studying its mountains, grasslands, desserts, people, flags, music, and the Nile River.

We have been very busy preparing for the Thanksgiving. We read the book, The First Thanksgiving, and learned the true meaning of why people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The children made placemats, pin punched a paper turkey and learned new songs. We will celebrate Thanksgiving at school by preparing pumpkin pies and of course eating them!

Our studies include:

·         Parts of a turkey

·         Warm colors and color grading (dark to light)

·         Pilgrims and turkey counting and counting by tens

·         Layers of the Earth

·         Rocks and Minerals

·         Oceans

·         Constructive triangles (rhombus, trapezoid, parallelogram and hexagon)

·         Setting a table (plate, glass, spoon, fork, knife and napkin)

We switched to the continent of Asia to learn about China for the Winter Celebration on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. We have been making paper lanterns to decorate the class for the celebration. If you or a family member has ever been to China or any country in Africa and would be willing to come to the class and give a presentation that would be great!

Reminders:

·         Primary Dad’s Night Monday, November 21, 2011 6:00-7:00.

·         Thanksgiving Holiday Wednesday, November 23- Friday, November 25, 2011.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

November 2, 2011

The Classroom has been a busy environment. New materials have come out to capture interest, such as sink and float, shaving cream on a table, zipping, buttoning, snapping, tying, using the dressing frames, tonging pasta, scooping beans and pouring water from one container to another.

In science we are studying the parts of a leaf, and how it produces food for the tree, and the changes of the tree in the four seasons.

We are continuing our study of geography with the children. We are now learning north, south, east and west. We have discussed east, where the sun appears to come up, and west, where the sun appears to go down. When pointing the right arm to the east, and the left arm to the west, one is facing north, south is behind. We used a compass to orient ourselves around the room. We labeled the walls to indicate N, S, E, and W.

 We are coming to an end on our study of land and water formations. The children used maps to locate the land and water formations.

We are singing a song to learn the names of the continents, and have started our study of Africa.

With the cold weather approaching we are encouraging the children to be independent and dress themselves to go outside. We are learning how to put our jackets on using the “flip flop” method.

Please send in warmer spare clothing. The summer spare clothing will be sent home when the warmer clothes arrive.

Our Pajama day was a great success! The children really enjoyed watching the movie with the other Primary friends. We carved a pumpkin and the children helped scoop out the seeds and pulp.

Reminders: November 7 vision and hearing  Re-screening.

November 8 Primary Mom's night.

November 15 Picture re-take.

November 21 Primary Dad's Night.

November 23-25 Thanksgiving Holiday School Closed.

Pajama Day!

Monday, October  31, 2011

Wear your favorite PJs to school and bring your favorite stuffed animal and a blanket.

We will be watching the movie " It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown".

                                                                                                                                       Friday, October 14^th 2011

We are having a fantastic time learning! Our class has been working on the “Story of Creation”, and the scientific story of the solar system’s birth. The children were told that this is one of the many stories of the history of the solar systems. The story of the solar systems has lead us to blast off into space, and learn about the planets, their atmosphere, the sun, moon, stars, comets, the asteroid belt, astronauts, space shuttles,  satellites, and mysteries of space! Ask your child about “Jupiter’s Red Spot”. From space we observed land, water and air on earth, and learned that earth is the only planet that we know of that is able to sustain life. It has been a very exciting journey leading to the discovery of continent identification, and learning land and water formations. The study of life will follow.

Other lessons we’ve been working on include: Geometric  solids,  patterning, opposites, the parts of an apple, the growth of an apple, pin punching an apple shape, apple counting, apple painting, and we made caramel apples.

It’s Pumpkin Time!

Pumpkins tend to be at the forefront this time of year. In PP3 we have an abundance of them. We are singing a song about the life cycle of the pumpkin (from tiny seed to pie).  Pumpkin scrubbing has been introduced, along with pumpkin counting, pumpkin matching, pounding golf tees into pumpkins and many pumpkin art projects. Our favorite line-time story is The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams. We hope to create more pumpkin art projects and pumpkin goodies before the month is out-we’ll keep you posted.

It was nice to talk with each and every one of you who attended conferences.

Reminders: October 25 Picture Day.

October 27 Parent Education, guest speaker: Michael Duffy.

October 28 Professional Development Day. School closed. Todo el dia closed.

October 31 Pajama Day! More info soon to come

September 28, 2011

We have concluded our study on safety. The Benton Township Fire Department came to Brookview to talk about fire safety procedures at school and at your home. The best part was getting to walk through the fire truck.

We are also learning about the food pyramid and what kinds of food we should eat to stay healthy. We are talking about other ways to keep our bodies healthy; such as bathing regularly, brushing our teeth twice a day, drinking plenty of water, getting at least eight to nine hours of sleep every night, and exercising.

Other lessons we are studying include: primary colors, mixing primary colors to make secondary colors, cutting with scissors, learning our last name, calendar, parts of the apple, and seasons.

Thank you to all the parents for following our drop off and dismissal procedures. It is critical that we work together for the safety of the children, and to make their arrival to school and dismissal from school an easy transition.

Reminders: Wednesday and Thursday October 5 and 6 Parent/ Teacher Conferences-School  Closed.

October 25 Picture Day.

Welcome back to school!

Hello Parents,                                    September 14, 2011                                                             

We’re off to a great start! The children are getting comfortable in the classroom after being away for summer break. New students have had the help of returning students and seem to be falling right on track with our daily routine.

We have been learning our classroom ground rules: being respectful to the materials, and our friends, how to handle a conflict appropriately using the peace rose, waiting patiently for our turn to have snack,  common courtesies such as please and thank you, chewing with our mouth closed, talking without food in our mouth, and how to cough and sneeze into our sleeve to prevent spreading germs to our friends, and to always wash our hands after using the bathroom, and before eating, using walking feet and putting our works away when finished.

We are singing songs to learn each other’s names and  making new friends.

We have started our study on safety. We’re learning what to do if a stranger approaches and who to tell, and what number to dial if we have an emergency. We also talked about fire drill procedures at school. Ask your child what they should do if their clothes catch on fire.

If you did not attend parent orientation on Tuesday, September 6 and would like to sign up to volunteer, please let me know.

Wednesday is muffin day! I will send home the muffin mix with your child on their scheduled day to be prepared with you, and returned to the class for Wednesday snack. If you are a PM parent; please return the muffin mix on Tuesday.

If your child/children are still having a tough time coming to school that is normal. Here are some tips that will make it easier for you and your child: Be consistent with bringing him/her to school. Try to be on time; it’s a little uncomfortable to enter a room full of people after work time has started. Reassure your child that you will be back soon and please try to be on time to pick him/her up. Please follow the drop off procedures; separation seems to be much harder when you walk them to the class.

Reminders: Tuesdays share day (no toys please) Fridays are folder day, please take your child’s papers out and return the folder on Monday. Your child may not take home a folder every week; that means there are no papers going home. Most of our lessons are hands-on classroom materials.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.

Tuesday, 5-31-11

Thank you to all the parents who attended the Brookview Auction and for bidding on our classroom project! We are also very thankful that some of our wishing tree leaves were taken! We will soon be receiving new materials for the class.

It’s hard to believe we are at the end of the school year. It has been a wonderful year full of making friends, laughter, and lots of learning. We have observed children acquiring new knowledge, refining social skills, and participating in activities ranging from Spanish and Music to cooperative play outdoors. It has been a great pleasure working with your children, and we look forward to seeing them in the fall. For those who are moving on, we wish you the best of luck in the future.

The journey doesn’t have to be over; we have a wonderful Summer Camp planned! Summer Camp is a fun filled opportunity to continue the Montessori Method, and explore fun and exciting new adventures. So pack your sunscreen and join us for a great time.

Thank you to all the parent volunteers for all your time and hard work. It wouldn’t have been possible to do all the activities we did without your help.

June 3, is the last day of school. There will be an all school picnic following dismissal at 11:00. Our class is responsible for bringing side dishes to the picnic.

Please remember that our class will dismiss from the playground at 11:00.

Have a safe and wonderful summer!

May 18, 2011

The Butterflies completed their metamorphosis stage successfully! The children were very excited about the butterflies release to freedom and the knowledge that the lifecycle would start all over again!

We have concluded our study of insects to learn about Arachnids. We learned that “Daddy-Longlegs” are actually not spiders. They are arachnids, with eight legs. We learned that it’s important to respect spiders because they help people by eating insects that are harmful to plants or those that carry disease.

The Hop-a-thon was a great success! The children bounced on jump balls, blew bubbles, played kick ball, bean bag toss, and ate cookies.

This Saturday, May 21, is the Brookview Auction. I Hope to see everyone there!

 Thank you for making our Teacher Appreciation Week so special!

Reminders:

Unveiling of the Art in St. Joe. Friday, May 20.

Brookview Auction Saturday, May 21.

Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. Friday, May 21-30. All school Closed.

Last Day of School. Friday, June 3. School Closes at 11:00 AM. School Picnic immediately following dismissal.

PP3 class will dismiss from the playground at Brookview.

May 4, 2011

The children continue to explore new and familiar lessons in the classroom. We added different art activities, new Mathematics lessons including ladybug counting, insect stamping, and introduced cursive writing using our new cursive movable alphabet.

Insects have invaded Practical Life! Some popular works are sorting and matching butterflies, dragonflies, and ladybugs, seed planting, scooping worms from one bowl of water to another, searching for ants in a bowl of pasta, mixing bubbles, and pickle slicing.

Our focus in science has shifted to insects. We have insect matching, 3-part match cards of the grasshopper and fly, and we learned some very interesting facts about many different kinds of insects and how important insects are to our environment.

We are very excited to have the opportunity to study live butterfly larvae! The children will be observing and discussing the “Metamorphosis” stages of the butterfly. Our larvae will soon be in the chrysalis stage.

Everyone should have received a Hop-a thon form.  The forms are due Thursday, May 5^th.

The Brookview Auction is soon approaching and we have finished our bookshelf. It is so adorable! If you have not sent in your book or stuffed animal for the bookshelf, please do so as soon as possible.

Thank you to all of the “Beautify Brookview Days” volunteers! The School looks fabulous!

Reminders:

May 19, at 6:00 PM Board of Directors Meeting.

May 21, from 5:00-8:00 PM Brookview Auction at Acorn Theater in Three Oaks.

May 27, through May 30, Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. All School Closed.

April 20, 2011

With the coming of spring our science studies have focused on flowers. The children are learning the parts of a flower; along with matching many different kinds of flowers that grow in the Americas.

The children are noticing changes outdoors! Crocuses are blooming and leaf buds on the trees can be seen. Robins have returned and hopefully snow will no longer be in the forecast.

Our studies include:

Telling time, digestive system, long squaring chains, biomes, cursive, estimating quantity, the mystery number in math, matching and sorting spring objects, and pouring pitchers of water using a funnel.

Congratulations Sullivan, on the arrival of your baby brother!

Reminders: April 21, Earth Day. Tour the Prairie while singing songs with Mr. Larry.

April 22, African Cats at Celebration Cinema 9:15-11:15

April 23, Indoor Yard Sale at Brookview 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

April 29-30, Beautify Brookview Days. Friday during school hours

May 1, Open House for Perspective Families, 2:00-4:00 PM

May 5, Hop for Leukemia and Lymphoma (Primary Classrooms)

March 30, 2011

 The final days before spring break are upon us and the children and teachers are looking forward to warmer weather!

With the coming of spring our science studies have focused on seeds. We read the story Jack and the Beanstalk and grew our own lima bean plant. The children were fascinated by the growth of their plant.

This week we weighed and measured your child. This was part of our study of measurement and weight.

Our studies include: Parts of the inside and outside of the body, rainbows, science experiment-(solid, liquid, and gas), tracing letters in sand, Montessori Bells-(grading the high to low sounds), and spring.

We continue learning about the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The children learned that the Amazon Rainforest is in danger. Many parts of the forest have been cleared for ranching, logging, and farming. This takes away places where plants and animals can live. The Amazon Rainforest produces 20 percent of Earth’s oxygen.

Reminders: April 4-8 Spring Break. School Closed Childcare available for children 3 and over by Reservation.

April 12 Montessori Curriculum Night (for parents) 6:00 PM.

April 16 Brookview 5K Run and 1K fun run.

April 23 Indoor Yard Sale at Brookview.

April 29-30 Beautify Brookview Weekend.

Have a safe and wonderful Spring Break!

March 16,2011

Thank you for attending your child / children’s conference. It was great to see everyone and have the opportunity to share your child / children’s progress in his or her development.

We continue to explore the world of mammals; learning about their different characteristics, such as all mammals have fur or hair, warm-blooded, vertebrates, females give birth to live babies, and feed them milk that their bodies produce.

Our studies include: parts of a mammal (rabbit, gerbil, camel, person,) money, patterns, story sequence, shamrock counting, polishing pennies, and mammal sorting.

Dr. Seuss’ birthday was a great hit! We started our day by watching “Horton Hears a who” and enjoyed green eggs during the movie. We learned some facts about Dr. Seuss, and read several of his favorite children’s books. Ms. Jennifer read his book titled One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish in Spanish. The children participated in many fun activities; such as, stepping into red and yellow paint and walking across paper, making “oobleck”, and practicing rhyming words. For snack, Ms. Sue and Keira Sue made the Primary friends a cake shaped like the Dr. Seuss hat!

Reminders:

March 22, Re-enrollment Contracts Due

March 24-25, Professional Development. School closed.

April 4-8, Spring Break.

April 12, Montessori Curriculum Night. (for parents) 6:00 PM. Childcare available for all programs by reservation. 

April 16, Brookview 5K Run and 1K Kids Fun Run.

February 24, 2011

February has been an exciting month with Ground Hog Day, Dad’s Night, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Jump Rope for Heart and Special Person’s Day, all in one month.

We have concluded our study of birds and started learning about mammals. Our studies include parts of a horse, vertebrate, and warm-blooded.

Other lessons include: parts of a flag- (we matched South America’s flags to their country), carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore animal matching, counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s, and 10’s, measuring inches using a ruler and tape measure, painting with water colors, and marble painting, animal classification-(amphibian, fish, reptiles, and mammals), letter sounds- (matching the beginning sounds of objects to letters),story sequence, pin punching South America, washing dishes, scooping snow in a bowl, division, and making horse puppets.

Reminders: March 1, Community Meeting 6:00 PM. Todo El Dia available by reservation.

 March 9-10 Parent teacher conferences. School closed. Todo El Dia available by reservation.

March 24-25 AMS (American Montessori Society Conference) Professional Development Day. School closed.  Todo El Dia closed. 

April 4-8 Spring break.

January 25, 2011

In science, we are talking about dinosaurs. The children enjoy digging, researching, and learning interesting facts. To help the students comprehend the true size of the dinosaurs, they unroll premeasured lengths of yarn and stretch it all the way out to get a real understanding of how long the different kinds of dinosaurs really were. It is very exciting for them to watch the yarn be unraveled...to try to imagine if a particular dinosaur would have even fit in our classroom! Some of the dinosaurs were so big that the yarn extends all the way into the hallway!

We have begun the study of South America with its many wonderful countries, cultures, animals, and regions.

In our Practical Life area, the children are enjoying water pouring, searching for dinosaurs in sand, setting a table, scooping beans, and washing an alligator etc.

In math, we are learning at all levels, some children are counting snowmen, practicing dice addition, using the subtraction and multiplication boards and learning fractions using pizza slices.

Reminders: January 27, Mom’s night, January 28, Snow-tubing, and February 10, Dad’s night.

December 15, 2010

Greetings,                                                             

The winter celebration was a lot of fun! Thank you for coming. Also, 

Thank you to all the parents who helped to make that evening a great success.

We have been busy at school working on all kinds of new works. We have studied fish. We learned to identify their parts and specific characteristics that make them unique. Also, with the continuation of our study of North America, we are currently focusing on Mexico and Central America. We have discussed individual countries and their defining elements such as language, climate, geography, food, and culture, etc.

Other lessons we are studying include:

December Holidays, folded scissor cutting, rolling dough and using cookie cutters, sifting flour, frosting a cake (shaving cream on a sponge), counting snowmen, grating a bar of soap and washing a baby doll.

We are also studying our five senses (pickle tasting, touch tablets, smelling jars, sound cylinders, and sight.)

Have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Reminder:

December 20- January 3, school closed. Holiday Break

December 1, 2010

Hello Parents,                                                      

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving break.

We read the book, The First Thanksgiving, and learned the true meaning of why some people celebrate Thanksgiving Day. The children made Pilgrim and Native American hats, learned new songs, made placemats and enjoyed banana pudding and corn bread we made in class.

Our study of volcanoes has been an exciting journey. We made a model volcano erupt, talked about the “Ring of Fire” where the most activity on earth happens.

Other lessons we are studying include: rocks and minerals, layers of the earth,  vertebrate/ invertebrate, matching animals of the different continents, polygons, triangles, weaving, Pilgrim counting and pin punching turkeys; all are sampling of activities being done. Brookview is an exciting learning environment where the children are making a lot happen.

We continue our study of North America; learning about the country of Canada.

Our studies include: flag, animals, climate and food.

As fall comes to an end, on the first day of winter, we’ll celebrate the new season, hopefully with the winter activities outside. Please have outdoor apparel at the school for the big event!

Reminders:

December 7, Winter Celebration.

December 8, Tupperware Fund Raiser.

December 20 thru January 3 school closed. Holiday break

November 11, 2010 

Hello Parents,                                                  

We are having a fantastic time learning. Last week we started our study of trees. Autumn is perfect for creating an awareness of trees, leaves, and roots. We went on a leaf hunt and closely examined them to identify the veins and the other parts.

Other lessons we are studying include: color grading-(dark to light), warm colors, paint mixing, parts of a root, rough/ smooth, sound cylinders-(grading loud to soft, and matching the sounds),and  the parts of a volcano.

We continue our study in Geography learning about the United States. We started by talking about Michigan and continued by exploring the concept of cardinal directions. Also, in our studies of direction, we are learning to distinguish right and left by singing the “hokey pokey”.

The children had a great time learning the land and water formations and locating them on the maps.

We’ve concluded our study of oceans. We labeled the map of the world and watched a movie on ocean animals.

Please remember that the window for dropping off Full day children is 7:45-8:00. The PM drop off time is 11:30. When children arrive after these times, they are late for school, which is neither in their best interest nor in the best interest of their classmates. So, please try to have your child/ children arrive at school on time.

Reminder: November 24-26 Thanksgiving Holiday school closed.

October 29,2010 

Dear Parents,                                                                                                                                                                                                        

The classroom has been a busy environment. New materials have come out to capture interest, such as sink and float, shaving cream on a table, zipping, buttoning, tying using the dressing frames, tonging worms, and searching for treasures in a bowl of cooked pasta.

In science we are studying the parts of a leaf, and how it produces food for the tree, and the changes of the tree in the four seasons.

We are continuing our study of geography with the children. We are now studying north, south, east and west. We have discussed east, where the sun appears to come up, and west, where the sun appears to go down. When pointing the right arm to the east, and the left arm to the west, one is facing north, south is behind. We used a compass to orient ourselves around the room. We labeled the walls to indicate N, S, E, and W.

In driving to and from school during the next several weeks, please talk with your child/ children about the directions you are driving. Refer to directions in your general talk. This will make the “directions” experience at school more meaningful.

We are singing a song to learn the names of the continents, and have started our study with the continent of North America.

With the cold weather approaching, we are encouraging the children to be independent and dress themselves to go outside. We are learning how to put our jackets on using the “flip flop” method. Ask your child/children to show you how to “flip flop”.

Reminders: October 29, Professional Development Day school closed.

                      November 4, Picture Re-take Day

Have a great week!

October 13, 2010  

Greetings,                                                                                                                                           Our class has been working on the “Story of Creation”, and the scientific story of the solar system’s birth. The children were told that this is one of the many stories of the history of the solar system. The story of the solar system has led us to blast off into space, and learn about the atmosphere of the planets, sun, moon, constellations and the stars. From space we observed land, water, and air on earth, and learned that earth is the only planet known to sustain life. It has been a very exciting journey leading to the discovery of continent identification, and learning land and water formations. The study of life will follow.

Other lessons we are studying include: color mixing, secondary colors, pumpkin counting, growth of a pumpkin, pumpkin scrubbing, reading, letter sounds, writing, painting, and sensorial materials.

We will be adding flower cutting and arranging to the Practical life area of our classroom, and would like to continue this through the rest of the year. I’ve made a schedule of every family to please send a bouquet of fresh flowers with your child on their scheduled day. I will send a schedule home with your child/ children.

Wednesdays are muffin day! If your child is a PM friend, please prepare the muffins and send them with your child Tuesday at drop off or at pick up, so we can have them for snack Wednesday morning.

Thank you for attending your child/children’s conference. It was a pleasure talking and getting to know all of you better.

Reminders: October 21, Picture day

October 29, Professional development day school closed

September 29, 2010
Hello Parents,                                                                
We are learning about the food pyramid and what kinds of foods we should eat to stay healthy. We are also learning other ways to keep our bodies healthy-bathing regularly, brushing our teeth, drinking plenty of water, getting at least eight to nine hours of sleep every night, and exercising.

Other lessons we’ve been working on include: color mixing, apple painting, learning the names of the shapes built with the constructive triangles such as the rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid, and the hexagon. We also started our study on apples. We will be learning the parts of an apple, the growth of an apple, and taste different kinds of apples, along with making apple sauce. I am asking that each child please bring two apples to share with the class by Monday, October 4, 2010.

Tuesday, September 21, our class celebrated The International Day of Peace by singing “Light a Candle for Peace,” with all the friends of Brookview School, and many other schools around the world.

If you haven’t returned your conference form yet, please do so as soon as possible.

Reminders: October 6 and October 7, 2010 School closed.

Have a great week.

We are off to a great start! The children are getting comfortable in the classroom after being away for summer break. New students have had the help of returning students and seem to be enjoying their new friends.

We are singing new songs to learn each other’s names, calendar, and the weather.

We started the new school year by learning and reviewing our classroom ground rules and common courtesies.

Our studies include:

Safety- tornado and fire drill, strangers, harmful/ non harmful, shapes

Practical Life lessons-spooning, scooping, pouring, sorting, hand transfer and tonging.

Other lessons we are studying include:

How to handle a conflict appropriately, big and little, sweeping with a broom and cutting with scissors.

September 1, 2010.  Hello!  Wednesday, September 8 is the start of our new school year.  I am ready and excited to see all my new students and to welcome back my returning students. 

I have been busy setting up the classroom and getting ready for the first day of school.  The classroom looks different, but the philosophy and materials are just the same. 

I hope you had a wonderful summer and your children are ready for an exciting and fun-filled year full of new learning experiences.

I look forward to working with your children this year.  Thank you for entrusting us with their care!