It is clearly not going to be a winter of snow drifts and cozy days off school.
Category: school
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Blocks
In our outdoor classroom we have a set of simple wood blocks, slices of some branches that came down in our yard. They get used for just about anything—pretending, building, loading into the wheelbarrow.
Today I found myself marveling at these beautiful creations.
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Learning to tie a bow
One of the most difficult works in the classroom. She finally mastered it and is bursting with pride.
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Today in class we talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his significance in history. At this age, we try to find a gentle way to talk about this subject.
We began with a basket of eggs in a variety of colors. We gave each child an egg and asked them describe it—color, size, and shape. Then one at a time, we asked for the eggs back, cracking them into a big bowl. What we noticed was that while the shells of the eggs looked very different, for the most part, the insides of the eggs looked very much the same.
We talked about how this was much like people—we look very different, but on the inside we are very much the same. We told the children that this was the work of Dr. King, to spread the idea that he felt all people should be treated equally, regardless of the differences we might see on the outside. We all deserve love, respect, and a chance to thrive.
(I wish I could say this was my original idea, but some brilliant mind thought it up some time ago.)
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Softies
Neko’s class just wrapped up a unit on sewing as part of their STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) curriculum. I really can’t even stand how amazing the creations that came out of this class are. Those kids, every one of them, managed to create a work of art.
This is one of those moments when I know exactly why our kids go to school here.
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A horse, of course!
I don’t mean to brag, but I really do have the most amazing bunch of parents in my preschool class. My guess is, by the end of the year, each one will have come in to share their knowledge or talent with us.
This is mammal week. In the Montessori science curriculum, the horse is the animal that represents mammals. In an ideal world, you investigate a live animal and then move to the more abstract learning works. This has not been terribly difficult as we’ve explored insects and birds. But when one of our parents offered to bring her horse to school for the morning, I have no other response but…YES, PLEASE! As a bonus, each child got to take a ride around the campus.
Seriously…who gets this lucky?
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Matryoshka
We’ve been studying Russia this week. Each child got a blank set of nesting dolls to decorate and take home to their parents as a holiday gift.
