Into the Woods

Thursday, April 18, the Lunchers went on field trip to Locust Grove Nature Center. It was a field and woods trip to explore the world of amphibians up close. The weather was perfect--for amphibians!


First the Lunchers learned about the characteristics of amphibians:
vertebrates
moist skin
jelly-like eggs
and ,of course, metamorphosis!




Off to the pond to check out the Wood Frog's tadpoles.

 Then, back into the pond!

On to search for the red-backed salamanders.

                                Salamanders found--under logs and under large rocks!

  No tadpoles here!  The Lunchers found mosquito larvae, however. Where are frogs when they are needed!

The Lunchers explored several possible habitats as they looked for frogs, toads, salamanders and newts.
This beautiful sycamore tree looked like a shady place for children, but there were no puddles for frogs.

                              This part of the creek would make a safe place for eggs and tadpoles.

                            This part of the creek had swift running water so no tadpoles here!

                                 We found a bridge similar to the one in Monet's Garden!

                         
                                                  Water Lilies?  No! Dandelions!

Tiny bees laid their eggs in these tubes.  Soon the bees will hatch and pollinate the flowers nearby.

                              This log had termites hiding beneath it! They were chewing wood!

                                           We enjoyed our time at Locust Grove!

                                 
                                       Back to school. It's lunch time for Lunchers!

Art Investigators

Today the Lunchers traveled to The National Gallery of Art to become art investigators in the East Building.  As they entered the main floor, they found Alexander Calder's very large mobile right above them! It is called "Untitled" because he did not name the commissioned work before he died.  And, it was moving ever so slowly as they walked up the stairs to see it from the balcony.

The Lunchers found lots of shapes and colors in "Bicycle Race" by Lyonel Feininger.  They learned to look closely for details!

They learned that artists use the color red to say,"Look here!" when they studied "The Farm" by Joan Miro.  They used a little "I Spy" game to find all kinds of things Miro put in his farm scene--and it was really his farm in Spain!

The Lunchers studied how artists use lines in Picasso's "Harlequin Musician." The found curving lines, diagonal lines and parallelograms, too.

Do you know what a maquette is?  It is mini art.  We saw the maquette Calder made for The Gallery in the Calder Room along with many other mobiles and his animal stabiles.  We learned a new word, too.  Calder's used biomorphic shapes in his work.  That means they were shapes from nature and not geometric like Mondrian's.

Henri Matisse's Cut-Outs are enormous and so colorful!  It was wonderful to see some of them after reading Drawing With Scissors.  We are going to  use some of his shapes to make our own art projects at school.

There is so much more to see!! Our docent invited us to come back with our families to see more art.  We will have to come soon however, since The Gallery is closing for a three year renovation in November.  We missed seeing  Jackson Pollock's "Lavender Mist," but we can visit The Phillips where it will be during the construction.

Happy Families

The Secrets of Happy Families might just help you find some smart solutions to those pesky problems and teachable moments all family face as they endeavor to create a happy home in 2013.

Bestselling author Bruse Feiler has done some interesting research.  His interview on Today Show was intriguing so I bought the book and used my recent airport wait time reading it.  I think you'll find it thought provoking.  It doesn't have all THE answers, but it does begin the questions!

       All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.  __Leo Tolstoy

Reptile or Amphibian

Boris the Tortoise visited with the Montessori Owls this morning.  Meeting a reptile "up close and personal" was very interesting! 

                              Boris is seven and he's s ticklish!  He's friendly, too!

The Owls learned lots of interesting facts about reptiles and amphibians by visiting the four stations our Audubon Naturalist, Mr. James, set up in the flex room.

Reptiles have rough scaly skin.  Alessandra said, "It feels like a football!"  Amphibians have smooth, slimy skin. Both use camouflage to escape predators.

                 Reptiles lay eggs with leathery shells.  Amphibians lay jelly-like eggs.  They felt sticky!

One black rat snake skin was longer than Sean and one was longer than Mrs. Mustard-Scott! The snake skins felt dry and bumpy and were paper thin.

                        Snakes shed their skin like we take off our socks--inside out.

          Reptiles and amphibians are vertebrates.  That means they have a backbone like ours.

Mr. James helped us learn how to tell the differences between reptiles and amphibians.  It can be tricky sometimes. The Hellbender and spotted salamander are amphibians and so are toads!

Resiliency

 "The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence."
                                                                                   Denis Waitley, American Author

                              The goal of parenting is to raise happy and successful adults.


                              Montessori's goal was (and is) "to educate the human potential."

Resiliency is the key! It is the ability of a child to deal effectively with stress and pressure, to cope with challenges, to bounce back from adversity, and to solve problems.  It is also the ability to develop realistic goals and relate well with others, kindly and respectfully.

Children who are resilient see mistakes as challenges rather than risks to avoid.  Failure is merely a first try! Practice makes better.

They recognize their strengths as well as their weaknesses.  They can get what they need in a positive way--acceptance, love, optimism, attention. They can make "kid-size" decisions--what to wear, what book to read at bedtime, apple or orange for snack... The respect others.

Children who are resilient are thoughtful and kind. They know how to reach out to help others.  They are bucket-fillers!









Bibliography for Parents:
* Raising Resilient Children by Rob Brooks and Sam Goldstein

* Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World by Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson

* Kid Cooperation by Elizabeth Pantley

* Raising A Self-Disciplined Child by Rob Brooks

* Spring PEP classes: PEPparent.org