Ready for First Grade!

As the school year comes to a close, the Lunchers have packed their guidance suitcases full of friendship skills. They are playground and classroom problem solvers!

Here's are the strategies they have packed:
                       1. Taking care of ourselves when we are worried or sad.

                        2. Cooling down with "Dive into Five" when feeling angry.

                        3. Knowing when and how to get help.

                      4. Practicing  the art of compromise ("give a little, get a little.")

                 5. Deciding whether an action was an accident or on purpose. Always saying "Sorry!"

                      6. Knowing ways to join in a game--watching first or asking the rules.

                       7. Knowing ways to be inclusive--inviting others to join in.

                            8. Using I statements: "I feel_______when _______. I want ______."

                     9. Listening to "the other side" or using "echo-listening" to respond.

                     10. Using the Problem Solving Steps:
                               What is the problem?
                                How do I feel?
                               What are some possible solutions?
                               What solution will work best? or what is the "Best Bet?"

                                     

                                                        Friendship is amazing!

                                          Ready! Set!  First Grade, Here We Come!  

Meet the Harp

Today Mrs. Fabreguettes, Guilhem's mom, brought her concert harp to school.  It was awesome!

            The harp was very tall.  It weighs about 80 pounds, and is made of special wood.

The harp has a pedal for each note in the scale. Pressing the pedal changes the pitch by loosening or tightening the strings.

                              Harp and flute often play together in Chamber Music.

                             

                                We were able to try to play crescendo.

                           The 47 strings were hard to pluck one at a time!

                                    You can use your thumb, too!

                         We have some budding harpists in Montessori!

   

                   
                                 Thank you Mrs. Fabreguettes and Mrs. Pabon. The music was beautiful!

Montessori: A Place for Development

ND = Needs Development. That's a good thing! Mother Nature cannot be rushed! We can provide opportunities and experiences that give children significant practice. This is especially important in the development of motor coordination. Practice does "make better!"

The environment must offer  the child learning activities that incorporate movement and the senses to best capture and build knowledge.    --Maria Montessori

In his quest for independence a child would like to "do it myself."  Purposeful work is preferred.

The world does not always cooperate, however.  Parent are often in a hurry, or there is traffic in the carpool line, or a line at the checkout counter ...

Here are some suggestions for changing ND to AD:
Climbing unassisted into the car and car seat.
Buckling seat belts
Dressing oneself head to toe
Tying shoes
Folding laundry
Using scissors
Helping with planting and weeding the garden
Helping wash the car
Tearing lettuce for salad
Folding napkins and setting the table
Kneading dough for bread or rolls

Education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the individual and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment.  --Maria Montessori

Needs Development is an essential stage. It is growth potential. It needs nurture. When growth happens, self-confidence explodes!

Sometimes very small children in a proper environment develop skill and exactness in their work that can only surprise us.   --Maria Montessori

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.