Bruno Lower El Classroom 1

Cultural lessons these past two weeks included a Montessori Great Lesson on the History of Language. We also had cultural lessons on the scientific method, land and water forms, and the Porifera Phylum.

Lessons given to small groups included a grammar lesson introducing the article part of part of speech, adding fractions, comparing fractions, constructing polygons with the geometric stick box, using the checkboard for calculating multiplication problems, and a variety of word studies with homophones, homonyms, and homographs.

We have also been learning about Veteran’s Day and gratitude at Thanksgiving through the use of our November Scholastic Readers.

Thank you to everyone for sending in the incredible amount of food for our food drive (see photo below). This has been a wonderful opportunity for students to demonstrate gratitude for all they have been given by sharing with those in need. Your children are wonderfully kind to each other and show gratitude in the classroom on a daily basis. Thank you!

We hope you enjoy quality family time together next week.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Ms. Carolyn and Ms. Genie

We started our week with a celebration of Halloween. Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, and friends who turned out for our Annual Halloween Parade. It was a success. Next the students showed their costumes on line and read their costume paragraphs. The day ended with a Halloween party that included bingo, relay races and lot of other fun and games.

Our field trip to American Village was a success. The two week study before the field trip helped prepare us for the information shared by the staff in character at American Village. Chief Massasoit was the class favorite. The bus ride was of course the main event for many of the students.

We look forward to another fun week ahead.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

It is hard to believe that we will be in November next week! We have had a busy week in Classroom 1. Our Cultural lessons this week continue to focus on Colonial Times in preparation for our field trip to the American Village next week. In addition, we are reading a historical account of the creation of the Mayflower Compact.

During our class work time, students continue to work at their individual level in each curriculum area. Group lessons were given on expanded notation, odd/even numbers, polygons, homophones, fraction number lines, and calculating missing addends in an addition equation.

Each student has the opportunity to read a library book at home and take an Accelerated Reader quiz on the book at school the next day. The book must come back to school the day your child takes the quiz so that we can locate the correct book online. Many times we need the author in order to locate the exact book your child read. The AR quizzes are a great opportunity to check for reading comprehension. Books selected must be on your child’s reading level. If you don’t know the reading level you can use their grade level as a starting point.

Reminders:

Next Monday your child should come in costume with the paragraph about their character. Also, make sure your child has a complete change of clothes since we will only be wearing the costume at the beginning of the day.

Tuesday, November 1st is our field trip. We will be leaving around 8:30 so have your child here no later than 8am. Send a sack lunch and disposable drink. Have your child dress for the weather with comfortable walking shoes.

As always let us know if you have any questions.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

The Fall Festival was a success! Thank you to everyone for your support. Picture day went really well. I saw a lot of beautiful smiles. The preview of James and the Giant Peach was amazing. The actors, sets, and music were impressive. I hope everyone can attend the performance on Friday night. The presentation on Divali was fun and interesting all at the same time. Thank you to all the parents who contributed.

On November 1st we are going on a field trip to the American Village. The presentation will focus on Thanksgiving in Colonial times. In order to prepare for this experience, all of our cultural lessons for this week and next are centered around Colonial Times. Food during Colonial Times was one of the lessons. Students were able to sample Colonial cookies and cider. The journey the ships traveled to bring the Pilgrims to Plymouth was also presented. Another presentation was on the Mayflower Compact. We are also reading a book about William Bradford and the Mayflower Compact for the next two weeks. The final lesson presented this week was the Colonial Thanksgiving experience.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

The Fall Festival is coming up this Sunday from 1 to 3. There will be lots of fun for children of all ages. This year we will be having a dunking booth where the students can purchase tickets for an opportunity to get some of their favorite teachers and staff wet.  There will also be an opportunity to purchase ornaments, plates, and mugs that they can create from Do It Yourself crafts. If you would like to volunteer you can use the following link to sign up:

https://signup.com/go/QWwgrT

On October 31 we will have our annual JBMA Halloween Parade. It is one of our annual traditions where students have an opportunity to dress up and learn from each other in a respectful manner.  Students are invited to dress up as a character from a book, historical figure, or cultural representative. We aim to keep Halloween light-hearted and fun for everyone, and therefore will not allow weapons, masks, or anything scary.  Our costume parade brings us together and we need to respect the needs of all children. Homework for October includes writing a paragraph about the character the child dressed as which will be shared with the class after the parade. The parade for grades 1-8 begins at 9:00 am.

Can you believe we are almost finished with the first quarter of this school year? This week students are wrapping up incomplete lessons and repeating lessons that they may need again. Each afternoon students have the opportunity to perform one of the top three experiments of this quarter. Students enjoy performing experiments independently. It is a joy to see the excitement and inspiration in your children as they explore the principles of science.

The week of October 24 we will hold 20 minute conferences for each family. Look for an email to sign up soon.

We hope to see you at the Fall Festival.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

Grace and Courtesy lessons are the foundation on which all other lessons are based in the Montessori learning environment. Grace and Courtesy lessons include everything from how to resolve a conflict peacefully to how to respectfully attend a group lesson. We review on at least a weekly basis how to treat classmates, how to apologize (and mean it), the need to forgive others and not seek revenge, and how to keep your hands to yourself at all times. Group times are often used for Grace and Courtesy lessons. This week we discussed how to give a compliment: be specific, sincere, and spontaneous. We also discussed the need to say thank you when receiving a compliment. We often end each day with students sharing compliments with each other. Everyone leaves feeling appreciated and happy.

We all enjoyed the book report presentations. If your child did not turn in their book report, it is not too late. They may bring it on Monday and present it to the class.

We planted broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, and cabbage in our class garden this week. We will be watering a lot during October, our driest month of the year.

Cultural lessons this week included a Montessori Great Lesson in History on the Coming of Humans. In Physical Science we did experiments with inertia. In Geography we discussed the Autumn Equinox. Invertebrates and vertebrates were presented in Life Science.

As always feel free to reach out by email if you have any questions or concerns.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

It has been a week full of interesting lessons and a 40th Anniversary celebration..  The Lower Elementary students have been excited and full of anticipation. To help promote concentration within our classroom we rely on a daily routine that includes weekly class chores for each student. The class chore chart is centrally located for easy access.. Each student is responsible for a class job such as sharpening pencils, watering plants, or rolling work mats. The jobs rotate each week. Peace candle and bell ringer are two of the most popular jobs. At the end of each day it is truly remarkable to watch each student rise to the occasion and perform their part in taking care of our environment.  The classroom remains in a highly ordered state thanks to the students. Class chores promote independence, ownership and responsibility. Thank you for sharing your children with us.

Cultural Lessons this week included making Oobleck as a part of our study of liquids. In History the students finished their dinosaur research. In Geography students practiced map skill grids. In Life Science students learned about the six kingdoms. Students work in all areas of the curriculum each day during our work time.

   “Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”  Maria Montessori

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie

We have established a productive daily work routine. Students can plan their day each day when they arrive. They use their work plan and their planning sheet to select and record their jobs to do for the day. They check their planning sheet for the next job as they complete a job. When your child plans their jobs for the day and records them, they commit to finishing the work during the work period. Accountability and time management are important concepts to learn at a young age.

Thank you to everyone who helped their child create a peace rock and sent it in. We have placed the rocks around campus to be viewed this Sunday during our 40th anniversary celebration. I hope everyone will come on Sunday. It is sure to be a lot of fun.

Ms. Carolyn and Ms. Genie

The Lower Elementary learning environment is filled with opportunities for movement. Children have the freedom to move during the work period. With that freedom to move comes responsibility. The movement must be purposeful. For example, a child walks across the room to choose a job. The movement must not interrupt anyone in the classroom. For example, a child should walk around a work mat rather than jump over it. The movement should serve the needs of the child. Some children need to move at more frequent intervals because of pent up energy. These children could choose to add movement to a lesson by setting up a work station on the opposite side of the room from the location of the job on the shelf. Extra movement is added while walking the extra steps to set up the job. Maria Montessori set up her learning environment to honor the needs of children. Movement can often be the top need of many younger children in the Lower Elementary learning environment. Days of sitting at desks would be intolerable for most of these children. One of my favorite quotes from Maria Montessori is as follows:

“Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.”

Homework was sent home this week. It is also posted in Google Classroom. Let us know if you have any questions.

Cultural Lessons this week included a Montessori Great Lesson on the Timeline of Life; Birds Eye View of Maps; the Electromagnetic Spectrum, and a closer look at cells.

Can you believe that your child has been in school for a month? This group of students is motivated, caring and kind. It is an honor to be with your student each day. Thank you for sharing them with us!

We have established some important routines. Our morning routine is one of the most important because it sets the tone for the day. Arrival is from 7:30 to 8:15. The earlier a student arrives, the more time they have to unpack their backpack (put their folder in a basket, put lunch and water bottle on a shelf). After a student has unpacked then it is time to take out their work plan and set up a space in class. ( Each student can choose a work space. ) They bring a job to their work space with their notebook and pencil. Lessons are carefully recorded in the notebooks. Once the work space is set up and a lesson has been chosen, the student can choose between beginning the lesson or visiting with friends until the bell rings. At 8:15 a student rings the bell and calls everyone to our morning meeting. Students sit in a circle. The meeting starts with a peace ceremony. A designated student lights our peace candle and begins the peace greeting which is passed from student to student around the circle. The candle is blown out after the last student receives the peace greeting. This ceremony is an important way that your child can create and partake in a peaceful classroom. After the ceremony we go over our daily schedule which is written on a white board for students to view. Occasionally special presentations are given after reviewing the schedule. The Me Bags were presented during the morning meetings as well as a presentation on Maria Montessori and Creation Stories from different cultures. Students have the opportunity before our meeting is over to ask questions. The meeting concludes with a quick review of class rules during work time. Students are then dismissed and work time begins. Early arrival each day ensures your child will have enough time to set up their work space. Thank you for your child’s prompt arrival each day.

This week our Clock of Eras was presented in our History cultural lesson. Map projections were presented in Geography. Stellar Nucleosynthesis was presented in Physical Science and plant cells were discussed in Life Science. Students are continuing to enjoy joining with friends from classroom 2 during our cultural lessons. I have enjoyed getting to know the new students in classroom 2 during the cultural lessons.

Thank you to everyone who sent in the Science selection sheet for August. Your child will begin his Science Collection in September. The focus should be on one aspect of the collection. Your child should do research and fill out the Science Collection report which is due at the end of September. Feel free to reach out with questions.

Ms. Carolyn & Ms. Genie