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From the Heron's Nest: Lower Elementary Classroom Blog
April 2012 I was walking through our lovely woods, watching the children playing and creating structures, when I heard a call ring through the trees; “Break Time!!!!” I turned to see boys, who had been scattered all over, gather at the mouth of a cave-like fort. They were sitting in and around a couple wooden chairs that had been carefully set out front. Their “porch” had been designated with a semi circle of rocks and the fort behind them had been covered with wooden slices. The whole seen was reminiscent of woodsmen relaxing in front of a log cabin.
They group seemed satisfied as they surveyed their work and chatted with each other about the work to come. They very eagerly sat still as I took their picture, which will be attached. They had several more “break times” that recess and over the next couple of days. It is interesting to watch them create their own game structure and rules, then carry the game out, sometimes negotiating with each other along the way. This is a time to practice their social skills and to experience working with people of various personalities. They are learning about their personal power within social structures and how they can influence social change. What glorious lessons for “the real world”. DMS Auction: This is a wonderful event!!! In addition to being a wonderful way to raise money for the school, it is just plain fun! Each class, including ours, creates an item for the auction. There are also lots of other interesting items to bid on. Come join us for yummy food and lots of laughs! Cultural Day: This is an extremely fun day! To help your child prepare, you can take trips to the library or research online, whatever fits your style best. They can create maps or write down facts at home and bring them in to school. It also helps to have them just become experienced with the culture. Ideas include listening to local music, looking up artwork, look for pictures of animals, plants, and scenery. Think about historical and/or modern buildings, what are they like in this country? For stuff to actually put on their display board, we greatly encourage students to create their own items, rather than having a lot of printed items. A couple of printed photos are okay, actual items are fine (money, artifacts, cloth…), but in general, they should be creating it themselves. Copying and tracing are fine. If they do something at home, have them bring it in to school and we can help them back it and get it ready for their board. Now is a good time to start researching the local food. Each child needs to bring a dish from their country. This can be simple! The idea is to let people have a taste of the country…not to get full on one country! In the past years, we have seen items put into small servings, cut up, or just set out with a serving utensil. PLEASE, ask us for details….we want this to be fun and relatively stress free. Mother’s Day Tea Mother’s Day is a special celebration at our school. Some children (and mommies) like to dress up; some prefer to go more casual. It is a time when the children will be serving the parent, so your job is to sit back, relax, and chat with your children. Feel free to chat with the other mommies, but please make sure that most of your attention is on your child. This is a day to celebrate your bond. Remember that it is a half day. After the tea, your child will leave with you. If Mom cannot attend, another parent or adult can step in. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! Amman Imman; Water is Life We raised $67.01 to help bring clean water to the Asawak area of Africa! The money will be sent in this week. The students were all very pleased when the amount was announced today. We want to send out a thank you to the students, but also the parents that provide the encouragement to reach out and help others. In this instance, the people they are helping are physically and culturally very far away, yet the kids didn’t hesitate. They were ready to help; ready to care. Lunches: When packing lunch, please make sure you are actively checking for nut ingredients. Check in the flavor name, too. If you see any nut listed, please make another choice. This is a safety rule. Nut allergies are often very serious. We know this takes extra time and we really do thank you for the effort in keeping our classroom a safe environment for all of the students.
THE PLAY!!!! What can I say about the play???? It is such an exciting and important time for the students! The music concerts provided a wonderful warm up to being on stage and memorizing parts, but now they each have their own character to hone. You can help your child by reading lines with them, listening to them read their lines, and eventually, by reading the prompts (line before theirs), and seeing if they can remember their lines. We will have plenty of practice time at school.
Costumes will be done at home. We will let you know when to bring them in, feel free to start creating them with your child. They can be simple, providing the essence of the part, rather than a full costume. The story is set in an Arabian market. A blind story-teller provides tales that teach a Princess some life lessons. The stories are taken from 1001 Arabian Nights, but are simplified for our young actors and actresses. Think about scarves, dangles, billowy pants and skirts, turbans….etc. Just remember that they need to be able to get into and out of their costumes with little assistance from adults. Well, the end of school is sneaking up quickly…let’s enjoy this last bit that we have together. It is going to be an exciting ride! All the best Shawnaly Tabor & Sara Grossman
March 2012 Our deepest sympathies go to the Hunter family in the loss of beloved Shannon. This magnificent person touched so many lives in such positive and loving ways! As we grieve her passing, we remember and honor the light and joy she brought the world. We are thankful for the abundant help and consolation the close-knit community has provided the family. In and out of school, children and adults have been processing this loss. In class, students have had and will continue to have multiple opportunities to express their emotions and have their feelings acknowledged and validated.
There are avenues of continued support for the Hunter family. This past Thursday, March 29th the parent meeting of the Crow's Nest was held. Please look out for news of this meeting or contact Miggy's mom, Jen Atkinson. A fund has also been established for donations: First National Bank of Damariscotta, c/o The Hunter Family, P.O. Box B, Waldoboro, ME 04572.
Spring is here! We celebrated by participating in the lesson of the Seasons. Students have been finding insects galore! Our snowdrops, crocuses, and daffodils are up and buds are on the trees! We have a 'sunscreen station' in the classroom where children are encouraged to put on sunscreen before recess. If students have any sensitivity to sunscreen, please let us know. It is an option for children to bring in their own sunscreen.
We have started our water study unit. Of course, all of the students know the chemical composition of water through their atom and molecule lessons! We have found that water is the universal solvent in our study of mixtures and solutions. We have investigated just where there is water on our earth and continue to experiment with and discuss the significance of the hydrosphere in relationship to the lithosphere and atmosphere. In discussing the hydrologic cycle (the more scientific title for water cycle), we discover that heat energy, or the lack of it (coldness) runs the cycle of water. Our water is the original water that has been here since the out-gassing of the planet, possible asteroid and comet collisions, along with the biological processes of sulfur loving archaea bacteria, the chemoautotrophs.
On Thursday, March 22nd, we celebrated the United Nation's World Water Day. Our discussion centered on the importance of fresh, clean, potable water and some sources of that water. Almost all of this fresh water goes to agriculture. If you would like to learn more about World Water Day you might access these web sites: www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/
Friday, March 23rd, we learned that in a good deal of the world, especially in Asia and Africa, clean, sustainable water sources are often rare or non-existent. Our discussion continued with recognizing our efforts in water conservation and .segued into a project we are bringing to our class in working toward helping this global crisis. Amman Imman.
In Niger and Mali, there is an area called the Asawak. This part of West Africa is desert and needless to say, has a lack of water for its peoples. There are only 2 months of the year when there is rain, and those days are diminishing as the climate changes. There is hope, though. A large water aquifer 600 - 3,000 feet below the surface exists. In order to access this water, borehole wells must be drilled in areas where there is no water and no infrastructure. Amman Imman meaning "Water is Life" is an organization started by Ariane Kurtley in calling children to help children. She started out making her plea to Montessori School children around the world. Since its beginning in 2005, many more children, families, and organizations have worked toward helping fellow human beings.
Education, raising money, and building one borehole at a time to improve the lives of the people is the goal of Amman Imman. It is a direct-giving effort for this non-profit organization. If your child would like to contribute, we are asking that s/he do extra chores to earn money toward the project. We recognize that just as every drop of water is important, so is every penny toward the building of the wells. Our contributions, along with others from around the world, do indeed count! So far, four borehole wells have been drilled, and education into local maintenance of these resources is on-going.
The populations of the Azawak have a saying: Amman Imman, Arr Issudarr "Water is Life, Milk is Hope" in Tamachek, the language of the Tuareg people. Thank you for your participation. To learn more about Amman Imman visit the website: www.ammanimman.org/
Sarah Gladhu from the Damariscotta River Association came to visit our class on Thursday, March 29th. Ask you child what her surprise visit was all about!
Keep your eyes peeled for the Chickadee Award winners. We had a run-off vote between David Ezra Stein's book, "Interrupting Chicken," and Jeanne Mazollo's book, "Pierre the Penguin." The majority of the class voted for "Pierre the Penguin." The winner of the award will be announced on Tuesday, April 3rd. If you would like to visit the website to keep up with the returns visit: www.chickadeeaward.org/
The Elementary Cultural Day does not occur until Wednesday, May 16th. However, we have started preparations for this special day during which each student displays the work they have done in country studies. Students have already chosen their countries and are starting their research. Some outside support might be helpful such as a visit to the library, the collecting of information, or a few artifacts. Students will do their research and writing in school but may need to bring in outside information resources.
The students and music director, Jennifer McIvor, have been diligently practicing for our upcomingSPRING CONCERT which is next week, Wednesday, April 4th ! We'll see you at 4 P.M. at the Waldo Theater!
Then, the following week on Thursday, April 12th , is GRANDPARENT'S DAY! We hope to see lots of extended family members in class that morning!
The LOST AND FOUND tub is overflowing! Please be sure to drop by and check through the piles of clothing!
We will be having fire drills, and the muddy season is upon us. It is imperative that students have slippers for inside the classroom. This not only keeps our classroom less muddy, it also provides footwear for children in the event of fire drills.
Happy Spring!
Sara Grossman and Shawnaly Tabor
February 2012 We are all very thankful for the daily snacks families provide out class. Children usually choose a friend to help them with snack preparation and set-up. This provides a chance for children to share healthy food choices they have given to the class and an opportunity for team work. Of course snack is a lovely respite from the work cycle; a time to socialize with friends! If you are unsure of the date your child brings in snack, you have several options. You might check the weekly notes from Kim Tolley, you might ask Kim for a print out of snack dates, or you could ask us! The kitchen is finally ready and our Wednesday lunches are again up and running! Thank you to Todd Bross, Conner’s father, for his invaluable help in kitchen protocol, safety, and food preparation. The students take such pride in serving their food to their classmates. In speaking about a favorite topic, food, we have a crucial reminder. Remember that school is a nut-free zone. It is of utmost importance that we check all ingredients in prepared foods. Granola bars seem to be an easy culprit. Thank you for your attention to this important policy. We enjoyed speaking with everyone during conferences and thank Jill Baum, a classroom favorite, for stepping in so that we could meet with parents. Please remember that you are welcome to come and visit at any time! What great fun we all had at the Cabin Fever Contra Dance! Thank you to Chip for arranging the day, for Ms. Katie in gathering together a wonderful band and dance leaders, for all the snacks from families, and for those who helped set-up and break-down the gym. We were sorry to have had to cancel the school’s Discovery Day due to low attendance. We recognize that the timing may not have been optimum. Hopefully families will join us in celebrating learning at our next offering. Our class is participating in the Children’s Choice Picture Book Project called “The Chickadee Award.” Children in Kindergarten through fourth grade living in Maine can participate. This is the seventh year of the program. In class, we have all ten books chosen by a committee of librarians, teachers, and early literacy professionals. The books were published in 2010. Our students will read the books, have book talks, and then vote the third week of March for their favorite. This year, we shall celebrate all of the US Presidents during the national recognition of President’s Day. We will look into what the US Constitution says are the requirements of being a US President for those interested and future candidates. Stop by to see our Tree of Presidents. In class, we will concentrate on the presidents traditionally recognized during this holiday, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Resources for further study are on hand for those who wish to look further into the Heads of the United States and Government past and present. Valentine’s Day gives us such glorious opportunities to let all those we care about know how much they mean. In class, the celebration is simple and heart-felt. Students make Valentine Bags and on Tuesday receive cards from friends, have a special snack, and play cooperative games. Students have continued work on their timelines. This week, the first year students will be creating Paleozoic organisms for display. Second year students are working diligently on their Timeline journals and will also participate in making Paleozoic creatures. Third year students continue their work on the Timeline of Humans. Biology, botany, chemistry, and physical studies all support work done in history. “We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.” Maria Montessori. There is no school next week, Monday, February 20 through Friday, February 24, as it is Winter Break. We wish all families a safe holiday and many meaningful times with family and friends. Sara Grossman, Shawnaly Tabor End of January 2012 Greetings! This strange winter is creating some interesting conditions on the playground. There was snow, then slush, then ice, then snow, mixed with periods of bare ground. Even though it is not apparent what the weather will do next, it is important to send snow gear with your child every day. We also would like you (the adults) to use care and caution when on school grounds. The ice is sometimes hard to see. If you have your nice shoes on, we recommend having us retrieve your child from the woods or a far corner of the playground. Just ask; we’ll be happy to help. The changing landscape of the playground makes for very creative play. Over the years that I have been at this school, I have loved watching the children turn into engineers. They creatively design and monitor the “rivers” that appear when the ice and snow melt. It is absolutely fascinating watching how the children work together, sometimes agreeing; other times they have to negotiate with each other. What wonderful practice for the adult world! As a class, we are working on becoming more efficient with clean-up times. There are two times during the day where they are expected to do a major cleaning, in addition to cleaning up after each work so that the next person may get the work out. Out of the two main clean-up times, the end of the day is the largest. At this time, each child has a chore they are responsible for. Some of these chores are solo and some require the children to work as a team. They include jobs like sweeping, dishes, garbage, and taking care of class pets. All of the works, both academic and janitorial, have an underlying purpose of creating a sense of independence in the children. Dr. Montessori said that “no one can be free unless he is independent” (95-99). She felt that independence and self-discipline were extremely important to not only each individual, but to the health of society. One of the ways the path towards independence is manifest within the classroom is the work cycle. The child chooses a work, completes the work, puts the work away, and then has a short period of rest before starting the next work cycle. The rest period may be a trip to the drinking fountain, a visit with a friend, or even just looking out the window for a moment. Repeating this classroom work cycle helps the children develop their own intrinsic work cycle. They are practicing coming to completion and moving to the next item. This is a skill that they will need when they go on to secondary education, college, and the work force. One way that we can help is by helping less. Montessori talks about the necessity of children learning through their own experience. If we do things for our children we are preventing them from doing this. Montessori wrote that “needless help is an actual hindrance to the development of natural forces” (95-99). That means that if they can do it by themselves, they should. That doesn’t mean you can’t do favors for your child sometimes, but letting them be independent should be the norm. Examples of how your children are becoming more independent in the classroom include putting on their own winter gear, gathering and carrying their own bags, and cleaning up messes that they make. They are also working on out issues, taking care of personal needs, and completing their work. Maria Montessori was a scientist. As such, she was concerned with observable, tested results. She spent many years in the study of children around the world; how they learn, what they are interested in, and how to best help them develop a love of learning, independence, and a peaceful outlook. One of the things she discovered was that schooling was all about laying a foundation. All of these traits that we are trying to instill may not manifest fully within the child for many years. Of course that just emphasizes the importance of those early years. As Elementary teachers, we are eternally grateful to the Primary teachers! Another thing Montessori learned was that children, across cultures, were curious. They want to know about the world. Currently, we are looking at the world through the use of timelines. The first and second years are looking in-depth at the timeline of life on our planet and the third years are looking at the timeline of humans. The use of timelines helps to both provide the “big picture” view and to show the child’s place within it. The timeline of life shows the rises of the major divisions of life and classes of animals. The timeline of humans provides a glimpse into the theory of human evolution, including aspects of us that were foundational to creating who we are today. We are currently talking about tool usage, fire, and cooking our food, but later on we will look at the rise of art, writing, and mathematics. We would like to give a huge Thank You to all the parents! We know that taking time out of your day for a conference with us is often difficult to arrange. It was wonderful, as always, to get the chance to talk with you. It is our goal to create a positive partnership with you to create the healthiest environment for your children. It works best with honest, open communication. We apologize that both teachers could not be at the conferences. Please be assured that we are constantly communicating and bouncing ideas off of each other. Again, thank you for being such open and caring parents! All the best! Shawnaly Tabor & Sara Grossman Montessori, Maria. The Montessori Method. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2002. 95-99. Print January 15, 2012 Since winter finally seems to have arrived, we want to extend a couple of reminders. First, please make sure that your child has adequate outerwear at school every day. We go outside to play in everything but really inclement weather. Clothing includes boots, hats, scarves, mittens/gloves, and warm coats. Children also need to have snow pants on the days there is snow on the ground. Since we thoroughly enjoy our outside environment, clothing left at school during the week should be taken home over the weekend for cleaning. We are not shy about our play! Also, please make sure that clothing items are labeled as we have already had a few mix-ups in identification of which belong to whom.
Secondly, children need to have inside footwear to wear in the classroom. These slippers or soft shoes should have some sort of rubber sole so that if we have one of our periodic fire drills we won’t be soaked right through and our feet will be protected.
It was good to see so many of you at “Bring Your Parents to School Night” this past Monday. We hope you enjoyed the time spent with your child and got a taste of what it is like to work in the Montessori environment. Please know that you are always welcome to come in for an observation of your child at work during the school day.
Since the New Year, we are plunging into new topics and are revisiting those familiar works in our classroom. We are working toward becoming more independent in our social interactions and work habits. We have introduced “The Wheel of Choice.” This is on display in the peace corner and is an accumulation of child generated ideas of how to solve those disagreements that may occur. Ongoing lessons demonstrate the language that can be used and insights that happen with these interactions occur. The basis for all interactions is to treat one another with respect, to listen, and to come up with collaborative, win-win solutions.
In our work, we are looking to all the teachers in the classroom, and we have 31 of them! The idea is that our colleagues are an important source of information. This teaches independence, networking, and empowers everyone! We now have “Geography Buddies” with whom we work to learn the names of countries and oceans. We invite the children to help one another in the spirit of mutual alliances in their quests for answers.
So just what are some of the exciting topics we are adding to our repertoire?
In recognizing the BIF (Banded Iron Formations) put down in the ancient rocks of the Archeon Eon of the Earth’s history, we have introduced the Scientific Method in an “Oxidation Lab.” The second year students are responsible for collecting and recording data over the next few weeks and reporting their findings to the class. To compliment our molecule study, we are on the hunt to discover the “mystery of photosynthesis” in the balancing of that equation. Through the manipulation of materials we are figuring out how much water and carbon dioxide photoautotrophs (light loving organisms) need in order to produce glucose and oxygen. It’s not just plants that are the producers of our world! The cyanobacteria of the Archeon Eon were the first producers of oxygen and during the proceeding Protoerzoic Eon/Era they produced enough oxygen for a “pollution crisis!” This caused the Earth’s atmosphere to become increasingly more oxygenated and so the demise of many species of methanogens. The older students continue their rise of humans study with that of Homo Habilis; handy man. They also have been introduced to plate tectonics and the major fault lines in our Earth’s crust.
We have continued our work on reading time on both digital and analog clocks. If opportunities arise at home, figuring out the time could be a topic of conversation! In that same light, the older students are working on time zones around the world. The Prime Meridian and International dateline are pretty interesting lines of longitude!
We have been touching on studies of the Impressionist painters of the 1820 -1850’s. Their break from what were more traditional in the romantic, realistic, and naturalistic painters was, at the time, seemingly outrageous! The students are working with the concepts of optically mixing colors to produce other colors as seen in the short brush strokes of the impressionistic style. They are also looking to the light and emotion the paintings and sculptures of these artists. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cailleibotte, and Cassatt have been introduced so far.
Looking to the year ahead, we may choose to focus on all of the hope and promise it brings. We are fortunate to have our children remind us of this optimism everyday. In caring for ourselves and others holistically and spiritually we can look to the children and the miracles of joy they emanate. This work toward the positive wholeness of life provides us and those around us with a sense of energy and enthusiasm.
“We must take into consideration that from birth the child has a power in him. We must not just see the child, but God in him. We must respect the laws of creation in him.” Maria Montessori, 1935 (1989a, p. 98)
Felis Anno Neuvo! Bonne Annee! Felix sit annus novus! Xin nian kuai le! Shana tova! Kali xronia! Nav varsh ki subhkamna! Sana saiida! Happy New Year!
Sara Grossman, Shawnaly Tabor December 15, 2011 “Life’s like a road that you travel on When there’s one day here and the next day gone…” from Rascal Flatts “Life is a Highway” Heron Nest’s fall ride has been full of adventure and learning! The winter solstice is upon us and as we look back, the growth that has occurred in class is wondrous! As always, our thanks go out to all of the families that make our days so full. We give continued thanks to the families for our daily snacks. We thank Sarah Gladhu for her fun-filled after school fall naturalist program. We thank Linda Murray for her marvelous yoga classes. We thank Kaity Newall for her tutelage in viola and violin. We thank Jennifer McIvor for our chorus classes. Our Spanish classes with Senora Chrissy Bellows are always a hit. We thank Miggy’s mother, Jennifer Atkinson, for arranging meaningful parent community meetings. We thank Olivia’s father, Bruce Hardina, for teaching us the parts of a guitar and leading us in song to “Bicycle Built for Two,” and “Octopus’s Garden.” We have missed having Conner’s father, Todd Bross, in the kitchen guiding us in hot lunch preparation. Wednesday’s hot lunches should start up again after the New Year in a renovated kitchen! Kim, our esteemed coordinator, will send out revised lists soon. So, what did you think of the children’s fall concert at Waldo Theater? WOW! The students were marvelous on every count! The surprise appearance of Ella’s mother, Jenny Villeneuve, on xylophone was a special treat! We were so fortunate to perform on a real stage and thank all those who went into making the performance possible. Thanks to Darcy Knof for transporting the elementary students to the theater. Special thanks go out to Tristan’s mother, Melissa Heath!
This week is the last of Sarah Gladu’s fall naturalist program. We hope that many students will sign up for her winter offering, ‘Animals in Winter’ that begins at the start up of school in January, 2012! Sarah Gladu also visited our class on Monday, December 5th for a special presentation on bees. She gave an informative and interactive power point presentation from which we learned a great deal about not only honey bees but bees and wasps in general. We learned about the parts of the bee and how when we are stung that most bees literally lose not only their stingers, but also their guts! We were informed about life in the hive and the jobs of queens, workers, and drones. The highlight was to watch the bees move about in a portable hive Sarah brought to class. This Friday, December 16th, we have a visit from Julia Miner. Julia is a relative of Clare Colburn and an illustrator. “The Lighthouse Santa” written by Sara Hoagland and illustrated Julia Miner will be the jumping off point of us learning about the job of an illustrator. This will be followed up by a light house drawing activity. Julia will be at Maine Coast Book Store in Damariscotta this Saturday, December 17th, 11 A.M.–1P.M. Next Monday, Carol Ann Szafranski, the author of “Welcome to Penguinville,” “Return to Penguinville,” and “Celebrations in Penguinville” will visit and tell us what it is to be an author of children’s books. Signed copies of the Penguinville books will be in the office for purchase. Meanwhile, in class, we have been busy learning other new and exciting STUFF! We’ve talked about the formation and bombardment of the earth in the Hadean Eon, the cooling of the earth in the Archeaon Eon in preparation for life in the soupy seas. The miracle of the CHON chains, amino acids, and the first prokaryote cells: archaea and cynobacteria, the latter of which, over millions of years, provided us with oxygen in our atmosphere. The older students are enthusiastically working on the timeline of humans. We’ve also met Dmitri Mendeleev and heard mention of his counterpart, Lothar Meyer and the building of the Periodic Table of Elements. We’ve gone to a “Molecule Party” and will be building molecules of various shapes and sizes! We’ve been looking at portraits, landscapes, and still life pictures and discussing how the artist uses line and texture to bring feeling to the picture. We’ve also been trying our own hand using real drawing pencils and charcoal pastels in using these techniques. Please put aside an hour on Monday, January 9th at 5:30 and come to “Bring Your Parents to School Night.” You are also welcome to come and spend time in the classroom at anytime. Just let us know so that we can arrange a time when your child is in the classroom. Do you remember Sam of E.B White’s “Trumpet of the Swans”? He went to bed each evening with a “wondering.” We wonder: What will our upcoming new and spectacular adventures hold? Happy Holidays to all! Sara Grossman, Shawnaly Tabor November 30, 2011 We hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving break! Although the break was nice, it was wonderful to see the children again. It was wonderful to be back, in the thick of all the work and energy. Before the break we had a special guest in our classroom. We would like to thank Sheri Floge, Althea’s mother, who graciously came into our room and facilitated an extremely interesting presentation on microscopic life. She brought a microscope attached to a monitor, water samples, and two experiments for the children to do. One of the experiments involved growing bacteria and the other was an activity where they combined an algae culture with plant food in a small bottle. After observing the bacterial growth for a couple of days, the cultures were picked up and taken to the lab to be destroyed.
The algae, however, is something that they can take home with them. It is totally non-toxic. In fact, it is the same culture that shellfish farmers use. The students thought it was neat that they were growing mussel and oyster food! Their algae bottles started out clear and are now a translucent green. Very exciting! (FYI) Bacteria are members of the monera kingdom of life and are considered one of the most ancient life forms. Algae are in the protoctista kingdom and are also extremely ancient. Protists are all water dwelling and both kingdoms are made up of mostly single-celled organisms. We have also been learning about the Big Bang theory, the life and death of a star, the structure of atoms, and various elements. These large studies of the universe are leading us to planets, the Earth, layers of the atmosphere, and how our world works. Parallel to these lessons involving huge concepts, we teach personal responsibility and meaning. This is often called character education, and includes everything from negotiations to self-respect to responsibility. We often use the phrase, “If it is to be, it is up to me!” I’m not sure where that exact quote came from, but many wise, deep-thinking people have had similar sentiments. Eventually, as all humans do, the students will begin to question their place in the universe. Will our students feel small when they compare their own life to the staggering immensity of existence? Probably, but, they will also feel another, stronger emotion: they will feel significant. And they are. All the best! Shawnaly Tabor & Sara Grossman
November 15, 2011 The days are flying by! WHOOSH! Here we are entering the holiday season! We continue to thank all of the families for snacks and hot lunch contributions. We hope many were able to attend this month’s community meeting to hear Todd Bross talk about his time in the kitchen with our students. We are fortunate to have Sarah Gladu from the DRA work with some of our students in her afternoon naturalist program. Linda Murray’s yoga classes have started out beautifully. We welcome back the middle school students from their trip to Washington DC. It was lovely to spend time with parents at our conferences. Open, honest, thoughtful communication is essential as we strive to provide the best for our students. We were very pleased that some parents were also able to come to observe the class in action. Please know that you are welcome at anytime. Just let us know when you would like to visit! As the school year progresses, we have become more and more acclimated to our roles as scholars! The students are becoming more settled in their work. We’ve been looking into the formation, life and death of stars, and the formation of galaxies. We’re looking to the stars and wondering about the stories of the constellations. We’ve looked at the marvels of atoms. We’ve looked at prokaryote and eukaryote cells. In advance, we thank Althea’s mother, Sheri, for her presentation this upcoming Thursday afternoon. She will spend the time investigating single and multi-cellular organisms. The first and second year students continue investigations into the formation of our solar system. The third years prepare for their study of the coming of people. This is only a smattering of what we’ve been busy with in class. Again, come on by for a visit!
Our students, under the ‘baton’ of Jennifer McIvor, have been practicing for the upcoming concert. We look forward to seeing everyone at the Waldo Theater for the all-school extravaganza on Wednesday, November 30th 4 – 5 PM. We look forward to seeing you on Montessori Discovery Day this upcoming Saturday, November 19th 8:30 AM – Noon. Please sign up with Kim in the school office. Thank you. Sara Grossman and Shawnaly Tabor October 31, 2011 The classroom is a hustle and bustle of work! Our morning is humming with children engaged in many kinds of jobs. There are some very interesting jobs that have to do with the galaxies, nebulas, and stars. We have learned how the nuclear reactions taking place within the stars builds elements in successive stages of stellar evolution. This process is called Stellar nucleosynthesis. Eventually, massive stars explode in a supernova, spreading their elements across space. These are the same elements that make up our world and our bodies. We are made of stardust. The second and third year students have been looking at the layers of our world, using an onion as a model. Like in the stars, the densest material is found in the center. The first year students have begun their study of landforms and their relationship to each other. These studies help the students create an internal organization with which to understand the world around them. Dr. Montessori knew the importance of order and structure, but she was also concerned with the beautiful. Unpretentious beauty should be woven through the classroom and the work, like threads of silver woven into a tapestry. It serves to subtly seduce the children to the work, helps them feel peaceful, and encourages concentration. The study of our universe and our Earth naturally contain beauty. Geometry, fractals, wind patterns, waves, clouds, poetry, the eyes of a friend…these are all manifestations of the exquisite wonder that surrounds us. When the students go home at night and look up at the stars they are beginning to understand that they are gazing at themselves. The stars, indeed the whole of space, is like our mirror. It is our past and our future. It is all of us. Notes: We want to send out a huge thank you to and appreciation to everyone who attended the Harvest Festival! As always, the food was fantastic and the games were delightful. Even though it was a bit chilly, all the children had smiles as they were running around. Thank you to Bruce Hardina for your wonderful music! You have probably heard from your children that we had a bird presentation in our classroom. The company that put it on was Wind Over Wings. They rescue and rehabilitate wild birds, as well as educating the public about their plight. They talked with our class about the consequences of various kinds of trash and pollution, and what the kids could do to help. They brought in four live birds to show the students. Here is their web page: http://www.windoverwings.org/ They have a children’s section and live web cams.
As the cooler temperatures set in, many families are still looking for ways for their children to stay active. DMS offers many activities after school, including DRA, yoga, and others. Check the office for sign-up sheets and more information. The local YMCA in Damariscotta also offers interesting activities, including tennis, martial arts, and gymnastics (boy and girl classes). There are other classes and activities available, too. If you’re looking for something for your child to participate in, don’t hesitate to ask us for suggestions.
Happy Autumn!
Shawnaly Tabor & Sara Grossman
October 15, 2011 Thank you's: Thank you to all the families who have provided the class with such bounteous snacks. Thank you also to all who have provided us with Wednesday hot lunches. And of course, our continued thank you goes out to Todd Bross for his culinary expertise! In advance, we would like to thank Alton’s mother, Martha Coolidge, for offering to work with the student chefs next Wednesday, October 19th in Todd’s absence. Birthdays: We celebrate two birthdays this month: Eli Pluecker on Friday, October 7th, and Ahlwynn Tabor on October 24th. What’s Up? Our overnight to Camp Kieve’s Leadership School was a great success! For many of us it was a first night away from home and family. We found that we had another family of sorts! The staff and children supported each other with kindness and care. For two days, we participated in experiences that built group cooperation and provided individual challenges. These are so appropriate for the students of the elementary who naturally gravitate toward working with others and who are expanding their social networks beyond self and family. We worked and played hard! We are sure everyone slept soundly upon returning home on Friday night!
We thank Kim and Chip for organizing this week’s trip to the DRA in order to study the local Penobscot Nation by participating in the Wabanaki Living Skills Program. We were led in group presentations of life-ways, storytelling, songs, foraging for wild edibles, and wigwam thatching. We thank Sarah Gladu, the educational director along with James Neptune of the Penobscot Nation Museum and volunteers who made our afternoon so enjoyable!
We look forward to having parents visiting our classroom next week for classroom observations. Please know that your child may act somewhat differently with a parent observing. Our objective is to be as “invisible” as possible in order to see how the children work in the classroom. To do this, we will invite you to sit in a guest chair and resist the temptation of becoming involved in conversation with the children. Please sign up for observations with Kim Tolley in the school office. Our goal setting conferences have been set for Thursday, October 27th and Friday, October 28th. The sign-up sheet is posted on the wall outside of our classroom. Please sign up for this important informational and planning meeting. The meetings will be held in the library. One teacher will be in attendance. It is important you know that both Sara and Shawnaly will have conferred about each child before conferences and will confer after conferences in order to be provide for your child. Coverage will be provided in the classroom in a teacher’s absence. The Harvest Fest planning meeting took place this past Wednesday. Exciting preparations are in the works. Our classroom plans on making Stone Soup over an open fire and hosting a mask making activity. We will send out more information about our class contributions in the upcoming weeks. Meanwhile, please drop by Kim’s desk to sign up as a volunteer! We look forward to seeing our DMS families on Saturday, October 29th in celebration of the fall season. Food for Thought: The six to nine year old child moves into what Maria Montessori described as her second plane of development: The Plane of Childhood. Here the child moves from a rapid state of unconscious development into what she referred to as the conscious mind. As the children continue to work with the didactic materials, they experience a good many “aha” moments. They ask “What?” in purposefully coming to understand their world and universe. The children are now developing a sense of looking outside of themselves. They often choose to work with others and intentionally work on social relationships with others both within and outside of the family. Our trip to the DRA provided us with a chance to think “outside of ourselves” and to comprehend through hands-on activities other cultures past and present. The developing sense of social order is supported by our positive role models in learning how to work with others towards common goals. This was a major theme in our Camp Kieve experience. Children develop a sense of imagination and expand their social networks to the local and global communities and we might as well throw in the universe! Through our studies and interactions these qualities are nurtured everyday in the classroom, on the playground, and in the wonderful opportunities of off-campus excursions. Sara and Shawnaly September 30, 2011 “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.” ~Maria Montessori As a culture, we have been bombarded with variations of “the children are the future”. We hear these words on the lips of our celebrities and politicians and very few people would argue with their sentiment. I often I wonder if the shroud of becoming a cliché has dimmed the inherent truth that YES, the children are, in fact, our future. This leaves us, the adults, with certain duties to help prepare them for the eventuality of inheriting the Earth. Where can we begin? What can we do to help our children grow to become healthy, independent, thinking adults? In the classroom, we are working to create a sense of community, like we talked about in our last blog. Class Meetings and teaching children to listen (and speak) respectfully are extremely important to creating our community. We like to start our day with a circle and end the day with a circle. We have specific songs that we sing at those times and specific routines meant to create a positive and predictable routine. We begin and end our school day with peace, together as a classroom community. Interpersonal communication can be tricky at any age. To help get the children off to a strong start, we work on using “I” messages and refraining from blaming language. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing your child say things like, “I feel… when you… and I wish that…” Blaming sentences usually start with a “You”, like “You are being mean!” “I” messages help each child take responsibility for their own actions and feelings. Self-responsibility is an important aspect of a Montessori classroom and it is one that we (the teachers) put a lot of energy into. Besides social interactions, we help foster this sense of independence and responsibility through meaningful work, food preparation, self-care, care of the classroom, and care of each other. At home, you can support your child in many of the same ways! Many people have asked how they can become more in sync with the classroom, creating a predictable and loving environment that the children can count on. Positive Discipline is a wonderful way to weave home, school, and all of the classrooms together to create a secure place for our children. I thoroughly recommend the classes, books, and videos. Another wonderful thing that you can do is to acknowledge your child’s capabilities. Here’s a brief list of things your child can do: Get dressed and undressed by themselves, serve their own food at dinner, sweep & mop, dust, pick up their own toys, carry their own school bags, and even pack their own lunches. Camp Kieve will Thursday and Friday of next week. The class is excited and anxious, happy and nervous, and all feelings in-between. Many are seasoned Kieve campers and many are brand new to the experience. We are gently talking about it in class, but even with reassurance from the older children, it is totally normal for your child to still be nervous. As adults, we still get nervous in new situations, so of course our children will, too. This is normal. Both Mrs. Grossman and I will be at Kieve the entire time, but the program is lead by their wonderful councilors. There will be a female and a male councilor that stays with our group the entire time. The male one will bunk up with the boys and the female one will sleep in the girls’ cabin. Sometimes the class is together and sometimes it is split into smaller groups. The main thing that you, as parents, need to know, is that your child will be safe, well taken care of, well fed, have fun, and come home with the feelings of accomplishment. Dr. Montessori said that “the child builds his inmost self out of the deeply held impressions he receives.” So, let’s give your children the gift of our knowledge that they are capable.
Thank you: Thanks to all the parents who brought snack, and their children who prepared it for us. Thanks to Mr. D and Mrs. Kim for starting the day with their smiles at carline. Thanks to Mr. Padgett and Mr. D, who have been doing our soccer program and Mr. Bross has our Hot Lunch off to a fantastic start. The children are really enjoying the new choir program! Don’t forget that there are still a couple of spots left for violin. Thank you to all of the talented and caring adults that make our school what it is! I really encourage everyone to contact the office about being involved in our lovely school. Are you looking for a way to help out? We have a wonderful parent community group that is starting up this year. Contact the office for more information about it. We also have a planning meeting for the Harvest Festival. It will be held in the Osprey’s Nest (upstairs in red barn building) on Wednesday, October 12th from 3:45 PM to 4:45 PM. There are many opportunities to be involved! We want to see you! I ran across this fantastic article on responsibility. It is well written and an engaging read: http://store.positivediscipline.com/Teaching-Responsibility-When-Does-it-Happen_b_13.html Here’s to a great year! Shawnaly Tabor & Sara Grossman September 15, 2011 Right Up Front from the Heron’s Nest We have had a great start of the school year! We thank Miggy, Aly and Aidan, Emma B., Connor, Conner, and Clare, Alton and their families for providing us with snacks so far this year. Remember to sign up for our very own Chip DeLorenzo’s workshop on Positive Discipline that takes place on Friday, October 7th and Saturday, October 8th. Please see the flyer and registration instructions sent out by Kim Tolley. If you still want to sign-up for violin lessons with Hope Hoffman, there’s still a few days left until lessons start next week. We look forward to the start of our Wednesday hot lunch program. Planning will begin next Thursday, September, 22nd and our first hot lunch is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28th. Look for schedules and explanations from Kim Tolley’s upcoming email. Building Community On September 6th we welcomed returning and new students, along with their families, to the adventure of the new school year. On that morning, as we gathered in our lower elementary “circle of friends,” we acknowledged the novelty and promise that moment of gathering provided. It was our first time together as that particular community. What does that mean? The word ‘community’ comes from the latin “cum” which means with, together or among each other; “munus” means gift. So literally, that first day we were granted the gift of coming together! An ongoing work of the Montessori classroom is the building of community. With that goal in mind we identify our common purpose: To provide a place of love, acceptance, challenge and forgiveness. It is a place where each member of the community practices working cooperatively to bring about a cohesive whole. We work in whole class and small group activities that focus not only on academic learning but the larger picture of our place in the universe and responsibility for our own learning and actions. These may take the form of class meetings, cooperative games, sharing stories, group activities or projects, or pursuit of knowledge in an academic area. We are provided with opportunities to learn to balance the needs of the community with those of those of its individual members. We practice actively listening and responding respectively to others. Through conversation and observation we are encouraged to verbalize our thoughts and needs as well as to “stand in another’s shoes”. We come to recognize our commonalities and how each of us is beautifully unique. This life-long process allows us to better understand the people and world around us. It is hard work and cause for great celebration. So, whether one’s propensity is to jump right in or to cautiously test the waters before taking the plunge, we welcome all those who are and will be a part of our community this year.
Sara Grossman, Shawnaly Tabor ‘There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of differing ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is respect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community.’ - Dr Maria Montessori (cited in Elizabeth Hainstock, 1986, p. 81 - The Essential Montessori)
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