April 2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful spring break.  We have had such amazing weather, it is a reminder that the weeks are flying past towards the end of the year.  So many fantastic events occur at this time of year. 

One of the many enjoyable events of the year is Grandparent’s Day.  The students were very excited and focused on sharing their work in the classroom.  The intensity in the classroom this year was phenomenal.  We had more than 40 people in the classroom and the hum and buzz of teaching and sharing was fantastic to see.  All the students and guests worked in very close quarters yet they were all were so focused that it looked like they could have been working in a room by themselves.  The guests shared at the end of their visit about the things they appreciated most about what they had seen.  One remarked about the moment that a tray of beads was spilled by one student.  She noticed how more than half of the students pulled away and moved to help pick up without requests or prompting.  Other attributes of the classroom which were recognized included the ability to make and learn from mistakes, freedom of movement, ability to work with peers, willingness to ask questions when needed, choice of materials, and the specific topics of learning.  It was a pleasure to be present to observe this event, to see the students so engaged and excited about their learning and to see the guests getting a picture of what our classroom is like.

Another upcoming event the students will be preparing for is our Cultural Day which is scheduled for Wednesday May 16^th.  Students have already chosen a country to research.  We are requesting parents to make a trip to the library to seek out references.  Over vacation, I made trips to two of my local libraries to find what I could to support the students.   I even brought in some non-chosen country resources so if students want to change their minds, they can.  We will be able to do research on the computers in our classroom, but we have limited time and limited computers.  Students need to do some research at home in order to get what they need to complete their work.  If you have no computer access at home or an inability to print information, please let me know and I can prioritize computer time in class.

One of our lower elementary teachers, Sara Grossman, has brought to our attention an opportunity for developing global awareness.   In our classroom, 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.  With this information, we brought forward a project involved 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.  When presented with this information, the students were interested in collecting money from their own sources.  They may mention donating money of their own or they may ask about doing extra jobs to earn money to give.  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. 

We watched two introductory videos to learn about Amman Imman.  Students may want to see more or to show you what they have learned about.  The website address is:  www.ammanimman.org/”

We have two more events to mention before they creep up on us; the auction on May 5^th and Mother’s Day Tea on Thursday May 10^th.  The students have been working on their work of art in the form of a “Periodic Coffee Table” for the upcoming auction.  It is quite a unique and beautiful piece!  For our Mother’s Day Tea day, we ask that each student be sure to have a mother or other guest to accompany them.  That day will be a half-day with dismissal after the tea is finished.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

The students are really excited about the play since we chose parts and handed out the scripts.  It is important that the students take care of their script and work to memorize lines at home in the next three weeks.  After that, we will begin working on the play in the afternoons as a class.  Also I wanted to mention that we will be continuing our bake sale on Tuesdays.  We will appreciate any baked goods you are able to contribute over the next five weeks or so.  Thank you in advance!

We will close with a few pictures from the classroom.  Here’s to a great start to the month of May!

Karen Bickmore

Arista Holden

March came in like a lion, but we had some beautiful lamb-like days as well!  As we welcome April it seems like the weather is back to Maine springtime, sunshine and spitting snow.   One reminder about spring (aka mud season) is that students need to have mud pants or extra pants for recess.  The class works very hard to maintain a clean and beautiful classroom and to have students very wet or muddy coming in after recess makes for a messy environment.  No one usually plans to get totally covered in mud or soaking wet, but our outdoor time involves big movement and fun games so the extra pants are just in case.

What a fantastic trip we had to Boston!  The public transportation was a huge hit, for both students and adults alike.  We were together as a group as we traveled on the train instead of in separate cars for the majority of the trip.  Our transportation experience continued as we used the T in Boston to get from place to place.  Even when we traveled on foot we were learning about how to respect the space on the sidewalk as well as the people we were sharing it with. 

Our first stop at the Museum of Fine Arts was exciting as we got to see some Greek and Roman inspired art.  The students impressed our museum guides by sharing information about the gods, goddesses, myths and other stories.  It was fun to watch the students share what they had learned and see how much they enjoyed sharing.  At the MFA, we got a chance to do some hands-on art as the students made puppets based on mythology.

After a brisk walk and some fantastic pizza for supper we arrived at the Museum of Science.  Some students have been many times and others were experiencing it for the first time.  The Museum of Science is always a hit with the students, we could never have enough time to explore it all.  The students were sufficiently exhausted when it came to lights out, right after the lightning show.  Thank you so much to those adults who made the trip happen - Kim Andrews, Michael Tolley, Chip and Arista.

Even though the trip has been successfully completed, we have some updates on the process of fundraising (which is still underway…)  The Upper Elementary students have been earning money through our bake sale since November.  Due to the kitchen remodeling, we missed some of our Tuesday bake sales.  Students have been tracking our progress as well as calculating our total expenses for the trip.  They know how much money we need and that we are not yet where we need to be.  We have a goal of total money to earn and in order to reach it, we need to boost sales and supplement our fund raising. 

Over the past months, we have had several class meetings regarding fundraising for our trip to Boston.  Prior to going on our trip, we generated ideas on how we could increase profit at our Tuesday bake sales.  The class meeting is a place for students to give input as a group and make choices instead of having decisions handed down to them from adults.  In the meeting, our group came up with several strategies to boost sales.  First, we will continue our bake sales through the end of the year.  After a very successful bake sale, the students recognized that an increase in bake sale items each week would increase our total.  Making recipes at school which do not need baking (Rice Crispy treats, no-bake cookies) would help increase the amount of items available to sell.  Also we would like to have 3-4 people bring bake sale items into school on Tuesdays from home.  We have about 8 Tuesdays left for bake sales.  Students have been excited to volunteer to bake at home and donate goodies.  We will do our best to will follow up by checking in with families to see if their schedule allows for baking.

Another idea which would take place during the bake sale was for students to make crafts at home.  They would then bring in their products on Tuesdays to sell at the bake sale.  Bookmarks, friendship bracelets, and duct tape items were some of the ideas brought forth by students. 

Another idea to supplement our Boston fund involves students at home.  The idea is for students to create a “chore” list and to work at home.  For their service, or chores, students would be paid money which would then go toward their Boston trip.  They might even have some jobs which could help other family members outside of their normal contribution to their own home.  We would like to ask students to keep a chore list and record money earned with a goal of reaching $15.  This request is also to families to support their child by helping choose jobs for them which would be beyond their normal work at home. 

The important part of the fundraising for the students is to feel like they contributed to the trip in meaningful ways.  As we were tallying money from bake sales, the students realized that we were behind what we needed to earn.  The ideas to boost bake sale, add crafts, and do chores at home were all ways that students could make meaningful contributions toward their Boston trip.  We will continue to do bake sales to see how much money we can earn.  If families are able to support the chore fund at home and meet the $15 goal by the end of May it would allow for students to continue to add to our Boston total.

Thank you so much to families who have already been sending in extra baked goods for our Tuesday bake sales.  Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

We have had a busy beginning to February.  Students are settled into the classroom routine.  The established patterns of lessons and independent work periods enable students to delve deeper into their work.  The following pictures show students working with Montessori materials in both math and grammar.  These students are working independently.  Miles is learning about long division using the test tubes.  Mardi has used grammar symbols to symbolize a sentence. 

These pictures show students working with the pin maps to learn about the geography of South America and Africa.  This is a work which can be completed with a partner as well as alone. 

Our science work has involved filtering different liquid substances.  Students have found the impact filtering has on both solutions and mixtures.  The most recent inquiry requires students to put their learning and ideas to the test as they attempt to clean rock salt.  The rock salt is not a pure substance because it is contaminated with non-soluble materials.  The salt in the rock salt forms a solution by dissolving.  The contaminants do not dissolve and are part of a mixture.   Students needed to use their learning about filtering and dissolving substances, saturation of a solution, and the difference between a solution and a mixture.  Different science groups have tried various methods to clean the rock salt.  When we come together as a group to discuss their progress, they will be able to share their successes and failures.  They act as young scientists through learning from what they do correctly as well as through their mistakes.

This past week we studied the daily life of Rome.  Students in groups of four chose topics to research.  They were then responsible for making a presentation to the group to share what they had learned.  Groups did different types of presentations.  Some included posters and visual aids along with a verbal account of facts.  Other groups wrote and performed short skits which communicated certain information about their topic.  Working in a group involves teamwork and communication.  Students are learning to cooperate with peers they might not normally choose to work with.  The presentations were enjoyed by the audience of peers as well as those performing.

The students did great work preparing for the parent-teacher-student conferences.  The process involves many different steps.  First the students had to evaluate their goals from the October conference.  Next, they had to decide which goals were still relevant.  It is important to think about each goal and take time to assess which goals are still meaningful to them and which are not.  Keeping a limited amount of specific and measurable goals is an important piece of the process.  One of the last steps is to think about behaviors which will help you to reach your goal.  Students realized that keeping their goals visible is important to helping to achieve them.  The conference and goal setting process is a practice which enables the students to increase their awareness and take more responsibility for their own growth and development.

It is great when students have something exciting to share with others.  Quinn brought in his typewriter.  He was excited about sharing it with the whole class.  Quinn gave the group an introduction to the typewriter and explained how to use it.   The class was very interested in what Quinn had to share and excited to use the typewriter.  We began poetry work just after the typewriter introduction and the students have been working on writing poetry.  Once their poems are finished and edited, they get to type them on the typewriter.  We have had different students inspire others with their ideas or with the products of their work this year.                             

The following pictures show some different works as well as a snapshot of a Thursday lunch.  The students have been missing our hot lunch program.  After a class meeting, they decided that Thursday lunches should be eaten picnic style, all together.  They enjoy visiting as a whole group and sharing conversations.  The next picture shows a group science lesson.  It was arranged by one student who knew that several people needed to do the same work.   He found out who needed to complete the inquiry, set up a time, and organized the group.  Kenzie and Garrett are working with the cubing material. With this material, students build successive cubes and write the corresponding formulas to show their work.  Laurel and Kayleigh are working on creating a three-dimensional model of the Coliseum.

Teambuilding continues, more activities inside as the outside terrain is icy and wet.  In the first picture, Kayleigh and Christopher are participating in a communication exercise.  One student has a black and white drawing.  The other student has a blank piece of paper and pencil.  The student with the picture has the challenge of describing the picture to their partner.  The partner then has to try to replicate the verbal description on their paper.  This activity helped students to think about clear communication and also enhanced their ability to ask questions of each other.  The second picture is of a human knot.  The group gets in a tight circle and holds hands of two other people across the way.  The students then have to communicate and work together to untangle their “knot”.  After a very challenging beginning and a stop, the group was excited to try again and find more success.  Both of these activities involve students working with others they would not normally pair up with.  It is interesting to watch as many students forget about who they are (or are not) working with and focus on the task at hand.

Happy New Year!  It is hard to believe how quickly the time flies by.  I hope everyone enjoyed a happy and healthy end of December.  It is exciting that after many weeks of a barren, frozen landscape we finally have at least a thin blanket of snow to supply winter fun.  That snow certainly makes recess more exciting as students build snowmen, forts, and enjoy football and other games in the snow.  It also makes our after school activity of cross country skiing possible.

Just before the break, we had a Maine illustrator and author, Carol Ann Szafranski, visit our school along with her daughter.  She gave an interesting discussion about her beginnings as an illustrator and author.  Her daughter, Tammy, is a professor at USM and MECA.  She interjected her own views into her mother’s history.  Tammy also devised a story writing activity which gave the students a foundation to plan a story of their own.  Many students are continuing the writing they began in the workshop with Carol Ann. 

In science, we are continuing to examine solutions.  Students explored the concept of conservation of mass in a alcohol and water solution.  The Law of Mass Conservation, discovered by Antoine Lavoisier, states that “mass can neither be created nor destroyed“.  They will continue deepening their understanding of this concept as they measure the mass of a sodium chloride and water solution.  The concrete experiences the students have within the inquires provide them with a clear illustration of the abstract concepts.  We will also spend time learning about some of the amazing chemists who made the contributions we are learning about.

The following pictures show students working in math and geometry.  The first picture shows a student illustrating the differences between congruent, equivalent, and similar shapes.  The next is a student drawing and coloring a geometric pattern which depicts the hierarchy of whole numbers and decimal numbers from millions to millionths.  The pair of students is working together with the concrete material of the fraction pieces.  With this material, the students will be able to see how fractions are equivalent and also to determine how to change mixed numbers into improper fractions.

The next picture shows two students tackling a true challenge.  It is grammar work in which they are symbolizing an extremely long (yet grammatically correct) sentence.  This involves putting the grammar symbols for the eight parts of speech over each word in the sentence.  Determining the correct usage of each word often involves some discussion between students.  This work got quite a bit of attention last week and several other students are looking forward to tackling the same challenge next week.

We enjoyed “Bring your Parents to School” nights last week.  The students truly love to show their parents around the classroom.  Many different works came out and were put into action as students had their parents try to keep up with them.  Thank you to those parents who were able to attend and spend time exploring the classroom with their children.  If you were unable to make it to that evening event and want to get a tour of the classroom, we can easily make a time either before or after school for you to have a similar experience. 

We have conferences coming up soon, at the end of January.  The sign-up sheet with times is on the door to our classroom.  If you are not able to make it on the conference days, please let me know and we can schedule a time to meet.

Here’s to more snow in the forecast!  (We need it for some good cross country skiing!)

December is more than halfway over as we speed toward the new year.  We are finishing up our study of ancient Greece this month and will be moving into ancient Rome in January.  Students are studying a timeline for the next two weeks.  Part of that study involves choosing activities such as creating a Trojan horse, researching a caduceus, or studying the Greek connection to constellations. As we study the constellations and the stories which go with them, we rapidly approach the shortest day of the year.  Next Tuesday, Ms. Holden is going to bring in a telescope. We have invited the students of the Osprey’s Nest to stay after school until 5:00 to see what we can see in the night sky.

The latest project in art involved a tie-in with our history studies.  The students began with paper mache to make a Greek amphora.  After many coats of “clay” colored paint, the students painted black designs on to complete each amphora.

Every Friday we enjoy teambuilding activities lead by Ms. Holden.  The past few weeks have had a focus on trust embedded in exciting and fun activities.  Students worked on different types of communication, trust in each other, and teamwork in an initiative called “Lighthouse, Coast Guard, Ship”.  In this activity, one student was blindfolded, one could see but not talk, and one could talk but could not see.  The objective of the group was to have the blindfolded student retrieve a ball from a field littered with obstacles.  The person with vision but not voice had to relay directions to the person who had voice but no vision.  This meant non-verbal communication from one to another.  The individual who was following verbal commands had to do so with trust in their teammates.  In the debrief and process after, students commented on what helped them to be successful or what could help them be more successful in the future.  These teambuilding initiatives enable the students to continue to practice and strengthen skills we learned at Kieve in the fall.  Working as an effective part of a team is critical in our classroom as well as a critical part of the world beyond our school-age years.

In science, students continue to explore different substances and how they form mixtures and solutions.  One inquiry involved adding water to different substances and investigating the results.  Detailed observations of bubbles, dissolving, and mixing were required.  The vocabulary of solvent, solute, solution, solubility have been introduced and students are forming working definitions of these words through their scientific explorations.

The last two pictures show independent work.  One work is geometry nomenclature card work on different types of angles.  The other student is working to draw the flags of each country in Europe.  Within the classroom, the students have opportunities to work in pairs, in small groups or by themselves.  At times, independent work can help a student focus.  It can be fulfilling to complete a work on their own and to feel the sense of accomplishment at its completion.

We would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday break and we look forward to seeing you in 2012!

The weeks are flying by as we wrap up November and move into the last month of 2011.  We had a short week before Thanksgiving, but it was a very full two days.  On Monday, we had a visit from local author Elizabeth Atkinson.  She writes for the “tween” or middle age group.  Her books tackle topics like being different, handling change, and general challenges of the pre-teen age group.   Some of her titles include, I, Emma Freke, Glee! An Easy Guide to Gluten-Free Independence, and From Alice to Zen.

Elizabeth talked to the class about the hard work and perseverance required to become a successful author.  She discussed the different steps an author goes through in order to attempt to become published.  The students were very interested in the nuts and bolts of how authors become published.  They asked questions and I could see the wheels turning as some of them imagined publishing work of their own one day in the future. 

With just two days in the week before Thanksgiving, we chose to have a science focus during our work period.  In four person groups, students rotated through a series of five inquiries.  The inquiry topics were on the subject of exploring the states of matter and forces acting upon states of matter.   Students continue to work toward application of the scientific method to answer questions through inquiry.  Each of the inquiries began with a question for which the students wrote a hypothesis.  In order to test their hypothesis, they needed to collect and record data.   

Math is an integral piece of science and students use different skills in the data collection and representation.  For example, when working with the boiling temperature of water, we created graphs of time and temperature.  Many inquires require timed observations and recording.  Students also must apply their knowledge of math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) to perform calculations.  The chemistry work we have done so far this year has also involved a great deal of measuring and using different units of measure such as milliliters, grams, and centimeters.

Coming up this week we have our concert on Wednesday November 30^th.  Look for details in the weekly information from the office.  Also this is our last week for our current literature book groups.  We will begin next week with our first book report for the year.  Students will be reading different books, chosen from a limited selection, and completing work throughout December on the book they choose and read. 

Hope your December gets off to a great start!

Thank you to all who took time to come and listen to your child present their goals and share their portfolio work at the parent-teacher-student conference this past week. The conference itself is a beneficial and challenging verbal presentation delivered by the students. The preparation for the conference involved several different steps. Students took time to reflect on their academic strengths, interests, and challenges. They also thought about how they functioned in several different social areas as well as analyzing their work habits. Learning to set clear, measurable goals which help get you where you want to go is another skill they began to develop. Lastly, students reviewed their work and choose work in which they had pride. All of these activities will have “real world” application in each student‘s continuing education. This beginning work in self-analysis, reflection, and goal-setting can be developed and applied in many areas of life in education, the work force, and relationships.

On Tuesday the 25^th, we had a fantastic bird presentation from Wind over Wings. Here are some of the highlights from students’ perspectives.

“I liked the Golden Eagle most because it was rescued by Wind over Wings because it was shot and its wing was amputated. It is fascinating that their wing span can grow to 8 or 9 feet long.” -Quinn

“ I liked the Saw-whet owl because it was so tiny and it looked like a little stuffed animal.” -Mackenzie

“The tiny owl was really cute and there was a big difference between the size of the two owls.” (Great-horned owl and Saw-whet owl)- Laurel

“It was very entertaining to see a Golden Eagle try to sing. It was a very informative presentation.”-Garrett

In the classroom, we are continuing our study of ancient Greece. Students have researched gods and goddesses and we have discussed the beginnings of democratic rule. In our study of chemistry, we have introduced different tools for measuring (electronic scale, graduated cylinders, rulers, beakers) as well as various units of measurement (milliliters, centimeters, grams). Learning about great scientists from ancient Greece is one way in which we tie the curriculum together. The story of Archimedes and the golden crown of King Hiero was one way we introduced density to the class. Students are completing scientific inquiries which explore the concept of density in different ways.

We will be enjoying our Mystery History presentations on Monday the 31^st. November is here and our first Bake Sale will be soon! The students are excited to begin raising money for the spring trip to Boston.

Hope your November gets off to a great start!

October 15, 2011

Kieve is called the Leadership School. The messages delivered by the counselors are very important and will prove to hold valuable life skills. These skills can be told verbally to students over and over again. This type of auditory “teaching” has limitations. In the Montessori classroom, just like the Kieve classroom, students are able to experience their learning instead of just listen to someone talk about it. Maria Montessori identified the importance of experience and activity many, many years ago. Her beliefs, illustrated in the following quotes, are a foundational part of the experiential learning in our own classroom today.

“Growth comes from activity, not from intellectual understanding.” The teachers at Kieve introduce concepts which enhance communication, teamwork, respect, and community. The activities at Kieve provide opportunities for students to put information into practice. Allowing students to practice skills, give feedback on peer performance, and depend on skills for successful teamwork provides space for learning to be practiced and internalized. Instead of empty words and adult wisdom, students depend upon each other in physical and trust exercises in which the learning becomes reality.

“Character formation cannot be taught. It comes from experience and not from explanation.” In our classroom, many skills are introduced which go beyond academic subject learning. Responsibility, accountability, time management, self-discipline are some of these skills. It would be meaningless to speak about these skills or their importance without providing students with opportunities to develop these abilities within themselves. These are skills which take time to develop. Within our classroom, students experience responsibility and accountability through the management and completion of their work. Time management and self-discipline are developed as the students recognize how their choices affect their time during school or time of their own. The development and growth of these talents within the students is introduced, guided, and supported by the teachers. The importance that Montessori recognized is that without experience and repeated practice, the “teaching” may happen, but the learning will not.

As a class, we raise money for our spring trip to Boston through weekly bake sales. We will be having the bake sales on Tuesdays after school. We will be assigning two students for each week of baking. The students will be responsible for baking, set-up, selling and clean up. To complete the bake sale, they will need to stay until 4:30. This allows time for students to sell as well as clean up from their baking. Students will decide what they would like to bake and will be baking on Tuesday afternoons. Some ingredients will provided through school and others will need to be supplied from home. We will create a bake sale schedule and get it out to parents very soon and let you know when the first bake sale will be.

After three full weeks in the classroom, students are adapting to the routines and expectations. As students adjust back into the school year and increase their workload, many are coming home with homework. Homework should be able to be completed independently. Our procedure for homework involves bringing your binder home because it should contain all information or assignments needed. Students with homework should have a homework sheet which lists the work they have for that night. Parents are expected to provide a time and space for work, not to make the work happen. If there is a problem or question, students may address it the next day. I am always available in the classroom from 7:30 to 8:30 for any student who needs to complete work. Planning work, making choices, learning routines, and experiencing accountability are all areas of growth for the students at this point in the year.

As we move into October, we have a full complement of “specials” which happen in the afternoon. Tuesdays we have Spanish with Carolina Rushton. Thus far, students have been working on conversational Spanish during class time. On Wednesdays, Jennifer Maguyver comes to sing with us during Chorus. We are joined by students from the Middle School who want to sing with us. We are preparing for a concert in November, more details to come soon! Todd Bross is back to do Art with the class on Thursday afternoons. The first focus of study involves the art of mosaics. The students are creating a black and white self-portrait from a digital photo. Friday afternoons are spent with Latin and Teambuilding. We have been reading about the ancient city of Alexandria and its history as we begin our Latin studies. After Latin, we participate in exciting and engaging group challenges which build communication and teamwork between class members.

Last Friday, we had a special guest Maine author and illustrator, Melissa Sweet, come to our classroom. Everyone had been reading some of her books during the week and we were quite excited to meet her. She showed the students how she goes about making a book, ideas for illustrations and cartooning. Melissa also talked about nature journaling and science observation. The students will be able to put some of her ideas into action through adding art and drawing to their assignments and working with nature journals.

We have discussed our trip to Kieve as a class. The returning students were able to share their excitement and past experiences. They were also able to answer questions from students who did not know what to expect. Those who have been before are looking forward to our trip. If you have any questions or concerns please let us know.

Karen Bickmore, Arista Holden