Ms. Lavigne's Classroom Blog

May 31, 2008

It’s hard to believe that we only have 2 more weeks of school! The year has really gone by quickly, even with those long winter months! We have had a great year with everyone progressing academically and more importantly—all of the children seem to be happy and gaining that love of learning that all Montessori teachers hope for their students! 

“The first thing I had was a little bean….the next thing I had was a little root….a little shoot…a little vine…a little flower… a little bean…the last thing I had was a whole pot of beans!”  As we’ve been singing this song, the beans we soaked in a wet paper and set on the window have been growing a little root! We have been learning about the parts of a seed and the life cycle of seed bearing plants and flowers and it has been fun to watch the process happen before our eyes! Hopefully the beans we transplanted into little pots will next have little shoots and flowers and bear you lots of beans. One of the beans is a green bean and the other is a wax bean. We are also going to plant tomato plants and a giant pumpkin plant at school.

Water, water, every where! As we prepare for our aquarium field trip and for the summer season we have water on our minds! We had two special presentations this last week and I want to thank Julie Wilson (Oliver’s mom) and Susie Wharam (Lorna’s mom) for visiting our class. On Thursday, Ms. Wilson gave us some VERY important water safety information including the importance of wearing a life jacket EVERY TIME you are on the water and what to do if someone in the water needs your help—Reach, Throw, Row, Don’t Go. She brought in Oliver’s life jacket for everyone to try on! Thanks Julie for reminding us all about being safe around the water!

Susie Wharam is a marine scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Boothbay. Susie has wanted to visit our class all year and share with us the cool things she studies at the lab. With our visit to the aquarium coming up, Friday was the perfect time for her to bring in the microscope. She loaned to us the book, The Sea that Feeds Us. The story, written by a local author, explains the food chain of the ocean. Even though a single plankton is so small we can’t see it with the naked eye, we learned that plankton is the life source for the animals in the sea.  We will see many of the sea creatures at the aquarium who survive on the food chain because of the plankton. What the book doesn’t say is what plankton eat—bacteria, or what eats the bacteria—viruses. Viruses are what Susie studies at the lab. She shared with us that not all viruses are bad; in fact they are among the most important things in the ocean because they eat the bacteria and keep it from clogging up the ocean. We also learned that not all bacteria are bad, in fact some bacteria is good for us, keeping our bellies healthy for instance. We learned that some bacteria, if left to grow too long, might make us sick though, reminding us of the importance of frequently washing our hands. She also used our Decimal system beads to show us that if the unit bead represented one drop of water, we would need to squeeze 10 thousand cubes of the viruses, 1thousand cube of the bacteria and 1 hundred square of plankton into that one unit or drop of water! Pretty tight fit, but it made the plankton seem so big in comparison. In fact the plankton IS big enough to see under the microscope. Susie brought a microscope with a camera attached that displayed the image on a TV monitor. The children watched with excitement as tiny plankton, worms and larva swam around the dish. When the children went up to look through the microscope lens, I watched one child look in the lens, look down at the dish of water, look in the lens again…as if pondering the WOWness of the experience!

Thank you so much to Susie for sharing her excitement of the sea creatures with us and providing WOW moments for the kids!

Quick note about the word list we sent home on Friday; it is a list that includes the puzzle words or sight words that the children have to memorize verse sounding out phonetically. I spoke to many parents at conferences about using this list to make flash cards and so I decided to share it with all the readers. We have the cards at school and the children who are reading books, practice them often. But feel free to practice or play memory games with these words…unfortunately the English language throws these words at us that we just have to memorize…so the more practice the better!

Another note about reading, the Skidompha Library’s summer reading program is themed ‘Catch the Reading Bug’. Look in last week’s LCTimes for an article giving you some information about the program. It sounds like fun!

Also look for Miss Amy and Tom Wriggins who were pictured in this last issue of LCTs! The Fish Ladder Festival was a great success and a lot of fun. Miss Amy, Ms. Wilson, Mrs. B. and I saw lots of our DMS friends there! It was also great fun to see many of you at the parade on Monday and to see Aubree riding with her Dad in their really cool car! This area has so many wonderful opportunities for local fun and cultural enrichment…hopefully I will see many of you out and about this summer!

 I’ll check back in next week about Father’s/Special Person’s day, the field trip to the farm, and graduation/last day picnic! Have a great week!

Christy's Blog – May 12, 2008   

I hope all of you Moms enjoyed a very nice Mother’s Day Sunday and I hope you enjoyed the Mother’s Day tea at school! The children so enjoyed the chance to ‘take care of you’!  The children also enjoyed cutting the strawberries in preparation of the tea.  This reminded me how of how much children love to help in the kitchen and prepare meals. And this made me think of the importance of creating the home environment with your child in mind.

There is a wonderful documentary called Edison’s Day, made by a family with a 20-month-old enrolled in a Montessori school (I’m hoping to get a copy for DMS). This family created their home environment ‘Edison friendly’. Edison’s parents created the environment so that he could participate in the every day life of the family. Edison is encouraged not only take care of himself, but he is even in charge of feeding the cat! Edison is allowed the freedom to engage in the tasks and activities of the home and is successful because of the thoughtful arrangement of the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, family room and entry area. Things Edison needs are placed on shelves he can reach; in a lower cabinet; in containers he can open; on closet bars lowered to his level; or stools are provided to bring him up to counters.

I am not encouraging you to completely rearrange you home, but there are simple things that can help make your environment one in which your child feels he can easy negotiate and be a contributing member of your family. If you don’t already have a stool in your kitchen, I hope that you will consider bringing one in. The kitchen is a room in the home where you can do little things that will provide big dividends for your child. The kitchen is a nature gathering spot for most families and your child wants to be involved and where you are. Allowing your child to help prepare meals, and cleaning up after provides him opportunities to use the skills gained at school. Every school day your child practices pouring, spooning, tonging, and washing plates and cups; if not in Practical Life, then at snack. The children serve themselves, often spreading cream cheese, cutting apples, or scooping yogurt. Given the right tools the children are completely independent. Allowing your child to help you prepare his lunch, cut the veggies for a salad, or wash the pans gives him such a proud feeling of helping and feeling important. Even putting a small pitcher filled with water in the refrigerator and small glasses kept in a lower cabinet, will give your child freedom and confidence; not to mention you will no longer have to fill his cup for him 100 times a day! Plus, he will soon want to serve you as he did at the tea. Montessori Play and Learn, written by Lesley Britton, has a section on creating a home environment for some other ideas. As summer approaches this book is also a good reference for outings, learning at home, and games to play. Kim has several copies in the office available.

Before summer arrives, we have some fun outings of our own planned. First we will be visiting the Villeneuve’s farm to see their baby goats, piglets, and chickens! This should be a fun morning learning about the animals, the care these animals need, and the importance of family farming in Maine. In June, we will be going to the aquarium in Boothbay Harbor.

We will of course be spending the last month of school, working, working, working as our Kindergarteners prepare for first grade; many of our four and five year olds are just exploding into reading or are so close; and our youngest are becoming so independent that they will be the ones giving the lessons to the new children next year. We are enjoying the social times we have with our friends that are moving on and are hearing lots of talk of play dates planned for over the summer. The children sense change is coming. We are trying to keep the days as consistent as possible and the spirits positive though as we spend the last few weeks together as a group that has created a community with friendships that will carry on for years to come.

Christy's Blog – April 18^th

Ahhh!  Spring is truly here!  The children are having such a wonderful time playing outside, running on dry earth, and especially shedding off their coats and snow gear!  We are also enjoying the return of the birds and are watchful for the bulbs out front to bloom!

We had a great finale to our Asia unit last week with a visit from Mamiko, an exchange teacher from Japan.  Liz Proffety set up the visit; thanks, Liz!  Mamiko came dressed in a beautiful kimono.  She displayed the art of calligraphy, writing some kanji symbols for us.  She also showed us how she makes green tea, inviting the children up to take turns whisking the powdered tea in the water.  She then showed us the beautiful tea ceremony – so like a Montessori lesson!  She also kindly prepared each child's name written in three different Japanese forms of writing.  I hope your child enjoyed bringing these home.

We have started a fun new unit of study on birds.  We have some fun works on the shelf helping us identify birds by sight and song.  We are also reading several nice stories to help us learn about birds developing in their eggs and their lives once they have hatched.  We are learning, from Flute's Journey, that the life of a migratory song bird is not an easy one.  When we return from spring break we will continue to study birds, build a bluebird house, and make some feeders.

Thank you to Abbie, Lorna, and Susie Wharam for helping clean our classroom  before the Open House!  Thanks for your hard work scrubbing cubbies and walls clean!  Thank you to Jenny Villeneuve and Janasa Herndon for helping greet visitors and answer questions during the Open House!

A very warm thank you to the Sweetser, Greenleaf, Walsh/Dochstader, and Nelson families for their very generous gesture of winning our class quilt at the auction and then donating it back to the class!  The children picked a nice spot to display it for all to enjoy for years to come!  The children and Miss Amy and I are so thrilled and so very grateful 

Thank you again to all of the families who donated items, attended the auction, and volunteered their time and energy to make it such a wonderful, and successful, event!

Best wishes for a safe and fun-filled Spring Break!

April 3, 2008

As I prepare for the Open House this weekend, I have been reflecting on the basics of Montessori education and its amazing impact on the children who are lucky enough to spend their formative years in a Montessori environment. If I had to say what the most significant aspect that separates the Montessori approach to that of other programs, it would be the focus we spend on education of the whole child-body, mind and spirit.

Many of you have Kindergarteners who will be moving on next year. You have perhaps watched your little 3 year old evolve into a 6 or 7 year old who has matured into a confident, self-assured, ready to take on the world, polite, well-mannered child who concentrates, is an independent thinker, problem solver, has patience, and LOVES LEARNING and HIS FRIENDS. Or perhaps you are already seeing these characteristics in your 3 or 4 year old. This is thanks in large part to their Montessori education, and especially because of their time doing works such as tweezing, polishing, pouring, or spooning.

Within the classroom, the area in which the child spends so much time in and that infiltrates all of our other areas is Practical Life. All of the children have recently spent some time doing amazing stitching on their quilt faces for the auction project. Watching the children, including our 2 year old Jack, hold the tiny needles with such strong grips and place the needle preciously on the thin lines that outlined their face or mouth, reminded me of the value of each of the Practical Life works out on the shelf. Not only did the children display fantastic fine motor skills, but their concentration was remarkable and their ability to think for themselves about how they wanted their face to look~when you see the quilt you will most likely notice your child’s individuality in their square! Their happy demeanors made what could have been an overwhelming task enjoyable and a rewarding treat for me as I sat with them as their stitched away. Thank you again to the volunteers Stephanie Nelson, Liz Profetty, Marge Greenleaf, Susie Wharam, and Kim Sweetser who also spent many hours threading needles and tying knots.  I hope you enjoyed the experience and especially hope that you, too, were impressed by the children’s skills.  And also a huge thank you to Oliver’s mom, Julie and grandmother Ginny Wilson for putting our quilt together.

The Practical Life lessons give the child the power and physical ability to help himself…”Help me to help myself”. These tweezing or spooning jobs help the body refine its movements; develop and strengthen muscle control; and coordinate its movements with purpose. Many of the lessons such as the polishings have many steps which help the mind create an inner order; sequence the mind; build concentration; which all lead to self discipline. The child becomes an independent being that can do for himself, think for himself, make choices and problem solve. With the help of lessons of Grace and Courtesy and the peace activities, hopefully the choices the child makes in life come not only from a quick reaction, but come from a sense, a place inside of them, to do what is kind and helpful.

So as I see the new faces touring the school this weekend, and talk to the potential new families about Montessori, the Practical Life works or the peace lessons, I am sure to be thinking of your children holding the spoon, or that tiny needle and will boast about their successes they have accomplished because of those works and this environment.

March 17, 2008

March has flown by. It must be because we have been so busy! We started off the month celebrating Japan’s Girls Day. Kim Tolley’s daughters were kind enough to let us borrow a doll from Japan and their child-sized Kimonos to try on. In Japan, families honor their daughters with a day in March in which a display of family dolls is set up and best wishes are bestowed upon the girls for a happy life. We continued our Japanese study as we painted Kanji symbols onto scrolls. They are now decorating our room! I was going to label the symbols in English but the children amazingly remember the Kanji symbols and can tell you each of their words!

We had a very fun couple of days celebrating Dr. Seuss and his wonderful rhyming stories. We made up own rhymes to the ‘Down by the Bay’ Raffi song. The children really thought of some great rhymes, every time!!

The children have started a correspondence with my former students in West Virginia. They sent us letters asking us about Maine and we responded with great stories about all the snow. One letter told the new friends about having birds here, “but not so much in the winter”. Observant, aren’t they!

We added a new science work to the shelf, Sink or Float. We gathered one of each of our solids we sorted earlier and tested whether it sinks or floats. Only wood and plastic floated. We learned about the effects of the weight of the objects, their density, and buoyancy. It has been a favorite work.

Another favorite work has been to look at the pictures that Ella V. brought in displaying the steps that she and Jonathan took to tap their maple trees. Jenny, Ella and Nora brought in their tools and shared with us the process. Thanks for helping us learn about all the time and work it takes to get just one gallon of syrup. It will make me appreciate my syrup a bit more!

Just today, Miss Dot tapped the two big maples out front and immediately the sap was dripping! So perhaps we will have our own DMS syrup too! To enjoy this experience with your family, this Sunday is Maine Maple Sunday; a chance to visit local sap houses to taste their yummy syrup. Goranson Farm in Dresden is going to be open both Saturday and Sunday. Spruce Bush Farm and Uncas Farm are also open to the public on Sunday.  I know we will definitely be out and about at one or more farms. Hope to see you there!

February 29, 2008

HAPPY LEAP YEAR! The extra day has come at a nice time. The children seem VERY settled after the break and have quickly gone back to work and are charging ahead full swing with their lessons.

Speaking of swing! The Contra Dance was fun, fun, fun and a work out! The children seemed to have a great time and it was so nice to visit with parents and to see so many parents visiting with each other. What a wonderful community we have! You know, it’s not like this every where; I feel so grateful to be here

Our next big opportunity to get together is the Spring Auction! I hope everyone has marked their calendars for April 12th!  I’ve started thinking about the items our class will make to donate, one being a quilt. With this in mind, we have starting new sewing lessons. In fact, we have a whole new Practical Life shelf dedicated to bead stringing, lacing cards, lacing shoes, knot tying, threading a needle, straight stitching a design onto burlap, button sewing and loop hooking.

For the quilt, my idea was that the children each make a square with their self portrait on it-sewing on yarn hair, button eyes, and stitching their nose and mouth. BUT…I do not know how to put a quilt together so we would have to have some volunteers to help us turn our squares into a lovely quilt! Does anyone quilt or have a friend, parent or grandparent who might be able to help us? We would supply the materials; we would just need friends to supply their time-which I know will be significant. I’d be willing to do something really nice for them in return! Am I begging? Yeah, I think I am! But the quilts here, and at previous auctions I have been to, have raised HUGE amounts of money!

The other idea I had was to decorate a large tote bag (from Renys or LL Bean) with their hand prints. The kids always need bags for their beach gear, snow pants, play dates or sleepovers right? I have one kids made me years ago as a gift…it’s my favorite!

Let me know what you think about these projects and please let me know if you would like to help with either one!  Check out the new pictures in Ms. Lavigne's Shutterfly Albums!  Link can be found below:

http://dmsphotos.shutterfly.com

Feb. 8, 2008

Well it sure didn’t take long for the groundhog’s forecast to come to fruition! We had a wonderful time playing in the snow on Tuesday. The kids made such cute snow people and HUGE snow mounds. It is so much nicer to be out playing in the snow than in the mud! AND more snow now and more coming this weekend…..I hope it holds off for us to have our Contra Dance! Amy has been helping the children learn to dance together in a group. We have been going round holding hands, stepping in and out, and reversing directions. I am really looking forward to this event and the opportunity to socialize with all of you.

Besides dancing, we have been enjoying stories about Chinese New Year; the children especially enjoyed hearing a folklore story about how villagers scared off the monster Nien by inventing noisemakers and firecrackers, and decorating their homes red—the three things Nien was afraid of. So to this day those three things are part of the customs during the Chinese New year celebration! We also found out which animals in the Zodiac calendar represented the year of our birth and the personality characteristics that go with that animal! We have horses, sheep, monkeys and chickens in our room! Miss Amy is the year of the dragon and I am the year of the dog….these animals are not meant to get along, but I have to tell you that I have never had such a good relationship with a co-worker as I have with Miss Amy. Your children are so lucky to have her in their lives—she’s the best!

We have also been getting ready for Valentine’s Day! We have started to paint hearts and sing songs. The children are also very much into the giving mood. Many of the children are giving their works to each other so don’t be surprised if you see more works done by another child coming home on Friday than your own. He or she has probably given all their work to one of their friends!

If you haven't seen our very cute baby guppies, come by and take a peek.  Thanks to Jason for letting us keep your guppies here at school.

On Monday we hosted a Kindergarten Night. Thank you to the parents who came to learn about the three year Montessori primary experience, and the wonders of it culminating with the Kindergarten year. Also, thank you to Barbara Cookson, Marge Greenleaf, and Liz Profetty for joining us to share your experiences and observations as a parent of a kindergartener. If you have questions or just would like to know more about the Montessori lessons that your child would most likely be doing during their Kindergarten year, I hope that we will be able to meet next week for the check-in conference.

Even if your child is only two or three, it is not too early to be thinking about what their experience will be like when they are the ‘big kids’; it will happen before you know it. The check-ins are open for everyone and are a good way to talk about what lessons your child has been working on and  what comes next in the progression…remember the Montessori curriculum is based on the three year cycle. All of our activities are in some way preparing your child either physically and/or mentally for the next works and for LIFE LONG LEARNING!

Hope to see on Saturday at the Contra Dance!

January 25, 2008

Just a little glance into what we’ve been up to.......

With our cultural studies focusing on Europe we took the chance to take a step back in time to Medieval England! We visited the time of castles, princes and princesses, lords and ladies, and knights. The children enjoyed looking at Lorna’s pictures of her visiting castles in Scotland and the wonderful story she shared, The Quilt Maker about a greedy king and generous quilt maker. We also read a story about a medieval castle and learned the names of many castle sections, such as the Great Chamber, the keep, and the mill tower. We imagined what it would have been like to live in the castle of a lord and lady preparing for a visit from the king in A Medieval Feast. We learned what a long process it was, starting at age 7, for a boy to become a knight in Making of a Knight. In reading these stories, we looked at the architecture, dress, food, and especially what things the people of this time didn’t have! We looked at the fancy symbols that adorned the knight’s shields, armor, clothing, horses, tapestries, dresses, bags and flags. We explored the process of blazonry, the art of making a coat of arms. We learned how the coat of arms was developed for each knight and how it was then passed on in families and then came to be widely used. The children learned the names of each part of the coat of arms and lozenge, the diamond shaped coat of arms for the ladies. We looked at common symbols and their meanings and how even the colors had special meaning. Each child has been making their own coat of arms or lozenge, choosing their ordinaries (the stripe design or pattern), their charges (the animals or symbols) and the colors of the field. These beautiful works of art are hanging on our walls ~ come and take a peak! It has been a fun project and way to combine history, language and art.

Next week, we will take a leap over to the continent of Asia and begin a concentrated study of this part of the world and its people.

This last Tuesday, we read All the Colors of the Earth and placed our ‘peaceful people’ holding hands around the globe. We mentioned that Monday was a day that people around our country remembered a man who, like Dr. Montessori, wanted the world to be a peaceful place for all the children of the world.

For our science studies, we will be exploring more closely non-living things. During the fall we first classified things into living or non-living categories and then studied the living, plants and animals. We recently sorted non-living things into two categories, man-made vs. natural. We further classified things into solids, liquids, or gases. We even sorted the solids into groups of wood, plastic, glass, stone, or metal. We have some experiments planned that I’m sure the children will enjoy.

To beat the winter doldrums we have been playing some fun indoor games, ‘Doggie, Doggie Where’s your Bone’, ‘Beat the Can’ (Hot or Cold), and ‘Who’s Missing’. We have been relaxing our bodies with yoga and singing new songs along with our lap harp.

Stay warm and have some winter fun!

January 2008

Happy New Year! We send best wishes to your family for a healthy and happy year ahead.

It has been a wonderful start to the new year in our room. It is so nice to have everyone back from the chickenpox and/or vacation and to welcome a new student, Jack Henry Lee. The energy has been high in our room as the children are so excited to see each other again; it’s been like a family reunion! Their excitement hasn’t kept them from their work though! There has been an explosion of activity and interest in new works. Children, who were hesitant to try an activity three weeks ago, are independently choosing these activities! Over the years I have observed this surge of activity in January. As expected, it has arrived. I’m not sure if it happens because children hear adults talk about new year resolutions or it just happens innately. Either way, I welcome it and take full advantage of the opportunities to guide them ahead! Please take a look at the new pictures on Shutterfly. You’ll too see the exciting level of work that is happening in our room, especially in math. If there is time during our Classroom meeting on Monday, I’d like to show parents some of the amazing math lessons the students are doing. When looking at the math, sensorial, language or practical life activities one thing that you will notice is the amount of activity done with our hands. Dr. Montessori believed that the hand is the instrument of the mind.  Below, I have included an portion (p. 24-25), from Aline Wolf’s book, Montessori Insights for Parents of Young Children.  I hope you find it interesting and you will perhaps look differently at our pictures and see that what looks simply as a child twisting a nut on to a bolt, is actually a child ‘creating the man he is yet to be.'

Intelligence and the Hand

 For young children concentration requires the purposeful use of their hands. The hands are the instruments of human intelligence...All people resemble one another in the way they use their feet. But no one can tell what any one person will do with his hands….If early humans had used only speech to communicate their thoughts…no traces would remain of past generations. It is thanks to the hand, the companion of the mind, that civilization has been preserved.42

Unlike the feet, that are limited to such physical activities as walking, running, climbing, kicking, dancing, and skating, the hands have infinite possibilities for a child’s future. Every vocation from a seamstress to a surgeon, from a scientist to a concert pianist, from a cook to a mechanic, computer operator, painter, sculptor, involves hands that are well coordinated and practiced. The more delicate the work, Montessori writes, the more [the manual skill] needs the care and attention of an intelligent mind to guide it. 43

Because she was so moved by the vital connection she observed between the hand and the mind, all the learning materials that Montessori designed for the classroom require purposeful manipulation. The child’s intelligence can develop to a certain level without the help of his hand. But if it develops with his hand, then the level it reaches is higher and the child’s character is stronger…If his hand wishes to work we must provide him with things on which he can exercise an intelligent activity. 44

Through their hands, children experience the difference between hard and soft, hot and cold, liquid and solid, rough and smooth (daddy’s whiskers and mommy’s cheeks), or heavy and light. Little ones using their hands to squeeze Play-doh, to string beads, to wrap a doll in a blanket, or to make a magnificent structure with building blocks, are beginning to understand that their hands can change the world.

42  The Absorbent Mind. p. 27; p. 148; p.151.

43 ibid. p. 150.

44 ibid. p.152; p.155.

December 2007

Frosty the Snowman was a jolly, happy soul….. He’s not the only one who loves the snow! The kids love this early batch of it! We are having a wonderful time outside.

Inside we are reading snow stories, making a felt snowman, and singing the Frosty song.

We are also getting the opportunity to practice putting on and taking off all of our winter outer wear. The process is already going much quicker than a week ago as children are remembering the sequence of their items. First we put on our snow pants and then the boots; we zip up before we put on our mittens or gloves. Mittens are much easier than gloves for children of this age. Children can independently put them on AND they keep their fingers much warmer. The wool ones tend to get wet though, so I do recommend sending in an extra pair of mittens in your child’s bag. Also, please make sure your child has a complete set of extra clothes in his bathroom box--name labeled underwear, pants, socks, and long sleeves shirt…just in case they get wet outside, have a spill, or an accident. Thanks!

In the classroom, we have spent much of the year focusing on our community and taking care of each other and being peaceful with our friends. We have intertwined this in with our Ecology studies ~ taking care of all living things and the Planet Earth. The children are quite sensitive to every living thing having its place on earth. They rescue each crawling lady bug and move it to our potted plant, cradling it in their palms. They look in wonder through the magnifying glass at the body of a dead bee, a shell or an acorn. With each lady bug or glance at one of earth’s treasures, the child is building an appreciation of, empathy for the earth AND their inner spirit, love light, or conscience is growing and growing. We have been singing a beautiful Native American Indian song that goes, “The Earth is our Mother, we must take care of her….the Sky is our father….the trees are our sisters….the lakes are our brothers….we must take care of them…”  Along with this we read Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, a book about Chief Seattle’s message to Congress in the mid-1850s impressing upon the government that we must treat the earth as if it’s a member of our family. We talked at great length about the book and song’s meaning, in the non-literal sense. We talked about how each one of them, even though they are only 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old could make an impact on the world, making it a better place by picking up a single piece of garbage at a park or giving one smile to someone who was feeling sad. We know it as ‘pay it forward’, but I explained to the children  how one small gesture by one of them might be seen by someone else and then they would do a good deed and someone would see them and so on and so on. And that maybe one day everyone would  keep our earth clean….and everyone would  be peaceful with one another, just because one of them picked up a piece of trash or gave someone a smile….Possible? Maybe. Dr. Montessori thought so. “It is the spirit of the child that can determine the course of human progress and lead it perhaps to a higher form of civilization”. She continues in the Absorbent Mind, “The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future.”

Another way the child can gain appreciation for all living things, is to learn about the people of the world. We have started to take a global look at our world and learn that no matter where you live on the planet, you still smile, laugh, cry and love. A WONDERFUL book called, Wherever You Are, Whoever You Are beautifully illustrates this message of a commonality of all living beings. We are taking our first look at a different way of life, customs and languages in a study of Europe. Miss Amy is introducing us to folklore from Denmark and is even reading stories to the children in the Danish language. She lived in Denmark for almost two years and has a wonderful collection of handmade elves and crafts. We are looking forward to learning the colors and counting in Danish! We also have a matryoshka nesting doll from Russia that the children are enjoying. Miss Amy taught us to count to five in Russian as we work with the doll. Does anyone have a copy of the book, The Littlest Matryoshka ? If so, I’d love to borrow it to read to the class. Also, if you have any other European artifacts that we could borrow, we welcome them to enrich our studies.

So, it is with an eye to the ‘radiant future’, that we incorporate learning about the earth, its people, and our interconnectedness.

Please take a look at our most recent class pictures on Shutterfly! There are some great shots!

November 2007

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! With Thanksgiving now past,  December is days away. What a fun time of year, but a busy one with all of the extra activity of the holiday season. Although we do plan to do some fun things as we learn about the December holidays, the children seem to take solace in knowing that school is a place where they can relax and follow their normal routine. So we will continue to work, have lessons, and for the most part keep things as normal as possible. It wouldn't the holidays though with out learning a little bit about Sinter Klaus, Santa Lucia, Hannukah dreidels, poinsettias, the Christmas story, and the spirit of giving. I will keep you posted of our activity as we learn some of the traditions and customs of people from around the world as we celebrate this time of year.

It was wonderful to get to chat with so many parents, and grandparents, during Conferences. It was particularly nice to have the chance to get to know you all better. As we, parents and teachers, come together, the child's educational experience only benefits!

During the conferences, I spoke to many of you about the fantastic works your child is doing in language. The Montessori classroom is a language rich environment in which children are exposed to 'real' words, stories, songs, and rhymes. As children are learning the sounds of the letters they are also given opportunities to touch and write the letters, engaging different senses to promote learning. Once the child knows the sounds of the letters, she or he is anxious to start putting those sounds together to form words. One of our students, Conner, was just making as many words as he could with an A-Z puzzle. This 'Montessori Moment' wasn't during a lesson with a teacher. It was a spontaneous moment during puzzle time after lunch. Once children get the bug to read, they will make the most of every opportunity they see. You find them reading street signs, asking you how to spell things out loud, they will pick out words from their books at home, they will 'read' their bedtime stories to you. Before you know it, they WILL BE reading you bedtime BOB Books, Mac and Tabs and Zac the Rats. When that day comes for your child, it will be a magical time. If that day is still in the future for your child, my best advice is to be patient and have books available to them, read to them, let your child see you reading a book or newspaper, take trips to the library, and did I mention READ, READ, READ to them! There are few things better in life than sitting down with a child and experiencing the joy and wonder of a good book!

October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween! I hope all the little witches, fireman, and Snow Whites have a wonderful time trick or treating tonight! We have been having fun singing Halloween songs, hearing silly Halloween stories, and making glue ghosts to celebrate. We also had a ‘history’ lesson on the origins of the day—did you know that the first Irish Jack-o-Lanterns were carved or painted faces on turnips, potatoes, rutabagas, or beets! Carving a pumpkin is a whole lot more fun, I’d imagine. The children had a wonderful time choosing their pumpkins at the patch and have been telling us about their own Jack-o-Lanterns they carved at home.

The Harvest Fest was such a wonderful day! The weather was beautiful, the food yummy, the crafts fun, and the company fantastic! It was so nice to be able to chat with so many of you. It seemed like everyone was having a great time and the children especially enjoyed our two activities—apple tasting and carrot crunching! A very special thank you to Susie Wharam and Willy Wilson for getting all the apples, setting up and manning the very popular (and not just with the bees) apple tasting activity. Thanks Barbara Cookson for helping them---which apple ended up being the ‘Kids’ Pick’?  Kim and Seth Sweetser tied, dangled, and played with the carrots and kids all day….I’m not sure if the children or the Sweetsers were having the most fun! It was quite the hit! Thanks! The carrots we used were harvested fresh that day by Jessica Bickford. Thanks Jessica for donating all those delicious carrots….it made for a fun and healthy activity! Kim also made two wet and muddy trips out to Brown’s farm to gather all of the pumpkins we used to decorate and paint! A huge thank you goes out to her!  Todd Bross organized the bean bag toss game with LeAnn Harris and had lots of children laughing and having a good time over there—I saw children enjoying that all day! Thanks Todd! Miss Amy and her friends provided great entertainment with their music! I spied several children joining in on the ensemble and heard some beautiful singing from some of our parents! Overall, the event was a day to remember and epitomizes why I moved to Maine…wonderful people enjoying wholesome fun in the great outdoors!

I hope parents are enjoying their classroom observations. Remember you can still sign-up to visit the class before Parent-Teacher conferences coming up on Nov. 13^th & 14^th.

I know that just watching during the observation is hard because you want to jump in and work with your child! Now’s your chance! November 8^th  is Bring your Parent to School night for the primary classes. This is a great opportunity for you to see what your child’s favorite works are! He or she will give you a tour of classroom, give you lessons on the works, and you get to get down on the floor and work with your child! It is a chance for your child to teach you! It is a fun, fun time. Hope everyone can join us next Thursday at 5:30…..see you then!

October 15, 2007 

Well it is finally acting like Fall outside. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are getting chilly, and the skies have been beautiful! Hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate this Friday for our field trip and Saturday for the DMS Harvest Fest. Our class is hosting a bean bag toss, apple tasting, and carrot bobbing from a string. Thank you to the families who have already signed up to organize or help with one of these activities! There are still volunteers needed, so please stop by the office to see how you can help! Thanks! ……speaking of thanks…...Jonathan, Jenny & Ella Villeneuve, and Eli and Jess Herndon were here on Sunday putting siding on the shed out back! It’s looking great. Thanks guys!

You are now welcome to come in to observe our classroom! When you visit, I hope some of the things that you immediately notice are the kindness, helpfulness, and respect to one another displayed by the children. Hopefully you will see Love Light pins being worn; flowers being put on the Good Deeds Tree; and children calming their bodies so that their minds can help them make good choices, remembering the Circles of Self Awareness. In a Montessori classroom, the lessons of Grace and Courtesy and works from the Peace area play a vital role in the development of the child. When we create a classroom culture that is built on Montessori’s ideals of respect and kindness, the children are then free to learn, explore, discover, think for themselves, respond to challenges and peacefully co-exist in our community. Sonnie McFarland writes, in her introduction of Honoring the Light of the Child, “Dr. Montessori was one of the first educators to recognize the connection between seeing and responding to the intrinsic beauty and love within children and their ability to manifest their greatest potential and talents.” She goes on to say, “To educate for lasting peace, we must begin at birth. Children come into this world with pure love or light in their hearts. When this love is recognized and consistently reflected back to them, they are able to develop their fullest potential and become responsible, peace-loving citizens of the world.”  It is through our Peace lessons that we give the child the tools to reveal and express the love that is already within and empower them to make the best choices possible concerning themselves and others.

I am looking forward to the up-coming opportunities to visit with you and for our DMS community to gather together. Hope to see you on our trip to the Pumpkin Patch Friday, the Harvest Fest on Saturday, and our Class and School Meetings on Monday!

Some Montessori Moments!  See our Shutterfly page (link below) for even more Classroom pictures!

http://www.dmsphotos.shutterfly.com

September 24, 2007

Happy Autumn!

As we start a new season, we also start our fourth week of school! Wow! How quickly time goes by…and yet we have accomplished so much in our classroom over the last three weeks! The children are settling into their routines and are diving into the Montessori materials! To give you an idea of our wonderful Montessori class at work try to envision this:

Our Montessori classroom is a peaceful yet very busy environment. The children are busily working, twenty children doing twenty different lessons. It is quiet, yet there is a low hum of voices saying phonetic sounds, counting numbers, singing the color song as color tablets are matched. The children work out their differences calmly with their words and the Peace rose. The children are supportive of each other, helping when a child spills or needs an apron tied. The teachers are slowly, yet methodically moving throughout the classroom observing, presenting, redirecting. A five year old reads a book next to a three year old pouring rice who is next to a four year old sounding out words with the Moveable Alphabet. The Pink Tower is being built next to a child placing tiles in order from 1 to 100. A child is reminded to push in his chair so no one trips while a child sweeps up rice spilled by another.

To see this happening in person, I highly encourage you to come in to observe the classroom at work. The classrooms will be open to observations in the middle of October (you will receive more information on observations from Kim).

Until then, we have tried to give you a glimpse into our room!  You should have received an email from Kim inviting you to view pictures of our class on Shutterfly. Amy and I will be periodically taking pictures of the children doing their favorite works or images of them having a particularly good time. I hope you find these pictures as adorable as we did! 

Some fun lessons coming up will be continuing to explore the parts of a Biome (last week we had a great out door lesson identifying the parts!), It’s Fall!, and the Good Deeds Tree!

Happy, Happy Fall!

BTW:  Christy's school e-mail is:  christyl@damariscottamontessori.org

September 10, 2007

Welcome to an exciting year in Mrs. Lavigne and Ms. Amy’s class! The room has been abuzz with friends reuniting, new friendships being created, and lots of works being explored. It is such a joy to get to know the children and each one’s individual personality! I am looking forward to a wonderful year of watching them grow!

We have started the year with lots of lessons of Grace and Courtesy which help the children work side by side peacefully in our community. Also, we are learning two very important ground rules to help make our classroom a safe and happy place to learn: 1) We take care of the living things (our bodies, friends, plants and animals) and;  2) We take care of the non-living things (our materials, mats, books, equipment).  All of our other procedures or ground rules come back to these…. “we walk slowly in the classroom so our bodies stay safe…we are taking care of our living things!”

Group time has been lots of fun for the children. We are learning new songs from Frank Leto (a Montessori music teacher and performer) like the Color Song, Coconut Soap and Jump, Jump, Jump. The color song is also an aid to help learn the colors in Sign Language. The children have been very receptive to the few signs that I have taught them and we will continue to learn signs for simple commands, grace and courtesy phrases, numbers, animals, and a few songs.  Another highlight of group has been the story, Those Mean, Nasty, Dirty, Downright Disgusting, But Invisible Germs. It is a story about the importance of washing our hands! We have had some very nice treasures come in for Sharing as well. Your child is welcome to bring things ‘from nature or things that will help us learn’ into class for Sharing.

Some lessons coming up include: The Peace Rose and using this valuable tool for conflict resolution; apples, apples, apples-stories, songs, and art; and starting to learn about our Community.

Speaking of Community, I really like that the DMS parents pick-up on the playground when the weather is willing. What a nice chance to say hello and to check in with one another. Both Amy and I are usually available to share a few, quick words with you but please don’t hesitate to ask for me to call you if we need to chat further. Also, if our eyes are scanning the playground or if we excuse ourselves quickly, it is because the safety of the children always comes first!

 Have a great week!