Summer School Lessons

By the time May comes around I am so ready for a break in the routine and school schedule. I crave the relaxed and lazy days of summer. Our school has a summer school option for the enrolled families. As the Directress of Children's House I have the benifit of choosing if I would like to take the summer off or stay through. This summer we only had seven children who signed up for "summer school". Interestingly enough, it was exactly the seven children who I felt needed more individualized and meaningful one on one time. So...I stayed on (cautiously) for the summer. What a summer it's been! I have had the opportunity to see these seven little boy grow from seemingly helpless little beings...into articulate, thoughtful, and joyful people. Here's just a sample of what we did this summer.

Enjoyed our garden...while it lasted. A flood came a few days later and it sat under water for two weeks :( The project has been mended and is back and better than ever!

Celebrated the Summer Solstice with our homemade candles and flower harvest.

Prepared a summer art show in the trees.

Welcomed the first egg of the summer from our chickens!!

I am so glad to stick around for the summer. I was just the slow paced and thoughtful time that I needed with my students. I have grown to know and love them in a way that would have been impossible to do during the fast paced school year.

But...in just a couple weeks the frist official day of school starts. A two week break...a trip to Tennessee, prepare the classroom, and then gear up for a great school year!

Early Man

We are discovering with much enthusiasum the Timeline of Early Humans. After our half hearted look into dinosaurs...which is usually a homerun, I decided time to move on to Early Humans. I figured it would be overlooked. But, what do you know...the children are LOVING IT! Here's how I laid out the lesson:

Introduced the lesson with the book Prehistoric Times, made cave painting matching cards, set up a "cave" in the classroom for painting, put a tray out with sticks, string, stones for "tool making", gathered materials for fire making, the very popular Timeline of Early Humans...which has expanded into making timelines for everything! Checked out several Wooly Mammoth books from the library and found some figurines from
Micheal's for "cavemen"....it's been a good unit of study.

Next up will the the Wheel of Eras work and also a colored coded timeline made of felt to go a long with it. I would do the Black Ribbon lesson, but my class is all pretty young and I think color coding might be a bit more impactful.
     

Oh also, I love wealth of knowledge from http://diykindergarten.blogspot.com/
Oh....and, this was really cool I thought....it's from http://mybloglittleacorns.blogspot.com/

Community Work Day

Today our wonderful community gathered at Montessori Day School and worked on several projects we had going around our school. The first and most significant is our Common Ground Community Garden Project. We have a quarter of an acre of land that we have free reign to till, clear, and plant whatever we like! Now..that is a lot of land for a few Montessori teachers to tend to...so we have been gathering support and had some amazing people who are sooo wise in the area of horticulture help us out. We are starting with a small size plot to test out the amount of critters in the area, and also find our flow as a school with tending to the garden.

Our next task was to fit the large and rather odd shaped cold frame on our "playgarden" with plastic and fit two shelves. This will be the future home of the many seedlings that will be started for the garden. The children will have enough room to enter, check plants, water, and even have a seat and do some journaling.

The last and unfinished task was the chicken coop. Which worked out better, because now I have time (and motivation) to really find some good plans. I really like this one and it works with what is currently available. http://thetanglednest.com/2010/02/our-urban-chicken-coop-plan/
    

To be continued! Happy weekending!

Happy Almost Friday!

Oh what a week. So far we have discussed prehistoric times, the discovery of fire, cave paintings, and threw in a few math and language lessons. The children came back after the break so focused, calm, and ready for work. I have been reminding myself to get back to basics in the classroom and trying to follow Montessori's "Ten Commandments"

1. Never touch the child unless invited by her.
2. Never speak ill of the child in her presence.
3. Concentrate on strengthening and helping the development of what is good in the child so that its presence may leave less and less space for the bad.
4. Be active in preparing the environment; take meticulous and constant care of it, help the child establish constructive relations with it. (Remember – The environment is suited to the child, not the adult.)
5. Be ever ready to answer the call of the child who stands in need of you and ever listen and respond to the child who appeals to you. Be a good listener.
6. Respect the child who makes a mistake and can then or later correct it herself. Stop firmly and immediately any misuse of the environment and any action which endangers the child, her development or that of others.
7. Respect the child who takes rest or watches others working or ponders over what she herself has done or will do. Neither call her, nor force her to other forms of activity.
8. Help those who are in search of activity and cannot find it.
9. Be untiring in repeating presentations to the child who refused them earlier; in helping the child acquire what is not yet her own and overcome imperfections. Do this by animating the environment with care and purposive restraint and silence, with mild words and loving presence. Make your ready presence felt to the child who searches and hide from the child who has found.
10. Ever treat the child with the best of good manners and offer her the best you have of yourself and at your disposal.

It is a fine line that we walk as educators in Montessori. I have so many ideas running in my head for school....a parent crafting day, Weaving Wednesday, a day for dancing..led by our ballet trained Toddler Directress, create crafting board for parents to choose from, and continue work on our Common Ground Project, also would like to start re-reading Montessori's books. It's back on.

A look at the children taking part in a fire meditation (under supervision of course).

oh la la...Paris

On my kind of day off ( I went to straighten up the classroom) I have done nothing but research clothes to wear for my upcoming trip to Paris! I like simple, chic, french girl style...don't we all? Charlotte Gainsbourg is my current fashion love  <3 <3

oh so french.

Scenes from our Community

Lovely children who are concentraing, building independence and confidence. I have been going 100 mph and sometimes feel as though my creative energy is out. I get home and collapse...or do three more hours of paperwork and material making. I have to remember things will fall into place and resolve themselves. And until then...these little people will grow and discover and become everything they are supposed to be.

New Year, New You

Well...here we are. 2012 and living in Charleston, SC, teaching at an amazing community orriented school. Our latest project is starting up our Common Ground Project. We have cleared a quarter of an acre of land and this Spring, we will grow: corn, bell peppers, cucumbers, garlic, onions, sunflowers, herbs and the list will go on and on!

This first year at MDS has been filled with happiness, discovery, and HUGE tests of strength and discipline on my part. The search for an assistant or co-teacher is still on going. My current co-teacher is wonderful and amazing...but alas her love is highschool age students and she has the gift for it.

Since my past post in November we have taken many nature walks, discovered a grove of trees to climb and hang in. The hoard of boys in my class have discovered the Sensorial area as well as the Grand Array (finally!) and we are STILL practicing Grace and Courtsey....much needed practice, but we are getting there.

I am looking forward to some growth with our future farm school ideals and excited for this big ole' garden to get started!