Vol. 5, Issue 1: September 2018
|
|
"Education is a work of self-organization by which man adapts himself to the conditions of life."
-Maria Montessori
With one month under our belts for the 2018 - 2019 school year I wanted to share the above quote with you. Given the fact that it is a new year, we have a handful of new families, more will be joining us, and we are close to closing the deal on the Moorestown property, I really would love for you to think about self-organizing.
When I think of education I do not just think of your child being educated. I think of this image.
|
|
I think of the classrooms. I think of the Whole School Leadership training I have been taking for the past three years. When I started this school, I wanted it to be a unique Montessori school. I did not want to be a part of creating “another” Montessori School.
Self-organizing is a natural tendency of human beings. We do it and your children do it all the time. Being aware of it, observing it, and creating frameworks to successfully self-organize in a positive and effective way is the key. This school is predicated on this notion of self-organizing. It is not a place to drop your children off, not participate, not know what is going on, and do it all over again. The goal is to participate, utilize and create frameworks. Observing is also important. Sometimes it is important to see how things play out. When a child gets in an argument we let them argue. Then we reflect back to them questions for them to have the tools to learn from the experience. If they do not go through the experience, they won’t know how to solve it independently when something similar comes up again. Take a look at this excerpt from an article from Princeton.edu.
Self-Organization Defined Self-organization refers to a broad range of pattern-formation processes in both physical and biological systems, such as sand grains assembling into rippled dunes (Figure 1.1), chemical reactants forming swirling spirals (Figure 1.3a), cells making up highly structured tissues, and fish joining together in schools. A basic feature of these diverse systems is the means by which they acquire their order and structure. In self-organizing systems, pattern formation occurs through interactions internal to the system, without intervention by external directing influences.
My greatest hope is to experience your children experience and learn how to achieve success and fulfillment in their lives with your collaborative help to the capacity that engages you best for your children and each other’s children. We try to set up frameworks at MSOE to aid in this experience, but it is only complete with your active participation. This is what sets us apart from most. This awareness and willingness to action is what makes each year better for all of us. Thank you for being a part of our environment on every level. We here at MSOE definitely look forward to mindfully collaborating with all of you to help bring about an evolving authentic Montessori experience for families, even if we are temporarily missing the smallest pink cube.
|
|
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2018-2019 School Year here at MSOE! The year has gotten off to a great start in the Toddler Classroom! We are very excited to begin this school year and it has been a great pleasure getting to know your child!
All of the children have adjusted beautifully to our classroom! They are now familiar with our daily schedule and the rules of our classroom.
The toddlers are learning independence by putting their jackets and shoes on and off, getting a tissue and wiping their nose and getting their lunch out and cleaning it up when they are finished. You will soon see that they will want to do everything for themselves. Our goal as teachers is to help them to help themselves!
We have been practicing using our manners and being polite to our friends and teachers, this is the beginning stage of our Grace and Courtesy Curriculum in the Toddler Environment!
In September, we focused on farm animals and the season of Fall! We have been talking about apple picking and made many apple crafts!
We have been learning different shapes and colors, focusing on the circle and the color red.
Our Language Area was all about farm animals and learning some new farm animal names! The Sensorial Shelf introduced the toddlers to knobbed cylinders, the object permanence box and color sorting. The children love building with the wooden blocks and the mega blocks in our manipulative area. The Math Area introduced the toddlers to one-to-one correlation and number recognition. The children enjoyed working with the pounding, spooning, dry pouring and grasping work in the Practical Life Area.
We are looking forward to adding water work in October. Our October theme focuses on Harvest Time, the color orange and the square shape.
I would like to remind you to take a look at the pictures posted in Transparent Classroom of what your child does everyday. It is a great way to get a glimpse of how your child spends his/her day at school and a great way to initiate a conversation with your child about school.
I look forward to a wonderful fun-filled school year ahead with your adorable little ones!
Please do not hesitate to contact me, should you have any questions or concerns!
Best Regards,
Ms. Chris, Ms. Julie and Ms. Xiomara
|
|
Primary October Newsletter
“The child’s nature is to aim directly and energetically at functional independence…independence is not a static condition; it’s a continual conquest, in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting of one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil."
Maria Montessori, Absorbent Mind
Welcome Primary Parents to a new school year! These first few weeks Mrs. Mary and I have been taking many steps with your children to lay the foundation of our classroom. Subsequently, we are diligently working to establish what we call grace and courtesies, routines and guidelines as well as a gradually expanding of depth and breadth of the work cycles in our classroom. It’s awesome to see so much development among the returning students, and to get to know some new faces. Mrs. Mary and I are looking forward to a great year with your children!
September Adventures
We began the month by celebrating Rosh Hashanah. As a group we all eat apples dipped in honey and talked about the rituals of thinking about positive sentiments for the year. Additionally, we had Janine Perez stop by and play the shofar for us! Soon after, Mrs. Mary began her tale of the Mayflower voyage. Most excitingly, we have begun the count down of how many days it took the pilgrims to reach America… (to be continued)
Subsequently, the children sang songs of peace during international peace day and we had picture day together. Additionally, we told true stories about John Chapman also known as Johnny Appleseed. We made apple collages with the children. Subsequently, the children have also begun doing cooking projects with Jamie Zwier, which is always a treat for everyone involved! The adolescents have also begun working with the primary children as well in the afternoons which has been a blast for them.
Amidst it all, the children are adapting to the prepared environment. All of them are navigating through many changes, whether it be adapting to a new role as a leader in the classroom, a different perspective of communicating with one another, being introduced to a new work for the first time or completely reorienting to a new environment. All of them are met with a task, developing the skills necessary that will help them to take a step further towards meeting their developmental needs. This is not a small task. The process of self-construction is a process, it requires patience, love and perseverance by everyone involved. The time that we have with your wonderful children is precious and this journey has begun the moment they set foot into the classroom.
Here are a few ways that you can help support the work we are doing and empower them on their journey :
- Encourage them to manage themselves all by themselves as much as possible. For example, practice at home having your child open and close all lunch containers and food wrappers all by themselves, if they are not able to yet.
- Give them the opportunity to independently dress themselves and put their shoes on their feet. (It might be useful to trace an outline of their feet and laminate it and stick it by their shoes close to the door if they are having trouble putting their shoes on the right feet)
- Make sure everything has a space and place at home whether it be their coat, shoes etc.
- Try to bring them to school by 8:15 a.m. if possible. The first few months we will be having morning gatherings. Having them there a little earlier will support orientation into the prepared environment.
- Make sure when your child comes to school to try to have their hair out of their eyes, so it does not distract them from work.
- Make sure all clothes they are wearing do not require assistance from an adult to navigate. For example, small buttons on pants or dresses that will hinder them when they need to use the bathroom
- LABEL LABEL LABEL!!! Any item that your child brings in, please label. Things can get mixed up in the primary classroom and its helpful for us all to keep things in order if things are labeled.
- Guide your child to be responsible for their own work folder. We send work folders home on Wednesday and the folders should be sent back to school the very next day on Thursday. This will be your child’s work therefore if you can encourage them as much as possible to take ownership of it this will help to aid their skills of executive functioning.
Things you can talk about during Dinner time in October
- The changing of the season will bring about many questions regarding leaves. Our plan is to highlight the leaf cabinet in our classroom. This is a work that builds the children’s impressions sensorially of leaf forms as well as expands vocabulary. We will focus on the names of different leaf forms as well different kinds of trees. Soon after, we will take a leaf walk and notice the different leaf forms that we observe.
- During the week of October 8th we will have many activities centered around Christopher Columbus. Mrs. Mary will be doing a historical presentation, and additionally we will be highlighting the continent of North America for the month.
- During the week of October 17th we will be telling true stories of Noah Webster! The children will be sharing ways of organizing words as well as discovering a few fun new words.
- During the week of October 31st we will be having many experiences related to pumpkins! Pumpkin washing, also perhaps doing some food preparation related to carving a pumpkin and figuring out new ways to experience pumpkins sensorially as well.
PS. Feel free to expand on any of these activities at home and feel free to let me know how it’s going or let me know if there is any way I can help to support you.
As always Mrs. Mary and thank you for all your support and we look forward to another extraordinary month to come!
Best Regards,
Mr. Carl and Mrs. Mary
|
|
When you have solved the problem of controlling the attention of the child, you have solved the entire problem of its education.
Every child is different as you know. Dynamics in the classroom change every year too as your children evolve, others move on and new children come in. Imposing our will on the child is so easy and comes naturally. Why is that? Because short term, it is easier. We have to be consciously willing to persuade and inspire the child in the classroom and at home. Of course there is a time and a place to “impose” what we want our children to do. However, capturing the interest of your child is what I am talking about and that there is a willingness and call to action of the school to do this. This way of doing things might seemingly take longer, but at the end of it, this change is lasting and long term rather than a repetitive short term fix. Let me illustrate a recent example for you.
I had two children that I wanted to introduce suffixes and prefixes to with the movable alphabet. Here I am all excited and ready to go. This is so awesome, they get to touch the material, experiment, and even have a chart as a resource. Things do not always go as planned, and low and behold, they are not interested. I can’t entice them to do the follow-up work after the lesson. It is a super easy thing to do, but they just don’t want to. One might be playing off the other, I do not know. So, it is the end of the day, and we decide to try again tomorrow. The next day comes, we try again and I get nothing. “Oh, I know, I have an idea," I tell them. "What do you think about writing the words in pencil on paper and writing the prefixes or suffixes in colored pencil?” “Oh yes," one says, "I want to do that.” The other child says, “Me too.” Then, there you have it. They each do several words that I agree are suitable for their attention and concentration.
As parents and as educators, we are not or shouldn't be controlling the child’s attention, but learning to capture it. This is what I believe Dr. Montessori was saying in the quote above. We have to learn what the child’s interest is, how to find that interest if we need them to do something and then celebrate the small victories with some self and external reinforcement. I don’t mean give them something for it, but say, “I can tell you worked really hard on that, or it must have felt good to accomplish that, I know I feel good when I accomplish things like you just did.” What are you doing to capture your child’s interest? A theme for this month has been about capturing the children’s interests with the various lessons given. I am learning what their interests are and are not. Then I am figuring out ways to give them things that they are not necessarily interested in at this time. However, I know it is something I can go back to. That is another beautiful thing about being in a Montessori classroom. There is time to circle back around.
|
|
The adolescent students in our new Erdkinder Montessori Program have been very productive these past few weeks. Here is a list of some of the adolescent adventures.
- Camped 4 days overnight at Knowhere Farm in Chesterfield - this experience helped set the tone for the school year. The students spent time getting to know each other and building community. They also fell in love with the farm, and specifically, the goats.
- Learned how to care for the goats by feeding them, cleaning their water buckets, playing with them, clipping their hooves, milking them, checking famacha scores, and cleaning the barn where they hang out. They also did a little goat yoga and even saw some goat twins be born.
- Learned to care for chickens by feeding them, cleaning their water bowls, playing with them, helping the ones suffering from allergies, replacing their water and bedding, helping to winterize the chicken coop and protect it from predators, and collecting eggs.
- Learned to care for cows by feeding them, petting them, cleaning their water barrel, and rotating their fields.
- Made goat soap (soap using goats milk and other ingredients like essential oils and coconut oil). This was an amazing chemistry lesson as they saw how the temperature of the milk rose to over 200 degrees in a matter of minutes as they added the lye.
- Started a business plan to buy a baby goat.
- Registered for the Chicago Montessori Model United Nations Conference in May and started working on their position papers.
- Decided it was a better idea to raise funds for the MMUN conference and revisit the idea of buying a baby goat after some research.
- Designed an 8 week curriculum to teach the Upper Elementary students about anti-addiction. (Some of the lessons include goal setting, decision making, communication and persuasive marketing).
- Started a blog for the adolescent program.
- Registered for the farmer's market in Merchantville this Saturday from 10am-2pm to sell goat selfies and wreaths.
- Are hosting a star party on the farm on November 3rd (That's where you bring your telescope and let others see what you are pointed at. There will also be an outdoor movie.)
- Are running a goat yoga fundraiser on October 20th. (That's where people do yoga outside with goats jumping on you and trying to eat your yoga mat.)
- Helped design the logo for the farm and are making staff t-shirts for when they help with farm related events. They will also be selling custom t-shirts and are even working on a t-shirt design to enter into the MMUN t-shirt contest.
- Partnered with Panera Bread in Mt Laurel to pick up unsold bread at the end of the day to donate to the homeless and help feed the chickens on the farm.
- Did fun cooking activities with the Primary on Tuesday afternoons.
- Organized a yard sale on the farm on November 20th to do fundraising for the MMUN trip. They also helped empty a container on the farm to fill with yard sale items.
- Organized a dine out fundraiser at Pancheros in Voorhees on United Nations Day (October 26th from 5-8pm).
- Are participating in a Socktober campaign this month to collect pairs of new socks for the homeless.
- Are creating an extensive list of vocabulary words to expand their repertoire.
There are so many exciting adventures that the adolescent students at MSOE have been actively participating in. It is a pleasure to allow them the space to develop their personalities and identities. They are learning all the academic requirements, but beyond that, they are able to express themselves and explore their individual interests in a way that is so amazing to see. This particular group of students is very compassionate and empathetic. They are constantly thinking about others and how they can help. During our weekly community meetings they express such gratitude for the experiences they have had and the ones they are eager to have. It is going to be an amazing year full of growth, gratitude and giving.
|
|
Mindfulness and Meditation with Ms. Marcella
|
Students have been practicing all kinds of mindfulness this month - noticing, observing, seeing, listening, touching, finding, experiencing, sharing, breathing, focusing, feeling, expressing, and being!
Intrigued by descriptions in the book If You Find a Rock, we interacted with rocks of our own, including wishing rocks, chalk rocks, painted rocks and sifting rocks. Playing a game of "find your rock", we closed our eyes and used our sense of touch to tune in to the moment. We held heavy rocks and noticed how they made us feel, discovering the grounding properties of interacting with an element of nature.
We experienced the calming effects of a zen garden, were invigorated by "good morning" yoga, and set our intentions with a visualization of how we'd like to feel for the day.
We took a listening walk, engaged in belly breathing and body awareness during meditation, and most of all, created a space for everyone to be who they are! :)
|
Elementary STEM is underway. We covered the Lab Contract, learned all about the lab learning process and safety. Our STEM scouts demonstrated their knowledge of lab safety skills in a high energy game of charades. This year we will be working toward four electronic badges, "Squishy, Gooey Chemistry", "Meet Edison" (he's a robot), "Introduction to Electronics with Little Bits" and "Flying, Falling, and Fluid Dynamics"! Each completed module earns your scout one of these badges electronically through the STEM Scouts Portal. There is plenty of room for more students if you are still considering this for your elementary child or if you know anyone else as STEM is opened to both MSOE and outside students.
Click here
to explore
We are the Garden State Council, Elementary level, Wednesdays at 4:30 until 6PM.
M. Frank Burkhauser
|
|
Taco Salad
Ingredients-
1 Cup Corn
1 Cup Black Beans
1 Cup Tomatoes,
1 Avocado, Chopped Diced
1 Cup Romaine Lettuce,
Chopped
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
Directions-
1.) Chop Lettuce
2.) Dice Tomatoes
3.) Add lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and beans into a large bowl
4.) Pour in taco seasoning
5.) Mix well and enjoy!
|
|
Hey guys, here a recap from our last class.
At school last Thursday we made taco salad bowls!
The students cut up lettuce, diced tomatoes, scooped out an avocado and then put that into a bowl all on their own. They then added corn, black beans, taco seasoning and squeezed a lemon into the taco salad. They each took turns mixing the taco salad and put it into cups for their classmates. Lastly, they added tortilla chips on top to eat the salad with!
Before we started cooking we looked at all of the ingredients and discussed how colorful they were. Students were "eating" the rainbow and this is very important for their health because we need a rainbow of nutrients for our body.
We then all sat together to examine the new food and encourage one another to try the recipe!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
