Roses are red, violets are blue, this month is filled with fun things for you!

Cutting hearts, flower arranging and tooth brushing are just a few!

Like all of us the children are excited to see new things available at the beginning of every month. The hard thing is they don’t have time to do everything the first day. We are surrounded by red and pink everywhere it is very inviting and the children are enjoying their new work.

Today on the line a child said “I don’t like challenging work.” Before I could respond three other children said “I like challenging work.” then followed by “met too’s” all around the line. The child must have given his/her comment a second thought because by the end of the day she/he was doing challenging work and loving it. Isn’t peer pressure in the Montessori classroom great!

Later in the week we had a discussion about how sometimes its scary to try something new or we think something is too hard or too long but the more we do it the easier it is and we grow. Some growing happens inside of us and some growing happens to the outside of us like getting taller. It went well with lots of comments from the children they love talking about themselves.

Valentine Exchange! Hooray!

On Thursday February 12, 2009 we will be exchanging Valentines with each other. Each child will be sent home with a class list. Be as creative as you like. We encourage the children to write their names or make their mark on each one. We will also be making a valentine treat and playing games. And learning a little about the history of Valentine’s Day.

We will be reading about Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. We will even try building log cabins just like Abe lived in. We will present the coins and bills that these presidents appear on and learn their names.


Frequently asked question about Montessori:

“Why does Montessori have mixed-age groups in each class?”

Answer: Maria Montessori discovered that putting older children with younger children together helps them learn from each other. This is good for the older children because they can be useful and helpful to the younger ones which not only reinforces what they have learned but enhances their self-esteem as well. The younger children in turn have role models to follow and are integrated into the classroom by these helpful older children. They catch a glimpse of what they will be doing in future and look forward to it.

The diversity is beautiful. They begin by following and then learn to lead.

Thank you Mrs. Arabeth Brimhall!

For coming in and introducing the children to the violin.

She played some classical and fiddling.

She presented the parts of the violin followed by Braelyn playing her little violin.

We even got play name that tune.

The children loved it.

And a BIG Thank you to Brooke Mills for keeping this Blog so faithfully updated.