Lucy was kind enough to bring 3 of her bunnies to school last week. Please let me know if your child would like to bring a pet to school for sharing. We will be studying reptiles & birds next month.

I cannot believe that this is the last post of 2011! I thought it might be fun to have the students reflect on their favorite things about the first part of the school year. Most of them had difficulty choosing just one thing! Some of them allowed me to share their thoughts with you...

Eero

"I liked the marsh trip because we saw lots of cool birds and other animals. I also like the timeline of life because you get to write lots of things about how life began and draw pictures. And I liked making math problems with dice."

Helen

"I like the checkerboard because it's fun doing big problems and feeling proud of myself when it's done. I liked the camping trip because the class got to go on a cool and fun trip."

Charlie

"I liked the compound words because there were a lot of hard words. I also liked all the skits we did and the timeline when I got to find the first Montessori school and the first person on the moon. I also liked Lucy's bunnies and Ghost was my favorite."

Sutter

"I liked the Maine Huts & Trails trip because we got to sleep on cool bunks and I got to sleep on the top bunk. I also liked the bunnies because they were really cute. The timeline of humans is very interesting and I am learning a lot about early humans."

Everett

"I like the subtraction snake game because I like making a golden snake."

Elyse

"I liked the checkerboard because it helped me with multiplication and it made multiplication easier. I also like division."

Alexandra

"I like the big Russia project and I liked the awesome camping trip."

Miles

"One of my most favorite parts is the timeline of humans. We got to do a bunch of skits about it and we're learning about Australopithicus and Homo habilis. I also like division because it's new and we've never done it. Its fun laying out the skittles and beads."

Lucas

" I liked the first day of school and I liked the first time when I traced a puzzle map and I liked the marsh. I like the bunnies and I like when you write down a math problem and do it."

Lucy

"I liked when everyone got to hold my bunnies and I liked tracing puzzle maps. I like the stamp game because it is easy and fun."

Aurora

"I liked when the bunnies smelled my shirt."

The Meadowbrook teachers are looking forward to finishing up organization projects we started over the summer & creating and putting out new classroom works over the break. I wish you all a restful break and a happy holiday! We'll see you on TUESDAY January 3rd.

Laundry Help

Can anyone help out with laundry next semester? If every family takes two turns we will be covered through the end of the school year. The dates are below. Please let me know if you are able to help. Thank you in advance!

January 6

January 13

January 20

January 27

Feb 3

Feb 10

Feb 17

March 2

March 9

March 23

March 30

April 6

April 27

May 4

May 11

May 18

May 25

June 1

Classroom Observations

If you would like to schedule a classroom observation for the 2nd semester, you may do so at any time. I am setting aside Tuesday mornings for current families to observe. You are welcome any morning, but I will close Tuesday observations to prospective parents. We strongly recommend visiting the classroom at least twice each school year.

Happy Friday!

A few weeks ago I gave the 3rd and 4th year students a pop quiz (what? In a Montessori school?). I wanted to see how many countries in Africa they could name before we began our study of the continent. In true Montessori fashion, students were thrilled with this challenge. After about 20 minutes everyone had turned in their tests with a variety of answers - most students had Egypt, Libya, South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, and my favorite answer, Cape Elizabeth (they meant to write Cape Verde). Yesterday we had a second test and students were surprised at how many more countries they could list after such a short time. Everyone was able to list at least twice as many as before. More importantly, they were able to tell each other a little about most of the countries they listed. Students have requested that I leave out special paper in the cultural studies room, so that they can test themselves regularly. 

Allagash & Moosehead Lake students have also been exploring Africa. They are creating a set of cards about the different biomes in Africa. Over the last two weeks we looked at grasslands and deserts.The cards illustrate some of the ways that people in these biomes meet their fundamental needs. In addition to learning about biomes, students are getting a lot of writing practice through this work.

Another popular work this week was card making. The American Red Cross has asked students around the country to create holiday cards for the troops. Our students set a goal of making 50 cards to send & they achieved that goal yesterday afternoon. We had class meeting to brain storm ideas for what to write in the cards. They listed many messages of peace and thanks. Students were quick to point out that they should not include "Merry Christmas" in the card because they can't be sure that the service member receiving the card celebrates Christmas. Students did a lovely job decorating the cards. The 1st and 2nd year students enjoyed using their new flag drawing skills to make American flags on the cards.

Some Notes...

*Students are welcome to join me for violin practice from 8-8:30 on Monday. We have had a pretty good turn out in recent weeks, but I thought I'd give one last reminder.

*Eileen (Charlie & Helen's mom) has generously donated a microwave to the elementary classroom. It is my hope that this will allow students to bring a wider variety of foods for lunch. I know I am looking forward to having soups & stews this winter!

*Thursday is the final library day of the semester. Please remember that students need to bring a backpack or canvas bag on library day. We have lots of books to carry!

 

This poster by a 4th year lists a number of Russian words and their pronunciation.

1st years are busy studying African biomes.

We've been hard at work studying human origins. Here are a couple acrostic poems about Australopithecus by 3rd years.

Afarensis
Unique
Similar to Chimpanzees
Teeth are canine
Roamed a mixed habitat
Ape-like face
Loves fruit, seeds, etc
On-the-go
Plant based diet
Insects are good to them
Torso is cone-shaped
Has both ape and human characteristics
Early
Curved fingers for climbing
Upright
Short legs

Australopithecus Afarensis
Upright walkers
Similar to chimpanzees
Tender
Remains of Lucy
African Resident
Lizard eaters
Omnivore
Plant diet
Incomplete humans
Hungry
Early humans
Core flake tools
Unusually small
Straight stance