As we welcome the new month of February, we're hoping to see more sunshine and experience more outside time. We have noticed the days are getting slightly longer and this means spring is coming - we are always the optimists!

        January flew by and we welcomed a new student, Mikael to our class. Your children have been so welcoming and helpful in making him feel at home-we have some nice friendship and leadership skills emerging. As we have all settled in and regained our routine since the holiday break, it has been rewarding to observe the children making choices in navigating the classroom. A recent surprise was the apple seeds we put in the refrigerator back in October when apple tasting, sprouted; therefore, we planted them in pots and we currently have 9 future apple trees to plant this spring! We have repeatedly explained that it will be a several years before the trees produce fruit.

        Some of the work that is happening in the classroom is mapping the regions of the United States, i.e. Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Midwest, etc. Words that don't follow the phonetic rules of word building like "should" , and how a silent "e" at the end of a word makes the vowel say it's long name. We are working, challenging, observing your children in preparation for spring conferences in late Feb/March.

        In the math area, some of the children are adding the value of money in both coin and paper. This adds a special lesson in not only addition, but in multiplication (10 + 10 + 10 = 10 x3!!!) as well. Circle addition equations with higher level thinking skills (and less guessing!) are part of our morning routine, too.

        Upcoming events for February are celebrating Chinese New Year; we'll make dragons and have a mini-parade along with fortune cookies and practice using chop sticks. We will discuss the tradition of Groundhog's (aka a woodchuck) Day and the fact that they hibernate and what a shadow is.

        More info will come with regard to Valentine's Day which is actually on Sunday this year but always fun for the children, and a great occasion to celebrate and have fun.

        Hope everyone has the Cinderella play on their calendars; the children ask almost daily when we're going!

        Also look ahead to upcoming parent/community meetings - we look forward to sharing information and touching base with our Montessori families.......



        During the last week of January have continued our studies of the Polar Regions, of the Arctic and Antarctica. We have seen just how cold these regions can get even for polar bears. Our classmate, Addison, brought in an educational DVD that we enjoyed with popcorn later in the day. Thank you Addison!

        As usual, we have integrated our language and math with our scientific studies of the biomes and the life there. Our handwriting and vocabulary have revolved around animals and characteristics of the Polar Regions and we have added and counted in various ways during our discussions in class.

        We have begun the further study of animal classification of animals. We discussed the characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. We had a special "in-house” presentation of the traveling animal show from Randall Oaks. Ms. Catherine was our guest and keeper of the animals. She did an excellent presentation and explanation with an emphasis on reptiles, insects and birds. Frankie the duck was a special favorite. He seemed to be a particularly calm duck who was interested in the 100 board. Besides Frankie, you may have heard about the skink with the blue tongue, the hissing cockroaches from Madagascar, and a white corn snake from Florida. Montessori is all about "the real thing", that is going from concrete to abstract. We are lucky to have had such a presentation from Randall Oaks Traveling Animal show.

        Our studies of the penguin, our own classroom canary, (named Canary) as well as Frankie the duck have piqued an interest in birds. So, the classification of birds will be our next emphasized subject of study. This week, Ben's mom, Sharlan, will be bringing in some beautiful birds for us to enjoy and learn about.

        The kindergartners will be moving into multi-syllable words and how to "break them up" and "sound them out". In the Math area, we will be focusing on "skip counting" and multiplication. So if you hear about "the chains", understand that we are talking about numbers.

        This winter has been a great, despite the cold and I think this is due to your wonderful children who are so eager to learn! Thank you to parents for your enthusiasm and cooperation.

        In listening to NPR the other day, I caught the interview with educator Mike Rose, author of Lives on the Boundary. He describes what he sees as education for a democracy. In listening to him, I felt such congruence with his ideas. Education, and the classroom in which it takes place, is such an “immense, rich thing”. It is a place of learning subject matter and learning that we matter, that our mind matters. It is leaning to exist in a public space, to learn to solve problems together, to develop into better people, to learn how to learn. It is learning to speak up when you think something is not right. It is learning to take a risk. It is a place that is safe and respectful and where a child can take chances. It is yearning outward, opening up, becoming. It is lives emerging.


        The topic ---my favorite: mathematical thinking. I hope to be able to share some of the ideas with you in an evening in March or April. It was inspiring, stimulating, informative, and affirming. I saw again, with clarity, the beauty of the Montessori curriculum and its methods for working with the emerging needs and sensitivities of the young child. Theme: our mind is a mathematical mind and the tools for its development are laid in the first few years of a child’s life.


        Actually, it is very close to Venice, Italy, and a part of former Yugoslavia. Today, I will leave for 1 week to be the mathematics presenter at the Montessori Teacher Institute in Slovenia. Montessori is well known on the international educational scene and I am grateful to be a part of it. I will carry your greetings to the future teachers of Slovenia. Perhaps we can set up a connection with their school and ours. Several years ago, one woman from Slovenia came to the United States to study Montessori at our center in Clarendon Hills. She went back and opened a teacher training center in their country.


        In the afternoon, Miss Terri has been reading chapter books to the children. They have begun with Little House on the Prairie. What a wonderful time of the afternoon. The children are following the adventures, hardships, innovations and rewards of an early pioneer family. They follow the story with bated breath. The gift of books is a real gift.


        Yes, home-made soup was on the menu this week as a side dish. Also home-made applesauce for snack. The children love baking and cooking projects and we are introducing several new projects.


        We will be drying fruits and vegetables using the new dehydrator. If you have a surplus of ANYTHING, send it in: bananas, apples, carrots, etc. It is an exercise in science as well as food preparation. We are looking forward to many delicious experiments.