Curriculum Notes: DECEMBER

This month the Seeds will be talking about snow! We will look at pictures of snow, learn the sign for snow, and we will learn the song “Little Snowflake”. 

Our special book this month will be The Snow Man Just Named Bob by Mark Kimbal Moulton. In Practical Life, we will be introduced to using scissors. In science, we will talk about hot and cold.

Now that all the sprouts a proficient at dressing themselves we will be playing in the snow this month! Our song will be “Little Snowflake” and we will read the book The First Snow in the Woods by Carl Sam.

For Practical Life, we will be practicing throwing snow balls (the bean bag toss) and in science we will watch snow melt.

In Ms. Reina’s class the study of Europe will begin. We will read “The Nutcracker” by Susan Jeffers and learn the song “Frere Jacques” from France.  In Practical Life, we will be building a snow village. In Science this month, we will talk about the different states of matter and watch snow melt to learn about evaporation.

This month, Sam’s class will be studying South America with a focus on ancient civilizations.  A special book they will be reading is A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Pratt.  Our new song will be “Los Pollitos." In science, we will be talking about vertebrates and invertebrates in the rainforest and our new practical life skill will be sorting different grains and legumes from South America.

Ms. Indima's class will be studying Asia.  Our song will be “Anilae Anilae” from India, and a special book we will read is A Quail’s Egg: Folk Tales from Sri Lanka.  We will learn many great things about Indima’s home, culture, and language.   In science we will continue to look at vertebrates and invertebrates focusing on insects of Sri Lanka.

Our elementary kids will begin a two month journey around Europe. Along with many great seasonal songs, we will be working on "Weggis Zue" (Swiss Hiking Song). That’s right: we are yodeling!  Our special book this month will be The Wish by Lori Evert. We will be focusing on cultural traditions of Europe for the holiday season and sampling some new cuisine.

Did you know Missoula is the tenth cloudiest city in the nation? This month for science we will discuss weather and clouds. Our new practical life skill will be knitting. We also have many great new Spanish books to share including Como el Grinch Robo la Navidad!

A Day In The Life: SUNFLOWERS

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SUNFLOWER

Drop off for the Sunflowers is between 7:30 and 8:45. After saying goodbye to their parents, many Sunflowers like to wave goodbye out the big window. They hang their belongings on their hooks and put their shoes on the shoe shelf. The Sunflowers help themselves to cereal, pour their own milk and visit with their friends in the kitchen. As they finish, they scrape their bowls and wash their bowls in the child-sized sink and head to their classrooms. 

By 9:00, the Montessori work period has begun. During this period, the children are free to explore the carefully prepared environment. The children work with many different materials throughout the work period. They can refine their practical life skills by scooping grains or pouring liquids back and forth. They build towers with the sensorial materials while learning about gradation and if a three year old boy is involved: gravity! 

The math materials provided begin with simple number recognition and graduate up to counting to one hundred. The students can also explore addition, subtraction, multiplication, division... The possibilities are endless. Children begin to learn to write and recognize letters in the language program seamlessly leading to learning how to read. Science, geography and culture are studied using the Montessori maps and our very own teachers' cultural backgrounds and world traveling experiences. 

Around 11:30, the work period wraps up and the kids gather for their circle. In circle, they talk about the monthly geography curriculum, sing songs, read books and play games. Everyone is excused from circle to wash their hands and join their friends at the tables for lunch.  Lunch is served family style. The lead teacher talks about what is for lunch and shows how to serve oneself. As food is passed around, each child practices their manners and serves up lunch. "Bon appetit! Now you may eat!" 

After lunch, everyone gears up for some outside time. Around 1:00p, everyone returns to the classrooms for rest time until snack time.  Snack is prepared by fellow Sunflowers in the morning in practical life activities and served up buffet style in the kitchen; as each child gets up from rest time they serve themselves snack and visit with friends.  

Between 3:30 and 4:30p, the Sunflowers enjoy a specialist activity. Depending on the day and the month, kids enjoy art, music, dance, gymnastics, and language. From 4:30 on the kids enjoy some free time doing art, playdough, or blocks.  Our day is over at 5:30p, when the students head home to practice their new skills.  

A Day In The Life: SPROUTS

Second in a series compiled by Ms. Correy:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SPROUT

The Sprouts start their day by taking off their shoes and putting away their coats on their individual coat hooks. Then, they move on to the breakfast area where each Sprout scoops his or her own cereal and practices adding the milk so carefully. 

As the Sprouts finish their cereal, they put their bowls and cups into the dirty bin and move into their classroom to have a brief circle around 9:00am

At circle, they sing songs, read books and practice listening.  They start their Montessori work period around 9:15am. During the Montessori work period, the Sprouts explore the materials on the shelves.  They work with sensorial materials, learning gradation, colors, and textures. 

Sprouts love working with the practical life materials, learning how to scoop, pour, and sort.  Some beginning language and math materials are also made available. 

As the work period wraps up around 10:30am, the Sprouts meet together for snack time.  After snack, the children head outside to play in the sand box, slide down the slide, or run the trucks with their friends. 

Each child then comes in to wash hands and sit down for lunch.  When lunch is over, each Sprout finds his or her own rest mat and takes a nap. 

Nap time wraps up around 3:00pm, when everyone meets together again for snack.  

From 3:30-5:30 as kids are getting picked up, they are enjoying either another work period, group art project, or outside time (depending on the weather).

A Day In The Life: SEEDS

I  had a parent request a blog post that would detail an average day in her kid's classroom. Nothing thrills me more than when another parent has an idea for a specific blog post. It's the difference between asking your family what they want for dinner and hearing, "Oh, anything. Whatever," or, "Please, Mom, could you make me a taco?" Because yes, I can make the hell out of some tacos. Point being: if there's a blog post you'd like to see in this space, please let me know and I'll endeavor to make it happen. Because of that original request, we're rolling out a new series called A DAY IN THE LIFE with a new entry for each "grade" at Sunflower. We're starting with Seeds, because the Pollen schedule is different for each individual infant and doesn't lend itself to the "Day in the Life" format. -Brooke


As contributed by Ms. Correy:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SEED

A Seed's day starts out by saying goodbye to Mom or Dad and then learning how to take off their shoes and coat and put them away on the shoe shelf and their special hook.  

They then very carefully help themselves to a bowl of cereal, scooping out of the cereal jar and pouring their own milk from the milk pitcher.  

After they have finished eating, they put their bowl in the dirty bin and join their friends in the large motor skills room. 

As it nears 9:00 and everyone is finished with breakfast, the Seeds sort out into smaller groups to explore the other classrooms: practical life, sensorial, or fine motor skills.  

The work period wraps up around 10:15 and everyone joins together on the stage for circle time where they sing songs, read books, and learn new signs.  

From circle, they are excused one at a time to wash their hands and have a snack. 

As each Seed is done with snack, they are asked to go find their coats and shoes and get ready for some outside time.  

Outside, they play on the jungle gyms, drive around in their car, or enjoy a good game of chase or Ring Around the Rosie.  If it is too cold, the outside time will be shortened and another work period will happen in the classrooms.  

After we all gather back inside and practice putting our belongings away again, we meet up for lunch. 

At lunch time we practice using our utensils, good manners, and drinking from a glass. It's always more fun to explore eating new foods with your group of friends.  After they have put their bowls in the dirty bin, they head back to the stage where each child has their own cot set up and they take their rest.  

Each child is allowed to sleep as long as they would like and as they wake up they come out to the eating area to do an art project until snack time at 3p.  

Depending on the weather, after snack is spent outside or enjoying another work period in our classrooms.  

The children who are there still at 5:00 have a small snack to tide them over 'til suppertime at home.

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

NOTE: Each month, Katie writes a newsletter and makes hard copies available at the sign-in areas at each school. Here's your info and hyperlink round-up from this month's newsletter:

HALLOWEEN PICTURES: The Halloween party was a big success. If you haven't already checked them out, the photo booth pictures are available at http://sunflowermontessori.smugmug.com/ 

PARENTS ASSOCIATION: If you are interested in joining the Sunflower Parent Association and helping to plan future fun events, please contact sunflowerparents@gmail.com.

CONFERENCES / SCHOOL CLOSURE: Parent/Teacher conferences are coming right up.  Our fall conferences will be held on November 15^th.  Please sign up for a reserved time at the sign in areas to come and visit kid’s classroom and school.  On conference day, bring your little one with you and they can give you a “tour” of their classroom and school.  SPROUTS, SUNFLOWER AND THE GARDEN (ELEMENTARY) WILL BE CLOSED ON THE 15TH. POLLEN AND SEEDS WILL BE OPEN. 

CURRICULUM NOTES: See the blog post below for information about each teacher’s curriculum for the month of November. 

WINTER WEAR: We go outside every day, and it has started getting cold out.  Outside time is a whole lot more fun if kids have warm winter gear.  Please send your kids to school with snow pants, warm coat, waterproof mittens (better than gloves) and an ear-covering hat.  You can send extras and leave them at school in your child’s bin or on their hook.  Label everything. 

NEW PAPERWORK: The powers-that-be have informed us that we are required to have yet another permission form on file: the “Non-Ingestable Medical Form.” This form covers the use of such over-the-counter things as sunscreen and diaper cream.  You can pick up a hard copy at the school or download one here.

We are also required to gather annually from every family a “Food Income Eligibility Form” (again, available as a hard copy at the school, or download it here).  Please return yours if you have not yet.  In addition we ask that you keep immunization records up to date.  Feel free to have info faxed to 406-830-3029 

T-SHIRTS FOR SALE: We will be again offering the sale of the Sunflower Montessori tee shirts.  Please let the office know if you are interested in purchasing a tee shirt, onesie or sweatshirt.  Onesies are not available in adult sizes.

Onesies: $15

Women's Organic Tee - $25

Men's Organic Tee - $25

Kid's Tee (2T, 3T, 4T, 5T) - $15

Adult zipper sweatshirt - $30

THANKSGIVING, COMING UP! Thanksgiving break will be November 27^th through 29^th.  We have so much to be thankful for – mainly YOU!  Have a great month and enjoy the seasons shifting!

MENUS: The lunch and snack menus are added every month to our google calendar, available by clicking the CALENDAR icon on the right margin of this blog. They're also available as printer-friendly pdf downloads in our FORMS AND PAPERWORK folder (also on the right margin of this blog)

November Curriculum Notes

This month in the Seeds program we will be talking turkey! We will practice saying “turkey," learn the sign for turkey, and even talk like a turkey! Our new song will be “Five Little Turkeys”. 

We will introduce the book A Plump Perky Turkey.  Our new practical life skill will be pouring water, and in science we will explore feathers.

The Sprouts this month will be learning “The Months of the Year” song and reading the Thanksgiving book “Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. 

In their science area, they will be exploring evergreen trees with pine needle discovery bottles.  The Sprouts will be practicing our favorite practical life skill at Sunflower: Dressing yourself for winter! They will be practicing putting on hats, gloves, boots, coats, snow pants! Make sure everything is labeled!  

This month, Sam’s class will be studying South America with a focus on ancient civilizations.  A special book they will be reading is A Walk in the Rainforest by Kristin Pratt.  Our New song will be “Los Pollitos."

In science, we will be talking about vertebrates and invertebrates in the rainforest and our new practical life skill will be sorting different grains and legumes from South America. We will have some special circles at the end of the month to talk about what we are thankful for.

This month, Indima’s class will be talking about South America with a focus on South American music. One of their new songs will be the “Number Song” in Spanish.  In her science curriculum they will be talking about vertebrates and invertebrates of the rainforest. The special book this month will be “Brazil” by Tara Walters.  A new practical life skill they will be working on this month is scrubbing a chalkboard. We will have some special circles at the end of the month to talk about what we are thankful for.

In Ms. Reina’s class this month we will be studying South America, focusing on animals and plants of the rainforest. Their new book this month will be “The Kapok Tree” by Lynne Cherry and our South American song will be “Ciranda”.   

In science, we will begin to study vertebrates and invertebrates.  Our new practical life skill will be weaving, while studying patterns of South American textiles. We will have some special circles at the end of the month to talk about what we are thankful for.

This month our elementary school will be studying South America with a focus on South American celebrations such as All Saints Day.  We will explore some South American cuisine and continue working on our continent maps.  Two of the many new songs we will sing this month are “Los Pollitos” and “Ciranda.” A fun new book we will read together is Wonders of the Rainforest by Janet Craig: 

In science we will talk about classification of the living world and our new practical life skill will be seed collection for next years garden.     

Get Yer Pictures

Thanks again to Damien for taking the photos at the Halloween Party. You can access your photos by visiting the gallery at the SUNFLOWER PHOTO SITE. 

Last year, we posted photos of school events on a members-only Shutterfly site, but it seemed to irritate and confuse people because we had to manually add members and adjust permissions. The pictures were difficult to download and from an aesthetic standpoint, the albums just didn't look as good. This year, we're switching over to Smugmug, which so far seems to be better in every way. While we'll occasionally offer photos as a school fundraiser (annual school photos being the best example of this), for most events they'll be available fun, free downloads. 

Each school event will have its own gallery, and you can save or share your photos by clicking on an image of your child and checking out these icons in the bottom right corner of your screen:

If you're a Mac person, you can also just drag n' drop 'em to your desktop. If you're a PC person, I probably can't help you because I haven't used a PC since 1998, but I hear it has something to do with "right-clicking." 

I've also updated the camera icon on the right margin of this blog, so you'll be able to click on it and be instantly redirected to the photo site whenever your heart desires, or you can bookmark:

http://sunflowermontessori.smugmug.com/

Technical issues? Questions? Concerns? Let us know. 

-Brooke