It is very quickly going to be time to get back to school and begin the new year. I like to take a calendar and tear off each month. During a lesson on the new year, I place all the months out on the floor and discus with the children how each block on the calendar represents one day (See picture below). We talk about how many days there are in the year and go over the names of the months.
Continue reading “New Year and the Four Seasons”Author: Lisa Good
Winter Activities
Winter is soon to be here in the Northern hemisphere. Many schools do close for a winter break so some of these ideas can be presented for that last week before school closes, or have them ready to go when you return from break, highlighting the new season. Either way, it is important for us to prepare the materials in advance. I find most of my prep work is doen weeks in advance. That is the benefit of having the 40-week curriculum PDFs, so that you can see wha’s upcoming, the examples I provide, and how to accomplish everything needed. Here’s some ideas for the Winter…
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Children Working
Sometimes i like to go around the room and explore with the children what works on the shelf they chose. Of course, not everyone can do the lesson work from Circle Time, so it is important to have the shelves filled with works that reinforce those areas of the classroom like Geography, Botany, Math, Language, Practical Life, etc. It is amazing how, in the Montessori environment, the children are given these opportunities and they are allowed to explore to their hearts content. Many from traditional schools don’t understand this methodology because they are not used to relinquishing their perceived control over the childs progress. However, for us, we see that this allows them to blossom within the controlled environment of works we provide. One student may have interest for only a half-hour, while another may take an entire day, and return to it the next day. The child is 100% engaged and retains the lessons learned. I love it!
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Animal Habitats
Recently we began to introduce biomes or plant and animal habitats.
We learned the names of some biomes found on the earth, such as deserts and forests. A biome is a region with a particular climate where plant and animals live. When we talk about the animals that live in a particular area, we can say it is the animal’s habitat. A pond and a tide pool can be an animal habitat. The tropical rain forest is one habitat that we talked a little bit about when we visited South America. We have learned that the large bodies of water on the earth are oceans. Mammals and fish are some of the animals that you can find living in an ocean habitat. When we visited North America, we talked about some of the animals that live in the Arctic Circle, like polar bears, this is their habitat. What kind of animals do you think live in deserts?
Let’s look at some pictures of animals and decide which habitat they live in.
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Dairy Group
Recently we read about dairy foods.
We have been learning about nutrition. We have learned about fruits and vegetables. We also know that it is important to eat foods from the four food groups to grow healthy. We can’t eat only vegetables. Today we will start to talk about the dairy food group. It is also called the milk group. The foods that belong in the dairy food group are foods that are made from milk. Where does milk come from? A cow.
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Vegetables
This past week we looked at vegetables. We discovered that when we eat vegetables, we are eating a part of the plant. We discuss many things that allow the children to make a connection between what they see and eat and its parts. We talk about it like this…
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Fruit Group
Today we think about fruit and how to identify them as compared to vegetables. Why do we call these fruits? How do we know that they are a fruit? A fruit is the part of a flowering plant. In our pumpkin story, the flower shriveled up and then a fruit, the pumpkin, began to grow in its place, do you remember that? If it has seeds – it is a fruit! How do you explain it to the children, though. My “Science 24” lap card tells how…
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Classroom Activities
Every month is filled with many activities. While one child might be working on the activity of the Morning Circle lesson, others find their interest on the shelves in many different forms. It is always good to have your activity trays neatly organized and available. I like shelving that allows the children easy access so they can see the activities, and I organize them according to their category.
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Planning Ahead…
I like to be prepared as much as possible for upcoming unit studies. A few weeks before the next month comes along, I think about any new activities as well as older ones and get started on prepping for those now. Today I am thinking about next month and know that the next continent we will talk about is Africa. I also know the season will be changing and need to plan for that.
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Reptiles and Trees
We looked at another group of vertebrates that we will talk about this month: reptiles.
Reptiles
Turtles, lizards, snakes and crocodilians are all reptiles. What is it about these animals that make them reptiles? Many reptiles are nocturnal. Reptiles are cold-blooded. Can we remember what that means? All reptiles have lungs and breathe air like you and me. Their skin is covered with dry scales. Most reptiles lay eggs on the ground. As soon as a reptile hatches from its egg, it can take care of itself. They are not like mammal babies, who need a parent to take care of them.
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