JM Blog

Calendar Work

Calendar Work

In preparing for the upcoming school year, I realized I needed to update the work calendar I made two years ago. I saw this work in another classroom of the school I was working at and thought it was a such neat way for children to work with a calendar rather than just filling in a blank paper one.

I went out right away to gather supplies to make one for the children to begin using. I needed small tiles which I found at a hardware store. A large piece of felt from a craft store along with colored card stock paper. I also needed a white puff paint type of pen. Then I made the calendar and brought it into the classroom. The children really enjoy working with this new material. They especially like working with on the calendar with a friend. After a child or the children fill in the blank spaces on the felt calendar including the days of the week, they still will fill out a paper one. If you’d like, you can provide a little container of small stickers or a stamp so that it can be placed on the day it is in during that month.

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Reading Program

Reading Program

I have been busy reorganizing my reading program and getting it ready for the new school year. There are three reasons for me doing this. One is because the shelf space at the school I will begin working at is limited so I needed to condense the many boxes somehow. The second reason is because it will be an older group of children and I realized I may need to provide more than one set of say, sentences to work with. Some of my things are very old and so a making them again has felt great! Another reason is

because I have been doing some Dyslexia Tutoring and I wanted to incorporate some of the ideas from those lessons. I think they could prove to be helpful and enhance the reading program.

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Signs of Spring

Signs of Spring

Spring is just around the corner! It is such a nice time of the year and there is such a variety of unit studies that are commonly talked abut during this season. Baby animals, flowers, insects, gardens, and worms are just some of them. I think I will highlight some ideas for insects for this post, only not include butterflies

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Rainbows

Rainbows

Spring is a great time to talk about rainbows with the children. There is more rain during this time of the year and chances of seeing a rainbow are pretty good if you live in an area with rainy spring days. Most children enjoy rainbow anything, so you can include a variety of activities for them as you learn about rainbows together.

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Practical Life – Spring

Practical Life – Spring

Spring is fast approaching! Now is a good time to think about your shelves for the Practical life area of the classroom. It is often filled with bright colors and brings a freshness to the classroom. Exercises such as chair scrubbing is a fun way to include a bit of ‘spring cleaning’ for the children to help out in.

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100 Days of School

100 Days of School

It is getting close to the 100th day of school usually around this month, or next month sometime. You can begin to prepare now for a fun-filled day of everything 100! Older children can bring in 100 objects of their choice. I send a note home with these children about a week before the 100th day. I also give some suggestions on ideas of what to bring that can help parents and children begin to think about what they can bring in to count out to the other children. Objects such as paper clips, q-tips, shells, crayons, or pennies are some ideas.

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Dental Health Month

Dental Health Month

It is that time of the year when many teachers like to include dental health lessons for the children. At times a dentist or dental hygienist visits a school to help raise awareness about the importance of oral health. With or without a visiting guest speaker, there are many fun ways to help children appreciate the importance of caring for one’s teeth.

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Nutrition

Nutrition

Usually during the beginning months of the school year, I like to talk with the children about good food choices. We have lessons on our bodies, exercise, and the importance of eating healthy. This sets the tone for the school year about snacks and lunches. However, talking about the basic food groups can be included anytime of the year.

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Montessori Math Materials

Montessori Math Materials

The math materials in a Montessori classroom are beautifully and uniquely designed. They allow for a child to successfully grasp mathematical concepts concretely as they progress towards abstract ones. Materials are developed from simple to complex. Process is taught first then facts.

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