January 21-25, 2019

All year long, the Pre-K students have been learning about the world. First, we used the Sandpaper Globe to teach the children the difference between land and water. Then, we introduced the Painted Globe and the World Map to teach the children the names of the seven continents.

The boys and girls are able to work on their maps whenever they wish during our Montessori work period. Creating a map is a multi-step process that not only focus on geography, but also fine-motor skill development.

First, the students match the puzzle piece to the correct
continent on the globe.

Next, it's time to trace the continent on the matching
colored paper.

Then, the students punch out the continent that they traced.
This is a very challenging step in the process, but is a
wonderful way to strengthen their fine motor skills.

Once the children trace and punch out all
the continents (and can name them), they are
ready to begin putting together their maps.
They paint circles to represent the oceans.
Then, they glue each continent onto the
correct place.

Next, the students write the names of each
continent onto a label, which they will
then glue onto the continent itself on the map.

After a long process that can take weeks or
even months, the map is finished! The
students present their maps to the classmates
and name all the seven continents!

At the time of year, the Geography area of the classroom becomes very popular! Once a student finishes his/her map, the other students in class are very motivated to work on their maps as well. Once a child finishes his/her continent map, they are able to begin work on the North America map and the U.S.A. map. How many Pre-K students do you know that can name and identify the seven continents?

The boys and girls in Pre-K work so hard all day long. At this age, children need to be able to move throughout their day so they are able to focus when it is time to sit down and work. The Montessori program allows for movement throughout the work period. We also provide other opportunities for the children to move during the school day. We often use a website called "GoNoodle" for these activities. There are videos to do yoga, practice mindfulness, work on sensory and motor skills, perform guided dances, meditate, stretch, and so much more! One of our favorite songs to sing along and dance to is "Saved by the Bell."

A few minutes of movement is a great motivator for the children to return to work and continue their lessons!


Some reminders:

• Show and tell on Friday, February 1, will be something that starts with /a/.
• Students may bring in valentines for their classmates. Please refer to the email for details.
• There is no school for the students on Friday, February 15, and Monday, February 18, for Presidents' Day weekend.
• The HCA Auction is Saturday, February 23. It is a wonderful night celebrating and raising funds for the HCA community that we love!

Have a great weekend! Hope to see you at Family Fun Night tonight from 6:00-9:00 pm!

January 14-18, 2019

Dinosaurs, donuts, dogs, and dolls - oh my!  

The Pre-K students did a great job with the /d/ sound for show and tell this week!

This week, we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We read some great stories about him and what he did for our country. Our Weekly Reader this week was all about him as well. The children were shocked to learn what life in our country used to be like and how unfairly and unkindly people treated one another. They could not fathom why segregation was ever a part of our history.  My favorite comment from our discussion was: "Dr. King is up in heaven now and is so happy and proud that we can all go to school together and be friends now!"

We talked about ways that the boys and girls can be kind, just like Dr. King was and would want them to be:

It was wonderful to see the impact Dr. King's message had on the students. Throughout the day, we noticed them going out of their way to be extra kind to everyone they encountered!

Some reminders:

• There is no school on Monday, January 21, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• Show and Tell will be on Thursday, January 24, and the topic will be something that starts with /w/.
• Family Fun Night is on Friday, January 25 - hope to see you there!
• As snow continues to enter our weather forecasts, please remember to pack sneakers for your child if he/she wears boots to school.

Have a great weekend!

January 7-11, 2019

Happy New Year! 

Hope you all enjoyed the Christmas holidays with your families!

A new year has brought new work to the shelves in the Pre-K classroom! The students have been so excited to get lessons on the new materials and are challenging themselves daily in the classroom.

Marcus is learning about fractions.

Nora is counting quantities up to 20 and
matching the correct numeral.

Mira is stamping the correct capital letter
to its matching lowercase letter.

Scarlett is working on addition facts to 10.

Austin is using the Constructive Triangles to build a square,
rectangle, trapezoid, rhombus, and parallelograms.

Blaine is using the Sound Cylinders

to match sounds.

Whenever we put a new work on the shelf, the students know they need a lesson on the material before they can choose it independently. Sometimes, the lessons are done individually, if it is a material that not every child is ready to use yet, since the Montessori program is designed for each child to move at his/her own pace. Other times, we give a whole group lesson when the material is something that everyone is able to use.

Miss Webb gave everyone a group lesson on our new
snowman punching art project.

Our biggest addition to the Pre-K classroom is the Montessori snack table!  During the Montessori work period in the morning, the students are permitted to go to the snack table whenever they wish. They begin by cleaning their hands and saying their prayers. They then are able to prepare their own snack - open up a napkin, select the proper amount of snack for the day (e.g.: one orange, one scoop of pretzels, etc.), and pour half a cup of water. They eat their snack with one other friend at the table. When they are finished, they clean up their space and go back to work. The boys and girls have done a phenomenal job with the snack table this week. They love the independence and freedom it gives them in the classroom and it really helps to improve the flow of the work period. We are now working for 90 minutes in the morning!

Some reminders:

• Please continue to work with your child at home to zipper and button his/her coat.
• Show and Tell on Tuesday, January 15, will be something that starts with /d/.
• Scholastic Book Club catalogs will be sent home today. Orders will be due on Thursday, January 17. You may order online at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs with class code H7WXZ or by sending in the paper order form with a check made payable to Scholastic.
• There is no school on Monday, January 21, for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• Hope to see you at Family Fun Night on Friday, January 25, from 6:00-9:00 pm.

Before the break, Grandparents' Day was a huge success and the boys and girls loved having lunch with their grandparents after the show.

Have a great weekend!  Go Eagles!