Montessori Academy | Room 1 eNews

Dear Room 1 Parents,

As the temperatures begin to rise, the children become more excited as the strong sun brightens everyone’s mood. We enjoy going outside to get fresh air – the children love playing in the warmer weather and with lighter jackets. Please help them to remember to wear a jacket on cooler mornings and to not wear open-toed shoes, as we want them to be safe on the playground.

The colors of Spring blossom in the new work that is out in Practical Life. The children are continuing to refine their fine motor skills while working with more complicated lessons. While Practical Life may not seem to be related to academics, in fact, Practical Life is the most vital aspect in the classroom. Fine motor activities are essential to the development of a child. These activities in this area help each child develop the skills needed for Language and Math, such as the building of the hand muscles in the process for writing. Some of the activities that we have in the class for small muscle control are clay/play dough, clipping with clothes pins, stringing, and sorting small and large items. Larger muscle activities are opening and closing containers, nuts and bolts, and puzzles. Many of these practical things can also be utilized at home as well. Watching how they use their fingers, particularly focusing on the 3-finger pincer grip, will help with writing. Finding practical things that they can do with their hands to refine their movements will help in their success in the classroom as well as at home. Practical Life is also essential for the children because they learn to take care of themselves by using the dressing frames. Many children receive lessons on buttoning, zippers, snaps, and if ready, even tying! These tasks take a lot of coordination and this area helps to hone these particular skills, along with lengthening attention spans.

We have been busy studying about ocean life this past week. The children love learning about the vast oceans and the animals that inhabit them. Mrs. Johnson did a thrilling experiment with blubber last week– it was exciting to see learning in action as the children tucked their hands into blubber realizing that the blubber animals have really does keep them warm in bone-chilling ice water. The hands-on work that they do in the classroom gives them a solid foundation in both geography and science on which to build upon in later years. We are preparing to study the continent of Australia when we leave Antarctica. The children will get to know the Land Down Under and discover the landscape and animals that inhabit this beautiful locale. As a reminder, if you travel, we would love to have materials native to that particular area. Artifacts from real places are treasures in our classroom and the children really enjoy these unfamiliar items!

We would like to extend a very special thank you to James’ mom for coming in each Wednesday to journal with the older children in the classroom. The children eagerly greet her ready to delve into the topic of the day. We also would like to thank Femi’s mom who volunteers her time Friday mornings to listen to the children practice reading their books. We appreciate these special donations of time and the children love to have them helping in the classroom as well!

Just a reminder that Montessori Academy is closed this Thursday and Friday (March 14 and 15) as we are attending the American Montessori Society Annual Conference in Orlando. We both are so excited to have the opportunity to attend this conference and to be able to return invigorated with new ideas/information. The following week March 18-22 is Spring Break. We look forward to seeing everyone return on Monday, March 25th.

We hope you all have a safe and wonderful Spring Break holiday!

Sincerely,

Andrea Johnson and Mellynne Dickason

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