Little Lambs Christian Montessori School
  • Home
  • Meet the Teachers
  • Consulting Services
  • What is Montessori?
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Thoughts and Ideas

Email Kristin

Curriculum Night Recap

10/12/2014

0 Comments

 
“The child is capable of developing and giving us tangible proof of the possibility of a better humanity. He has shown us the true process of construction of the human being. We have seen children totally change as they acquire a love for things and as their sense of order, discipline, and self-control develops within them.... The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”      Dr. Maria Montessori


We were blessed with a great turnout for our Curriculum Night last Thursday. Thank you to all who could attend! It was great to have the time to explain exactly what the children are doing each morning while they are with us and to be able to answer questions. If you were unable to attend, below you will find the handout that was available:

Montessori History
Dr. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator.  Her interest in education began when she worked with institutionalized children.  She observed mentally challenged children achieve an amazing level of development when an appropriate method of instruction was used along with carefully devised manipulative materials.  Some years later she worked with typical children and, in 1907, opened the first “Casa dei Bambini,” or “Children’s Home,” in a slum in San Lorenzo, Italy.  Dr. Montessori devoted the rest of her life to careful observation and study of children.  Her observations led to the discovery that the environment should be a “help to life,” an aid to child development rather than a hindrance.  Dr. Montessori introduced revolutionary concepts such as:  the absorbent mind, sensitive periods of development, the importance of repetition, liberty leading to inner discipline, concentration, joy in work, social development and, primarily, the need of the prepared environment.  She was instrumental in changing the conditions and treatment of children and has had a tremendous impact on the course of education.  For those parents wishing more information about Dr. Montessori and her method, we would be happy to recommend additional reading.

Hallmarks of Montessori Philosophies and Methods

  • The Prepared Environment: Classroom materials and furniture should be thoughtfully prepared and arranged for the children. This allows freedom of movement and purpose, as well as the ability for children to be responsible for the care of their environment. Dr. Montessori was one of the first educators to suggest that classrooms should include child-sized furniture.
  • Sensitive Periods:  Through observation, Dr. Montessori identified several “sensitive periods” for children’s learning and development, windows of opportunity and interest that are consistent across cultures and languages. A child’s entrance into one of these sensitive periods is typically identified by the child’s overwhelming interest in a particular concept/activity. During this window of opportunity, the child will be drawn to this new skill, almost to the exclusion of all else. Attached is a brief overview of the sensitive periods identified by Dr. Montessori.
  • The Absorbent Mind:  This is one of the cornerstones of Dr. Montessori’s philosophy and speaks to the tremendous importance of the prepared environment. Because of their absorbent minds, children are always learning, and, therefore, the environment should be richly and appropriately prepared. Our goal is to be sure that the information surrounding the child is encouraging and beneficial for every aspect of the child’s development: social, emotional, cognitive, academic and spiritual.
  • Repetition and Sequential Learning:  The Montessori classroom is home to a great deal of repetition. Parents the world over can attest to their child’s need for repetition: reading a favorite book again and again, choosing to do puzzles day after day, wanting to show someone a newly acquired skill over and over. Dr. Montessori recognized this as a legitimate need that feeds a child’s absorbent mind and fosters the learning that takes place during a sensitive period. In addition to supporting a child’s need for repetition, Montessori materials are designed to be sequential in their use. That is, a child will observe, practice and eventually master one skill before being introduced to the next skill in sequence. For example, in the sensorial materials, a child will learn to recognize and name the primary colors first. Then, he will move on to mastering secondary and tertiary colors. Eventually, he will learn to grade the shades of the various colors. 


How Can I Support My Child’s Learning At Home?
The following suggestions are what we have found to be the most effective learning support for your child:
  • Be sure your child is getting enough sleep. Children in this age group typically need about 12 hours of sleep, either all at night or in a combination of nap and nighttime sleep.
  • Allow as much time as possible for unstructured play time, time that is not orchestrated or planned by an adult.
  • Be sure your child has plenty of opportunities to use his or her hands as tools. In Montessori philosophy, “the hand leads the mind.” Scientific research now supports what Dr. Montessori learned through observation.
  • REALLY limit screen time. The research on this topic is growing daily, and we Little Lambs teachers are very vocal opponents of too much screen time. It won’t make your child “smarter.” Children under age 2 should not have any screen time at all; children over age two should only have limited screen time.
  • Allow your child to do whatever he or she can without your help. Dr. Montessori stressed that we should “never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” Your children are very capable! They do their own clean-up after snack; they put on their own shoes; they solve problems with their friends. Allow them the opportunity to try and fail and try again!
  • READ! The value of reading to your child, with your child, even in front of your child is tremendous. Again, research is very clear on this topic, and it is truly one of the simplest, yet most effective, ways you can support your young learner.
Picture
0 Comments

October Notes

10/1/2014

0 Comments

 
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9

Wow! How did a whole month of school already go by? We have been very busy as the children have settled into classroom routines and expectations. This is our biggest group of new students ever, but they are doing great! Here is an overview of the topics we have been studying or that are coming up soon in our curriculum.

Literacy:
We have begun our phonetic study of the alphabet with an introduction to the concept of letter names and sounds, along with beginning to learn the alphabet in sign language. We are reading many books about the alphabet, and some of the older children are being introduced to putting words in ABC order. We will progress through the entire alphabet, introducing the letter names but focusing heavily on the sound each letter makes. This is the basis for phonics instruction. Most of our time will be spent with lower case letters, since the majority of English is written in lower case. We also have puzzles, toys and building materials available to the children to support letter recognition.
We are also using our songs and stories throughout the day to work on significant language development as we introduce and reinforce new vocabulary words.

We are now well into our study of fairy tales, providing great fun for all of us. Fairy tales are the first genre of literature we will study this year; we will stay with this topic for a few months before moving on. Can your child tell you some of the ways we know that a story is a fairy tale? This is a very rich form of literature, with a lot to offer little learners, so we are taking our time and enjoying the stories.


Math:
We started the school year with a study of shapes, introducing the 10 plane geometric shapes. The children have access to our geometric cabinet to explore different shapes in various sizes as they learn concepts and vocabulary such as “straight,” “curved” and “angle.” As the year progresses, we will study solid geometric shapes.

We are also studying patterns in many forms: patterns of color, shape, position, sound and even food. The children are getting quite adept at noticing patterns all around.

Children are also working individually, as they are ready, with concepts of numeral and quantity recognition, place value, addition and subtraction.

Science:
Our science lessons right now are revolving around the fall harvest. We have learned about sunflowers and apples and are moving on to pumpkins next as we enjoy this time of year. The Kindergarten class enjoyed a trip to Bell’s Orchard to pick enough apples to make some fabulous applesauce with the whole class.  We will be enjoying that treat tomorrow! And for all of you parents whose children “won’t eat the peel,” almost every child in class today ate the spiral peels that appeared when we used the peeler/corer/slicer tool. They gobbled them right up!

Our Kindergarten group started the year studying shadows and playing shadow tag. Next they will move on to a study of gravity.

Social Studies:
We have started our continent study that will last the whole school year. We began with an overview of the globe/map/continents and then moved on to North America. This topic really will show up in many academic areas as we study cultures, foods, languages, animals, climates and stories from around the world. This is a great area to consider for Show-and-Tell ideas!

Soon our studies will include lessons on the Native Americans and Pilgrims as we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The children have been working on learning the words to The Pledge of Allegiance. This can be very difficult to learn, so we are in the beginning stages. We have given the children this brief explanation of the vocabulary:
I PLEDGE: a pledge is a promise
ALLEGIANCE: allegiance is being a loyal friend
TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: the flag is a symbol of our country
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS: in a republic the people help choose their leaders and laws
ONE NATION, UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE: our nation cannot be separated
WITH LIBERTY: liberty is freedom
AND JUSTICE: justice is fairness
FOR ALL: for all people who are part of our country

Grace and Courtesy:
We have also spent a lot of time working on grace and courtesy in the classroom: how to shake hands when greeting a teacher, how to make eye contact when greeting a teacher and how to move quietly and carefully through the classroom so as not to disturb anyone’s activities.  In addition we have been working with the children to remember that “all good manners start with please.”  We hope to hear “please” as the first word in any request from the children.  For example, “Please may I have more snack?” Or “Please will you help me tie my shoes?”  The children are also working on answering the teachers with “Yes, Ma’am” or “Yes, Mrs. Sallak/Johnson/Ratten.” We are working on breaking the habit of answering with “yeah” and hoping moving to a more polite response. This may seem a bit old-fashioned, but we feel it helps set a gentle tone of respect in the classroom, and it is a habit that will serve the children well in years to come. Our world could greatly use more gentleness and respect.

Music:
The children have enjoyed a great deal of singing as we revisit old songs and learn some new ones. We have worked with rhythm instruments to develop concepts of patterning and to begin listening for a four-beat measure. This will eventually feed into an introduction to reading musical notation. We have also introduced the children to our classroom set of bells, explaining proper use of the mallet and damper to make music. Soon, when we are confident all of the children can be gentle and careful, we will move into matching the notes of the bells as the children train their ears to discern the different notes.

As we gear up for the children’s first performance of the year, they are diligently learning a lot of songs and also how to follow the director’s lead. Busy, busy, busy!

As you can see, the children are working very hard each day at school. We certainly don’t expect that they are grasping and remembering all of the above concepts and terminology, but we are confident that each child is absorbing what he or she is ready to learn.

 
Illness: Thank you in advance for your diligence this cold and flu season.  Please remember that no child may be at school with a fever, vomiting or diarrhea.  Children must be free of these symptoms for 24 hours, without the benefit of medication, before returning to school. 

 Halloween: We recognize that each family has a different perspective on Halloween, and out of respect for this, Little Lambs does not celebrate Halloween.  Please do not send your child to school in any type of costume or allow them to bring Halloween things for sharing.  We will celebrate the fall season with our pumpkin patch field trip and in November with our Harvest Program.     

Classroom Volunteers: If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom on a regular basis, please speak with Mrs. Ratten regarding which day(s) you would like to join us.  We love having extra helping hands!

 
****October’s Parenting Thought****

“Go out and play!”
Those of you who have been with Little Lambs for a while will recognize a familiar theme in this month’s Parenting Thought: PLEASE let your children get outside and play!  We are huge advocates of children having lots of unscheduled, unscripted, good old-fashioned play time.  Recent research supports how critical this is for both children and adults.  Allow your child time to explore things that bring him or her true joy.  Is your child fascinated by bugs?  Flowers?  The stars?  Does he love to run? Bike?  Paint? Whatever it is that is a source of curiosity and joy for your child, try to encourage it and allow time for it.  While classes and teams and lessons can all foster some of these loves, it is important for children to have time to learn and explore through play on their own, without adult planning.  Ideally, unscheduled play time won’t be an afterthought or something to squeeze into the day but, rather, a natural component of the day, without stress or agendas.  Research suggests that children who engage in self-directed, unscripted play are better learners and problem solvers than those who do not.  In the Montessori philosophy, “play is the child’s work.”  In other words, play is not frivolous or silly; it is useful, purposeful and critical to a child’s healthy development.  Our Kindergarten children provided us a wonderful demonstration of this. As we left the park one Friday, one child turned to another and gleefully said, “Phew! I’m tired from all that work we just did!” And, indeed, they had been “working” hard as they played. They worked together to gather sticks and leaves and then to plan and build little houses. They searched and explored for what they needed and, unbeknownst to them, used math and logic as they built their sturdy little structures. We live in a results-oriented world that puts a lot of pressure on parents to have their children producing results.  But, please, give yourself permission to just get out and play!

 

0 Comments

    Archives

    March 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    RSS Feed

We Would Love to Have You Visit Soon!
3095 SW 180th Pl. Aloha, OR 97003


Hours

M/W:
9am-12:30pm
T/Th:
​9am-2:30pm

Telephone

503-706-1161

Email

kristinratten@gmail.com
  • Home
  • Meet the Teachers
  • Consulting Services
  • What is Montessori?
  • Blog
  • Contact Us