Wednesday 31 October 2012

Happy Halloween!

We had a Halloween party at our little yellow school today.  The children were absolutely adorable in their costumes.  On days like these, our whole school comes together to celebrate.  The children were so well-behaved and it was lovely to see them enjoying one another's company.

Here are some pictures from our spookily wonderful day.




These are the full day children.



 These are the half day children with one of their teachers.





This is a picture of our whole group getting ready for our Halloween Feast.
 


Superhero costumes were very popular with the boys.  These are all of our superheroes.


This is a picture of the other costumes worn by the boys.


 
Here are some of the costumes worn by the girls.




 
The most popular costume for the girls was a princess.  Here are a group of twirling princesses.  When in doubt ~ twirl!
 
 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
 

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Last week we went on our much anticipated trip to the pumpkin patch.  Children, parents and teachers all came along on the trip.

When we arrived at the farm, we were split into two groups ~ half days and full days.  We were then taken to separate rooms in the barn.





Each group made a scarecrow.



The full day children making the head.

The full day children with their scarecrow, minus the pumpkin head.

The half day children stuffing their scarecrow.

The finished half day scarecrow.

The finished full day scarecrow.






We also learned a lot about pumpkins. 


Our leaders weighed small, medium and large pumpkins while the children guessed their weight.



Do you think pumpkins can float?




Yes they can!


We were taken on a ride to the pumpkin patch.


The half day group boarding the wagon.


The half day group at the patch.

Visiting with the cows.
 After our visit to the pumpkin patch our morning was over.


Walking back to the bus.

Our trip to the pumpkin patch was thoroughly enjoyable and we were happy to have such a warm and sunny day. All of us ~ children, parents and teachers ~ learned something new about pumpkins from our fantastic instructors.  We were also so happy to spend such a wonderful morning together. 

Monday 8 October 2012

The Little Things

October 4th marked a month since our new school year began.  The first month of school moved quickly and I often felt like we were in the middle of a tornado. Our returning students were eager to get back to work and receive new lessons while some of our new students were scared and trying to make sense of the place they now found themselves in.  By the third week of school things settled down and we found ourselves immersed in the wonder of the Montessori method. 

On this Thanksgiving Day I am reflecting on our first month together and am thankful for the little things, the diminutive moments, that made our first month so rewarding.

Here are some of them.


Children Connecting with the Materials


Three and a half year old S. is new to our school.  He is very interested in numbers and immediately connected with the Number Rods.  He works with them many times daily.





Two and a half year old J. cried quite steadily the first week of school. During the second week, it was a delight to watch as he became interested in the classroom activities.  Here J. is stringing beads to strengthen his fine motor skills.



Z. (who turns four today) has worked hard to get a printing book.  She so enjoys practicing her letters.




Our Oldest Students Sharing Information with their Classmates




Four and a half year old J.'s reading book is about The Titanic.  J. is fascinated by all things Titanic and enjoys sharing what he learns with his classmates.




This is a page from his book.


Five year old E. doing an experiment for her classmates.



Our New Students


2 1/2 year old C. is our youngest student.  He cried off and on for a few weeks.  Here he is at Music discovering that our little yellow school is a great place to be.



Here are sisters five year old E. (on the left) and three year old N. (on the right).  N. is so happy to finally be at school!  She has been coming to school for years, first with big sister V. (now in grade 2) as well as E.  N. used to cry because she didn't want to leave.  It is great to have her here with us.


New Friendships

 
These three boys are fast becoming the best of friends.  They are always working and playing together.



The little things that make life sweet are worth their weight in gold.  They can't be bought at any price and neither are they sold.






Happy Thanksgiving!