What's In the Bag? ~ The Making of A Present for Our Families

At this time of the year, the children at our little yellow school make a holiday present for their parents.  This year we decided to try something a little different that also incorporated some learning.  The parents at our school were all wondering about the contents of the bag with many waiting until Christmas morning to open it.  I promised I would write about the making of the present after Christmas so as not to spoil the surprise.  So, what's in the bag?

We started with a few basic ingredients ~  flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and a trusty recipe.  Measuring spoons and cups were set out for the children.

Each child measured their own ingredients and placed them in a bowl.

They then mixed all of their ingredients together.

The teachers placed the mixture into individual bags along with a copy of the recipe.

Can you guess what we made?

It is a pancake mix!  At home, the children can help add the wet ingredients.  The children had so much fun making this mix.  We hope that our students and their families enjoy this very tasty treat! 

Holiday Happenings

The holidays are always an enjoyable time at our little yellow school.

This year the holidays began with the celebration of Hanukkah.  Each classroom had their own menorah.

We learned some Hanukkah songs and played spin the dreidel with Mrs. L., our Music teacher.

E.'s mom (he is the little boy in the middle of the picture above) brought in potato latkes for the whole school.  They were delicious!

Each classroom also had their own Christmas tree which the children decorated.

 

Here are pictures of the decorated trees.

 

The highlight of the holiday season is the visit from Santa!  Mrs. P. is in communication with Santa and he always makes sure he pays a visit to the children at our school.  We are thrilled to have him as we know how busy he is at this time of the year.

Wishing you a very happy holiday and a 2013 filled with good things!

Laughing on the Inside ~ Things the Children Say

Children really do say some of the funniest things and the children at our school are no exception.  The things they say are so genuine and reflect how they interpret the world around them.  Often, it is difficult for the teachers to keep a straight face.

Here are snippets of conversations with children at our little yellow school that kept us laughing on the inside.


Spiderman

In the full day classroom, we have a 3 1/2 year old who is quite possibly Spiderman's biggest fan.  Can you see the Spiderman watch that he is wearing?

One day, I was doing the Sandpaper Letters with L.  On that particular day I was wearing a necklace that I don't usually wear.  L. kept staring at my necklace and couldn't seem to focus on the Sandpaper Letters. 

Here is what he said:

L.:   Mrs. P. I really like your necklace.

Mrs. P.:  Thank you.

L.:  It looks just like Spiderman's web!

Although I never looked at my necklace in quite that way, coming from L., this is truly the highest compliment I could receive.


Another Planet

On Halloween, we had a party at school.  Everyone wore a costume, including the teachers.  One of the teachers in the half-day classroom, Miss N., wore a sari with a little jewel in the middle of her eyebrows.  3 1/2 year old E. was very curious about Miss N.'s 'costume'.

Miss N. took out the map of the continents and explained to E. that she was born in another country, India.  It is a country in the continent of Asia and is very far away from North America.  In India, many women wear saris.  E. seemed very satisfied with this explanation.

When E. and her mom arrived at school the next day, E.'s mom told them what E. had said about Miss N.

"Mom, did you know that Miss N. is from another planet!  It is very far away."


Brothers

Four year old E. and her friend were having a discussion about their families.  They were talking about how many brothers and sisters they had and how old they were.  E. recently became a big sister for the second time.  E. then asked me about my siblings.

E.:  Do you have any sisters?

Mrs. P.:  No, I don't.

E.:  Do you have any brothers?

Mrs. P.:  Yes.  I have one.

E.:  How old is he?

Mrs. P.:  He is 41.

E. pauses for a moment to take this in and then responds.


E.:  41!  That's a grown-up!  That's not a brother!


E. later told me that my brother should be around 4, not 41.

  

Our Annual Food Drive

Last week we held our annual Food Drive for our local food bank.  As always, our school community has been very generous with their donations.  Our goal was to collect enough food to go around the line we sit on during our circle time.   On our last day, we were able to go around our circle line two times! 

Here are a few pictures of the children with some of the food we collected. 

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!

 

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. 

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!