Let's Celebrate! ~ Celebrations in the Montessori Classroom

There are many different opinions on whether or not to celebrate holidays in the Montessori classroom.  Some schools choose not to celebrate anything except the birthdays of their students.  Whether we choose to celebrate holidays in the classroom or not, they still exist in the world.  In my nearly 30 years of teaching, I have always celebrated holidays with the children in my classrooms and at our little yellow school.   The holidays we have celebrated are inclusive of the cultures and religions of the children and families in our school community.   

At our little yellow school, the celebration of a holiday is not highlighted on one day with no connection to anything else.  Rather, activities are introduced gradually across the curriculum in the weeks leading up to the celebration.  The following are some examples.

The Practical Life shelves reflect the colours and theme of the celebration.

Valentine Tonging Work

Lunar New Year Tonging with Chopsticks

Spooning Pumpkin Seed 'Ghosts"

Opening Easter Eggs with Surprises!

Preparing Pumpkin Seeds for Roasting

Peg Christmas Tree

The Language Shelves and Circle Time incorporate stories, poems and songs.

Melting Like a Menorah Candle

A Halloween Rhyme

Learning About Diwali

 

A Valentine Book

Playing Tombola (An Italian Christmas Eve Tradition)

Spinning a Dreidel

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Arithmetic activities incorporate seasonal items such as seasonal counters.

Halloween Ghost Counters

Valentine Heart Estimating Activity

Art activities change to reflect the holiday.

Valentine Hearts

Lunar New Year Tigers

 

Reindeer Craft

Diwali Lamps

The Culture Shelves have items and photos associated with the holiday.

Lunar New Year Items

Hanukkah Items

A Visit from Santa Claus

A Visit from St. Nicholas on December 6 (Treats left in our shoes!)

The loveliest thing about introducing holidays and celebrations gradually is that it does not interfere with classroom routines.  Children thrive on the routine and the predictability of their school days.  By incorporating the holiday into the classroom routine, the children are able to learn about the holiday at their own pace while expanding their minds, their worlds, but most of all their hearts.  

"As different as we are from one another, as unique as each one of us is, we are much more the same than we are different.  That may be the most essential message of all, as we help our children grow toward being caring, compassionate, and charitable adults."

~ Mr. Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood)

Spring Science ~ Growing Seeds in A Jar

While we are all at home, we invited everyone to join us in a spring experiment.  Have you ever wondered what happens to a seed when you plant it in the ground?  Let's find out how seeds grow!

For this experiment, you will need a few simple things that can be found around the house.

Materials

- a clean jar
- paper towels
- dried beans  (You may wish to soak your beans.)
- water

Our Materials

Steps:

1.  Fill the jar with paper towels.

The Jar

2.  Add water to the jar taking care not to flood it.

3.  Push some bean seeds down the sides of the jar.  Ensure

     that they are visible and supported by the paper towels.

Adding Beans to the Jar

4.  Place the jar in a sunny spot.

Observations:

What happened to the bean seeds?

After a few days, my bean seeds sprouted roots.  This is called germination. 

My bean seed has begun to sprout.

The roots grew down.  The job of the root is to find food for the growing plant.  Roots also support and anchor the plant to the ground.

The roots are very fine.

The Root

Slowly but surely, the bean seeds began to grow a stem.  The stem grows up toward the light.  It carries water and minerals from the root to the rest of the plant.

The stem begins to emerge.

Can you see the leaves beginning to peep out?

The growing stems.

Can you see the leaves?

The Stem

Over time, the stems became longer and stronger.  The leaves appeared.  Leaves grow out from the stem.  Their job is to make food for the plant.

The Leaves

My bean plants are getting too big for my jar!

My growing bean plants!

I am going to carefully plant them in a pot and take care of them indoors.  When the weather gets warmer, we can (hopefully) plant them in the vegetable garden at school!  That is something wonderful to look forward to!


Inside a seed is the promise of new life.  Here are some great books about seeds that we have at school.

Books about seeds from our school library.

Here is a fun action song about a growing bean.

I'm a Little Bean Action Song

I'm a little bean small and round,

(curl up on the floor)

Bury me deep into the soft, soft ground,

(sung in a very deep voice)

Sprinkle me with water,

(act out watering with a watering can)

Sunshine too,

(make your arms big and round like the sun)

Watch me grow as tall as you!

(stand and stretch up to the sky)

It's a New Year! ~ Measuring Time

Hello 2020!  It's a new year and a new decade.  

At our little yellow school, the new year has brought much excitement and also many questions.  Why is the calendar so important?  How long is a year, a month, a day?  What a perfect time to learn about how we measure time.  

Our exploration began with a look at a year.  A lot happens in a year!  A year is 365 days and lasts from January through to December.

It's January!

The Earth travels around the sun once every 12 months.  This period of time is called a year.

Setting out the months of the year.

 

Setting out the months of the year.

 

The Months of the Year

The Earth is tilted to one side.  The Earth is rotating while revolving around the sun.

Rotating and Revolving

While the Earth is revolving around the sun, different parts of it face the sun.  This gives us our seasons.

Seasons Classifying Work

Working Together

We did it together!

We are also learning our months and seasons in French.

Learning the months that make us each season.

What happens in each season?

 

Each month has 28 to 31 days.  This is because of the moon.  It takes the moon about four weeks to travel once around the Earth.  The first month is always January.

Filling in the Month of January

Months are comprised of weeks.  A week lasts seven days.  There are 52 weeks in a year.  A week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday.  Saturday and Sunday are weekends, while the days in between are weekdays.

Ordering the Days of the Week

 

It is always great to work together!

The Days of the Week

There are 7 days in a week.  How long is a day?  A day is 24 hours.  That's how long it takes for the Earth to spin around one time.  We have day when our part of the Earth is facing the sun.  We have night when our part of the Earth is facing away from the sun. 

Telling Time with the Clock

 

A new year, months, days and hours ~ 2020 holds many treasures.   We look forward to the joys and delights that the year has in store for us!

"And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been."

~ Rainer Maria Rilke