A Beautiful Moment

One of our teachers found a bird in our driveway that had been hit by a car.  The bird was perfectly intact, and after further examination was either a Starling or a Grackle.   I hemmed and hawed all day about whether or not to show the bird to the children.  After all, we've been studying Birds, Parts of a Bird, and Backyard Bird calls in the Primary classroom.  Finally, I put the decision in the children's hands.  I explained the situation and told the children it might be upsetting, but it really is part of nature.  I gave them the opportunity to meet the bird, or they could opt out.  All of the children chose to view the bird.

We gathered in a seated circle around him and had a moment of silence.  I pointed out the different parts of the bird and we looked in our field guide to name the bird.  We talked about life cycles and food chains.  Finally, one second year student raised his hand and said "I think it's time we share our thoughts on this."  I agreed, and one by one they told each other how they felt.  One astute first year student (3 years old!) announced, "Although I feel sad that the bird is no longer alive, at least we can enjoy its great beauty." 

I thank the parents of these afternoon children for understanding the Montessori philosophy enough to accept and gracefully encourage the important experience we had today.

Natural Refreshment

I have two amazing assistants.  Truly amazing.  They have taken over summer camp this year so that I can stay home with baby g.  I had full confidence that they would do well, but they've really blown my mind.  Together with the children, they've grown a beautiful, sensory garden.  The garden has been incorporated into many summer camp activities.  My older children have been attending camp and come home so excited about this garden.  I was told that g ate the entire chive plant out of the garden! 

The other day, I went to pick up the girls and they were enjoying a lovely tea party.  The teachers wore beautiful dresses- one even wore white gloves and a bonnet!  What I thought was the most creative part of the tea party was the use of edible flowers called Nasturtiums.  The children picked the flowers from the garden and froze them in ice cube trays.  The flowers were later used to flavor tea and lemonade.  I wish I had a picture of the group enjoying their refreshments!

Our Friends, Claire and Brownie

We "rented" two young chicks from a local farm this month.  The children enjoyed watching them grow and they now understand the hard work that goes into caring for these young birds.  It took some time for the children to feel comfortable with the chicks, but after a week most of the children could hold them easily.  We put names in a hat and "Claire" and "Brownie" were chosen for our future egg-laying hens.  In the early fall, the students can visit the farm and purchase eggs from our new friends.  Thank you, Claire and Brownie, for providing us with two adventure-filled weeks!

A Downy Day

We studied feathers today and even went on a feather hunt!  We walked through a nearby forest and down to a pond, but unfortunately no feathers were found.  My daughter found a turkey feather last year that I used to show the children the parts of the feather.  We pointed out the Quill, Down, Rachis, and Vane.  I made some related papers for the children to take home and want to share them with you.  I'm not sure how to embed a document into blogger, so here's the best I could do. 

The children were able to take home this "Parts of a Feather" page:
Parts of a Feather

and older children were able to label the feather on their own:
Parts of a Feather Worksheet

We also watched Part One of the "Dinosaur Feather Mystery".  The children were amazed by the fact that today's birds may be direct descendants from dinosaurs:


Do you believe at the end of the day, one of the moms came to pick up her son... and what did she find?  A feather by the edge of the sidewalk.  Go figure!

We didn't get a chance to read it today, but this is a great book about birds for children of all ages.

Webbing Experiment

During our discussion of Life in the Pond today, we got on the topic of webbed feet.  We discussed the different animals with webbed feet and the children found it fascinating that my black lab also has webbed paws!  I could tell they really didn't comprehend why the little bits of skin would help animals to swim faster, so we set up a small tub of water.  I asked each of them to spread their fingers and swipe them through the water.  Then, we put a plastic bag on our hands, with our fingers spread, and tried again.  They could feel the drag caused by the bag (or webbing) and finally had a concrete understanding of the concept.  I left the tub out with the bag for children who wished to experiment further.  I checked the tub sporadically throughout the day and was so proud to find that not one drop was spilled on the carpet.  The children treated the activity with such respect and were careful not to bump into the tub while walking about the classroom. 

Dinosaurs!

This week we'll be exploring the world of dinosaurs.  It is easily one of the favorite topics we discuss all year.  Last week, I prepared the children by reading the book, From Lava to Life. 

It's a long book and it focuses on evolution, so I skim most of it just touching on the illustrations.  I do not teach the children evolution or creation, but we do discuss the timeline of Earth's history.  Children rarely ask how the Earth was actually created, but if they do, I open the topic up for discussion without actually giving my own personal opinions.  The children find it fascinating that humans have only been walking the Earth for a very short time compared to the relative history of the Earth.  We also discuss the extinction of dinosaurs and I am always intrigued by their theories.  As I was concluding this conversation on Friday, A.I. said, "Well, it is sad, but I guess it's a good thing the dinosaurs are extinct.  We wouldn't want them walking around by our houses."  The children firmly agreed with her statement and felt that what happened to the dinosaurs worked out well for humankind.

This week, the children will compare their footprints to that of T. Rex (approximately 3ft x 3ft), we'll measure the length of some of the tallest dinosaurs with string, and we will create a timeline of dinosaur history.  I usually plan a week for dinosaur research and discovery, but I have a feeling this year the studies will extend to two or three weeks.  Yet another Montessori perk, we can continue our studies based on the interest of the child!

Petco Treasure

Our family is often found milling about Petco because it's a great way to socialize your pets (and kids!) during these freezing winter months.  During our last visit, I was showing little "g" the turtle aquarium when I saw this:

It's meant as a cozy little getaway for reptiles and rodents.  I felt the rough surface and longed for springtime because I enjoy taking the kids out for an activity called bark rubbing.  The children love pressing their paper against the rough surface and making designs and patterns with crayons.  Then it hit me- this is a great activity for wintertime!  Of course I purchased the half-log and set it up on a tray with peeled crayons and some quarter sheets of white paper.  The children love feeling the bark and having a little piece of nature as part of their work. 

Volcanic Eruptions!

After our space studies, we like to dabble in the Earth Sciences with mountains, continental drift, and volcanoes. Today, we talked about the parts of the volcano, we watched a video of a real volcanic eruption, and we sang this adorable song:

Later, we went outside to create our own active volcano.


Build your own Baking Soda Volcano:

Ingredients

• 6 cups flour
• 2 cups salt
• 4 Tbsp cooking oil
• warm water
• plastic water bottle
• dishwashing detergent
• food coloring
• vinegar
• baking dish or pan
• 2 Tbsp baking soda

Here's what to do:

1. Mix flour, oil and 2 cups warm water. The mixture should be smooth and firm, add more water if needed.

2. Stand the bottle in the baking pan and mold the dough around it into a volcano shape. Don't cover the hole or drop dough into it.

3. Fill the bottle most of the way with warm water and some red and/or yellow food coloring.

4. Add 6 drops of detergent to the bottle.

5. Add baking soda to the liquid.

6. Slowly pour vinegar into the bottle...Eruption Time!!

In this reaction, carbon dioxide gas is produced, which is also present in real volcanoes. As the carbon dioxide is produced, pressure builds up inside the bottle, until the gas bubbles out of the "volcano".

This activity takes approximately 30 minutes from start to finish. Have fun!

Big Dipper Discovery

GG was using the coin equivalence board from Hello Wood and made an interesting discovery. He noticed that all 25 pennies together looked like the shape of the Big Dipper. He pointed out the handle and the "scooper". The image is reversed, but take a moment to see if you can differentiate what he saw...

Space

Montessori teachers are supposed to be unbiased while presenting lessons or new topics. We are to follow the child's interests and not spoil that purity with our own likes and dislikes. Today, however, we started our studies about space. I just can't resist showing my enthusiasm for the topic. I've got space books littered about the classroom, planet three-part cards displayed in the language area, spaceship designs on the light board, and the list goes on. I guess I'm just so fascinated by how tiny our little world is compared to the rest of the universe. Here's a great video to show your kids to give them a perspective on the size of our Earth compared to other planets:



The children were amazed by the pictures I showed of the Horsehead nebula, the Eagle nebula, and a black hole. They were very interested about the fact that a nebula is the beginning of a star and a black hole is the end of a star. Below is a fascinating, simulated video of a black hole- suitable for children a bit older:




You'll be amazed to hear some of the interesting facts your children bring home. They soak up this information like a sponge...I can't wait for them to visit the planetarium next week!
GC had an intriguing thought when she said, "So, even when the sun is shining, parts of our universe are still dark." This comment proves that children of this age are capable of understanding the complex, abstract concept of space.

Spiders

In the spirit of Halloween, we studied spiders today. We used the lightboard to trace a complex spider web, then we added spiders with ink thumbprints. I was so happy to see many of the children adding eight legs to their spiders, after we read a book on parts of a spider. U.P. loved the word "arachnid" and wanted to know more about these animals. We also discovered that spiders can make as many as seven different kinds of silk, each used for a different purpose (egg cases, wrapping prey...). Can you believe that a thread of spider silk is stronger than a thread of steel that is the same thickness?

Here's a spider web activity you can try at home. Finding a web is easy on foggy or dew-covered mornings because the water droplets reveal the silk threads. You'll have to wait to see the spider at work because a spider can't catch a meal until its web dries out. If your child would like to check out the intricate design of a web, here's a trick biologists use to make spider webs visible.

Step One: Put one sock inside the other to make a double-thick bag.
Step Two: Fill the bag with cornstarch or talcum powder.
Step Three: Close the opening by tying a knot in the top of the "bag".
Step Four: Hold the bag next to a spider web (not over the top of it).
Step Five: Pat the bag gently to force poweder out of it onto the web. Hint: Stand upwind so the air carries the powder onto the web.
Step Six: Keep patting the bag until the web is lightly dusted.

Another great extension to this topic is installing a Garden Spider Web Frame from Montessori Services in your backyard. With a little time and a lot of patience, children can observe a web being formed and eventually a spider hunting for a meal.

Pumpkin Science

I put out a new science experiment yesterday entitled "Pumpkin Sink or Float". I have this work set up at a permanent "station" so that the children can just sit down and perform the activity. I leave work out like this on rare occasions, maybe if it's only going to be out for a few days and I want the children to see it and work with it, or if there are too many parts involved in the work for the child to carry from the shelf to a table.

On the table, I have a tray, an apron, a large bowl, a sponge, an orange colored pencil, and a stack of experiment papers in a plastic folder. The experiment paper has an area for predictions (a space for a picture and a line for the word "sink" or "float") and a similar area for conclusions. After putting on the apron and filling in the paper, the child carries the bowl to the sink. There is a black line drawn on the bowl to show the water's surface line.

Now for the fun part...the child carries the bowl back to the tray and places the pumpkin gently into the water. It typically bobs up and down for a few moments and then settles on the surface of the water. It fools them all! Finally, U.P., my afternoon kindergartner, commented "We keep guessing that the pumpkin will sink. And it floats every time. Will the answer ever change?" That is the point of the experiment. Are there any factors that change the composition of the pumpkin so that it will sink? I'm curious to see if any children will alter the pumpkin in any way before putting it in the bowl. I'll keep you posted on any progress of the pumpkin experiment!

Scientific Absolutes

Second-year student, EK, has enjoyed many lessons in science over the years. One day, during our daily class discussion on weather, he asked me, "Why does it rain?". I explained to him that the clouds fill up with water droplets. The droplets get too heavy and fall from the clouds. I reminded him of a science experiment we did last year. We used an eyedropper to add drops of water to a cotton ball (cloud). The children watched it fill up until the cloud started to "rain". EK thought for a moment and said, "So I guess the rain always falls, like the Earth always spins". Absolutely.

A Lesson Learned...

(...or "learnt" for those of you speaking British English)

I had just finished putting g down for her morning nap, when G asked if we could do some activities downstairs. I immediately agreed, quickly formulating a mental list of lessons that I've been waiting to present to her. Once we got to the classroom, I asked her if there was anything in particular that she wanted to work with. She got out a magnetic fish puzzle that I put out for the younger children at the beginning of the year. After working with it for a while, she asked me how to write the word "crab". I got out the moveable alphabet and showed her how to make the blend "cr" and then asked her what letters would complete the word. She completed the word, and then asked for help spelling some more. We worked like this together for a while, but deep in my Montessori brain I was thinking, "I should've asked her to clean up the fish puzzle first, it looks like a mess over there, it might be distracting to her, blah blah blah."

Well, don't you know it, she looked over at the fish puzzle and started fishing again. This time, however, she fished for the crab and placed it on the mat next to the word "crab" that we had previously spelled. She started spelling "fish" and then asked me for help with the "sh" sound. She picked up the fishing pole again and started picking up all of the fish from the puzzle and placing them under the word "fish". This continued through the words "seahorse", "octopus" and "jellyfish".

What a beautiful lesson she created out of her own interests. Her lesson included language, sorting, and zoology! Imagine if I had interrupted her thought process (as many well-intentioned parents and teachers do) to ask her to pick up the puzzle. Of course, instilling a sense of order is one of the foundations of the Montessori philosophy. However, this has been ingrained in her head since birth- she knew to pick up all of the work after her attention wained. Why didn't I trust my parenting skills? Why didn't I trust my child?

My lesson learned: FOLLOW THE CHILD.

Coin Cleaning

Here's a fun way to keep your child actively engaged while you're making dinner (folding laundry, feeding baby #2...).

This is what you need: placemat, paper towels, bowl, dirty pennies, old toothbrush, vinegar & salt (or warm water and soap for younger ones)

Preface this activity with an explanation about how coins are very dirty because they are constantly passed from person to person. The copper (the outside of the penny) becomes tarnished (the dull, greenish color is formed from copper oxide). The acid from the vinegar dissolves the copper oxide and leaves behind shiny pennies. We had fun dunking the penny halfway into the solution. Experiment with your little scientist! Try lemon juice too- it smells better!