Flowers and Chocolate

 We've been potting up some fun this week with some chocolate play dough.  Yes, you can make play dough with just about anything!!  The children have really love this activity.  They have been enjoying arranging their bouquets and playing with the chocolate play dough.  I've included the recipe below for you.  Happy Weekend!

 Chocolate Playdough

2 cups plain flour (all purpose)
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 tbsps cream of tartar
2 cups boiling water
4 drops of glycerine (optional extra for increased shine and stretch)

Method
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Stir in the vegetable oil
Mix together
Stir in the boiling water and mix until combined
When it has cooled a little, knead it on a clean surface until it loses all stickiness and becomes smooth and stretchy.

Story Stones

 Ms. Melanie made these lovely story stones a while ago.  At first I thought they were matching work or grading and they certainly could e used for that.  This week I asked a child who works with them a lot if I could sit and watch and listen.  He was telling or making up a story based on the different pictures that were present on the rocks.

This is really a fantastic idea and timely in our classroom as so many children are writing their own stories or acting them out in the afternoon.  I am learning all the time, there are so many ways to reach children.  I love how much literacy work and inspiration is all around us in our classroom right now.  The story stones came from another early childhood educator who is not a montessori teacher  but incredibly inspiring.  Deborah J. Stewart keeps a very interesting blog at Teach Preschool.  The story stones are her brainchild and well loved by the children at Maple Tree.  Thank You Ms. Melanie for another great project!

Everybody has a story to tell.....

 What does a shark do when the Superstore and Sobey's are closed?  According to my friend “L”, He eats minnows and takes a nap.   “L” spent about an hour on Friday morning  drawing pictures and telling me stories to transcribe.  He would then trace the story I printed.  It is amazing when a child realizes that he is an author.

Encouraging literacy in the early years is really important.  The children in our classroom spend a great deal of time engaged in activities that promote literacy.  Often a child can be seen learning sounds with the Sandpaper Letters and Sound baskets, building words with the Moveable Alphabet, printing words or looking at one of our many books.  ~Ms. Melanie

Subway, Market or Train... You be the judge

Today I noticed a group of boys surrounding someones work on the carpet.   My first reaction was to walk over and ask them to find their work but then I stopped my self.  They were all sitting by the mat having a conversation about the structure one of the boys made.   I was wishing I had my camera but then remember I now own an iPhone! I used to be against these phones,  but now I can see the wonderful advantages.   As I took pictures, the boys were discussing about where the train would go.
"This is Subway," one boy said while pointing to a part on the structure.
"This is the market," another boy pointed out.
"The train is going to Toys 'R' Us," another boy said while moving the small red rod.
It was nice to see seven boys interacting with each other and hearing their perspectives on train station. One boy even said "This looks like my mom's train that she works on." We have seen this type of structure being built for the past couple weeks by different boys each time. It seems like they have mastered the design!        ~Ms. Stephanie

Flowers, Eggs, Nests

 Everything is so inviting in our classroom space right now.  I came in this morning and was completely taken aback by the beauty of the Magnolia, Forsythia and Quince branches we have forced.  Please take a moment in your day to pause and notice the beauty on our shelves.  Let your child be your guide and show you what is new and exciting.

We are very fortunate to have a lovely collection of bird's nests and eggs from different birds.  I decided today to shift our song birds to another table and put out our nest and egg collection.  There were many questions and such excitement to see more new and interesting things.

 When I pull these new things out I get so excited to teach the about them.  I imagine you will hear lots about the Rhea, Emu, Ostrich and Duck eggs that we have on our shelves.  Last year, we were fortunate enough to have a tiny blue robins egg.  That little egg was just to much for one curious little friend and so it got broken.  What was very interesting in that moment was that the child who brought it in didn't get upset, but was fascinated by how tiny the yolk was (the size of your pinky finger nail).

I will be printing pictures of the birds that we have eggs for so that the children can see them and know how big they are.

I also took the opportunity to take out foot impressions for the birds that I have.  They are not real but excellent reproductions.  It is fun to hold it in your hand and imagine how that bird might use their foot.

Lastly, I wanted to mention to beautiful books that we are enjoying right now.  The first is Nests, by Sharon Beals.  It is a incredible collection of birds nests and eggs that you might not ever get a chance to see.  It is beautifully done and one of our new favourites.

The second book, is titles Birds, Nests and Eggs.  I am certain I bought my copy at the museum of Museum of Natural History.

Why you choose Montessori

I have been thinking a lot lately about how unhappy I am with our system of public education.  I volunteer in my daughter's classroom frequently because it is important to support the teacher and the children.  My daughter is missing her time at Maple Tree Montessori very much.  What to do?  I know what I should do, and I know what my heart is telling me.  The problem is twofold: time and money.

It has taken me five years to get to a place where we could finally buy our own building for the school.  It has come at a bit of a cost to my family -- that we will be in relatively small quarters for a couple of years while we save up another downpayment to buy another house, just for our family, apart from the school.  We are all ok with this.  Maple Tree has been a part of our family for ten years and, in so many ways, I am truly grateful for that.

I mentioned previously that time and money are the impediments but time is truly the most important factor.  I feel like I have so very little of it and what I do have seems so precious that I don't want to give it up.  This past Sunday, I bumped into a friend who saw me with my over-full grocery cart and enquired if the contents were for Maple Tree.  I responded, "Yes."  He said, "You do the grocery shopping for the school?"  What I thought about in that moment is what a time sucker it is and how I have to shop twice a week -- once for the school and then again for home.  I can't do them at the same time.  It's just too hard to manage two carts and two grocery lists. There just never feels like enough time in my day for all the things I feel like I still need to do.

Someone asked me recently how do I find the time to make and do all that I do at the school.  My answer was simple.  I love what I do and I believe in Montessori.  I do not have all the answers about what to do about public school and I feel very strongly that if we all abandon the system then we will not have a public system.  So, it means for me and my children that I will have to develop an enrichment program to reach them on weekends and after school.  Oh, wait!  I already do that and you probably do too!!  Teaching doesn't stop when you leave the school.  It is everywhere, in everything we do with our children.

This past weekend, I read an article in the Globe and Mail about about a professor that confessed to having an addiction to his email.  He said he spent crazy amounts of time checking it and responding to it.  It was such a problem that he did not feel like he read for personal enjoyment anymore or for that matter, his work.  Hello, he's a teacher and he needs to read to be good at what he does!!  It really made me think.  How much time do I devote to my phone and email how much do I actually read beyond work and email.  I guess what I am trying to say is that be aware, be present in your life and everyday moments and know your children and their needs.  The needs of a child are changing every second of the day.  I want to leave you with a clip from youtube about Montessori and why we chose it for our children and why it is so important to embrace it in our lives.

Bird Song

 We are enjoying he most beautiful bird songs in our classroom right now.  If you come into our classroom you will find them nesting under the branches we are forcing.  I love how natural and beautiful our space is feeling these days and how excited the children get each time they squeeze a bird to hear their song.

I have been collecting the birds for a few years now and we have almost a complete set.  I am not sure I need anymore.  I feel like we have a lovely complete set.  Des Serres art shop carries the birds in the children's section and by now it will be fairly picked over.  I was in a few weeks ago and happened upon them and the selection was very small.  Just keep checking because you just never know when you will  hit the jackpot!  I bought the rest of our collect last fall when I was in to replenish our art supplies.

The backyard birdsong book was a gift from one of our families at the end of the school year.  You can go to any page in the book and find a bird and the song the bird sings.  It has been very popular with the children and well loved.  The book can be purchased online with Amazon or in person locally at Plovers.

Oh the things we do...

 I had wanted to make these beautiful eggs with the children but I never got to it this week..  Sometimes, I have so many things I want to make and do and ideas for our classroom that that I feel overwhelmed (in a good way)!  While these string eggs are beautiful, they didn't quite turnout as I had hoped and they were very fragile.

 The directions called for liquid starch.  I would not use that again instead opting for a mixture of white glue and water instead.  Glue dries clear and hard and would make these eggs durable and easy to hold.

All I did was soak the embroidery floss in liquid starch and wrap it around small water balloons.  Let them dry completely and break the balloon inside the form.   Voila, you have these beautiful eggs!  It really is the perfect thing to do with little hands, it is a good amount of messy with out a lot of fuss.

I experimented by making these at home to see how they would turn out.  As weeks go for me, it was just to busy to fit this project in. I hope you will try it at home sometime.

 Speaking of other projects though, we did colour some eggs and we started talking about Impressionist Artists.  Specifically, we looked at Edgar Degas this week and made our own ballet dancers at the art table.

 This is a beautiful book.

The story is about a dancer who knows that Monsieur Degas is drawing and painting the dancers at the Paris Opera House.  One day, their bags get mixed up and the dancer ends up with Monsieur Degas's  bag by mistake and he has hers with her tutu for that evenings performance.  The story goes on to take you through the streets of Paris and on to meet more artists such as Renoir, Monet and Mary Cassett. The book is simply lovely and the illustrations are stunning.

Eva Montanari is the author of Chasing Degas.

The children enjoyed making their own dancers this week.  We added a stick to the back so they could be puppets and used for imaginative play.

 We also, took some time to notice the beauty unfolding in our classroom this past week with all the branches being forced.  So beautiful are the cherry branches.
We are all wishing you a Lovely Long Weekend with your Children!

Holy Hot Cross Buns!

 It's almost Easter and I am feeling nostalgic for my Nan.  Every year, she made the most incredible hot cross buns.  She would make pans and pans of them and we knew to just stop in and eat ourselves silly on them.  I learned many things from my Nan and I miss her dearly.

I would like to think that in some small way today I was channeling her or that she was with me in spirit as we made hot cross buns at the school.

As a child I remember measuring the flour and mixing by hand the dough.  My Nan wasn't much of a cake maker or cook but she could make bread and especially hot cross buns.

This is only the second time in my life that I have ever made these beauties.  The first time they were tough and not not as tasty and it was a bust.  I decided we would make them at Maple Tree because I was craving them from my youth but also because I felt like I MUST have that bread making gene in me and that I owed it to my grandmother to try once again.

 So, we mixed and kneaded and waited...

This time, they did not disappoint.  They were Divine!  Thank you Nan!

Hot Cross Buns

½ Cup dried Currants- Place currants in a pot with enough water to just cover and gently bring to boil.  Do not boil.  Remove from heat and drain.  Next sprinkle 2 Tbs cold water over them and ¼ tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and ground ginger.  Mix spices into currants and set aside.

In a small bowl dissolve 1 package of active dry yeast with 3 Tbs warm water (warm to the touch not to hot) Set your timer for 5 minutes and collect your other ingredients

1 cup whole or low fat milk warmed in a pot (warm to touch not to hot)

add to this milk 5 Tbs melted butter, 3 Tbs sugar, 1 large egg, 1tsp salt.  Add these ingredients to your bowl of yeast and gently mix. 

Next add 2 Cups of Bread Flour to the yeast mixture and pour dough on to your counter.  Add Currants and 1 ½ cups more all purpose to your dough as you kneed it.  When You may need more or less flour depending on the dough.  I needed all my flour.  Knead dough about 10 minutes.  Oil a large bowl and place dough into bowl to rise (it will rest for 11/2 hours).  Cover your bowl with oiled plastic wrap and a tea towel to keep warm.  I warmed my oven up so it was warm enough to have dough rise.

After the dough has rested for 11/2 hours, punch dough down and shape into buns.  Place buns on a greased cookie sheet and cover with oiled plastic wrap for the last rising.  Let rise last time for 1 hour. 

Brush top of buns with melted butter and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.  Longer or less depending on your oven.  Let cool completely and make crosses on top with icing sugar and water ½ Cup icing sugar to 1 Tbs milk or water.

Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Announcing Our Winner for March!

 Congratulations to Leah, she is our Winner for our March Giveaway!  You sock bunny kit is available for pickup by your Art file on Monday.  Just in time for Easter!

I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that our giveaway for April is a fantastic Sun Print Kit.  I've been looking at these for a few years and until recently, could only find them in the US.  They make the most beautiful sun prints and I know the children will enjoy this experiment.  I happened upon them recently at Woozles and snatched up as many as I could possibly buy with out being to greedy.  We will be using at Maple Tree very soon and Some lucky winner will get their very own kit at the end of April!