The Last few Months at Oxford Street

Apple Finger Painting

 It's hard to believe we are into February already.  The last few months have flown by and I have been quiet in this space.  I am not going to say I am sorry for being absent from here.    I've come to learn, that we live in a world where all we do, is say we are sorry.  Sorry for so many things.  I am not sorry that I am busy teaching in my classroom or that I choose to spend my evenings with my children (one is in his final year of high school and getting ready to leave us).  I started Maple Tree when he was two and in two months he will be eighteen.  My life is shifting as it should and I am getting ready for the next transition.  A smaller family, empty nest and making a choice to slow down.  I don't want to be in front of a screen all the time and I don't want to live with regrets.  There is lots of self reflection in my life these days and one of the things I have reflected on is this blog.  Melanie and I have made a plan to update this space two maybe three times a week.  We will each be responsible for one post each a week and I may post a Montessori Moment on Fridays if time permits.  That feels like a great compromise for me and really she should write her thoughts on her classroom as I should on my classroom.  So here, is a breakdown on what we did in the fall.

We've done a lot a work on Part's of the Apple with Nomenclature cards and labeling the parts of an apple.  This work expanded at our Art table and we set up a space for the children to enjoy a sensory experience with finger paint.  I loved how this project unfolded and how each child's versions was so

Sewing Acorns with Cardboard and Yarn

very different from the next one someone else painted.  Sensory work whether it's painting or working with Pink Tower, Red Rods, Geometric Solids, etc is so very important.  It is extremely calming. comforting and grounding for children.  Paint is just a wonderful extension  of our Montessori Materials.

We set up Early Sewing work on our Art shelf.  The children who have mastered the Stitching block and moved on to this work. We do a lot of sewing in our classroom.  I am a sewer and I think this is a very important part of Practical Life work that all children need to know how to do.  I've had children come to school with a hole in their sock only to go to the shelf and get the materials to sew it up and put it back on their foot.  There is such a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment knowing you can do that for yourself.  Maria Montessori once said, “The essence of independence is to be able to do something for one's self.” “The child can develop fully by means of experience in his environment. We call such experiences 'work'.”  This is just one of the many great examples of independence at work. 

 We did an artist study of Van Gogh in the fall.  I set up a vase of Sunflowers with a sample idea next to the easel.  The results were lovely.  It was wonderful to watch that unfold and see the children paint their own versions.

 

With our second year students we dove into the botany cabinet.  We took some time to really look at all the leaf shapes in the botany cabinet and then see if we could find matches for them in our outside experiences during playground times and nature walks.

Some of the second year children have been nature journaling through pencil work and water colour paint and pressing leaves in their journals.

We also took some time to set up pin pushing work using the shapes from the botany cabinet.  Many of our children made leaf books.  Pin Pushing work is fantastic, as it really helps children who struggle with a weak pincher grasp to develop that more and strengthen the hand. It was optional to write the names in their leaf books and many children chose to do that.  

Cutting, Glueing and Printing are such important pieces of work and children really love to cut paper and use glue.  

We looked at Georgia O'Keefe in October  and Poppy Art Ideas showed up at the art table and in our practical life shelves in the classroom.  From tearing paper into tiny pieces to making poppies, to Pin pushing them out from paper to sewing them into pins with buttons.  We found many ways to appreciate poppies and talk about Georgia O'Keefe.

Poppy Button Sewing

Poppy Pin Pushing Work

Extension work with Natural Geometric Shapes

Van Gogh Self Portrait Work

When we looked at Van Gogh's Sunflowers we also set up an independent work space so that children could explore the idea of making a self portrait.

Namaste ~ End of Yoga class

Some of you may or may not know but in September I started my 200 hr Yoga Teacher Certification and in June I will be finished with that credential.  I Did my Radiant Child Yoga Teacher certification back in the fall of 2011.  I was personally practicing yoga long before that.  I can truly say that having yoga as part of ours days at Maple Tree has been a wonderful addition to our program.  Every day I witness the benefits of children connecting to their breath and movement.  Right now, my work around this is about the teachings and how they relate to every day life.  I am learning so much right now and by extension your children are learning so much right now.  Kindness, Strength, Softness, Breath and Movement.  What to do when they just want to collapse in tears and how  to channel that energy in a positive way.  Yoga has been a gift not only to me this year but also to my children.

Van Gogh Starry Night

 I so loved this large group project.  Kathy Barbro, Art Projects for Kids is a wonderful site that has for sale large Pdf available to all kinds of paintings.  You print them out in 8x11 size sheets and put them together like a puzzle to make a large master piece.  We used Soft Pastels on this project and I sealed it with Hair Spray when it was finished.    It was a calming, community based activity that we had going on for several days in our classroom that the children could come and go from.  Many would tuck into their usual Montessori work and during transition from one thing to another they would pause and stop and settle in and add their mark to the project.

This pastel master piece made it's way into school as a gift for me.  This little boy was clearly taken with Starry Night so much that he promptly went home and drew his own version.  I love that his Mom, let him go for it with oil pastels!  I actually think I need to frame it.  Right now it sits in my office on the wall next to another smaller picture done in marker of Starry Night by another friend.  These are such wonderful gifts and in them if I look closely enough, teachings from my children.  Oh the gifts we receive each and every day.  We are lucky for certain.