The Fairy Story Part 2

The fairies picked up a golden rock.
The fairies picked up a flower.Then the fairies picked up three rocks, golden rocks!
The trees start to grow.

The ocean tumbled by.

The Fairy Story Part 3

The fairy flied to get a egg.
They picked up a leaf.
Then they wanted their mother back.
They flew home into their fairy castle with their Queen Mamma.

This Week

This week we have:

Enjoyed some quiet sewing time.

Parachute Play at the playground.

We found fairies in our garden.

Endless amount of shamrock crafts, rainbow making and blarney stones!

Oh happy Week!

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

I am slowly getting the most popular recipes that we make at the school out to parents. We may do a recipe book, as we are asked often for many of the recipes.

Wet Ingredients
1 Cup of oats
1 Cup of yogurt any flavor
1/2 Cup canola oil
3/4 Brown sugar
1 Egg

Dry Ingredients
1 Cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 Cup blueberries or any other fruit (mix into the dry ingredients or you will have purple batter).

Mix the wet ingredients and add the dry ingredients. Spoon into greased muffin tin and bake at 400 for 20 to 23 minutes. Enjoy!

There are Fairies in our Forest

For some time now, I have been longing for a truly lovely nature table/space in our classroom. We have off-and-on had a science and nature tray but it seems to get removed because something has been damaged our it just isn't age-approperiate at that moment. I feel frustrated at this and feel bad when I take it off the shelf.

I have a friend that has the most magical space where she lives, and she keeps a most incredible and inviting nature table in her livingroom. I am constantly inspired by the beauty she brings to that space and how effortless it seems to be. I am learning, and she is my teacher even if she doesn't know it.

This weekend I found myself buying cat grass and tiny muscari flowers at the farmers market. I
wasn't even thinking about a nature table at that moment, just that it would it feel amazing to run your hand along this grass. What a sensory experience for the children.

When I found this idea for a fairy garden, I knew what I was going to do and then it just morphed into this amazing space that has now become our nature table. I promise to always have it from now on. I will be encouraging the children to bring things they find that we may enjoy from this new space in our classroom.

I could not resist the playmobile fairies! The children made a storey with our practicum student based on what they thought was going on in that garden. In addition to that we read "The Story of the Root-Children" by Sibylle Von Olfers. Such a magical space. Many children came to that space today and they were quiet, thoughtful, and playful. Everyone should have a Fairy Garden!

The Beauty in Colour

I think that I am having a sensitive period for colour right now. Perhaps, it is because I am so "done" with winter and I find this time of the year bleak and murky.

We have been into a tremendous amount of sensory work in the class room this past month. We're exploring the geometric cabinet, touch tablets, red rods, broad stair, pink tower, and colour tablet boxes.

Some of the things I enjoy so much about the sensorial materials is that they are so beautiful, colourful, shiny and oh so inviting to the tiny hands

that reach for them everyday.

In this post, I am showing how one boy took out the third colour tablet box and found a few different ways to exlore the colours in the box.

I always find it fascinating to watch the delicate way in which each tablet is carefully touched and picked up and placed into the work at hand. This is such an important part of the process. I was reminded of that this week as I had a conversation with my collegues about whether or not we should ask a child to vacate a sensory bin which was very new to our classroom and that they were exploring for more than 45 minutes! Many other children were coming up to other teachers and saying it was taking too long to get a turn with that work. What do you suppose happened?

Well, let me tell you....One of the teachers asked that child to leave his work and choose something else and so a great debate ensued. My argument was that we were, in that moment, disturbing a very sensitive period for touch and we would never ask a child who was doing pouring work to stop and put it back to the shelf so that another child may have a turn. The other teacher said it seemed unfair to the other children who were waiting a very long time to get into the sensory bin. When we started to look at it from a pedagogic stand point, it made sense not to disturb the work or the child. After all, we must be true to our Montessori roots and we would not be honouring the child if we allowed such distruptions.

Not only is it important to learn patience and turn-taking but also respect for our peers who are working. "All of this waiting," I said, "was very important, as the child is not just standing there but watching, taking in, and absorbing all of the aspects of that work and touch, and learning how to touch and handle work gently is a very big part of it."

The March of the Penguins

I am so completely in love with these drawings. Often we will set up a directed drawing activity in steps at the art table and this is what we had set up last week. Drawing is such an important part of your child's development and we are happy to encourage and foster it. The idea came from an Usborne Art Drawing Book. During the course of the year you will find a few drawings in your child's art file and I wanted to share with you the process.

The Making of Pink Readers

I am so glad to be back in my grove at the school. I was happy for the break and rest but I am now just as eager to get back to my material-making and my little readers at the school.

Today, I spent time checking for readiness with some of my children who have sound books. The next step after this was to head into pink reading boxes. I was in awe as I watched many pick up magical reading sticks and proceed with sounding out the three letter words on the pink cards before them. When we were done, I was asked, "can I do another one?"

So it begins, this amazing journey into the wonderful world of books. It wasn't enough to read cards and match with objects I realized, so I suggested that we make our own readers. Once I offered this up, I had - all of a sudden - not one but four children upon me, wanting to make a reader they could take home to practice with!

These photos chronicle this process that the two little girls I worked with went through today. I know they will be reading these books tonight at bedtime with their parents and...so it begins. Bring it on!

Love Is In The Air

So yesterday was Valentines Day and I hope you all found a Valentine in your mailbox from your child! I said we were working on a special Valentine Project and now you know what that was!

The inspiration for the project came from the story, "The Day It Rained Hearts" by Author Felicia Bond. If you don't have this book I recommend that you read it sometime. I love the sentiment and the way Cornelia Agusta, the little girl in the story finds all sorts of ways to make Valentines for her friends. We hope you had a lovely Valentines Day! xo m

A Tisket, A Tasket

At circle time on Monday of last week we played a Valentine's game with the children. We had a stamped addressed envelope with a little pink heart card inside and a small pink scarf tied around it. We placed the letter in a small basket with a handle that happened to have some green and yellow flowers around the rim. We then taught the children the tune and words to "A Tisket, a Tasket". The words to the song are:

A Tisket, A Tasket, a green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love and on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it.

After the children had learned the song we handed the basket to one of the children and invited them to circle around the outside of the circle of seated children as we sang the song. When the child carrying the basket was ready he/she dropped the letter behind the child of their choice, put down the basket next to the letter and ran around the outside of the circle with the chosen child giving chase to see who could arrive at the empty place in the circle first. It was usually the delivery person child who who arrived first and then sat down. We sang the song again with the chosen child, now the delivery person, circling with the basket behind the circle of his friends. The children loved the song and the game, sitting qute still and quiet as the song finished and the new delivery person made his/her decision behind whom to drop the Valentine's letter. Once the chase began several children sitting in the circle began to cheer on the delivery person as they ran to claim the empty seat. Several children enjoyed having a turn at being the delivery person or the person behind whom the letter was dropped. We tied a small scarf around the letter in order to make the letter float down when it was dropped. Happy Valentine's Day.

Reading the Signs

Preschoolers are beginning to learn to interpret signs and language around them. In the classroom at Maple tree they may be working with sandpaper letters, discussing the sounds made by different letters, or printing or reading independently. They are ready to do the same in music. Since the new year the children have learned to read rhythms: quarter notes and quarter-note rests. They can clap or say the rhythmic syllables in a 4-beat series. If you hear your child chanting "ta" or "sh" at home (and we will soon be adding "ti-ti"), these are the syllables we use. The children enjoy choosing cards to create their own rhythm for the class to clap and say together. Posted by Ms. Susanne

All You Need Is Love

I've been sewing for the last week to get these beautiful wool felt hearts out on the shelf in our classroom. The teachers and I have been talking a lot about sensory experiences and these wool hearts certainly enhance that for the children.

We are always looking for new ways to have the children practice their counting and, sometimes, even we get tired of cut-out numbers and counters. I started these hearts last year but ran out of steam. I was, however, eager to finish them and get them out this year.

The "aahhhhhhs" were so exciting to hear as child after child watched and then tired these out for themselves. The feedback from the children has been wonderful. We've heard things like, "they are so soft and beautiful and I can feel the number with my finger tip" and "how did Ms. Michelle make them so puffy?"

I feel that not only did we appeal the the child's senses on this experience but they are practicing math and working on that all-important pincer grip with attaching the clothes pins.

I love our children, and I love making new work by hand for them. They love it so much and it shows. Love is all you need.

A Sensitive Period Observed

I was observing “C” the other morning spooning beans from one bowl into another. This practical life activity is good for fine motor control, its a nice sensory experience because the beans sound nice when they are dropped into the wooden bowels and it supports a very practical skill – using a spoon. Sometimes I forget that activities like these are also helping children sort out other concepts. As “C” was spooning the beans from one bowl to another he made the following statements: “Now there is more in this one”, “Now this one is empty.”, “This one has less”. I realized then that he was not just spooning beans he was developing a math skill. Later in the day when we went to the park to play in the freshly fallen snow that was the perfect snowman making consistently I observed “C” again. This time he was helping friends build a snowman. He was rolling a snowball and saying “I'll make the medium one.”

It occurred to me that “C” is in the sensitive period for learning about measurement. He did not come to me and say “Miss Melanie, I want to learn about volume and measurement.” Instead he did something more profound. He found activities that were relevant to him and used them to explore a concept that he was trying to understand. That is the beauty of a prepared environment where children are free to choose their own learning experiences.

Posted by the other Ms. M

Harold and the Purple Crayon

In the last week our weather has limited us to either staying put in the classroom or walks around the neighbourhood due to the wicked windchill, ice and treacherous conditions at playground making it just not safe.

So what to do?

One of these days I pulled out Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson and I invited a group of children to stay back and listen to the story and draw. I started first by just reading the story and then I pulled out some really big paper and gave each child a big space, paper and a purple crayon. The idea was to have them draw their version of the story. Wow, I can't even begin to tell you how amazing that experience was.

The children were completely into the experience and the story and I have posted some picture of the the exercise.

Sometimes it is the simple things like good old paper and crayons that make for the most fun and imaginative play and the biggest adventure!

Juice eh?

One of the best bits of work that I like to put out is making orange juice. It is especially welcome during this time of year when the oranges and head colds are plentiful. It is so rewarding not only to me the observer but it is very rewarding to the child who masters making his/her own glass of juice.

This is a great treat and even something you could set up at home. Our tray is set up with a small drinking glass, a bowl of clementines, small wet sponge and a glass reamer set into a glass bowl. It is lovely to watch a child take this out and make a glass of juice. It is especially fun to see how they notice that there is magically juice in the cup and then there is that look to the teacher (do you think I should taste it) and they do and well, then we are filling the bowl all morning long with fresh oranges! Not only are the children making their own glass of juice but they must wash and dry all the pieces on the tray and place it back to the shelf as they would have found it so that the next child may come and enjoy this work. It takes a good 20 minutes or more for this work to be complete and placed back to the shelf for the next child. Hmmmmmm making juice and washing dishes- Sounds like a dream come true.

We have had this out for two weeks now and it will be leaving the practical life shelf soon. I encourage you to keep a small bowl of clementines on a shelf in your fridge that your child can access along with all the other parts to enjoy a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Maybe this could be a new Saturday morning ritual while someone else is making the pancakes!