From snow to rain puddles to sunshine– the seasons are still sorting themselves out!  We enjoyed plowing snow and constructing snowmen on Monday.  We ran in the rain and jumped in puddles on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we played in the mud.  On Thursday we dug in the dirt, and on Friday we enjoyed the sunshine in our T-shirts.  What a week!
Monday students learned how to make pinch pots and coiled pots with clay.  They thought that they looked like bird nests, so they proceeded to make eggs, worms, and birds as well.  Clay was available throughout the week, and many children enjoyed creating a variety of art projects.
The sensory table was full of unifix cubes, which the children used to make patterns and measure things around the classroom, including the classroom!
The children were very anxious to make scuba tanks, so with the four oatmeal canisters that we received, Sue helped them punch holes and attach straps.  There were a LOT of scuba divers swimming with the fish and whales throughout the week.
As all living things require water, we have progressed to learning about precipitation and began to introduce the idea of the water cycle.  We read about water, snow and rain and introduced the vocabulary word “precipitation.”  We started an evaporation experiment for when we return to school.  We filled a large cylinder with water and marked the water line.  We then made predictions about what would happen.  Some children said the water would go down, some said it would stay the same, and others said it would get higher.  We checked on Thursday and there was not a noticeable difference, so we will see how it is looking after a week away.

We also continued to focus on timelines.  We started a class timeline, taking a daily record of what we did, and posting them in order on the wall so we can start to get the concept of past, present, and future, and yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which are very abstract ideas.
On Thursday we had some visitors who came to see what happens in a Montessori classroom.  We pulled out the parachute and did well containing all of the energy so we could safely shake Flash the sloth off the parachute and play the crocodile (aka Great White Shark) game.

Friday students took a walking field trip into town to visit the Polish Princess which, unfortunately, was closed, but we enjoyed visiting the Root Seller and seeing our friend Melissa instead.  On our trip we looked for signs of spring. Although it is still early, we did spy some buds on trees, some green grass shoots popping up, some flies, beetles, and a spider – all signs that spring is on the way! It was such a gorgeous, sunny, warm day, that the children decided that we needed to stay out for lunch and then the afternoon as well, so we had a fantastic outside day together!
Enjoy vacation!  See you in a week.