Sunnybrook Montessori School

Snow Play

Happy 2013!  It was wonderful to be back at school with all of our friends after two weeks of vacation.

Pulling the Sled

Snow inside requires mittens, too!

We decided to bring some of the outside in on Wednesday morning, and filled the sensory table up with snow.  Everyone could not wait to get in there and play with it. It did not take long before all of the children decided that snow is still cold inside, and mittens are a must!  We made some predictions about how long it would take for it to melt in our classroom.  We observed that by the end of the day most of it had melted, and some of it had been packed into ice.

The Latches Board

Pin Punching

Reading and Writing

Airplanes

At the art table the children found long pieces of foam core to work with.  They decided that airplanes would be a good thing to create, so many children spent time gluing and taping and decorating large airplanes.  We cut some pieces into squares, and some children built boxes and houses.  They had to figure out how many pieces they would need, and how they would go together to make a stable structure.

Fancy Plane

Sorting Nuts

There was a basket of nuts at the science table.  The children sorted them by type into bowls.  They became very interested in cracking them open to see what was inside.  During circle we learned to identify walnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts/filberts.  We examined the outside shell, then took turns cracking them open to see the seeds inside.  We talked about how these nuts all grow on trees.  We discussed what happens with the nuts, and some children shared that some of them are eaten by animals or people, while some fall to the ground to grow new trees. On Thursday afternoon a group of students cracked open nuts and examined them with magnifying glasses.

Hundreds Board

Puff the Magic Dragon Puzzle

Exploring Magnets

Playing a quiz game

One of our friends left on a trip to Mexico, so we talked about how he would get there.  We read The Penguin That Hated the Cold and compared how that penguin got to his warm destination with how our friend would get to his.   We also talked about all of the great things that we can do in the snow here at home when it is cold, such as sledding, ice skating, skiing, making snow angels and snow men, and drinking hot chocolate.

Using the attendance list to find out when student birthdays are

Pink Tower and Broad Stairs

Some other stories we read this week were A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon and Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw.

Happy 6th Birthday!

We celebrated a 6^th birthday this week.  We now have two six year-olds in our class.  Happy Birthday, friend!

Casa

During Spanish, we began to learn about casas (houses) and parts of the casa, such as la puerta (door), la ventana (window), la techo (roof), and la chimenea (chimney).  We learned a new name song and a song about La Casa.  We read Oso En Casa (Bear at Home). On Thursday, instead of going outside where it was soooooo cold, we stayed in made cozy warm casa’s with Zeanny.

Casas!

Balloon Jet

Friday students chose to make balloon jets for science.  They recorded all of the materials in their science notebooks then got down to business.  We tied two strings with straws on them to the shelves, running from one shelf over the rug to another shelf.  We then inflated the balloons and taped them to the straws, while holding the opening closed so the air could not escape.  When the end was released, they went zooming across the string!  Later in the day they spent some time choosing science experiments for the next few months.

Blowing up the balloon

Picking Science Experiments

Next week we will begin to talk about doctors and what they do.  At the art table we will learn how to fold and cut snowflakes.

On Saturday, January 12^th at 1PM, Sunnybrookers will be gathering at Cook’s Hill on Governer’s Terrace in Lancaster to enjoy some sledding and fun together.  We hope you can join us!

A Sled Fort

This last week of 2012 at Sunnybrook was full of festive fun!

Playing Soccer

Happy 6th Birthday!

We celebrated two birthdays this week.  Happy 6^th on the 11^th, and Happy 4^th on the 13^th!   We learned about the Sunnybrook Montessori tradition of holding the globe and walking around a candle, which represents the sun, for each year that the birthday child has been alive.  Each revolution of the Earth around the sun takes one year, so we counted as the birthday child walked around the sun until we reached the child’s age.

Happy 4th Birthday!

We moved our performance rehearsals upstairs to become familiar with the stage, practice with piano accompaniment, try out our props, and work out any kinks.  The children really worked hard to sing loudly and clearly and follow the many directions and transitions.

Making a Pig Costume

The children spent some time wrapping things up.  They finished their costumes for “There was a Pig Went Out to Dig,” put their pictures on the leaf frame gifts for their families, added some extra touches to their sombreros, painted and decorated the snowman, and made some special milkweed ornaments with Emily.

Milkweed Ornaments with Emily

Frosty the Snowman

Drawing

Playdough

Cylinder Blocks

Painting

Cleaning

Making Pizza Dough

On Wednesday afternoon the children made pizza dough for their lunch on Thursday.   They mixed all of the ingredients then worked hard kneading the dough for seven minutes before placing it in a bowl to rise overnight.

A Fort for Fifteen

Thursday was Pajama, Play, and Pizza Day.  Everyone was so excited to munch on apples, clementines, and popcorn and drink hot chocolate.  They began building forts as soon as they arrived, and it was soon decided that it would be the most fun if they made one huge fort for everyone to share.  It was fabulously cool and huge, and everyone enjoyed playing in it with their special stuffed animals and dolls from home!  The afternoon students began making their pizzas as soon as they came in from recess.  They used their fingers to push and form the dough into small pizzas, then added sauce and cheese.  We listened to Boris Karloff read “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” while the pizzas cooked.  When everyone was finished eating we went outside and built an outdoor fort before heading home.

Popcorn and Hot Chocolate

Content in the Tent

Fun in the Fort

Writing Holiday Cards for Tammy

Listening to The Grinch

Slime Time

The Friday students were joined by a Sunnybrook alumnus for the day, and they were happy to welcome him back.  Everyone was anxious for science to begin, and they decided to make slime by combining a water and borax solution with a water and glue solution.  They were quite thrilled with the resulting substance.  They discovered that it could bounce, stretch, and break, and it felt kind of wet.  In the afternoon the students spent some time making and wrapping picture gifts for each other, then took out the scarves and did some scarf dancing to music.

Scarf Dancing

Friday Students Prepare for “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” at the Winter Celebration

Friday evening was a fabulous Winter Celebration!  The children have been working hard for several weeks, and they put on a great performance.  It was wonderful to have all of the Sunnybrook families and several board members together for the evening.  Thank you to all of you for bringing your children, making food to share, and helping to clean up at the end of the night.

Happy holidays and have a wonderful winter break with your families!

Taking turns in the “Big Hole”

The festivities are underway!  Everyone is full of holiday excitement and our classroom has been humming all week.

The children have been digging out all of the buried sand toys, and seeing how far down they can go.  They have created a rather impressive hole in the sandbox!

On Tuesday the students were very engaged in the Sensorial, Mathematics, and Language areas.  Sadly I forgot my camera at home and missed documenting some great work!

Making Maracas

The art table this week was very busy.  We worked on holiday gifts for our families.  We made sombreros to wear and maracas to shake for our Winter Presentation.  Some of those sombreros and maracas have been decorated with lots of pom-poms, ribbons, tissue paper, and sparkly sequins.  Quite festive!  On Thursday afternoon the students made some gorgeous art by blowing drops of food coloring with straws, and on Friday the students decided to make a large paper maché snowman.

Starting to decorate the maraca

Maracas

Starting to make the sombreros

Gerry came on Tuesday to help us practice our songs.  The children are really getting good at remembering the words, and we have some great performers that are ready to wow you on Friday!

Classification Cards

Just Completed the Trinomial Cube!

Building Block Patterns

Picture Counting Board

The children continued to be busy writing letters again this week, copying down addresses and names, and mailing cards and pictures to each other.   They love putting their mail in the big blue mailbox then taking it out, sorting it, and delivering it.

Pattern Blocks and Long Chains

Table Setting

Hundred Board

Map of North America

Cylinder Block

Blowing Feathers

On Thursday morning Sue brought straws and feathers, and the children had a fabulous time blowing them around the classroom.  They experimented with sticking the feathers in the end of the straw then puffing them out.  They tried blowing one feather at a time, then blowing out a whole bunch, then seeing how many were too many to get out.  They tried catching the feathers as they floated back down, which was a lot trickier than one might think!

Reading about Costa Rica

During Spanish this week Zeanny began to teach us about Costa Rica, where she was born.  She told us that the Pacific Ocean borders one side, and the Atlantic is on the other.  We learned that there are dry, desert type areas, and rainforests with brightly colored, poisonous frogs.   They have lots of fruit trees, and monkeys who love to feast on them. We have continued to learn the Spanish names for colors and shapes.  We have also been practicing and dancing to “Feliz Navidad,” while very enthusiastically shaking  our maracas.

Hot Water Volcano

Friday students quickly got down to business selecting a science experiment.  They chose to do a hot water volcano.  First we filled a glass pitcher with cold water, then a small bottle with hot water, which we tinted green.  We carefully lowered the hot water into the cold water, and the hot water immediately “exploded” out and settled on top of the cold water.  We learned that hot water expands, which makes it lighter and it floats on top of the denser cold water.  We had fun pretending to be cold water and huddling all together, then warming up and spreading out.  Then the children wanted to know what would happen if we put a jar of cold water in hot water, so we tried that.  As we guessed, nothing happened until later in the day when the water all turned the same temperature and combined together.

Happy Birthday!

Scrubbing the floor after paper mache

We have a busy week coming up!  We have two birthdays to celebrate.  There is still lots to do in preparation for Friday’s Winter Performance.  We hope to see all of you there – 5PM upstairs in the chapel area.  Thursday will be Pajama, Pizza, and Play day.

Dashing Through the Snow

Yay for snow!  The children have been pulling each other around the grass-covered playground in sleds for weeks, so the slight dusting of snow on Tuesday morning was very welcome!

Writing

At the art table this week the students made some beautiful crayon and watercolor resist paintings.  Some are displayed at school, but many went home.  The children quickly figured out that they needed to color with the crayons first then paint over with the watercolors to get the best effect.

We are so grateful to have Gerry Tobin working with us to prepare for our Winter Performance on the 14^th.  She is teaching us some wonderful songs that we are excited to sing for everyone!

More Writing

Postmaster Jodie Showing us the bins

On Wednesday morning we visited the Post Office for a tour with Postmaster Jodie.   Everyone was enthralled by the big back room where all the mail is checked in, sorted out, and prepared for delivery.  We got to see the back of the PO boxes filled with mail, the mail carriers sorting out the mail, the carts that the mail comes in on, and the bins that hold the packages.

The Mail

Sorting the Mail

Writing Letters

When we got back to school, many of the students decided to write their own letters.  Some children wrote letters to family, friends, and Post Master Jodie to thank him for our tour.  Some decided to make their own personal mail pockets to receive mail at school, and they painted a big blue mail box to put their outgoing letters in.

Painting the Mailbox

Painting the Mailbox

We read the story The Jolly Postman and discussed all the different types of mail – packages, letters, magazines, newspapers, postcards, and cards.  We learned how to write a letter by beginning with a greeting, such as Dear, and finishing with an ending, such as Your Friend, and a signature.

Coloring in the Post Office Coloring Books

The Locks

Tool Classified Cards

Corazon Rojo

During Spanish this week we continued to work on the names of shapes and colors.  We are learning a color/shape song, and we practice saying them by finding them on our clothing.  On Tuesday Zeanny brought some raw sugar cane to school.  Everyone got to try a piece.  It was fibrous and sweet.  We chewed on the cane and sucked out the juice.  Yummy!

Blowing up balloons

Friday students could not wait for science time!  They selected a static electricity experiment, so first they worked on blowing up some balloons.  The balloons were fun to play with, so the students spent some time bouncing them around and keeping them up in the air before settling down to learn about static electricity.  They rubbed the balloons all over their hair then held them over paper and sugar to see what would happen.  The static pulled the small paper pieces and sugar onto the balloon, but the most exciting part was when the balloons stuck to their heads.  One balloon even stuck to the ceiling!

Creating Static Electricity

Stuck on You

Snow Angels

Next week we will continue practicing for our Winter Presentation.  We will also be preparing some (secret) holiday gifts for our families.