Sunnybrook Montessori School

The apple tree blossomed, resulting in daily petal showers.  The children stood under the branches while the soft white blossoms floated down to land in hair and hands.  The snow white petals did not make sled pulling any easier, though they were out and about hauling children, vehicles, blocks, buckets, and worms.
For art we read the book, Right Outside My Window, by Mary Ann Hoberman.  We each chose a frame and drew a picture of what we might see outside our own windows.  These fantastic works of art will be displayed for all to see on the last day of school.
We continued our study of Australia with a very educational and engaging visit from Wozz, an Australian native.  We enjoyed hearing his authentic Australian accent and learning some terms and phrases that differ from those we use here in the U.S., such as “G’Day mate” for good morning, “tea” rather than dinner, “brekkie” rather than breakfast, and “roo” for kangaroo.  Wozz showed us pictures and told us about all kinds of Australian animals that are found only in Australia, including some very colorful birds, such as the lorikeet, cockatoo, and galah.  We learned about marsupials, which are almost entirely located in Australia, and include wombats, whose pouches are backwards to keep out dirt, kangaroos, Tasmanian devils, wallabies, possums, and koalas.  We prepared questions in the morning to ask Wozz, and we learned a lot of interesting things when we asked them.  We learned that houses in Australia do not have basements and are built up off the ground so air can pass under to help cool them.  We learned that all hoofed animals, including horses, which are called brumbies, camels, cows, and sheep were all imported and not native to Australia.  We learned that Australia is home to 7 of the 10 most deadly snakes, including the brown snake, which is eaten by the kookaburra.   Before departing, Wozz brought out a jar of vegamite, an Australian spread for toast made from yeast.  Everyone was given the opportunity to taste it – though most declined in favor of smelling. Two brave souls tried some on a cracker and decided it was rather strong for them.
Everyone worked hard writing thank you notes for Wozz with pictures of their favorite things they learned about Australia. They drew koalas, kangaroos, tasmanian devils, houses, etc.
We celebrated a fourth birthday on Wednesday with tasty rice krispy treats.  The birthday girl showed us her age by holding up four fingers, then orbited the candle sun with the globe as we counted the years and named the seasons.  Happy Birthday newest four-year old!
On Thursday we took out the ribbons to do some ribbon dancing.  We swirled and twirled and jumped and twisted to some fun multicultural songs, moving our ribbons quickly, slowly, in big movements and small.  We had so much fun dancing and waving our ribbons around!
Friday students each chose a continent to introduce for our end of year performance.  They began work on tracing their continent and coloring in the climate zones.  They very carefully followed the lines on the map with a thin black marker, then used colored markers to fill in mountains, deserts, grasslands and forests.  They thought about all the things they learned about their continent, and decided what information would be important for the audience to know.  They will continue to finish up their maps and practice their introductions over the next couple of weeks.

This week we had some toasty days sandwiched between some cooler wet ones.  We spent as much time outside as we could, enjoying the long-awaited sunshine, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday!   On Thursday we brought out the water table, a fun puppet theater made for us by Gerrie Scott, and the parachute, and spent most of the morning outside.
For Monday art we read the aboriginal story, Pheasant and Kingfisher, and took note of the line and dot paintings used in the illustrations.  We looked at several aboriginal paintings, and then made our own on brown “bark” paper. The activity was then introduced to the whole class, and several children created some wonderful pieces of art.
Gerrie Scott came for her final visit on Monday.  She read us a story about kisses from Mama and the animal babies who get them in Mama’s Kisses.
Our study of Australia continued with the introduction of the didgeridoo, an instrument made from a eucalyptus tree hollowed out by termites.  It is played by blowing air through your lips (like making a raspberry), then placing the mouth of the didgeridoo over your lips to form a seal.  This creates a distinct tone.  Skilled didgeridoo players learn to circular breath, where they breath in through the nose and out the through the mouth at the same time.  Wow – is that hard!  We watched a video of an aboriginal man playing the didgeridoo, and another of some aboriginal men making a didgeridoo.  We read the tale The Singing Snake about why the didgeridoo was made. Each of the children then had a turn to practice playing a didgeridoo after loosening up their lips, and several were able to get a good tone. (We thoroughly cleaned between each player so as to not spread germs!)
We had some special visitors on Tuesday.  Lindsey and Betsy came to talk to us about dental care and how to properly brush our teeth.  We learned that we should brush for two minutes two times every day, and floss once a day.  We shared our favorite healthy foods to eat, and learned how healthy foods are important for keeping our teeth healthy, as well as the rest of our body.  Betsy, who is a hygienist at Lancaster Dental Care with Dr. Schmidt, brought several fun activities to do, including the play dough dentist set, the tooth brushing fish, and a fun flossing activity.  Many children took turns practicing with the activities, and everyone received a goody bag with a toothbrush, sticker, flossers, and a packet of coloring pages.  Thank you so much Lindsey and Betsy!
We had more special visitors on Wednesday.  Steve, a paramedic, and Zena, a fire fighter, brought the ambulance and fire truck to school.  We got to go inside each of them and learn about the vehicles and how they work, including the supplies on board, how the rescuers work to help us, how the ladders and hoses work, how people are carried and cared for in the ambulance, and why they have lights and sirens and what we do when we are driving and hear the sirens and see the lights.  Thank you so much Steve and Zena!
On Thursday we had even more special visitors.  Andrea, A.O., and Pooh came from Believe in Books for their final visit of the year.  Andrea made us laugh, as always, and A.O. read us a story about Pooh’s friends in the Hundred Acre Wood who spot a dragonfly, which Pooh misunderstood, thinking they spotted a flying dragon.  Everyone got to hug, high five, or wave to Pooh, then choose a story of their own to take home.
Friday students continued to learn about the body for science.  We read about the respiratory system and focused on paying attention to our breathing.  We put heavy objects on our bellies and did some belly breathing, even though we breath air into our lungs.  We ran around, and around, and around the rug until we were all out of breath and our bodies were working to take in more oxygen so we could make more energy.  We learned that we breath out carbon dioxide, which plants breath in, and we breath in oxygen, which plants breath out.

Tis the season for running away and running after and running around.  There were lots of versions of chase and tag played.  We continued to find worms throughout the week, rolling over logs and stumps and blocks and searching any other spot they might hide.  We raked up the leaves and sticks and removed some of the toys to tidy up the playground.  We played lots of frisbee and soccer, so there are some bruised shins walking around.
Monday art was very much a process over product project.  The students drew shapes or pictures on blocks of wood, then carefully used hammers to pound nails in around the shapes.  They then wrapped string around the nails in a colorful pattern.  It was a good lesson on patience, focus, precision, coordination, and control.
Mixed-up Cat art was introduced to all students for the art activity of the week.  The children drew an animal (mostly cats) then drew lines through them to create color division blocks.  They produced some pretty fun art, some of which we even got to display for a few days.  Mother’s day pictures were also finished up and wrapped.
Work continued on the Emergency Services Station.  It is coming along slowly but surely.  A fire hose was brought in.  The vehicles are almost completed.  A house with fire was erected.  Medical supplies were brought out (thank you Shannon family!) and put to use.  The children continue to brainstorm ideas, and we will continue to assist them in their implementation.
Our study of the continent of Australia began with an exploration of the many animals that are unique to this continent and the varied climates, from tropical to desert.  Some of these unique animals include a group of marsupials, including wombats, Tasmanian devils, koalas (which are NOT bears), kangaroos, and wallabies.  There are also flightless birds, including emus, cassowaries and kiwis.   There are platypus and echidna, the only egg laying mammals, frilled lizards, leafy sea dragons, and wobbegongs.  We also learned that some outside species that were introduced, including camels and dogs (dingos), have become feral and roam wildly across the land.  We learned that a large section of the continent is very sparsely inhabited by humans, and this area is called the outback.
Dr. Debra came for her final health presentation on Thursday to teach us about the importance of sunscreen and why we use it. We discussed how the sun can burn our skin, which damages it, and the children shared their experiences and observations of sun damage, such as red, painful burns that cause dry and peeling skin. Dr. Debra did an experiment with us, where we observed UV beads that were colorless inside, but when exposed to the sunshine became bright pink and purple. In one bag, the beads were unprotected and changed color. In a second bag they were coated with sunscreen and they did not change color.
For Science the Friday students learned about the heart, a most important muscular organ, which continuously pumps blood to the lungs to get oxygen, then out to all the parts of the body.  We read The Body – Heart and learned all about how the heart works and why it is important.  We located our hearts, then felt and listened to our heart beats with hands and stethoscopes.  We did some dancing and jumping and discovered that our hearts beat faster when we exercise.  The children then became the heart, lungs, head, legs, hands, and blood flowing through veins and arteries.  The heart person pushed the blood to the lungs, where they became oxygen rich, then returned to the heart, who then pushed them out to the head, feet, and arms, where they exchanged their oxygenated blood for deoxygenated blood, then returned to the heart to continue the cycle.  We decided it was still a pretty tricky process to understand after completing several rounds.
One of our friends brought eggs to show us how he taps holes in the ends then blows them out. Everyone was very interested and excited to have him blow out an egg for them, which we washed out and will paint once dry.

Worm weather has arrived!  Worms were everywhere – in puddles, in the garden, in the sandbox, and under logs.  The children had great fun collecting them and building them a safe spot in the garden where they would have plenty of soil and they could be together with their family.  The hopping balls were hopped around, many games of chase and tag were played, and sand was dug and sculpted.
Monday students were introduced to the use of masks in some cultural African celebrations and ceremonies.  They looked at photos of some masks and the carved wooden masks from the Africa box, then decided what type of mask they each wanted to create.  Some chose to make animals – zebras, giraffes, or lions, while others did faces using different shapes for the eyes, nose and mouth.
As it was our final Monday play date of the year, the children took their monthly trip to the library with Tammy.  They were very busy with the trains, Duplos, stories on CD, puppets, and a new Lego wall.
For art this week the children worked on Mother’s Day pictures.  They drew either family portraits or portraits of themselves with their moms, then listed things they love about their moms.  It was a fun and special activity that we are excited for all the moms to receive.
The children continued painting the boxes for the ambulance and fire engine.  The fire engine is mostly complete, and next week we hope to finish up the ambulance and police car.  We are excited to get things set up for play.
The water table was once again very popular.  There was a lot of fine motor work (strengthening finger & wrist muscle and control) going on with squeezing all the pipettes, squeeze bottles, and basters, and pouring and stirring.
We finished up our Africa unit by learning about some methods of transportation in Africa.  We watched a video about the colorful and crazy matatus, small buses/vans, used for transportation in cities and rural areas, and read the story The Matatu by, Eric Walters.
Susan shared a djembe that her daughter made when she was 14.  We felt how it was rough on the inside where it had been carved out, and smooth on the outside where it was planed and sanded down.  She told us how a goat skin was attached to the top and laced on with rope, which can be pulled out and tightened by twisting it around a stick.  Susan then taught us about talking drums, which originated in Ghana.  Drums were used to pass messages from once village to the next, which was faster than being carried by a person.   We learned that different patterns meant different things, and that the drummers had to be very accurate when drumming out and repeating the message to be sure it was properly interpreted.  Everyone chose a drum and created a line across the room.  Susan drummed out a short pattern that the second person repeated, then the third, then the fourth, and on down the line.
Friday students learned about muscles during science.  We read Your Muscular System Works.  We learned about the different types of muscles, how to keep them strong and healthy, and where they are in our bodies.  Some of us touched some real muscle (beef – in a bag).  Then we did some exercises.  They had enjoyed the “brain says” games so much, that they decided to take turns doing “muscle says” and doing different movements with their muscles.