Sunnybrook Montessori School

What a wonderful white world we had this week!  We had so much fun pulling each other in sleds, being pulled in sleds, making mini snowmen as the sun gradually warmed the snow, playing on the little snowbank, having snowball fights, and shoveling paths around the yard.  When the temperatures dipped too low at the end of the week, we admired the whiteness from inside while we enjoyed indoor recess activities.
For Monday art we were introduced to mural drawing.  We began drawing out a winter scene to display for the Winter Performance, using white and gray pastels to make snow, clouds, the sun and the moon.  As the week went on and everyone continued to add, it became a much more colorful, not so white wintry scene.  Artistic license at its’ best!
Many children had a fabulous time decorating paper cone Christmas trees with green glue, pom-poms, buttons, ribbons, beads, and tissue paper.   Each tree was unique and colorful!
The Monday boys decided that it was time for snow in the sensory table, so they worked as a team to empty the sand so we could bring in the cold stuff.  We added arctic animals (moose, polar bear, snowy owls, bald eagles, orca and seals) and antarctic animals (emperor penguin, chinstrap penguin and king penguin).  As the week wore on, additional non-polar animals migrated in as well.
On Wednesday afternoon, the students who volunteered suited up and trekked across the street to drop off the food donations at the food pantry.  The donations were very appreciated, and the children had fun chatting with the ladies who accepted them.
The much anticipated Pajama day finally arrived and the children had so much fun assembling and playing in a big fort, listening to stories with Cindy, decorating gingerbread men made by the Hayward/Randall family, eating popcorn and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, and playing with puppets and other fun activities.  It was so exciting to wear our pajamas to school!  The children even decided to turn the lights off to make it more like nighttime.
We also celebrated a fourth birthday on Thursday.  The birthday boy had eagerly anticipated his turn to hold the globe and walk around the candle while we counted each year that he has been alive.  He shared angel food cupcakes with whipped frosting and sprinkles.  Happy birthday newest four year-old!
For Friday science we learned about static electricity.  We tried to build some up by rubbing our stocking feet on the carpet, but it didn’t work very well.  We watched a short video explaining how electrons and  protons carry a charge, and when there is an imbalance in charge, they will move to make it balanced, which can create an electric shock.  Although this concept is beyond comprehension, the terms proton and neutron were introduced.  Everyone then chose a balloon, which we vigorously rubbed on our hair then performed magic tricks of sticking them to shelves, tanks, ourselves, the quiet house, etc.  Some of us even built up enough static electricity that we were surprised by a little shock, so it worked after all!  When were done sticking our balloons to everything we could, the children played “keep the balloons up,” counting how many times they could tap them before they fell down to the ground.
Once again our circle times were dedicated to preparing for Friday night.  We practiced entering the sanctuary, climbing the steps, standing on our names, singing the songs, reciting lines for the Winter Solstice presentation, and shaking our maracas to Feliz Navidad while Cindy accompanied us on the guitar.  There was a lot of energy during practice sessions, but as always, the event was a huge success.  The children did a wonderful job and provided some great entertainment on a very chilly evening.  It was wonderful to have (almost) everyone in the Sunnybrook family together for the evening!
Thank you to those who brought food for the potluck, our volunteer photographer, and those who got everything all cleaned up and put back together at the end of the night.  Your contributions are so appreciated!

Yay for snow!  We had so much fun sledding, building snowmen, making snowballs, constructing snow castles, plowing paths, shoveling, and making snow angels.
For art this week the children made special ornament Christmas gifts for their families with buttons.  It is fun to see them all lined up together to appreciate how different they all are.
While younger children from the community visited for a play date on Monday morning, the students enjoyed a visit to the library with Tammy.  They had fun with trains, duplos, puppets, and the large vehicles.
Dramatic play was very busy this week.  As the holidays approach, the children have been productively expending their excitement and energy playing doctor, veterinarian, transformers, and various other roles.
Our circle times have been fully dedicated to practicing all the songs that we will be singing at the Winter Performance.  We even went up to practice on the stage in the sanctuary where we will be performing.  That was very exciting, and a nice change of venue.
For our last Thursday Spanish class in this session Zeanny stayed all morning to do a special cooking activity with us.  In la caja magica we found la tazon (bowl), cuchara (spoon), bolsa (plastic bag), Maria galletas (cookies) , leche condensada (condensed milk), and mantequilla (butter).  Zeanny told us a story about the first time le cajetas were made and the dance that was performed around the pot.  We watched a video of the dance while taking turns washing hands, then all helped to smash the Maria galletas, mix in le leche condensada and mantequilla.  Then everyone had a turn scooping the mix into cookie balls and eating them up!
For Friday science we explored citrus fruit.  We discussed what we already know about citrus fruit (they are orange, yellow, or green, some have juice, and they grow on trees).  We wondered, what do we want to know (do they all have juice, do they all have flavor, how are they the same)?  We then examined, peeled, tasted and discussed the six citrus fruits and answered our questions.  We observed that they do all have juice and flavor.  They are the same in several ways – they hall have thick peels that we can remove with our fingers and are divided into sections of pulp surrounded by membranes so we can also divide them with our fingers, unlike apples and pears, which would require a knife.  We discovered that lemons and limes are very sour, grapefruit are sweet, sour, and bitter, and clementines, oranges, and mandarins are all sweet.  Each of the children then recorded their names next to their favorite of the six citrus fruits we taste tested.

Warm temperatures and rain brought some crazy conditions this week.  From ice covered roads to giant puddles of mud, we had quite an adventure.  The children enjoyed indoor recess on Tuesday, then played in the mud created by the heavy rains for the rest of the week.  They had a fantastic time scooping it, pouring it, painting with it, jumping in it, and sitting in it.  We took buckets of water to rinse off the worst of it, and the rain helped as well.  They sure had a blast being mud monsters!
For Monday art we read about the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year.  We took turns being the sun and the earth orbiting around it.  We then used pastels to draw winter night time scenes on black paper.  Throughout the week children continued to create and add to our art gallery. On Tuesday we read the story The Paper Dolls by Julia Donaldson, and then had fun making our own strands of paper dolls.
We were happy to welcome Cindy Wade, a recent college graduate and older sister to a current Sunnybrook student, who has generously volunteered to be the third teacher for the month while we are in the hiring process.  The children have enjoyed working and chatting with her.  Thank you, Cindy!
We learned some new songs for our winter performance, and recalled those introduced last week.  We practiced them over and over, acting some of them out and discussing why we would be singing the selected songs.  The children are excited for the winter performance, when all the families are invited to join us for the children’s presentation and a potluck dinner on Friday, December 16^th at 5PM.

We introduced the quote that we have displayed in our classroom, “Every mistake is an opportunity to learn” and discussed what that means.  One of the students shared that a mistake is something that you didn’t mean to do.  Many children shared examples of mistakes they have made and what they learned from them and how they can do things differently another time.  This is such an important and valuable concept that we hope to help all the children internalize.  Despite some students being quite adamant that they do not ever make mistakes, we hope that when they eventually do, they will be able to reflect on them and determine what lessons they can learn from those mistakes.
During Spanish this week Zeanny introduced the parts of the body with the song, “Cabeza, hombros, rodillas y dos pies” (Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes) and read the story De la cabeza a los pies (From Head to Toe) by Eric Carle.  The children then took turns adding body parts to create a crazy looking monstruo (monster).  Zeanny gave each of the children a piece of paper to draw una monstruo, and many children came up with some crazy monsters of their own.
For Friday science we read the stories Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh and Just a Little Bit by Ann Tompert, then we learned how to use a scale.  The children selected items to fill their buckets, then added or removed items to balance their scales.  It is a tricky concept, and many of them understood that if one end was lower it was heavier, so items either needed to be taken out of that bucket or added to the other bucket to make them even.