Sunnybrook Montessori School

The butterfly doctor’s words to her patient, “This is going to hurt A LOT!”

balancing act

Autumn’s arrival brought sunshine and changing leaves.  It was a beautiful week to spend outside, and the children flew all around the playground as butterflies, dug in the sand like chipmunks, and balanced like squirrels.

pointillism

During Monday art, the children were introduced to pointillism.  We inspected paintings by Maximilien Luce, Paul Signac, and Georges Seurat, then made our own pointillism pictures using Q-tips.  They were enjoying art so much that they decided to make their self portraits for our self-portrait wall as well.

a study of pointillism

self portraits

We read the story My friend is Sad, by Mo Willems, then Henrietta and Wolfgang shared some of the things that they do when they are sad or angry, such as get hugs, take deep breaths, or take a break in the quiet house until they are feeling better.  The students shared that they also do some of these things.  After reading Clifford The Small Red Puppy and Old Bear and His Cub, we identified the members of each family in the stories, then everyone shared who is in their family.  Some of the children have siblings, some don’t.  Some have pets, some don’t.  Some included grandparents and extended families, and others did not.  It was nice to hear about all of the different families that we have.

We practiced our first fire drill.  Everyone very efficiently and quickly filed out the door and lined up along the fence when the fire alarm went off.  This first time we waited until everyone was all dressed and lined up to go outside, but explained that in the future, the alarm would sound while they were working, and that we would line up, count, and exit the building as quickly and safely as we could.  We also shared that there would be no time to change to outdoor shoes, and the fire man has said that we need to have our indoor shoes/slippers on our feet at all times so that we are always prepared.

folding washcloths

floor work

memory

reading words

table work

the farm

working

Happy 4th birthday!

We celebrated our second birthday on Tuesday.  We counted while our friend held the globe and orbited the sun four times in honor of her fourth year, then enjoyed delicious vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with pink or purple frosting.

watching for the butterflies

releasing the monarchs

On Wednesday morning we discovered that the first monarch butterfly had emerged overnight.  We then noticed that the second had come out while we were at circle time.  We were so disappointed to miss them, especially when we had been checking and watching so regularly!  The Thursday afternoon students were excited to watch them fly away.  Where will they go?  Maybe Mexico!? We are so excited that another monarch caterpillar joined us on Thursday morning, and we cannot wait to watch it transform as well!  Thank you to our friends who brought it in to share.

Can you find the monarch?

phone call

math bead chains

sound game

helping a friend

making patterns with hammer and nails

color grading

artists

Clifford the Big Red Dog

The first visit from Believe in Books was Thursday.  The arrival of Clifford the big red dog was very much anticipated!  We enjoyed listening to the story Clifford The Big Red Dog.  It was so exciting to get a hug, high five, or fist bump from him, and then to pick a book to take home.

Friday students explored the reason for the seasons.  We know from our birthday tradition that the earth orbits the sun one time each year.  We learned that the earth itself is spinning, and that we have night and day because the earth spins around completely every 24 hours.  We also learned that the reason we have seasons is because the earth is tilted, so that during the year sometimes we get more sunlight (summer) and sometimes we get less sunlight (winter).  (This 20 minute Khan Academy video does an excellent job of explaining for those who are interested in sharing more with their children).

towing the car to the repair shop

visiting with friends

The end of summer is here, and we have started to notice the signs of autumn’s arrival.  Outside time we were busy playing chase, digging for worms, hauling sleds full of loot, gathering leaves, visiting with friends, filling chipmunk holes to prevent ankle injuries, and playing ball.

offering a friend help

protecting his worm friends

getting ready to jump

friends

During Monday Art the children were introduced to drawing self portraits.  Various images of famous and not-so famous artist self portraits were displayed for examination, including Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, and Vanessa Turner.  I demonstrated drawing a self portrait by looking in a mirror and narrating what I saw and then drawing it.

the puzzle doctor at work

at the art table

work time

white board writing

working with friends

writing time

the puzzle doctor at work again

We like blocks!

During circle time we read the story We Are All Alike, We Are All Different and discussed ways that we are similar and ways that we differ.  We shared the things that we most like to do, such as playing ball, playing with the animals, using play dough, and building with blocks.  We also introduced drawing self portraits and the use of accurate colors for eyes, hair, and skin.

a class favorite – the farm

We had fun doing the “Hokey Pokey,” “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and “Jump Jim Joe.”

story writing

table work

counting knots

We read the story How Full Is Your Bucket about a boy who starts to recognize and understand his feelings.  We see how he feels when different things happen to him, how others are feeling, and how he feels when he is kind and helpful to others.  Henrietta and Wolfgang shared how they felt when they said unkind things to each other, and how to help make restitutions for saying unkind things.  Every time one of them said something unkind, a paper heart was wrinkled up, and when they apologized and hugged, the heart would get smoothed out.  We noticed that the wrinkles never went away, because you can never take back something unkind, but you can help smooth them back out by making amends.  We learned the saying, “Think before you start, it’s hard to fix a wrinkled heart.”

number rods, and the puzzle doctor at work again!

plant care

sight word game

snack time

spindle boxes

early morning work

dice addition

Clark’s Trading Post and the Boston Railroad

Happy Birthday five year old! 

We celebrated our first birthday this week.  Our newest five year old introduced the class to the birthday tradition of walking the globe around the candle sun one time for each year of her life.  We counted with her as she orbited the sun five times, then sang happy birthday.  Some of us were very anxious for the birthday cupcakes, which were delicious!

We have kept an eye on the chrysalises at the science table, and we are anticipating the imminent arrival of the two monarch butterflies.  We were starting to be able to see the lines of the wings, indicating that the chrysalis will soon turn translucent and the butterflies will emerge.  We hope that they wait until next week so we can witness it!   This 4.5 minute video shows the life cycle of the monarch butterfly from egg to caterpillar to pupa to chrysalis to butterfly.

afternoon rug work

sifting

afternoon table work 

more art

clock work

fire truck puzzle action

floor work

GLUE!

hammer and nails

letter sound work

locks

following a pattern

collecting signs of fall

Friday students were introduced to Science and each child received a science notebook to document their observations and experiments.  For Friday science this week, we discussed the arrival of fall on Monday with the autumnal equinox, when the length of night and day are equal.  We shared some of our observations about the change of seasons, then went outside to gather and document evidence, such as crab apples and leaves falling from the trees.  We documented our findings by drawing, tracing, and doing rubbings of leaves.

recording our observations

building a walkway with a ramp at the end

We continued meeting new friends and practicing names during our second week of school.  The children continue to learn the daily routines and organization of the classroom.  They are interested in doing and learning so many things, that they are busy all day long!  New students have been introduced to many new materials, and returning students have been returning to old favorites.

During circle time we have been practicing lots of new songs and getting up to dance and move together.  Some favorites were  “The Hokey Pokey,” “Jump Jim Joe,” “Make New Friends,” and “Hickety Pickety Bumblebee,” a song for name sharing which goes “Hickety pickety bumblebee, won’t you say your name for me.”  We also read some great stories, including The Day the Goose Got Loose, The Gruffalo, All the Colors of the Earth, But No Elephants, and Monarch Butterfly.   Every day the children are excited when Henrietta and Wolfgang come down from the piano for a visit.  They usually demonstrate a skill or share a story about something they did that day, such as how they washed their hands before snack and after using the bathroom, or how Henrietta listened to Wolfgang when he asked her to give him some space.

fine motor work

counting beads

creating stories

play dough

construction

continent maps

counting tray teamwork

cylinder blocks

butterfly metamorphosis

It has been exciting to check the chrysalises every day and watch them getting darker.  We are hoping that we get to see the butterflies emerge next week so we can release them to fly south.

mystery bag – what is in there?!

rug work

a glowing heart for a friend

more play dough

cleaning the classroom

water color painting

busy working

writers writing

clay work

Clay was turned into letters, snowmen, balls, people, pizzas, worms, snakes, and lots of other shapes at the art table this week.  Those fingers worked hard pinching, rolling, pushing, squeezing, and forming the various creations, building strong hand, wrist, and finger muscles.

clay letters

running, running, running!

caterpillars on the move

Monday & Friday students read We Are All Alike, We Are All Different for science, then looked in a mirror at ourselves and discussed eye color, hair color, and skin color.  We then made a bar graph showing the hair color of the students in our class that day.  Next week we will read the book again with the whole class and discuss other ways we are alike and different, such as preferences and temperament.

making letter sound bracelets after doing the sandpaper letters

teen board

hammer and nails

Students were so busy from the time they arrived at school until they left!  Morning and after care students have been building rocket ships, houses, and everything in between with magna tiles, enjoying some quality time with friends, and enjoying new stories with Tricia.

Sunnybrook class of 1982-1983

Sunnybrook Montessori School opened in 1974.  Today, 40 years later, Sunnybrook thrives, continuing to provide high quality preschool and kindergarten to students of the North Country.

2009-2010

On Saturday, October 4, 2014, from 1–4 PM, current and alumni students and families are invited to gather for a 40th anniversary celebration and reunion at our new location, 142B Main Street (the basement of the Congregational Church).  Bring a picnic, visit with old friends, meet fellow Sunnybrookers, and explore the original materials in the new classroom.

Join us again on the evening of the 4th for a free concert at 6 PM at the Lancaster Town Hall.  Gerry Tobin’s Celtic Ceilidh group will perform, followed by Bill Tobin on the harp.

Finally, come participate in the Town of Lancaster’s 250th Anniversary Parade at 1 PM on Sunday, October 5th as a representative of Sunnybrook Montessori School’s past, present, and future.   Participants will meet in the parking lot of the old Courier Building around 12:30, and the parade will begin at 1 PM.  Participants may wear Sunnybrook T-shirts and carry signs designating their years of attendance or graduation (or involvement as a parent/grandparent or future student).

We will have Sunnybrook Montessori School 40th Anniversary T-shirts for sale for $15, while supplies last, at the reunion and concert on the 4th.

We hope to see you there!