Sunnybrook Montessori School

Loving Spring!

The Sunnybrook students have been working together all week in the classroom and on the playground.  It is wonderful to see them helping each other, working together to problem solve, and compromising.

A Good Place to Read

We found some cut saplings and a sheet on our playground this week, and the children used them to build forts.  The grass is growing, the crab apple tree is flowering, and all the leaves are coming out on the tree branches.  Spring has sprung!

Sleds Are Good For Any Season!

Another Good Place to Read

Under the Apple Tree

Tadpoles

Our tadpoles have steadily been getting bigger.  Soon we will begin to feed them boiled lettuce.  It has been fun to watch them swim around in the tank and see their bodies start to fill out.

Examining a (dead) Bee Under the Microscope

Exploration with Sensorial Materials

Illustrating Our Story

We finished writing our story this week, and have begun to illustrate it.  It inspired many students to start writing their own stories.  It is exciting to see them use their imaginations and knowledge to invent tales of their own.

Writing Our Own Stories

Rock Painting

At the art table this week we did some rock painting.  The students really enjoyed selecting, shaking, and squeezing out their own paint colors, then making fabulously colorful rock creations.

Painting Rocks

Pretty Rocks

Birthday Boy

On Wednesday we celebrated a 6^th birthday.  Our birthday boy held the globe and orbited the sun six times, once for each year he has been alive.  He chose to share ice cream sandwiches for his birthday treat – yummy!

Working Together To Fit Into the Shark Tank

We played a couple of cooperative games this week during circle time that encourage the students to work together and listen closely to each other.  The first was shark tank, where the shark children swim around until the music stops, then they work together to fit everyone into the “tank.”  After every swim the tank gets smaller and smaller and they have to make sure that they find a space for everyone to fit.  The second game, “I’m Going on a Picnic, and I’m Going to Bring . . . ” requires the children to listen closely and keep track of what each participant is bringing on a picnic, then repeat each item and add their own.  They were encouraged to help friends as requested.

Helping Henrietta

Feelings Category Cards

Number Puzzle

Multiplication Board

Pattern Block Patterns

Listening to a Story With Puddle

On Wednesday we had a special visit from Puddle with Believe in Books.  Puddle and his best friend, Toot, live together in a lovely little house in the country, and star in several stories by well known author and illustrator Holly Hobbie. We listened to the story, Curious You, On Your Way, by Kathleen Weidner, then we each got to greet Puddle and pick a book.

Hugs for Puddle

Painting Maracas

Friday students read The Magic School Bus: Wet All over – A Book About the Water Cycle.  We discussed the water cycle and how water can be gas, liquid, or solid, and how it changes from one state to another.  We learned the words condensation and evaporation, and began an evaporation experiment.  We listened to Gerry Scott read, If You Give a Pig a Pancake then she painted a design on each child’s face.  It was such a wonderfully warm spring day that we spent the afternoon outside.  We did a tree study by comparing the birch tree and the crab apple tree in our play yard.  We examined the bark, leaves, branches, and flowers, then painted pictures of each tree. The children have been practicing jumping over a jump rope this week, and by Friday they had it down!

Face Art

Tree Study

Jumping Rope One . . .

Two . . .

Three!

Thank you to all of you who donated, spread the word, and participated with our yard sale fundraiser on Saturday.  It was a great success!

The leaves and blossoms on the trees have started to come out, which provided us with some nice shade this warm spring week.  It was wonderful to run and play with our friends, and then take breaks at the picnic table and in the sand box.

During circle on Tuesday we made some predictions about what we might see at the bog/pond on Thursday.  Some children predicted that we would see frogs, tadpoles, trees, and various bugs. It was also predicted that we might see some wildlife, like bears, coyotes, and dolphins.  We had a brief discussion about the differences between ponds and oceans, and how different animals can live in fresh water ponds, while others live in large salt water oceans.

Writing on the Chalkboard

Cutting

Cloud Dough

Spindle Boxes

Sound Work

Writing

Visual Discrimination Task

Working Those Finger Muscles!

Buddy Reading

Movable Alphabet

Making Cats and Dogs

Happy 6th Birthday!

We celebrated our friend’s sixth birthday on her last day with us.  She brought a delicious cake to share, which everyone enjoyed.  It was sad to see her leave on Tuesday afternoon.  We wish her all the best on her trip back to Russia and her move to Texas.

Libre Mexico!

Candy Storage System

We learned about Cinco de Mayo and broke open our piñata filled with candy and peanuts.  Zeanny told us that in Costa Rica, the piñatas are usually filled with mostly peanuts and only a little candy.  She shared a book with us about how peanuts grow, are harvested, and turned into peanut butter.

Peanuts from the pinata

Tuesday afternoon popscicles

Goodbye Green Frog!

Everyone had a great time on our field trip to the bog/pond.  A green frog who joined us on our trip was released into the pond, and seemed to enjoy his new home.  We walked along an old beaver dam, saw some little minnows, and visited a new beaver dam.  Everyone was anxious to find some frog eggs, which we finally did in the ditch on the side of the road.  There were plenty to go home with anyone that wanted them.  We gathered some to keep in our tank at school, where we will watch them for the rest of the school year and see how they change.

Checking out the Beaver Dam

Green Frog in his new home

Finding Frog Eggs

When we returned to school, we checked our list of predictions to compare it with what we did see.  We found that we saw many of the things we had guessed, but others, such as dolphins and bears, were nowhere in sight.  We also added some things to our list that we had not predicted, then we took turns looking in the microscope at a tadpole.

Examining the Tadpole

Gathering Flowers

Friday students were busy all day.  They spent some time examining the tadpoles, listened to Gerrie Scott read us a great story about mud, then went outside before the rain came.  They gathered flowers for mother’s day and had fun playing tag.  When we went in, the children set up a flower shop for mother’s day.  They needed money, so they decided to make some.  They were not sure how they should look, so we examined a five dollar bill and a one dollar bill.  We held them under a light and found some water marks and a safety strip on the five dollar bill, and found little red and green fibers all over both bills, so we knew they were real.  Later in the afternoon they set up the pillows and practiced frog hopping – they could jump really, really far!  It was a wonderful, warm, Friday.

Finding the Water Marks on a $5

Making Money

Leap Frogging

Please join us on Saturday, May 18th between 8 AM and 12 noon for the second annual Sunnybrook Yard Sale Fundraiser!  We will be accepting donated items at the school from 3-3:30 PM and 5-7 PM on Friday, May 17th.  Large items may be dropped off at 88 Elm Street on Saturday, May 11 from 8 AM – 12 Noon.  Please spread the word! View this flyer for more information.

Searching for Sprouts

Happy May!   Spring weather has finally arrived!   It was great to be back at school this week.  We enjoyed our time outside playing Spanish games, finding sprouts, worms, and other signs of spring, and digging in the sandbox.

Pato, Pato, Ganzo (duck, duck, goose)

Unearthing Earthworms

Frog Metamorphosis Work

We began learning and reading about frogs and frog metamorphosis.  We read Tale of a Tadpole and The Caterpillar and the Pollywog.  We are excited for our trip to the bog on Thursday, where we will collect frog eggs and bring them back to our classroom to watch them hatch into tadpoles.  We listened to the sounds of spring peepers and wood frogs and saw some pictures of each one.  Maybe we will be able to identify them if we see them on Thursday!

The Farm

Tong Transfer

Learning About Time

Reading

Movable Alphabet

More Movable Alphabet

Letter Work

Audio Book “A Frog Thing“

Frog Pond

At the art table we made frog ponds.  We also painted our clay maracas, and made a piñata for Cinco de Mayo, which we will celebrate on Tuesday, May 7^th.

Painting Maracas

Pillow Dancing

During music on Tuesday we did some pillow dancing.  We worked very hard to stay on our pillows while wiggling and moving to the music.  We also practiced the song “Rattlin’ Bog” for our last day performance.

Rattlin’ Bog

Chicks

On Thursday morning we had three young visitors.  One of our friends brought her three week old chicks for us to meet.  Everyone was very careful to keep Chocolate, Vanilla, and Blackie safe on their blanket, while gently petting, holding, and feeding them.  Thank you for bringing them in!

Ice Cream Sandwiches!

During Thursday morning recess we enjoyed ice cream sandwiches.  They were perfect for the warm spring day.  Thank you to our friends who brought them in to share!

World Map Puzzle

Stories

Spindle Boxes

Letter Sound Work

Shape Matching

Reading the “All About Me” Books

Thank you to the Staley family for donating a wonderful big box that will be our quiet house!  It was so exciting that everyone wanted to be in it at the same time, and they managed to pack most of the class in together.  We had a discussion about the purpose of the quiet house – for students to have a place where they can be alone and get some space when they need it – and it was proposed by one of the kindergartners that for the next couple of weeks it could be used by more than one person (until the novelty wears off), and then we can use it as the quiet house.  They also discussed bringing in a stuffed toy or blanket to use in the quiet house, and decided that they could bring an item in to use if they need it.

Rana says “cri” Sapo says “cro”

During Spanish we learned a new song about ranas (frogs) and sapos (toads).  In Spanish frogs say “cri” instead of “ribbit” and frogs say “cro” instead of “croak.”  We also had fun doing the monkey dance and singing the lluvia song.

The Mono (monkey) Dance

Clay Frog Life Cycle Creations

Friday students had a fun day with Tammy.  They made wonderful frog life cycles out of clay.  They worked hard forming the eggs, tadpoles, and frogs, then painting them and placing them on a blue tray pond.  They also finished preparing our piñata for Tuesday.  It was such a beautiful day that they decided to enjoy lunch outside at the picnic table.

Pinata for Cinco de Mayo

Goodbye Good Friend!

On Tuesday we will be saying goodbye to one of our very good friends.  She will be taking a trip with her family back to Russia and we will be so sad to see her go.  We will celebrate her birthday on Tuesday before we say farewell.  We will miss you!