Highlights
Good morning Mulberry families ......
Whether you love them or you are bothered by them, insects are everywhere. You can see them in your garden, on trees, on television shows, and even in zoos. They can be helpful, like bees, or annoying, like mosquitos. They make up the largest group of animals on Earth.
There are actually many insects that benefit the environment and humans. Insects like wasps, bees, butterflies, and ants help to pollinate flowers when they are collecting nectar from them.
Thanks to flowering plants being pollinated, humans are able to have healthy crops and plants as well as beautiful flowers and trees. Ants help with spreading plant seeds all over, which makes a big difference in creating a healthy environment.
Australia/Oceania is the smallest continent of the seven continents and although some consider Australia as the largest island in the world, Australia is commonly referred to as a country and a continent.
Australia is home to many animal species. In fact, Australia houses more than 10% of the world's biodiversity (animals and plant varieties). Among the most well-known Australian animals are kangaroos, wombats, koalas and the dingos.
One might wonder, “What is the point of this activity? Shouldn’t a child be focusing on reading and writing rather than making soap bubbles?” Practical life activities do seem a little mysterious to the untrained eye. However, they play an important role in the development of a child in a Montessori classroom.
“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence,” Dr. Maria Montessori......first, the steps a child must remember in order to do a work like whisking successfully. Recalling and executing sequences prepares a child for academic works in language and math. Next, the fine motor that the work requires of the child readies their hand for writing. Even the way that they are taught to maneuver the whisk mimics letter formation. Finally, the child develops their ability to concentrate and focus on a task. Developing their ability to concentrate prepares the mind for completing challenging academic works in the future. Beyond all of these preparations is the subliminal lesson in independence and respect for the environment that the child is receiving.
Our May Day mixture was a wonderful opportunity for our classroom and school as a whole. We have learned and seen how plants grow and it's different parts. It was lot of fun gardening together as a family.
Polar bears live in very cold areas, Camels live in hot areas, Moles live under the ground, and Bats live in caves and fly in the air and Dolphins live in the Oceans. What is common between all of them? They are mammals and are everywhere. It is what we classify humans as too. Yes, we are learning about characteristics and life cycle of mammals.
A mammal is an animal that gets milk from its mother, has a backbone and fur or hair on its body, and is warm-blooded. Often times, the mothers stay and care for their young until their babies are old enough to be independent.
Dr. Maria Montessori had this inspired idea like 100 years ago to assign a color and a symbol to each part of speech. For example, the noun is symbolized by a black triangle, the adjective is symbolized by small dark-blue triangle, the article is symbolized by a smaller light blue triangle.
Each symbol has a story behind it. The noun's black triangle, for instance, represents the pyramid (first human structure) and carbon (first mineral discovered by humans). Maria Montessori came up with the story for each part of speech and children learn those stories when they start their Montessori education.
A noun is a kind of word ( part of speech) that is usually the name of something such as a person, place, thing, animal, or idea.
Montessori sees the verb as the energy of the language. The term 'verb comes from the Latin 'Verbum', meaning 'the verb', it bring the language to life. As the verb relates the 'doer'. Montessori created the grammar symbols using different shapes and colors to engage children. Each symbol is introduced with a story. The stories help children understand why we use each symbol and the relationships between the symbols.
Educating children about good nutrition from an early age helps them create and maintain a well-balanced healthy life. Making smart choices every day is very important to stay well, healthy and happy! Yes, we were discussing about healthy food and not so healthy food and it’s OK to eat junk food once in a while but not every day.
It’s hard to believe that the end of the school year is fast approaching! We have lived, loved, laughed, played, studied, learned, and enriched our lives together this year. I wished it could go on indefinitely. It has been my pleasure and privilege to watch their personality unfold day by day.
It’s time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I’d much rather say Hello!!!!!!!
Hello to a New Adventure…….
A special poem for my Mulberry troop....
You're a very special person, and I want you to know.
How I loved to be your teacher, how fast the weeks did go!
Please come back to visit me, as through the grades you grow.
Try hard to learn all that you can, there is so much to know!!
The one thing I try to teach you, to last your whole life through.
Is to know that you are special, just because you are you!!!