Welcome to Mulberry “It is not enough for the teacher to love the child. She must first love and understand the universe. She must prepare herself, and truly work at it.” Dr. Maria Montessori

Bi-weekly Highlights

Welcome back Mulberry families ......

Reptiles are animals that are cold-blooded. Most reptiles lay eggs and their skin is covered with hard, dry scales or have a bony external plate such as a shell. There are many types of reptiles. The main categories are snakes, crocodiles and alligators, turtles, and lizards. Reptiles can be found on every continent except for Antarctica.

The first reptiles are believed to have evolved around 320 million years ago. Reptiles use a variety of methods to defend themselves from dangerous situations, such as avoidance, camouflage, hissing and biting.

Turtles are very versatile reptiles, living in a variety of environments on both land and in water. You'll find turtles living in deserts, in the sea, and even in in cold-weather areas where they hibernate to survive the winter. Despite their differences, the life cycle of a turtle follows the same basic pattern as any reptile species. Although there are many kinds of turtles, they all go through the basic reptile life cycle: egg, hatchling and adult.

Life cycle of a turtle - Turtles have a life cycle similar to any other living being. However, they have to deal with different obstacles in nature to survive and become adults. Sea turtles are some of the most elegant creatures in the ocean, but they’re also some of the most endangered.

One of the most ancient creatures on earth, the turtle is also one of the longest-lived. Though the painted turtle lives a relatively short 11 years, some sea turtles live to be well over 100.

Parts of a turtle - A turtle is an animal in armor. Much of its body lies within a protective shell, which has openings for the turtle's four chunky legs, short tail, and head. When danger threatens, many turtles pull legs, tail, and head into the shell. But unlike some animals that live in shells, such as hermit crabs and snails, a turtle cannot crawl out of its shell. The shell is part of the turtle's body. A turtle's shell is made of two parts that are joined at the sides by bony bridges. The upper part of the shell is called the carapace, from a Spanish word for "shield." The lower part is called the plastron, from an Italian word for "breastplate."
Punctuation includes marks, not words that help the structure of a sentence and help the reader understand or navigate that sentence. They are symbols that are used to aid the clarity and comprehension of written language.
The Hexagon Box shows children how different shapes can be used to create other shapes; more specifically, that by joining together different triangles, four-sided figures are formed. We formed triangle, hexagon, rhombus and trapezoid.
As a continuation of our land and water form studies, we introduced cape and bay this week. A cape is a part of land projecting into a body of water. A bay is an area of water surrounded by land on three sides.

A science experiment was presented using baking soda and vinegar. The children really enjoyed witnessing the chemical reaction over and over again. (It can be used as a volcanic effect)

Look and hear (yes- it does make sound) my science experiment.
Performing the ritual of polishing pennies (as with many other Practical Life activities) allows the child to relax, to focus on a process with a clear, concrete outcome, and to experience a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. The acidity of the lemon juice combined with the abrasiveness of the salt is used to polish pennies, making the activity both a science experiment and a practical life activity.
Through practice, the child internalizes the steps involved in the entire activity, aiding their building of memory. While polishing, the child uses repetitive circular motions on the wooden object, which improves their coordination of movement as well as finger strength.

Practical Life is one of the areas of the Montessori classroom that is so important for far more than just the obvious reason of teaching the children skills that they can use in their daily life. In addition to that, it helps the children to learn how to care for their materials, builds up focus and concentration through repetition, and allows them to take pride in making something old -new or clean again.

Our guest reader - Christina and her Mom !
Happy 4th walk around the Sun, Rosemary!
Happy 3rd walk around the Sun, Alia!!
The solar eclipse of April 8, 2024, also known as the Great North American Eclipse, was a total solar eclipse visible across a band covering parts of North America, from Mexico to Canada and crossing the contiguous United States. The 2024 solar eclipse was special because it was visible to tens of millions of people in North America. Thirty-one million people live in the path of totality within the United States alone. The next total solar eclipse that will be widely viewable from North America won't occur until 2045!

Did you hear about our in-house visit by Cranbrook institute of science and learning about matter, force and energy?

April showers bring May flowers,

That is what they say.

But if all the showers turned to flowers,

We’d have quite a colorful day!

by Karen Chappell

Let's enjoy the beautiful spring!!!!