We cannot create observers by saying “observe,” but by giving them the power and the means for this observation, and these means are procured through education of the senses.
—Maria Montessori

Elementary

We see all children gravitating toward materials from our sensorial area that is literally and figuratively the center of our classroom. The sense of order, the call for perfection, the built in control of error and the possibilities to use them at different levels give the children, young and old, the most rewarding experience.

Science: We talked about birds’ characteristics, adaptation to flight, building nests and taking care of the hatchlings. The evergreen trees came to our classroom with branches of Holly, Yew, Hemlock, White Pine, Spruce, and Fir.

Cultural: The words continent, country and state begin to reveal their meanings as we discuss the puzzle maps. After locating USA and its neighbors to the north and south, we looked closer at the US map to identify New Hampshire and other states some children may know. We traveled east to west, following Johnny Appleseed trail from Massachusetts to Indiana, or the pioneers from Pennsylvania to Oregon.

We learned about Native Americans, their love and respect for nature, and about the pilgrims and their courage in overcoming the hardship of living in the new world.

Making butter, one of the many chores children had in the old times, was an interesting experience that puzzled and delighted our children of today.

Arts & Crafts: Leaf prints and leaf painting, dot painting for corn on the cob, cutting and pasting squares in quilt patterns, folding papers for birds’ wings, Christmas tree ornaments and decorations.

Books and Songs: Follow the topics of the month/seasons/current events in the classroom. Between the libraries, the school’s large collection and our personal favorites we are lucky to find wonderful books that are browsed or read with delight.
Too many favorites to mention; just two musical books we just could not have enough of:
“A Hen, a Chick, and a String Guitar” by M. Read Mac Donald,
“Beethoven’s Wig” by R. Perlmutter and Maria Rosetti.

Mark your calendar:

• December 12, 6-8 p.m. Parents’ Night: Road to Reading
• December 16th we will celebrate the beginning of the winter holidays with a Carols-Crafts-Cookies morning. Parents are invited to come by with their children, bring a few cookies to share, and join us in craft projects and spontaneous singing anytime between 8:30 and 11:30. There will be no lunch, afternoon before or aftercare program.

Kindergarten

Thank you for coming to our thanks giving evening. The children loved the food preparation, tried some of the vegetables for the first time, and felt good to be trusted with using a big knife. With guidance and supervision we managed to keep the soup strictly vegetarian (no fingers cut!).

The Albuquerque turkey was a long multistep project that also boosted the self confidence and stretched the patience while waiting to see the results of one’s work.

The afternoon time is geared toward math and language lessons and each child is expected to practice on improving his/her skills. Thus, the work becomes more differentiated, according to each one’s needs. As a group we learned about plurals in s and some irregulars, we discuss books and the everyday happenings.

Besides the academic growth we are aiming to improve social skills and emotional maturity. The aspiration to be recognized as a role model is a strong incentive for the 5 year old children. When this is matched with self control and responsibility we have good results and a good time.

Dorina, Parna, and Carla