May at Marlowe

May started with a bang!! We hosted two shows of Peter Hart and his puppets. He introduced us to some new puppets and brought back some old favorites. 

We invited our mommies into our classrooms and recited some poems, showed off our favorite lessons, and gave them some sweet keepsakes. 

We each made our own tie-dye t-shirts to wear for Field Day!

 And, even though Field Day was rainy, the weather didn't stop us from our silly games!!

Ms. Mary returned from three weeks abroad and brought back stories and songs from all over Europe. 

The Miami Circle campus hosted its first ballet recital, and our sweet ballerinas put on an adorable performance. 

After months of hard work, our super readers got some awesome medals and trophies!! 

SIX children read over 1,000 books this year. More than one of the trophies were for children who were three when school started in August and read over 100 - and up to 1,000 - books. 

What kind of books are these children reading? Little House on the Prairie, Matilda, The BFG, hundreds of childhood classics, biographies, and other non-fiction works. 

Thanks to all the mommies who wrote down all of those books!

Our last two weeks are the most unstructured of the year. We are always so busy trying to fit in all of our extra-special events. However, my little worker bees were busy right up to the last day of school. 

They wrote letters to distant family members, added really BIG numbers, read lots of books, gave some little friends lessons, and loved on each other.

In the last few days of school, six children wrote 13 books (both non-fiction and fantasy) and did all their own research. 

These are three of the stories written - with no final corrections - by some of our pre-K students. 

This is what Montessori is all about! We're teaching independence, instilling a love of learning, and giving the children the freedom to go as far as they can go. 

The results are always astounding!

Cheers to another wonderful year, and lots of love to our graduates as they enter this new and exciting chapter of their lives. 

"Hey!! Take a picture of us!!"

"Hey!! Take a picture of us!!"

I touched on the classroom dynamic that comes with the mixed-ages last month, but I cannot express just how much the children in the class love each other. There really is something to be said about spending five days a week with a group of friends in the same classroom for three, and sometimes four years. That amount of time is significant for anyone -- especially a preschooler. Sometimes, new parents can be skeptical about having their two-year-old in a class with five- and six-year-olds, but the littles just get doted on, and, I believe, the feelings are mutual. :)

While I often take quick snapshots of the children interacting, I rarely have the time to sit and record them. Luckily, a quick-thinking Ms. Roopal pulled out her phone and captured this precious interaction. (Please ignore my chatter -- I had no idea she was recording.)

One of our science experiments this month involved testing various solvents on Peeps. We took Coke, vinegar, laundry soap, and water, and noted their effects on the marshmallow treat. After 48 hours, we discovered that the harsh vinegar nearly dissolved our little yellow bunny, the Coke left an unsightly discolored residue (that peeled off when touched), the soap bleached the Peep, and the water left the bunny mostly intact (though a bit soggy).  

We used Fruit Loops to learn sequences and patterns. 

The children helped spruce up our flowers and even grew some potted plants of their own.

A Secret Chef came for a visit and helped us make a delicious parfait with imported Duch cookies. 

And no spring season would be complete without an egg hunt. 

Three-and-a-half weeks left of school. How did that happen!! I can't wait to see what May has in store for us!

March at Marlowe

There are many reasons I love Montessori, but this past week (on two separate campuses), we were able to capture one of the happy by-products of a mixed-age classroom: spontaneous lessons from an older child to a younger one. Our older students are always happy to help their younger classmates and so lessons (as menial as hanging a coat or as complex as cubed roots) happen countless times throughout the day.

Our Montessori materials are designed to be used independently, and teachers give formal lessons. However, child-led lessons occur all the time. In one of the examples below, an older child was labeling the United States map when a wandering two-year-old decided to take a seat and observe. The older child immediately decided to turn the opportunity into a geography lesson and teach the younger student state names. Both children were able to benefit from this interaction - the younger child learned some new language, and the older child was able to build her skill and confidence.

Unintentional lessons occur just as often by children working alongside each other (on separate activities and never directly interacting). I was delighted when earlier this month, a young four-year-old learned subtraction by casually observing his older classmates.

Along with all the wonders and genius that come with a Montessori environment☺, we had a great month.  We were able to incorperate both St. Patrick's Day and Dr. Seuss's birthday into our activities. We made several rainbow crafts (including a fruit rainbow with whipped cream clouds), completed a directed drawing of the Cat in the Hat, and made "green eggs and ham". We also made celery change colors and are attempting to grow a new celery plant from the stalk base.

I hope you all are enjoying your Spring Break! See you in a week!!