Best Montessori Activities
February was filled with lots of fun, warmth and LOVE! Our Practical Life Shelves had a pinkish hue and the children enjoyed pouring, sifting, scooping, counting and creating to their “hearts’ content.” They enjoyed decorating their Valentine Bags early in the month, so the anticipation of the holiday began right away. Our Valentine Post Office was a very popular meeting place and the children seemed just as happy to share their cards, as they were to receive them.
Heart-Centered Yoga
The special day finally arrived and our celebration was very joyful. We practiced some heart-centered yoga, including a February favorite, “Cupid Pose.” (Holding Archer Pose and releasing arrows filled with so much love, that they explode, filling the classroom.) After yoga, we had fun singing some of our favorite Valentine songs, “Skidamarink a-dink, a-dink” and “Love is Something,” and dancing to the Beatles’ infamous song, “All You Need Is Love.” Then we played the children’s most beloved Valentine game, “A-Tisket-A-Tasket.” Our party ended with a lovely buffet of heart shaped sugar cookies, fruit, strawberry ice cream and juice.
Learning About Love
The Virtue that we focused on this month was Love. We learned that: Love is a special feeling that fills your heart. You show love in a smile, a kind word, a thoughtful
China
Our geography studies this month included exploring the art of the Chinese letter writing system, which uses drawings or “characters” to represent words. The children had fun with the book, “A Day At the Beach,” by Huy Voun Lee and then trying their hand at drawing the Chinese Characters from the book in sand. “My Pet Dragon,” by Christoph Niemann was another favorite.
Our study of China ended with a wonderful presentation by Mr. Cheng. The presentation focused on the rich culture of China with an emphasis on living a balanced life and taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. We learned that tea is very special to the Chinese way of life and sharing tea could take hours. Outside the hustle of the big cities, life takes on a slower pace and a deeper, more conscious meaning. We got to see intricately carved wooden boxes and a meditative painting, which was painted with actual gold. Mr. Cheng played his bamboo flute for us and also shared some Chinese music with us. We learned to listen deeply to the music and instead of moving with it, allow it to move us. We wish to say “Xie xie” (thank you) to Mr. Cheng for sharing with us, and for gifting the children with paper Chinese fans. Our next stop on our Asia tour will be India. Please let us know if you would like to share anything with the class.
French Art
Miss Lauren led the Kindergarteners in a “Great Artists” lesson on the French artist, Henri Matisse. We learned that Matisse found comfort in art when he was recovering from a long illness. He thought that, “art should be of balance, purity and serenity and have a soothing, calming influence on the mind, like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.” The children focused on Matisse’s famous collage series in which he created art using cutout shapes of color. We have been enjoying the children’s masterpieces in our classroom, but promise to send them home.
Weather
On our science shelves, we have been learning about weather. We focused on the water cycle and learned about evaporation, condensation and precipitation. The children witnessed this process by conducting an experiment in a plastic bag. We began by drawing clouds along the top of the bag and adding an inch of blue water to the bag. Onced the bag was sealed, water vapor rose and condensed to form clouds. When the clouds became saturated, they released some of the water as rain. Then the cycle starts over again.
Water Cycle
We work on approaching and emphasizing aspects of our lessons in different ways to enhance learning – visually, through movement , and with song. We have a great song about the water cycle which reinforces the understanding of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. We all sing heartily together.
We enjoyed reading the value tale “Margaret Mead and the Value of Understanding”. We learned that Margaret Mead was an anthropologist who traveled to different places in the world to learn how people lived. Margaret Mead was respected because she showed that she cared by listening carefully to others.