2014
March
NEWS Wake up! Wake up! Spring is here!
It’s so nice to see little signs of spring, even though winter is still lingering! As the weather does begin to warm the children yearn to be outdoors more. Do you remember spring as a child? I lived in a house with its own channel and lake access in a suburban neighborhood that was bordered by acres of woods to explore. My siblings, friends and I spent every possible moment playing in those woods or canoeing/fishing the channel! We built small bridges over creeks and a multitude of forts. We encountered all kinds of wildlife and learned how to deal appropriately in dangerous situations. I was raised around and in nature. Stephanie O’Brien just forwarded me an article that brought my memories flooding back…http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/ (enter the link or scan the QR code to read) The author makes interesting observations and suggestions for ways to allow more freedom in play, even in this day when it’s sometimes frightening just to let your child play in their own backyard. A good way to incorporate nature with the very young child is through hiking in the woods. Dallas has a multitude of trails for beginners and the more adventurous. It’s also nice to have a good resource for answers when your children ask questions about nature. A great resource is the National Audubon Society series…especially the guide to North American wild flowers, trees, insects and spiders and wildlife. Throw a couple of these in your backpack along with some water and a couple of snacks and you’re all set! http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/dmagazine/2012/may/10-top-trails-for-hiking-and-biking-indallas?single=1
What the Robin Told
The wind told the grasses, And the grasses told the trees. The trees told the bushes, And the bushes told the bees. The bees told the robin, And the robin sang out clear: Wake up! Wake up! Spring is here! Happy Spring! Mrs. Loree
scan the QR code to read it on your mobile device
MDO
Happy happy spring, everyone! We are so happy it's finally spring time. The children love this time of year. They love having picnics and going on treasure hunts. They love the flowers that are starting to bloom. The children all seem to be going through growth spurts, too! They are doing so great with their pincer grasp and being able to string things. They are all able to put on their on jackets and most of them can take care of putting on and taking off their shoes. The children also love crafting, which involves a great deal of fine motor skills, and has certainly come in handy with all of this cold weather. Now that its starting to warm up we are so excited to be doing a lot of works outside and visiting the garden more. Thank you to all of our amazing MDO parents for throwing Ms. Lindsey two wonderful bridal showers. My fiancĂŠ and I are so blessed to be a part of this awesome St. James family! Love, Your MDO teachers
Elizabeth was so proud that she made her necklace herself.
Emily is enjoying painting while her friend observes her
Top Left: Hannah is enjoying the sand box outside. We are so happy it has been warm enough to go outside. Top Right: Zoe is gluining yellow tissue paper onto the sun Bottom Right: Zoe loves to find flowers when we are outside on the playground.
Toddler
Spring has sprung and our toddler class is having great time in the classroom, but even more fun in the garden and on the playground. After the extra long winter and many cold days and having to play indoors we finally made it outside. We are running, jumping and balancing out bodies. We have also gone on a scavenger hunt for flowers, feeding birds and finding trees that are budding. Our playground and garden are full of fun nature to observe and take care of. In the classroom we are refining our basic skills and for some, working on new works from the 3 year old shelf. There is fun had by all! -Mrs. Anna and Miss. Bea-
Mr. Sun is that you, we see peeking from the clouds? Spring is here!! Toddler 2 is ready to shed our gloves and hats, and go outside to play. :) Top Left: Cooper and Emily are having fun monkeying around on the monkey bars. Top Right: While Hoyt and Mason wait for their turn, Isla, Klover and Chloe on the tire-swing. Bottom Right & Left : Elise sliding down the tunnel slide, while Annie is swinging on the swings
In the classroom there is lots of buzz about the new work. We are learning all about the farm. some favorite works are farm animal stickers, animal stamping and books about baby animals.
This months favorite Flannel board story is "The very hungry caterpillar". During circle time the children help "feed" the caterpillar and watch as it turns into a butterfly. The children learn lots of vocabulary and sequencing each time we read it. April, Lilly and Eliane
Hello Spring! We have been looking for you! Spring is one of our favorite seasons in Ms. Coral's class! It's a time to explore the garden, plant and water flowers, talk about Easter and the resurrection of Christ, and even take some works outside to work in the sunshine. Adding seasonal props to our many works in the classroom helps the children focus and stay engrossed in their skills. We have filled our Sensorial Box recently with rocks from the garden to give the children a different aspect to explore. They are learning how large or small their work space is and to clean up and be aware if and when a spill happens. They also use their fine motor skills when cleaning up the spilled rocks on the floor. Egg matching has been a very popular work this week. The children have enjoyed counting and matching the eggs to the correct color. It is beautiful to see a child offer help when they see another student struggling with a color or number, or even a fine motor skill. The beauty of the felt board is that there are endless possibilities on what scenery to make and how to place the felt. The children often become engrossed with the felt board in the classroom because of all of these possibilities. This week we have added a Easter basket with Easter eggs (for fun) and a resurrection scene to teach the principles of Easter to the children. They also enjoy when Father Gardner comes into the classroom to give the Birthday Blessing each month and the many stories and lessons of Christ he shares with us. Anna and Jane working side by side on their yoga
Allison riding the tiger car
T3- Ms. Coral, Martha, Jana
Sadie opening and closing an Easter egg.
Aidan reenacting the story of the resurrection.
Olivia matching the colors of the ‘Egg Matching’.
Jax and Sadie exploring our Sensorial Box with added manipulatives.
Truitt and Porter putting felt eggs in our felt Easter basket.
Primary
Spring has finally arrived, and with it, the promise of new life! The children have an endless fascination with the natural world. On the playground children listen to the sounds of the wood pecker and eagerly comb through branch after branch to spot him. Discussions of life cycles and young animals are a great spring board for deeper scientific research. The wonder of the garden, our own idyllic natural space, inspired us to read the classic children’s novel, The Secret Garden. In the book, the children describe the “magic” the garden possesses for growth and rejuvenation. The same “magic” is at work in our own garden as the children grow vibrant and strong from their time outdoors. Cheeks rosy, thirsty for drinks from the fountain, the children return from time spent in the garden full of joy and the wisdom gained only from a natural environment. As an extension of all things spring, we are embarking on a science project to observe the germination of seeds. This simple experiment reinforces the scientific method and teaches the children to keep a daily journal and watch seeds grow. One of the children’s favorite circle time activities is acting out the life cycle of a tree through yoga. What a fun way to help cement all that knowledge through a kinesthetic activity! Further interdisciplinary extensions include math as children graph the hypotheses of which seed will grow fastest and use a ruler to measure each plant as it grows. We are looking forward to a beautiful spring and all the wonder it will bring! All the best, Ms. Charlotte and Ms. Kalindi
Well, Spring had sprung. (Like, really?). A bit cold, but the seasonal changes will soon be evident. In our classroom we are talking about these changes and how important RAIN is in enabling new growth. Maybe if we talk about RAIN we will get some. We have discussed how Spring is a season where the grass and the trees bloom green, and how certain trees and shrubs bloom in vibrant colors. We discuss this in “group time” so every one has an opportunity to add to the discussion. We talk about how nature and the environment change in such a wonderful way. The students have so much to share about what happens to our environment during the different seasons. I asked the class what color the grass in their front yard is, and everyone reported that it is green. I told them to look again because mine is certainly not all green yet. It is fascinating to hear a child’s perspective about what happens in nature. We have changed the “rotating” works in our classroom to materials that reflect Spring. Thank you so much for your response to the request for more Reading Parents. This is an important function in the development of reading skills, and the students love it! Mrs. Barrineau/Ms. Ana
P3 was so excited to welcome the first day of spring on March 20! The children have embraced every sign of new life on the school grounds: the return of the dandelions, the clover and wild flowers, the song sparrows and the playground woodpecker, and even an early bumblebee or dragonfly sighting. We’re busy filling the bird feeders and tending new plants in the school garden and our classroom. At circle time, we’ve discussed the rotation of the earth around the sun and how this affects the changing of the seasons. The children are fascinated by this concept! We have also discussed migration and hibernation and the amazing intuition of animals to sense the arrival of spring. This week (the week of March 20), we began a springtime science experiment. We are growing lima bean seeds and researching ideal growing conditions. The children already knew that plants need sunlight, soil, and water to grow. This time, we are growing our lima beans hydroponically by substituting the soil with moist paper towels. This led to an interesting thought. We wondered, if plants can actually grow without soil, are water and sunlight really necessary either?
We chose three conditions for growth: sunlight and water, sunlight but no water, and water but no sunlight. The children shared their predictions and we made a graph. Then we set up the experiment and let nature take over from there. It is wonderful to watch the children checking on the lima bean jars during the day. Several girls noticed the first afternoon that some of the seeds were already swelling up inside the jar! We will continue to monitor our seeds and chart our results. Spring is a time of wonder and we look forward to many learning adventures with the children over the coming weeks. Ms. Tamara and Ms. Julia
Top left: Introducing the science experiment Top Right: everyone wants a turn to participate in the experiment! Bottom Right: Sprouting lima bean seedlings day 1
March has been such an exciting month! We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and the beginning of spring. We learned that St. Patrick was from England and was held captive in Ireland. After escaping, St. Patrick used a clover leaf to teach others about the Holy Trinity. On March 20th, the first day of spring, everyone helped plant a cucumber and tomato plant! The children are looking each day to see if they need to be watered and watching for them to sprout. We also took a walk outside searching for the first signs of spring. The children heard birds chirping and discovered that trees in the garden were beginning to bloom! The children also enjoyed many fun spring works including butterfly sorting, salt dough with duckling cookie cutters, and flower punching. A kindergarten student even wrote a story about her family trip to Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum! “Free the child’s potential and you will transform him into the world.” ~Maria Montessori Miss Elizabeth and Mrs. Ashley
In the Garden with Ms. Loree
This month we had the great excitement of seeing some of our garden coming alive, and the sadness of seeing it wither after the untimely ice storm. Fortunately, most of our garden was resilient! We can see sprigs of fennel and oregano, and even a couple of asparagus spears emerging! We built a potato tower and filled it with a few varieties of the tasty spuds‌now we’re just watching for signs of growth. We also had lessons on our new three step composting system. The first step is our unfinished compost bin. Equal amounts of brown and green debris are then put in our tumbler. The children will need to roll the tumbler for a few weeks before we have finished compost. The finished compost is then placed in the second bin. Children can choose to incorporate the compost into our garden soil as one of their works.
In the Garden with Ms. Loree The toddlers had a lesson on bird feeding. It’s a two person work; one child to steady the funnel while the other scoops birdseed into the funnel. The children love watching the song sparrows, which are brave enough to come to the feeders while we’re in the garden.
We also had a visiting kitty last week. He seems very sweet, following the children through the garden and even playing with them on the playground. We’ve affectionately nicknamed him Lent, after Tiffany Walker mentioned that he appeared to have 40 stripes for the 40 days of Lent! Here’s Lent practicing his eggshell crushing work. I hope he becomes a regular!
Art
with Ms. Judi
This month in March, both the kindergarteners and the second level primary children worked on sculptures! We got our hands dirty with either clay or paper mache! We will continue to paint these little critters and medallions.
Technology with Ms. Judi
I
n Technology, the children are really excited working on abcmouse.com. Ryse is seen practicing her writing while working with control over the mouse. Kaylee is learning about Monkeys in the ‘Zoo’ section of the website and Danielle is using math to fill in the color by numbers page. Parents, if you want to have access to abcmouse.com at home, please let me know and I will get you the activation code. It doesn’t have all the available access that the children have at school, but the children will be able to work on the same educational lessons and games at home. It’s safe and secure and absolutely free to use.
The after school care area continues to be a burst of activity. I am thankful that the last of the really cold weather seems to be behind us and we can enjoy spring like weather before the Texas heat arrives. Each age group is able to enjoy lengthy outside playtime between snack and inside activities. The ASC has continued to grow and there are a large number of children staying in the afternoons. We are not able to offer drop in’s on Wednesday afternoon. If you are late to pick up your child, please be sure to sign them out with the time. Just a reminder if your child is a toddler classroom, Mrs. Barrineau’s Primary Classroom or Mrs. Charlottes’s Classroom, their jacket will be in a basket in the ASC room. Please be sure to take their jacket when you pick them up. As always, if you need to reach me after 4:00 p.m., please call the school phone 214-348-1349. Happy Spring, Lisa & the ASC Staff
March is one of my favorite months to teach Chapel. There are so many wonderful lessons and stories to cover! March is when the bulk of Lent is observed in the church and is a time for repentance, reflection and reconciliation. We repent from bad choices we’ve made over the year by fullyturning away from them. We reflect on where we have been and look forward to where we are going. Most importantly we are reconciled with God and join Him in the Easter celebration!! All of these things are taught to our students in a modified version. The children have really enjoyed learning about the season of Lent. Another fun topic is that of St. Patrick! Did you know that St. Patrick was not Irish? He was born in Scotland in 387 A.D. He was kidnapped by Irish pirates and was sold into slavery. After he escaped, he returned to Ireland as a missionary. He used the three leaf clover to share the idea of the Trinity. The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit! It is so important to know the history of why we do the things we do. It truly brings a whole new meaning to why we celebrate this great Saint who spread the word about God’s unending love. This week we talked about the parable of The Sower. A man tried to plant his seeds by scattering them on the ground, laying the seeds on rocks and sticking them into bushes. It wasn’t until he found good rich soil that he was able to grow healthy and strong plants with the help of sun, air and water. It’s the same with love! How can you sow your seeds of love in life? I hope you all had a fabulous spring break and the next time you see a three leaf clover you will remember about God’s Great BIG love for us! Blessings, Ashley Woodruff Christian Ed. Director
Upcoming Events April April 14th- Monday Morning Montessori Discussion with Loree April 17th - Easter Egg Hunt (NOON Dismissal- Conference as needed and Staff Inservice) April 18th- Good Friday April 21st- Easter Monday / Snow Day Make-up April 28th- May 2nd - Teacher Appreciation week