Making orange juice

This week as most of us recover from colds, fresh squeezed orange juice packed with Vitamin C was on the menu for snack. 

Before making orange juice the children have been working in the Practical Life area building concentration, coordination, independence, and order. They have been introduced to work in the Practical Life area that has prepared them for making orange juice including twisting jars, squeezing a baster to transfer water, and squeezing and rolling play do. Food preparation exercises introduce the value of good nutrition, help the child gain control of his/her environment, teach life skills, and with all other areas of the curriculum; "help me to do it for myself." 

Peacemakers- Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Freedom, freedom, let it ring.

Let it ring, said Dr. King

Let us live in harmony. 

Peace and love for you and me. 

Freedom, freedom, let it ring. 

Let it ring, said Dr. King"

Our peacemaker box is kept on the table in the peace place. A picture of the peacemaker we are studying is placed in the frame on the top of the box. This month our peacemaker is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Inside the box, children can find photos that depict the story of the peacemaker. In the box for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there is a photo of Dr. King with two of his children on a swing. There are two photos of Dr. King speaking to an audience in Washington, D.C. and there is a photo of Dr. King receiving the Noble Peace prize. 

During circle we read The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. . The book tells the story of Dr. King  in a gentle age-appropriate way. It is a simple story of the life of Dr. King, his work, and an introduction to the concept of equality. Other works that are available in the classroom for the study of Dr. King are a color and write book about Dr. King and a project for tracing your hand on multicultural construction paper.  

New Year

"Only through freedom of experience is it possible for human development to occur."- Maria Montessori

The prepared environment of the Montessori classroom is tended to with great care  It is essential to a child's development. Dr. Montessori observed that the child's environment greatly effects how he/she learns. The Montessori classroom environment meets the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of each child. The classroom environment is regularly maintained, but it was so lovely to come back to the classroom in the new year with everything fresh, beautifully organized, and new once again. This feeling was evident amongst the children as they came into their familiar classroom after the break. A calm and peace was observed as the children chose their work for the morning. 

The peace place gives children a place to go when they need time to alone, need some inner quiet, a break from classroom work or need a soothing place to go.

 The care of environment materials allow the children to develop coordination, concentration, a sense of order and independence. Taking care of their environment also helps to develop a sense of responsibility to the community and a respect for the classroom environment.

 The practical life area of the classroom is the core of the Montessori curriculum. Through the practical life materials a child learns coordination, concentration, independence, and order.

 The snack area is placed next to the practical life area of the classroom because the work of practical life extends into care of self. The snack area is set up so that the children can independently prepare and serve themselves snack and clean up after so the table is ready for the next child.

 The Sensorial materials are organized by the sense that the material isolates. The materials are further sequenced within each sense.

 The language area includes the book nook for quiet reading or reading to/with a friend.

 The math shelves are organized in sequence. The materials of the decimal system and passage to abstraction are not shown in the photo.

 The geography shelves introduce the child to his/her place in the world, then to the properties that make up Earth, to the study of landforms, the continents, biomes and the cultures of the people around the world