Turning Tragedy Into Musical Comedy

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Last week parents were treated to a comedic version of Shakespeare’s classic play about ghosts, guilt and magic spells. Teachers Ms. Erica and Ms. Arlene recount:
“E1 presented their rendition of a comedic spoof based upon Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. The students had such fun transforming the quite violent tale into a lively — and sometimes silly — frolicking romp using many songs and dances. For example, one of  Lady Macbeth’s major concerns  was that blood might have stained her carpets and that it costs a fortune to steam clean carpets  now-a-days. It is safe to say that the students will never forget the great play Macbeth.”
[button url=”http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/macbeth/quotesmacbeth.html” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”cherry” ]Famous Macbeth Quotes[/button]

Benefits of Multi-Age Grouping

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Recently, an FMS parent was kind enough to share a video with us on our Facebook page. You may have seen the viral hit — an older, bigger dog teaches his puppy friend to go down the stairs. That got us thinking about the benefits of multi-age grouping in the classroom. A few teachers share their thoughts:

“Multi-aged classrooms speak to a fundamental tenet of the Montessori philosophy where modeling behavior and ‘showing’ a child how to do a work is desired over ‘telling’ the child the necessary steps. With older and younger children mixed together, the natural teaching moments emerge easily and effectively.  Many times during the course of a week, we witness older students teaching younger students not only the content of the work, but also giving the younger child a pattern of behavior that they can aspire to. Children are eager to relate to each other and find gratification in submitting their attention to another child in a natural and effective way. Multi-aged classrooms support a culture of sharing and encourage children at a young age to respond to older children around them. This interaction strengthens the children’s abilities to relate and communicate their feelings with others and begins the vital process of dealing with their own will power, ego and self perceptions.  It is a safe space to experiment with developing social awareness. Older children are also reminded of the virtue of responsibility and the important role of being an example of positive behavior for younger children. It shows them the strength they have developed personally and the impact they can have on others simply by being a positive role model.” — Ms. Nancy, P1

“When the third levels are asked to teach a concept to the others, they love it! Recently a third grader was absent one day and a first level asked if they could teach them the lesson they missed. They like helping each other and with teacher guidance it can be a wonderful experience for both parties. Children like it when their friends want to help them.” — Ms. April, E4

“Children vary in their academic, social and emotional development. In a multi-age classroom students can have their needs met whether they are above or below the average level of children their age. Students have the opportunity to  develop their leadership skills and confidence through mentoring peers.” — Ms. Nina, E3

“Having children ages three through six together permits the younger children to have role models for imitation, and the older ones  an opportunity to reinforce their knowledge by helping the younger ones.They say you really know a subject when you can teach it.” — Ms. Maryam, P3
[button url=”http://www.uwyo.edu/ecec/_files/documents/multi-age-benefits.pdf” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”cherry” ]LEARN MORE[/button]

Creating Art With Ms. Angela

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“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” — Pablo Picasso

Ms. Angela, our art specialist, has been busy keeping the artist’s spirit alive and burning within all of our students.

January subjects included the solar system, flower works inspired by Georgia O’Keefe and colorful three-dimensional abstract art in primary; Native Americans, sculpture and molded clay in lower elementary; and contemporary and historical pop culture in upper elementary and middle school.

February topics will include the oceans, perspective and scale; artistry inspired by the Cochiti, Lakota and Cherokee peoples; and projects relating to social concerns and creating opinion through art and design.

Thank you Ms. Angela for helping us to express our inner artist! We look forward to seeing more beautiful works next month.

[button url=”http://art.fmsparents.com/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”coolblue” ]READ MORE[/button]

 

Chinese Acrobats Visit Primary

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Last week, the primary students witnessed some amazing acrobatics during their Primary Assembly.

Says P4: “We began our week with a fantastic assembly with the Chinese Dancers. The children and teachers were amazed by their unique talents and acrobatic abilities. The men were able to flip and create human pyramids, and the women juggled and did a Chinese yoyo routine. It was endearing to watch the students emulate the performance during recess time.”

You can see tons of amazing pictures from the assembly (and other classroom activities) by visiting the primary classroom blogs under Classroom News. Check it out!

[button url=”https://foothillsmontessori.com/classroom-news/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”coolblue” ]Classroom News[/button]

Parents Get to Play

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Last week, parents of upper elementary students were welcomed into the classrooms for our annual Upper Elementary Parent/Child Night.

From the E6 Blog: “The students and teachers of E6 welcomed their parents back to school for an evening of lessons, puzzles and games that utilized the problem-solving skills acquired in upper elementary. Parents and students worked together to solve math challenges and word puzzles. They enjoyed creative practice in direction following and using their imagination to write sentences and short stories. Students tested parents’ knowledge of states and capitals and sorted animal crackers into biomes. It was fun to see so many of our families working, learning and laughing together.”

 

Plus, it snowed!! Check out more pics on the E6 Classroom Blog.

[button url=”http://elementary6.fmsparents.com/2013/02/01/parents-and-students-who-work-together-learn-together/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”coolblue” ]READ MORE[/button]

We love to PLAY!

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Playing outside with friends is integral to every child’s development. It improves cognition, encourages mental and physical development, reduces stress, reinforces social bonds, enhances creativity and confidence … and of course, it’s just plain fun. The best memories from childhood are usually the ones involving interactive play with others in the great outdoors.

Richard Louv in his landmark book Last Child in the Woods discusses the fundamental need for children (and adults) to spend time outdoors. Instead of our weekly look inside a classroom, let’s join the children of E3 while they enjoy the interactive Science Playground, the open field and the Las Vegas winter sunshine just as children were meant to do.

And of course, nature can inspire great works of art. You are invited to visit the E3 classroom in person to view a gallery of artwork inspired by Georgia O’Keefe’s flower studies, incorporating watercolor, pencil, ink, tissue paper and collage pieces.

See many more pictures of E3 by visiting their classroom blog!

[button url=”http://elementary3.fmsparents.com/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”coolblue” ]MORE FROM E3[/button]

 

Congratulations Ms. April!

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Ms. April, Head Teacher in E4, has been chosen as our new Staff Spotlight.

“Ms. April is a positive thinker. She would always acknowledge me even if I got something wrong. She has a great sense of humor.” — Hank (former E4 student; currently in E5)

You can read more about Ms. April below.

[button url=”https://foothillsmontessori.com/april-dane/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”coolblue” ]Read More[/button]

 

Help E1 Win The Reel Math Challenge

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A group of students in our E1 classroom have entered the 2012-2013 Reel Math Challenge. This is a nationwide competition where teams of four work together to creatively solve a math problem and make a video.
Videos are posted online; those with the top votes will advance to the next round. The top team will win $1,000 scholarships for college. Students do it on their own with absolutely no teacher assistance. We invite you to view the video and vote for our E1 students. A note from a student:
“Hello; This year, some of my fellow classmates and I have created a video. This is a math video we made for a contest called Reel Math Challenge. We have submitted it onto the website, but have no chance of winning without your votes! Please visit the website below, and hit vote! Every vote counts. Thank you for you time!” – Noelani
[button url=”http://reelmath.org/videos/sunday-sundae-special-ice-cream-shoppe” target=”_blank” size=”large” style=”coolblue” ]VIEW VIDEO[/button]

Primary Students Explore Space

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Through the month of January, our Primary classrooms are learning about space by exploring the planets, solar system, sun and constellations.

Says P4: “The children will explore what each planet looks like and the contents that make up the different planets. There are many different works out in our Science Area which allow the children to continue to learn all about our wonderful Solar System.”

P4 students also learned a “planet song” and did a special art project involving the sun with Ms. Angela.

 

In the Practical Life Area, there are new works on the shelves such as shoe polishing, plant washing and wood polishing. These beautiful materials encourage independence and order while enhancing fine motor skills, focus and level of concentration.

Says P3: “It is wonderful to see the high level of concentration that the students exhibit while working with these materials.”

P3 students also worked on drawing their self-portraits. “Some of our Kindergarteners have taken on the ‘job’ of leading the other children through their self-portrait work,” P3 continues. “This helps to build on communication skills between the children and helps to make them responsible for the jobs within our classroom.”

Read more and check out lots of pics under Classroom News!

[button url=”https://foothillsmontessori.com/classroom-news/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”cherry” ]Classroom News[/button]

 

A Look Inside the Window of E5

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E5 students are starting the year off right, getting right back into downward dog!

Yoga

We have resumed our morning yoga ritual. Beginning our day with a rested and focused mind has been helping each of us. Deep breaths and getting ourselves centered has been an amazing way to start our day. Thank you Ms. Joanie!!!!

History

We launched our Pioneer unit with a visit from a real life “mountain man.” Scott Sorenson told stories, shared animal pelts, and sang us beautiful songs of our past. We listened and were intrigued with his choice to live like the Mountain Men of our past, like Jedediah Smith and Kit Carson. We researched several men from Nevada’s past and gained an understanding of why they were here and how this is an important part of our state’s history.

Writing

We will be working on publishing writing that involves creative fictional narratives. We will rely heavily on our schema from books we have read in the past. This is always an exciting unit and the students are looking forward to the process.

Science

We are still in our Ecology unit and are moving into adaptations and animals. You can talk to your child about camouflage and behaviors that animals display to help them adapt and survive in their environments.

Spelling Bee

Special congratulations to Matthew as he will move forward in the Scripps Spelling Bee competition. He will represent the sixth grade class and compete against two middle school students. Way to go Matthew!!!

You can read more from E5 and get tons of information and pictures from all the classrooms by visiting the Classroom News page. Check it out often — and remember to Subscribe!

[button url=”https://foothillsmontessori.com/classroom-news/” target=”_blank” size=”small” style=”cherry” ]Classroom News[/button]