2012 RECAP
Eagles Year Round Up:
September/ October/ November
Getting to Know You:
This is an opportunity for the class to get to know each other and their teachers. Students share their likes and discuss special things that make them unique. Children were are asked share pictures and tell us about their families.
Beginning Phonics:
Children begin to receive weekly vocabulary words each day and activities surrounding its introduction. These weekly activities reinforce sights words and as the weeks move forward new vocabulary words are introduced.
In addition to sight words, Ms. Shirley introduces initial and final sounds for the following letters:
p,s,m,h,l,b,f d.
Learning the vowels:
A, e, i, o, u and sometimes y. We are learning the short vowels sounds to exist in words like: cat , mop, umbrella and igloo.
We began with the a family introducing at , ad, am, ap
We then moved to the short e family exploring words like pet, set, ned, red and sled.
After we introduce all the short vowel families, we will begin to learn long vowel families.
Math:
During September, the students reviewed their colors and shapes.
The students learned to distinguish concepts between top, in, out, bottom, over and under. We used materials to demonstrate things that go in , out, over, top and bottom.
The Eagles also learned about things that are different. We made comparisons using materials that are different from one another. We then learned about things that are the same.
After students learned the comparisons, they learned of things that go together as well as things that do not belong together. The students learned this process by sorting and matching things that go together as well as things that do not belong.
Identifying Sets of 1 to 3
Identifying quantity by sets and the number of objects they represent. The students were able to identify sets of numbers by counting how many objects were in the picture.
Red Gold Orange and Brown:
In the summer time the leaves on the trees are a deep green. As the season changed we encouraged our class to observe the changes from dark green to the colors of fall. Children were instructed to observe nature on the way to school and in their neighborhood and to bring in examples of the changing leaves.
We learned that as the weather gets cooler the leaves will soon fall off as it is too cold for the leaves to live on the trees with winter approaching. New York has lots of maple trees.
Fall Vegetables and Fruits
Throughout the months of September, October and November we’ve observed the changes of fall. Gathering leaves and learning about fall fruits and vegetables. We learned that farmers harvest and sell seasonal items at the Farmer’s Market. We can pretend to be farmers and shoppers too.
Fall fruits and vegetables:
- Apples
- Beets
- Cabbage
- Pumpkin
- Pomegranate
Learning about seasonal fruits and vegetables helps our students chart which vegetables are available during different times of the year. We observe the color, texture, smell and taste, as well as identifying the parts of each vegetable.
Orchards/ Pumpkin Patches
Learning about an orchard helps us understand a farmer’s job who plants, grows and harvests fruits. Our students learned about caring for the trees at the orchard from pruning, picking and selling.
We learned the process of harvesting a crop meaning to collect and selling it at local markets.
Pumpkins can be used for soups and baking as well as carving. Apples can be used for eating fresh and baking as well.
Farmers Market
All of the Stuyvesant Heights Montessori families contributed fall fruits and vegetables for our school wide farmers market. Each class had a chance to shop for fruits and vegetables as well as working the market. Working the market gave each child a chance to be responsible and help others with their choices. Each shopper had the chance to make an independent choice about the fruits and vegetables they wanted to buy.
The school came together and it was a wonderful example of sharing, helping, responsibility and independent choice.
Welcome to Idaho!
In class we are traveling from New York to Idaho to learn something new about the state. Ms. Shirley shares potatoes for us to observe and we discussed delicious foods made from potatoes. There are snow-capped mountains and volcanic soil which are perfect for potato growing. Idaho is west of New York. Soon we will learn about the Native Americans who live and work there.
Next month we will travel across to Africa to visit and learn. We will still be visiting other states in the U.S., and traveling from Costa Rica to Ecuador.
November/ December/ January
We continued to teach the students about sets, they learned to recognize the following.
- Sets of 0 -2
- Sets of 5 - 6
- Sets of 7
Graphs and Reading a Picture Graph
The Eagles learned what a graph is and how we are able to read and distinguish a picture graph. During this lesson, the students were able to understand how a graph is used and demonstrate their knowledge on quantity using a graph.
New York Marathon
Every November, runners from all across the world, train and travel to New York to run in a marathon. We learned that a marathon is a race which 26 miles long. We observed runners running across the different bridges, highways and local streets of New York. Races have a start line and a finish line. We cheered for the runners as they came very close to the finish line. The Eagles were very excited to see so many people running and were inspired to run a marathon themselves.
Intro to Cultural Studies: Africa/ Kenya
Marathon Winner: Kenyan runner, Geoffrey Mutai
We begin our country study learning about marathon winner Geoffrey Mutai. As he ran across the finish line, he was draped in his country’s flag. We observed his flag has several colors. The colors are:
- Red / Bravery
- Green/ Land
- Black /the people
- White/Peace
On the Kenyan Flag are Symbols. The Shield is a tradition Maasai shield. The Maasai are cattle herders who live in Kenya. The shield is used for protection. There also two spears which represent protecting all of the principles of the flag colors. Kenya is in East Africa. We would have to take a plane to fly there.
Kenya has different types of weather. There are beaches, mountains and savannahs. In Kenya there are large animal preserves where all types of safari animals live. Elephants, Zebras, Wildebeests, Hippos, Rhinos and Giraffes live there.
Rhinos
Rhinos are becoming extinct. Their horns are used to make medicine. This makes them not safe. These animals are herbivores. Herbivores just eat only plants and shrubs. Rhinos cannot see very well. They use their hearing to protect them from predators.
The Eagle class pretended to be Rhinos by tasting mixed greens, while blindfolded. We used our senses of taste and hearing to understand how the rhinoceros lives.
Giraffes
Giraffes have long necks and love the leaves of the acacia trees. They did not always have long necks. Over generations their necks grew longer which was helpful as they were competing with elephants and antelopes for food. Giraffes have great eyesight and can see predators from very far away. They use their legs to kick if a predator comes close.
Wildebeests
Wildebeests are antelopes which graze in the grasslands between Tanzania and Kenya. Hundreds of wildebeests and zebras travel over 500 miles each year between both countries following the rainy season. This journey is called migration. Wildebeests can smell rain and fresh water miles away. They use their noses to guide them to fresh water and grass to eat. Zebras travel with the wildebeests. They have to be very careful because predators such as hyenas, lions, and crocodiles.
In class we created a migration map so the we can chart journey of the wildebeest and zebras between, Kenya and Tanzania. This lesson introduced:
- Distance
- Direction Necessity of water
- Understanding Ecosystems
Indigenous People: Maasai
One of the preserves where safari animals live is called the Maasai Mara. Cattle herders called the Maasai live there, taking care of goats and cows. The Maasai are hunters and brave people. They use their shields and spears to protect their herds from predators. Cows and goats are very valuable as they are used for food, milk, and can pay for a child’s school fees for education.
Maasai Favorite Colors
The Maasai are a proud people. Their pride is displayed through beautiful beading which is known throughout the world. There are several colors used for making their beaded necklaces.
- Red/Bravery
- White/Cow or Goat Milk
- Blue/ Sky
- Green/Grass
- Black/ Rain
- Orange/ Woman’s Favorite Color
- Yellow/ Sun
In class we created our own Maasai necklaces. We used all of the tribal colors and worked in sequence.
This activity introduced patterns, sequence, and sharpening fine motor skills.
Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain:
As a part of our study of Kenya, we read the book, “Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain”. This book is a story about a herder name Kipat, who lives in Kenya and his job is to take care of his herd. His herd was very thirsty because it had not rained in a long time. Saw storm clouds above and he crafted a bow from the eagles feather and used a bow and arrow to shoot the clouds for the rain to fall. When the rain fell, all the animals had drinking water and grass for the animals to eat. The rain was needed for the grass to grow so the animals would also have food to eat. This book introduced the concept of drought and the effects of the lack of rain on the environment. Our students learned the importance of rain and how it effects our ecosystem.
In addition to reading this book we also read:
- Maasai and I
- Mama Panya’s Pancakes
- Wangari’s Trees
- Moja Means One
- Papa Do You Love Me
Counting in Swahili
Our selected reading Moja Means One, introduced our students to counting in Swahili. This language is not only spoken in Kenya but in Tanzania, Uganda and other parts of East and Southern Africa. We worked really hard learning our numbers and practicing every day. We created charts and compared the number system to counting in English.
Observing Winter:
We say goodbye to fall which begin September 22, and say hello to winter starting December 21. As the season changes, notice there are barely any leaves left on the trees and its getting colder outside. We have to wear warmer clothing such as hats, scarves, mitten, boots and heavy coats, it is to cold for flowers and leaves to live outside.
Eagles Royal Party:
The ladies and gentleman of the Eagles classroom gathered to celebrate the end of 2011 in royal fashion, princes and princesses danced, and dined on a royal potluck contributed by our class parents. It was a wonderful end to 2011.
January/February
Phonics Focus:
We are moving through the alphabet and exploring initial and final sounds for letters k,n,t,g and c. Our short vowel family focus for this month are the letter i, and the letter u.
Math
Forming Our Numbers (0 - 10)
Number form is how students learn about numbers and their placements. Students learned about which numbers go in which places from 0 to 10.
Black History and Civil Rights:
The Eagles worked on a project last year learning about the Freedom Riders. The Freedom Riders were Black and White Americans who marched and rode through Southern States to show their solidarity for equal rights. Everyone in America did not have the same rights. It was not fair and Freedom Riders had to be very brave to stand for African Americans. People tried to hurt them but they wanted America to be a better place for everyone. In February we remember and learn about the history of African Americans in this country along with the struggles and triumphs that helped shape American History.
The Eagles learned about many African Americans during the month of Black History Month such as, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr and Harriet Tubman. They learned about these wonderful people who made an impact on our history.
Montgomery Bus Rides
We learned a song about the Montgomery Bus Boycotts called “The People Walked.” This song talked about how not all people could sit where they chose even though they paid to ride the bus. It was not fair and Martin Luther King said we will not ride until it is fair. The Montgomery bus company lost lots of money as many African Americans found other ways to get to work. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat. Her friends and community supported her and her fight for fairness.
Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 21st
We learned many things about Martin Luther King Jr. and his belief in equality for everyone. When Martin Luther King Jr. was young he graduated very early from school . It was important for Martin to follow his dreams. Non violence meaning not hurting others was important to Dr. King. People tried to hurt him and his family. Martin continued to travel and speak about change and organize marches for equality. Martin was friends with Presidents, Church and Community leaders, and people of different colors and faith. He was respected by people across the world and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his hard work.
Teaching about about black history promotes the following:
- Empathy and caring for other thoughts and feelings
- Standing up for what is right
- Being brave
- Working together
- Being nice and respectful to others even if they are different.
Smithsonian Groundbreaking Preparation
For all of our hard work creating memorable projects for Black History Month, we were invited to the Groundbreaking of the Smithsonian African American History and Cultural Museum, which will be open by 2015. All students and families collected change and donated coins to the Museum to support this historical project. This museum will be a place to remember and view past events, photos and memorabilia from African American culture.
What is a museum?
Our students learned that museums are collections for visitors to view and study. We discussed what is inside different museums, the museums we have visited and what it means to donate. Donating means to give and help. The staff at the Smithsonian were very happy we all worked together as a school to help out. Helping makes us feel proud and happy.
Groundhog Day: February 2nd
We are all excited about spring this March and hoping that Punxutawny Phil the famous ground hog did not see his shadow. It is said that if he sees it we will have six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t we will have an early spring. Well he saw his shadow so I guess we have to wear our warm clothes a little longer. During circle time we talk about all the upcoming events and holidays for each month.This allows our students to understand the changes happening with each month and to look forward to upcoming holidays, celebrations, seasonal changes with the coming months.
Presidents Day February 20th : Our current President is Barrack Obama, he is the 44th President of the United States. We learned that a presidents job is to work and make decisions to help our country grow. He works as a part of a team to make life here in American fair and free. He has a very hard job as did all the presidents before him. We know a lot about president Obama, but what about our other presidents?
Activity: The Presidential Tour of Bed Stuy :
Washington Avenue, Quincy Street, Madison Street, Monroe Street and Jefferson Street were named after our first five presidents. Some of our students live on the streets or very close to these streets so we created a presidential map of Bedford Stuyvesant to chart where each Presidential Block is located.
This activity allowed are students to explore:
Where are the streets located?
How do we get there?
How close are our homes from these streets?
Maps teach direction and we use them as a guide to know where we are.
March/ April/ May
Phonics Focus:
Let’s learn our long vowel sounds! Knowing the difference between short and long vowel sounds helps us to understand how to pronounce our sight words correctly. In class we think of words that have long vowel sounds and Ms. Shirley writes the answers on the board.
Diagraphs:
A Diagraph is a combination of two letters representing one sound, as in ph and ch. Students learn to identify diagraphs and to think of examples of these words to share with the class. Other examples of diagraphs are: sh, th and wh.
Consonant Blends:
A consonant blend is a combination of two or more consonants within a word, each of which alters its sound slightly. Are consonant blends are: fr, gr, gl, fl, br, cr, sm, sw, sk, sl, tr, dr and pr.
Math:
How to Tell Time
Eagles have learned to understand and use the clock. Students know that it has a face, minute, second and hour hand. They learned why it is important to tell time and how we use it everyday to remember important activities and plan out our day. We taught them how many numbers are on the clock as well as how we write numbers on the clock. The students are able to distinguish between a clock and a digital clock.
Woman’s History Month
March is Woman’s History Month. The Eagles learned about wonderful women who have made a difference in American history. We read the book “My Name is not Isabella” by Jennifer Fosberry. This story is about a little girl who pretends to be important women figures of our history, such as Rosa Parks, Annie Oakley, Sally Ride, Marie Curie and Elizabeth Blackwell. Isabella has big dreams and she finds out how these remarkable women teach her the importance of being her remarkable self. The Eagles also saw videos of some of these woman figures and learned how they have made a difference Seasonal Changes:
As one season comes to an end, another one is about to begin. Students have learned about the changes of each season and what happens to the temperature. What is the probability of rain if it is cloudy outside?
Seasonal Plants
The students observed the different plants outside our school and learned which plants are seasonal and which plants can survive all year round throughout the four seasons.
Year Round Plants:
Nature Observation: The budding of the trees
The students observed the beginnings of spring, watching budding plants and trees outside. In addition, the children made observations of warmer weather based on what they wore to school each day while comparing it to clothing worn during colder times of the year. We discussed hibernation and understanding that with warm weather there will be plants growing for hibernating animals to eat when they awake.
For Science, students started observing the flower blossoms of early spring blowing off the trees to make room for new spring leaves.
From beans to flowers, the Eagles have worked very hard to plant, observe and take care of their new sprouts. The Eagles learned about germination which means to begin to sprout. They also learned what each part of a plant does and how they adapt to their environment. The students planted a kidney bean without soil and plant flower seeds in soil and observe how seeds can germinate with and without soil. It was exciting for the children to watch this process from start to finish.
Thermometer
As the weather gets warmer, students learned about the temperature falling and rising, discussing questions in regard to what the weather feels like, the types of clothing we should be wearing and the type of changes we will witness as we come closer and closer to summer. Children also learned about thermometer and how it is used.
April/ May /June
Phonics Focus:
Now the students have been introduced to how words are created and the various sounds, Ms. Shirley has moved on to the following areas:
- rhyming words
- penmanship
- compound words
- antonyms
- homonyms
- syllables
- plurals
- contraction
- capitalization
- filling in missing letters
- writing simple sentences
Math:
Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are the order type of a well ordered set. During this lesson, students were able to recognize objects that are placed in order using ordinal set.
Missing Numbers
What comes after 15? For math we had them fill in the missing numbers. This helps us know how well they know their numbers.
Money
How much is that? The students have been learning how to add and subtract money. They have also been learning to distinguish coins and dollar bills. We have used actual money so students can differentiate between certain coins and bills and how much we need to complete the cost of an item.
- Penny .01 cents
- Nickel .05 cents
- Dime .10 cents
- Quarter .25 cents
Earth Day
April is Earth Month! The Eagles have been learning about the three R’s Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and how we can keep our environment eco-friendly. It is important to reduce waste and recycle as much as possible to minimize the use of our natural resources. Let’s continue to reuse our water bottles and minimize the use of ziplock bags by reusing containers, and use our Montessori bags instead of plastic bags for groceries. Ms. Emmie created a recycling area in the classroom and showed students how to separate what should be recycled from regular trash. In addition children watched a video showing what happens to our trash once it leaves the sidewalk on trash day to the waste facility which separates all recyclable items.
Remembering Maurice Sendak:
On May 8, Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and Chicken Soup with Rice passed away at age 83. The Eagles have learned to recite the words of the chicken soup poem as a part of our morning circle time game, name that month. Each child takes great pride in remembering which parts of the poem are associated with the mystery month. This activity strengthens our students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills in a fun and entertaining way.
Cinco de Mayo
Feliz cinco de mayo! The Eagles learned what cinco de mayo is and how it is celebrated in Mexico. The date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. To celebrate, the Eagles had fun being chefs for the day preparing their own quesadillas and guacamole, while listening to mariachi music. Children watched the history of Mexican music and dance to experience Mexican art and culture. This activity empowered each child to prepare a meal, choose ingredients and share their cuisine with the whole class.
Flag Day:
At the beginning of each new month, our class highlights all the events, holidays and birthdays happening every month. In June we begin to learn about Flag Day and the history behind the making of the flag. The Eagles learned that the 50 stars on the flag represent the 50 states and have learned to recite and sing the Fifty Nifty States song. They also learned about the thirteen stripes representing the original colonies. We discussed why the colonies where created , and how Great Britain was not being nice to its citizens and that’s why a new country was created. They learned that Betsy Ross was a seamstress and she made the original flag which only had thirteen stars.
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