I Didn't Forget...

I've just been catching up.  It's been way too long since my last post, but I wanted you to know that we are still here and moving right along!  Speaking of moving, one of the reasons why I haven't posted in a bit is because my family recently moved to a new home.  While we are thoroughly enjoying our new home, it does mean a new (much longer) commute for me to school.  As you might imagine, we are all getting used to a new daily rhythm of life with my kids attending a new school and everything that a move entails…
With all this change occurring at home, thankfully things at Montessori school have remained the same!  I will share with you some recent pictures from our classroom.  The children continue progressing in their lessons while practicing those all-encompasing Grace and Courtesy lessons.  Here a few snippets:

Finding sums of 14 with the Addition Strip Board.

Making an archipelago with clay.

Counting the thousand cube with the hundred square.  "They're all together to make a thousand!"

Writing words with the Moveable Alphabet.

"This is two-thousand, four hundred, twenty-three."

Memorizing addition facts with the Addition Charts.

Exploration with the Red Rods and Knobless Cylinders.  "It' s a Christmas tree!"

Learning about and naming the layers of the Earth.

Coloring the flag of Russia.

Memorization of addition facts.

Playing a game and learning the names of different igneous rocks.

'Jingle Bells' with the bells - how lovely!

More music with the Melody Harp.

Comparing three sets of Knobless Cylinders.

Inspiration: Sequins

Endless possibilities!

My daughter recently received a crafty gift for her birthday which served as inspiration for an art activity I am now planning for the classroom.  (Don't you just love when that happens!)

These types of craft kits are available at any hobby store in the States, but I had never seen one with sequins and pins  as see here in a Russian kit.

While I was excited for my daughter to have received this gift, my mind immediately thought of the the fine motor coordination and concentration such an activity promotes:

Carefully placing a pin in one sequin at a time...

…and carefully placing it into the foam board.

One can imagine the effect once completed!

For classroom use, I envision something less product oriented and more open-ended.  For example, a large foam board could be set up with various sequins to be worked on with a collaborative artistic approach throughout the year .  This technique could also be used to provide meaningful extension activities with Montessori materials.  Lightly outlining a Map of the World and filling in with corresponding colors was a thought that came to mind.  Or, for a more individual project, the child could make a model of the Short Bead Stair, trace and fill in Metal Inset shapes…  As you can tell, the possibilities are limitless and I look forward to setting something similar up in my classroom!

Montessori Maslenitsa

Brightly colored scarves, long dresses, the sound of accordions playing traditional Russian tunes, children singing…  all against the backdrop of a Montessori school!  What a gift to be given opportunities that combine two of my major interests in life - all things Montessori and all things Russian.  Many of my readers might not be aware, but my undergraduate degree is in Russian Studies while my master's is in Montessori education.  Our time in St. Petersburg has afforded me chances to seamlessly weave these interests, creating unique experiences that are personally meaningful.

Last weekend, my family and I were invited to Mikailova Montessori School to help ring in the traditional celebration of Maslenitsa.  I can still hardly believe that I was able to take part of this type of cultural event at a Montessori school!  It was evident that this school has built a strong community, full of committed families, teachers, and students.  The children were friendly, inquisitive, and clearly had put forth a lot of effort in preparing for this event.

Several classes participated in plays depicting traditional Russian folk tales and stories.

Tea was served from several traditional samovars.

Children and adults enjoyed various games.  Here the children are practicing flipping blinis (Russian pancakes).

Part of the Maslenitsa celebration includes symbolically parting with Winter by burning a scarecrow and welcoming Spring.

What would it be with out dancing?!
 

The students prepared a vast array of handiworks ranging from knitted bracelets to pottery which were sold during the event.  Proceeds went directly to the school - what a fantastic way to include the children in fundraising!

More on St. Isaac's Cathedral

Some of my readers may recall the post about our visit to St. Isaac's Cathedral last week.  Imagine my delight to find a beautiful set of matching three-part cards of churches and cathedrals in the classroom:

Matching cards each with a labels including the name of the cathedral its architect.

My daughter saw this and exclaimed, "Oh, I've been there!"

Each set has the control of error on the back of the cards.

I have a feeling that I will be scouring the book stores and buying postcards in sets of two for lots of material making!  

Montessori in St. Petersburg

My daughter and I have had the privilege to begin spending our mornings at the beautiful International American Montessori School in St. Petersburg.  After the hustle and bustle of getting school on the metro and city life in general, what a sense of peace it brings me to be in an authentic Montessori environment!

There is nothing quite like seeing the Pink Tower to bring a sense of normalcy and belonging - especially for a child.  The night before our first day of school, my daughter asked me if her new Montessori school would have one.  It was not surprising that this became her mission - to find that Pink Tower!

Mission accomplished!

Now, for revisiting a favorite extension.

And of course, her favorite, the maze with the Red Rods!

I am sure these Sensorial activities brought my daughter (and me!) a needed sense of normalcy amidst this new life experience overseas.  For this, I am very grateful and remain in awe of the range and scope of the Montessori method of education.  

Hands On Learning: St. Isaac's Cathedral

My oldest son is interested in architecture, and being that we are in St. Petersburg, what better way is there to promote this interest than to bring it to life?

Working on a 3D puzzle of St. Isaac's Cathedral.

Visiting the cathedral, the largest in St. Petersburg and fourth largest in the world.  

The dove at the top of the dome - to give some perspective, the wingspan measures 1.6m!

Climbing our way to the top...

…and enjoying the view of the city - Admiralty and Winter Palace.

A memory to last a lifetime.

In St. Petersburg

We have made it to our destination and are having a grand time settling in.  Our first night in the city was Orthodox Christmas Eve, so we took the opportunity to visit Kazan Cathedral.

Christmas Eve at Kazan Cathedral.

Nevsky Prospect and the entire city is illuminated with exquisite holiday lights for Christmas and New Year's.  What a special time of year to arrive in this city!

My boys in front of Dom Knigi, 'House of Books', glittering with lights.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Spas na Krovi, just across the way.

We are enjoying exploring our new surroundings and look forward to more excursions.  More photos to come!

On Our Way

It is hard to believe that the New Year is upon us - what a superb start to the school year we have a had!  Each day, I am continually amazed at the growth and progress my students have made.  During my daily observations in the classroom, I find myself thinking, "Wow, these kids have come so far!" as they push in their chairs, put away their lessons, find new ones, and even fold (yes, fold!) various towel and carefully roll mats…  I can see how much the children care about their environment and take pride in their own achievements.  It brings me much joy to spend my days with them- which is why it is with mixed emotions that the time has come for my departure from the classroom.

As you may be aware, my family is to embarking on a temporary overseas move to St. Petersburg, Russia and we are set to depart in a few short days.   While I am filled with excitement and gratitude for this opportunity for my family, I will truly miss my students, our classroom, and the comfort of our growing trust with each other.  I am confident, however, that the foundation we have started to build during the last few months will continue to grow and the children will flourish with this strong beginning in place.  Also, it brings me much peace of mind to know that most of my students will be returning next year!  Based on the projected enrollment for next year, we will have a seasoned classroom with a majority of returning students.  Needless to say, I will be looking forward to returning to a full classroom filled with familiar faces! :-)

Even though I know everything is "in good hands," at school, it is still very difficult to leave!  During my family's stay in Russia, however, I will be a visiting teacher at the International American Montessori School in St. Petersburg.  I am looking forward not only to gaining new insights into the Montessori method of education, but also to bringing new ideas and a fresh, global perspective back to my own classroom.  While I plan to continue posting on this blog, time will tell which direction it will take - hopefully it will present a balance of both school and family experiences while abroad.  

Despite predictions of snow and ice on this end and major flood warnings on the other, we are on on our way!  Next stop:  St. Petersburg, Russia!

Print Making

This past year, I have very much been enjoying the discovery of loom knitting.  As a result, my stash of yarn leftover has exponentially increased!  What better way to use some of it than to make an art activity for the classroom?

Print making art activity at a table:  I used a hot glue gun to attach thick yarn around wooden blocks.  We chose to use the red paint to correspond with our color/number theme with the Short Bead Stair.

Imagine the open-ended creative possibilities!  

Such activities in the classroom not only allow children to enhance fine motor development, but they also provide opportunities for them to practice decision making and following sequences of lessons/activities.    

There is still a lot more yarn left - I am sure we will be using it for more art activities in the future!

Ready to Start!

Where did the summer go?  I usually have the to opportunity to post periodically throughout the summer, but in all honestly, the time just got away from me…  I have been spending a great deal of time and attention getting our classroom ready for the new school year - we are ready to start another year in just a few days!

So far, this year is turning out to be quite different from years past.  Some of my readers may recall that my family is getting ready for an extended period of international travel beginning in January of 2015.  Preparation for this endeavor has enabled me to hire another Montessori teacher beginning at the start of this school year.   For the first time, I will have another Montessori trained teacher working with me.  This is something I very much look forward to as sharing ideas and learning new information from one another will be invaluable both for  our own professional growth as well as for the children in our care. Our four months together in the classroom prior to my departure will allow for a smoother transition in the classroom come January when I will be leaving.

Another difference this school year is the fact that our incoming class is very young and new.  For a variety of reasons, we do not have the regular proportion of new students and returning students and I have been mentally preparing myself for a what will seem to be an entirely brand new class.  While we will not have as many returning students this year, I am pleased that we have a very full class and we will focus on establishing strong foundational beginnings - both in practice in the classroom as well as with parent education.

Most years, I have an overarching (general) theme which is carried throughout the school year and throughout the curriculum areas.  The last couple of years, this theme has had to do with geography and the continents of the world.  Beginning this year, we will be highlighting a Montessori math material called the Short Bead Stair.

Numbers 1-9 with the Short Bead Stair.   Click HERE for an example of how this lesson is used in the Montessori classroom.

Our plan is to focus on the color and number correspondence to guide us in creating lessons in the other areas of the classroom.  For example, as we prepared the classroom for the beginning of this year, we have chosen the color red (and the number one) for our Practical Life shelves and some of the art materials.

Here are some examples from around the classroom:

Practical Life shelves:  basic transferring lessons on the left (spooning, tonging, dry pouring);  basic water transferring lessons on the right (we will be using colored water - there is no water in the vessels in the photo).  Also, the large vase on the top shelf is filled with red carnations - right now they are for decoration as the Flower Arranging lesson is not out yet.

The corresponding number with Sandpaper Letters...

…and the Sandpaper Number (next to a print of one of our group art projects last year).

I feel it is important to have these items on display throughout the environment as the children are getting to know our classroom and the Montessori materials.  Also, because the class will be very new, we are only planning to change the shelves ever other month or so.  If all goes according to plan, we will only get through number five (light blue) by the end of this year.  So, this is really a two year plan which is especially critical given that I will not be here for part of this year…  (There is also a part of me that does not want to miss out when we get to the number ten whose corresponding color is gold!!!).  In any case, this general theme allows us to have a plan in place even when I will be out of the classroom this year.

There are many other activities that have been prepared and I will be sure to share them with you as we get our school year started, so stayed posted!