 Brandy's Corner:
Welcome!
Muhammad Ali once said, "To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are."
This quote sums up the power of belief. Belief in oneself is what propels us toward success. Many of us have been very blessed to have parents who told us we could accomplish anything we set our mind to; become anything we wanted to become; the sky was the limit or perhaps not even a limit.
Here at Absorbent Minds it is our goal to instill that belief in each and every one of our students. We believe there is greatness budding inside each of them. We are passionate about building our students confidence in themselves through our words and actions; showing them we believe in them and their abilities. One of my favorite movie quotes is from "Toy Story" where Buzz Lightyear shouts "Reach for the Stars!" Most of us, as adults, watch Buzz in that movie and laugh at how he blindly believes he can fly.
Like the great Muhammad Ali, Buzz Lightyear had belief; belief in his ability to be the best at flying. Because of that belief he took a leap of faith and "fell with style," landing on his own two feet. It was not that Buzz had great talent, great skill in flying (or falling) that lead him to land on his feet; it was his belief in himself. It is our goal at Absorbent Minds to instill that strong sense of belief in each student. Teaching them the sky truly is the limit.
~Brandy.
Grandparents Day | October 15th & 16th
Grandparents' Day is approaching! Students have made invitations and they have been put in the mail to all Grandparents. Grandparents are invited to come see what their little Pride & Joy does at school. Grandparents and students will work together to make a festive corn cob magnet for each grandparent to take home. Depending on the day your child attends, Grandparents will also participate in either Sign Language class with Ms. Brown, or Spanish class with Senora Lisa. We are looking forward to meeting all the Grandmas, Grandpas, Nannas and Papas! |
|
 Cooper's Corner:
Students got off to a great start in September. The first two weeks we focused mainly on classroom rules, safety at school and respect for others and materials. The children are coming along with following the routine and using their manners.
Our theme for the month of September was Animal Classification. The children were taught about characteristics and traits, and viewed various pictures of mammals. Throughout the first week the children were introduced to certain mammals and were asked to label the parts of their body. The children enjoyed puzzles from the Animal Cabinet and making their very own Mammal Booklet. In Math the children were introduced to a work called Mammal Babies. The children had to choose the mother the animal should belong to and then count how many babies she had all together.
Next we moved on to birds. The children truly enjoyed viewing all the colorful pictures of various birdlife in our Animal Folders. We spoke about birds that don't fly such as penguins, ostriches and peacocks. We touched on bird habitats and migration. In Geography the students were introduced to "State Birds." In this work students were asked to match a picture of a bird with a picture of the state it represents. The children were also taught how birds lay eggs and that birth happens in a nest. Students really enjoyed the Bird's Nest Craft.
Fish was our next topic. We touched on characteristics and habitats. The students were informed that all fish are cold blooded and live in water. We spoke of scales and their texture. Students labeled the body of a fish and were taught the functions of the gills and fins. The students created their own Fish Booklets. In science the children were introduced to Invertebrate and Vertebrae. In this work the children were shown various pictures of animal life and were asked to classify it as having a backbone/spine (vertebrae) or not having a backbone/spine (invertebrate).
Next we learned about Reptiles and Amphibians. Students viewed pictures from the Animal Folders and were asked to distinguish between reptiles and amphibians. They learned that reptiles and amphibians have many similarities such as being cold blooded, vertebrates and laying eggs. When we compared differences the students discovered that amphibians have skin that is moist and soft, but reptiles have scales and more roughness to their skin. They learned that the eggs amphibians lay do not have a shell, but that reptile eggs do. The students labeled the parts of the frog and created a booklet of a frog's life cycle. In language the students were introduced to a work where they could match a picture of a frog with a lower case letter on it to a picture of a lily pad with an uppercase letter on it.
Last, but not least we studied Dinosaurs! This was a big hit with the kids. First we discussed that the dinosaurs are extinct. We talked about the word and what it means to be extinct. Then we explained some of the theories scientists have believed that may have caused the extinction. We mentioned volcanoes, asteroids, climate change and how all of these things may have affected the life cycle of the dinosaurs. The children viewed pictures of some other animals that are extinct.
Next we touched on fossils. We learned that dinosaur fossils are bones that have been under the Earth's surface for millions of years. We explained that the fossil was a bone at one time, but after many years it chemically became more like a rock. Various types of rocks were brought in to be viewed and touched by the children to give them an idea of what a fossil may look and feel like. We also learned that dinosaurs have skeletons like ours. We showed some photos of dinosaur skeletons and the students made their own by pasting lima beans to an outline of a T-Rex. The children also learned the concept of subtraction by discovering dinosaur bones (milk bones). The students rolled two dice and counted how many bones they found and put them in their basket. Then they counted how many were left. The kids also learned many songs this week. They had the chance to move and dance and learn dinosaur names at the same time!
~Mrs. Cooper |
 Mr. John's Corner:
Welcome new and old!
The beginning of school always brings excitement to the classroom. It was good seeing the returning students and a pleasure meeting the new students. The first few weeks are always set aside for going over ground rules and basic presentations such as rolling a mat. A mat is a small rug on which the children work on the floor. Each child has their own "work space" on the mat. They learned how to carry a tray carefully. We use trays to carry materials from the shelves to the work space. This was a good review for those who have heard it all before; and a perfect time to introduce these things to the new kids on the block.
The older students have taken the new students under their wing by showing them how to work with materials, demonstrating to younger students how to follow our 4 basic ground rules (no running, have listening ears, keep your hands to yourself, and respect others and respect the materials) and setting the example of how to walk the line. "Walking the Line" begins at the end of "work time" when the teacher rings the bell. The children "stop, look, and listen." They then have 5 minutes to put away their works and they walk on a circle made of tape that is on the floor. Classical music is played in the background, which is 5 minutes long. The children walk the line calmly, slowly, and silently. Then sit down for circle time lessons when the music stops.
After the basic ground rules were established we went into "The Healthy You." We learned many healthy habits such as washing our hands, brushing our teeth, how to cover our coughs and sneezes correctly. We read the book Germs are Not for Sharing to help remember why it is important to develop these healthy habits. We talked about different ways of exercising, and eating healthy.
Eating healthy led into our next week's topic of "The Food Pyramid." We learned about the grains (bread, pasta, and rice) and we should have 6-10 servings a day; vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and potatoes) which we should have 3-5 servings daily; fruits (strawberries, bananas and mangos) which we should have 2-4 servings daily; dairy (milk from cows, goats and sometimes horses, yogurt, and cheese) which we should have 2-3 servings daily; protein (meat from cows which is called beef, chicken, fish, and meat from pigs called pork) which we should have 2-3 servings daily; and sweets, oils and fats that should we use sparingly.
The next week we discovered the characteristics of Living Things. We discussed that living things eat, breath/exchange gases, reproduce and grow. We came to the conclusion that humans, cats, dogs and even the fish in our aquarium are alive. We also came to the conclusion that my walkie talkie and shoe were non-living things since they don't breathe, eat, have babies or grow. :o) I posed the 64 thousand dollar question: "Are plants, trees and flowers living?" Most gave a resounding "yes" because they meet the characteristics of living things we discussed. During the week of learning about Living and Non-Living a matching work was added to the classroom. The words "living" and "non-living" are placed at the top of the mat and there are pictures of a car, pencils, rocks, a chair, a television, and a boot which are to be placed under the word "non living" and pictures of a frog, a turtle, bear, a spider, a day lily, and a butterfly which are to be placed under the word "living." The students had a lot of fun doing that activity to practice what they learned about Living and Non-Living.
This has been a great beginning to a great school year.
~Mr. John |
Enrichment Activities:
 Spanish:
Welcome back Senora Lisa!
Spanish class instantly became a favorite time of the week for our students. Senora Lisa came with her guitarra (guitar) and títeres (puppets) to help us all learn the creative songs she made up for your children. She began the year teaching children the "Hola" song, sung to the tune of "The Farmer and the Dell." Students have mastered this song, which I am sure you have heard at home.
Students learned how to introduce themselves, ask what someone's name is and tell their own name in Spanish. Each child was asked by George (the puppet) "Como te llamas?" (What's your name?) and they had to reply, "Me llamo _____." (My name is _____.) They also learned how to say bueno (good), mal (bad) and así-así (alright) in response to the question "Como estas?" (How are you?) These words and their pronunciations were sent home with your child.
Next students learned to count to 10 in Spanish. This is a fun activity to do at home with your child.
To begin the month of October students are learning the Itsy Bitsy Spider in Spanish.
Keep your eye out for the weekly paper from Senora Lisa explaining what your child is learning and how you can help them at home!
 Music
Ms. Lisa has been entertaining the children of Absorbent Minds for the past month with her Music class. Each Tuesday she fills the hallways with music, laughter and the rhythmic sounds of instruments. She brings her trunk full of goodies, including her friends Bernie, Gerry, Tina and Freda. The anticipation of what she is going to pull out of her musical trunk next is high with the students.
In the class the students learn new songs that are creatively introduced and taught by Ms. Lisa. She teaches not only the lyrics of the songs, but she also combines choreographed dance movements to engage her students.
Each week the children have the opportunity to learn about and play with many instruments. Some of the class favorites are the big and small triangles, tambourines, bells and rhythm sticks. They have a great time playing along with the music and experiencing the new sounds that they are creating.
Along with the fun dancing and singing the students of Ms. Lisa's class have learned about composers such as Chopin and Beethoven, and musical terminology. The children have learned to tell the difference between allegro (fast) and adagio (slow) by dancing around the room with a beautiful, colorful scarf. They can also differentiate between forte (loud) and piano (soft).
We hope you are enjoying the sound of Ms. Lisa with your CD that was send home. Chances are you too have been learning with Ms. Lisa!
 Sign Language:
Wow, it is great to start up sign language class again!
I was so happy to see everyone participating, learning and practicing sign language.
We started out the year with some basic signs that are used every day in our classroom: Please, thank you, potty, sorry. This was a great experience! Students were asked to request from me two pretzels using the appropriate "nice-signs." This was a really great way to keep the kids engaged while they applied the newly learned sign to a real world situation. We also practiced our days of the week song using sign language. Students learned to sign each day of the week. Ask your child to demonstrate the song in slow motion and fast forward!
Each day, your child will learn a different number-sign which is the date. After students master the hand shape, they are asked to give a "high-24" or a "high-7" instead of a "high-5." They really enjoy this and do a great job, always giving their best effort.
Every student is also learning how to sign their name. At the end of each lesson I will "finger-spell" their name to dismiss them from the circle. I am very impressed with how the students have begun to recognize the letter signs for their name.
~Miss Brown
 Little Racquets:
Welcome to the Little Racquets 3 week update! We are building motor skills and confidence, learning teamwork and having a ball! Over the past few weeks, we have sampled the following pretennis and tennis activities:
- Warm-up skills: catching and throwing the smiley face balls, shuffling around our "tennis court", and identifying letters, colors and shapes on the racquets.
- Hitting forehands off of stationary cones with lady bug, rainbow, star, foam and spinner balls (ribbon attached) helped us focus on the forehand groundstroke.
- Our Little Racquets "coaches" taught us a forehand progression drill which allowed us to hit several balls over the net from various distances.
In conclusion, we have improved our coordination, kept our hearts beating strong, learned some tennis technique and worked on balance and footwork games. We especially love to play ABC forehand, duck, duck goose and walking our imaginary "dogs". We have had a ball participating in the Little Racquets program with our friends from our class.
Helpful hint: If possible, please feel free to toss any size ball to your child over the next 2 weeks on the driveway, patio or basement. Step 1: Turn them sideways with their racquet back and low near the knees. Step 2: Toss or roll a ball to them. Step 3: Call out "bounce...hit!" Practicing this technique will allow them to feel comfortable with a racquet in their hand while trying to connect with the ball.
Super Heroes Project
We are excited to introduce our Super Heroes program. Super Heroes is a program designed to teach our students to help others in need. Super Heroes are ordinary people who do extra-ordinary things to help others. Children are naturally willing and eager to give of themselves to help others. The Super Heroes program acknowledges and celebrates that generosity, while providing children an opportunity to learn about our community and our world. This program will consist of educational opportunities and service projects for our local and world wide communities.  Our kick-off project is "2 Cents-A-Meal." This program is designed to remind us of the poor and needy at mealtimes. It encourages our students and families to engage in the daily exercise of contributing 2 cents per person per meal. Your student will make and design a container that will be kept at home to deposit the 2 cents per person at meal times. The 2 Cents-A-Meal contributions will be collected and donated to a world wide hunger relief through organizations such as Alternative Gifts International or Heifer International. These donations will be made in the name of "the Children of Absorbent Minds Montessori School." Last year we collected over $200.00! Every one of our children is a Super Hero. This will be an exciting opportunity to see our Super Heroes in action. |
Montessori Tidbits
Simply put, Montessori is a method of education; but it is so much more. Developed by Italian educator, Dr. Maria Montessori, the method is built upon the idea that children develop and think differently than adults, they are competent beings and capable of self-directed learning. Using specially designed materials to facilitate each phase of development Montessori focuses on everything form motor skills to concrete knowledge to abstraction.
Dr. Montessori observed children in the environment she created and noticed they developed through what she called "sensitive periods." This can best be understood as thinking of a child's brain as being programmed to learn certain things at certain times in his or her development, but not all children are at the same stage of development at the same time. For this reason, Dr. Montessori prepared the classroom environment so the children could choose the material they wanted to use each day. To the untrained eye this looks like chaos, but it is really self-discovery in the classroom.
Maria Montessori believed that each child is born with a unique potential to be revealed, rather than as a "blank slate" waiting to be written upon. For this reason she developed the method of self-discovery within the classroom. Dr. Montessori believed in preparing the most natural and life supporting environment for the child, observing the child living freely in this environment and continually adapting the environment in order that the child may fulfill his or her greatest potential, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. |
"Passing Through"
Reverend Kirk is a graduate of Mount Union College with Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Management; Miami University with a Master of Business Administration; and The Methodist Theological School of Delaware, Ohio with a Master of Divinity. He is Pastor of Pilgrim United Church of Christ which is the third church he has served over his 19 year career in ministry. He believes his greatest accomplishment is his 24 year marriage to his wonderful wife Cheryl, and rearing three wonderful children Cady 19, Chelsey 17, and Luke 15, who are poised to make their contributions to the world. Kirk's approach to everything he does is to use his time and talents to make the world a little better because he has passed through.
The Bedtime Parenting Challenge:
Defining "Bedtime" and Establishing a Routine
When speaking about children, I like to use the word challenge rather than problem. Problems are trouble; challenges are opportunities, and bedtime is really an opportunity.
What do we, as parents, mean when we say "bedtime?" Is that the time we expect our children to be in bed? Is it the time we think their light should be out? Or, is it the time we want them to be asleep. Being clear and consistent relieves much confusion. Consistency allows your child to know what to expect. If bedtime is the same time each night, children of consistent parents quickly learn the expectation. In our house we defined "bedtime" as the time our children were expected to be in bed. Thirty minutes before bedtime bath, pajamas, last drinks, and last potty trip all took place. That way when bedtime came and they asked for one more drink, we could say, "No that time has passed."
We discovered as parents that while we could not make our children go to sleep, we could expect them to lie still. At their bedtime we began thirty minutes of reading time. Children love the attention of being read to. Any delays in bedtime cut into their reading time. As our children got old enough to read for themselves, they began to treasure their half hour reading time. Reading time should always end with prayers, if that is your tradition, a hug, kiss and "I love you." Having a regular routine is hard work and it takes sacrifice on the part of the parents. But not having a routine is very costly in terms of tears and frustrations. Our experience is that routines are well worth the price.
One last piece of "magic," for those times when nothing else would work: I would spray "Sleeping Magic Sleeping Spray" in our children's bedrooms. My sleeping spray was room air freshener that was reserved for this use only. The scent gave the children something to focus on as they drifted off to sleep.
Also remember children are a blessing, and while sometimes are easier to enjoy than others, every moment is a special gift.
~Rev. Kirk Bruce | |
|
|
|
Themes of the Week
Mr. John's Class:
10/5: Birds
10/12: Fish
10/19: Amphibians
10/26: Reptiles
Mrs. Cooper's Class
10/5: The Moon
10/12: The Sun
10/19: Planets
10/26: Space Exploration
Upcoming Events in October:
15th & 16th Grandparents Day
21st Fire Station field trip
29th Halloween Party
|
|
We are collecting Box Tops to earn money for our school. The money we earn goes toward new classroom materials and playground equipment. Giant Eagle is offering 15 Bonus box Tops, during the month of October, when you purchase ANY 4 participating General Mills products in a single transaction with your Giant Eagle Advantage Card. Box Tops can be placed in the collection box in the upstairs hallway outside Mrs. Cooper's classroom. Thank you for your support! | |
