Goodbye Icebergs, Hello Coral Reefs!

Dear P3 Famlies,

We are concluding our studies on the Solar System, Antarctica, and Polar animals. The children have really enjoyed our January themes, and have been busy putting space puzzles together, making planet books, and learning about all things Antarctica and the North Pole. In addition to our cultural, language, and math studies, many friends have been working on a variety of extensions with the Sensorial materials. This area has started to become a favorite in our classroom!

The Sensorial area in the Montessori classroom is far more than what it seems. Its purpose is to refine the child’s senses and to give them a proper foundation for future academic studies. Sensorial materials teach children to sort, classify, and categorize. For example, the red rods give them a visual sense of length discrimination. It encourages students to create order, observe patterns, and comprehend properties of three dimensional masses (wide/narrow/short/long). This is crucial for them to understand their physical environment, and ties in with mathematics, physics, the arts, etc. We encourage you to explore the Sensorial area with your child during our upcoming Parent/Child night!

The Kindergarten children have also been working with Green our Planet, and have been working on their green thumbs. They are planting eggplants, peppers, tomatoes, and their beets have sprouted! The broccoli planted a few months ago has also been transferred from the greenhouse to the garden. Such great fun!