Asia

 

Dear Lower Elementary Families,

In the weeks ahead, our classrooms will study the continent of Asia and its people.  The students will examine objects from everyday life, use some of the spoken and written languages, cook native recipes, and learn about art, literature and the music of Asia.

Each child will research a country in Asia and share it with the class.  We will celebrate the end of our Asian studies with a cultural reports and a luncheon. The date will be determined soon.

In order to make this a hands-on experience, we'd like to gather materials from Asia.  If you have any items that you think would enhance our Asian study, could you please let our classes borrow them? Here are some suggestions...
1.  Books, magazines, newspapers
2.  Toys
3.  Money
4.  Kitchen items
5.  School supplies
6.  Clothing
7.  Music
8.  Instruments
9.  Art work

We welcome guest speakers...parents, relatives, friends...who have traveled or lived in Asia and anyone who has a related experience, story, dance, game, or favorite Asian recipe to share.

You can enhance your child's learning by visiting your public library to check out books on Asia.

Thank you!  We appreciate your interest and support!

 

Submitted by: Room 106 and 107

Mighty Mustang Boot Camp

Giving

Read a thesaurus very carefully and you will see ‘TMA families’ as a synonym for benevolent. Our boxes are bursting with Toys for Tots. The front desk is groaning under the weight of hats and mittens to keep the children of La Casa de Amistad cozy and Portage Manor will have bingo prizes for a year.

 

A huge ‘Thanks’ to all of you!

 Submitted by: Terri Foley

You're Invited!

The entire school is buzzing with holiday fever! The students have been working hard at learning our holiday songs for the annual Holiday Sing-A-Long. So open up those lungs and be prepared to sing!

The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes would like to invite you, your families and friends to come join in the holiday fun. All of our children and community will be singing on Friday, December 21^st at 10 a.m. in the gym to kick-off the winter break. We love our diverse community and want to also ask if families would please bring items that either celebrates your family’s culture, heritage and/or holiday. We will place these items at the center of our sing-a-long circle and ask for your family to share with the community the items meaning or representation.

We look forward to seeing you all there!

Submitted by: MaKayela Collins

Upper Elementary Update

The Upper Elementary students continue to travel through time and across the oceans in history and literature. The fifth years are researching explorers in North America.

 

 

The 6th years are in China (history) and (Vietnam) literature. In connection with this study, The students went out to lunch at the new Vietnamese restaurant "Bowl of Pho". We also made rice balls in class.

 

 

 

 

The fourth years are studying ancient Egypt and are working on their mummy making skills.

 

 

 

 

Submitted by: Helen Mufoletto

TMA’s 2012 Mock Presidential Election

TMA’s Library was recently decorated in red, white, and blue when it served as the community polling place for the school’s mock presidential election. Students from Kindergarten through Junior High were able to experience the voting process first hand. As students entered the Library, they checked in at the registration table, signed their names on their class list, and received ballots. With ballots in hand, students moved on to voting booths to mark their ballots. Their final stop was to deposit their ballots in our official ballot box, the same one used in past TMA mock elections.

 

This year TMA even had absentee voting!  Since Lower Elementary students were scheduled to spend Election Day at the Ludwick Farm, all of those students voted on Monday, November 5.  After the rest of the school voted on Tuesday, final results showed that Barak Obama and Joe Biden received 68 votes and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan received 45 votes. Most students enjoyed the whole process. We hope voting in this mock election will inspire many of our TMA students to become life-long voters!

 

 

 

 

Special thanks go to Junior High volunteers, who assisted Kindergarten voters, and to Upper Elementary volunteers, who assisted Lower Elementary voters.

 

Submitted by: Lin Brooks

 

This past week, the elementary and junior high students hosted their first Museum of Montessori Art Parent & Child Adventure!  It was a huge success and I, for one, am so thankful for the incredible turnout. 

Over the past couple of months, the children have been preparing for this event by creating beautiful pieces of art.  The children, ages 6-14, created art ranging from the styles of Impressionism to Street Art. 

The range of work was phenomenal.  The children really enjoyed learning about different artists and what inspired them.  Years ago, when I studied music professionally, I remember how I felt when I found a piece that seemed to reflect who I was as a person and how I was feeling at a particular time in my life.  I believe that this is what our students have felt like as they have studied different artists.  They seemingly connect with an artist or a particular style of art and become inspired.  I can personally state that there is nothing better than observing a child who is inspired.  The attention to detail, the care for the work, the personal investment – it really takes your breath away.
 

When I first began at The Montessori Academy, I remember looking so forward to January and February when my students would begin creating their Windfall project.  I looked at that time as a time when our classroom community would work on creating something beautiful together.  I had decided early on in my tenure here, that our project would be a reflection of the culture or continent we were studying that year.  By doing this, I was able to integrate the visual, kinesthetic and musical arts into our daily learning. 

More recently, I began exploring and integrating art into our curriculum as a means to building community.  When we can create together, we can work through conflict together, as well.  As I have lost the ability to play my violin and express myself through my music, I have become much more passionate about expressing myself through art and more importantly, the teaching of art in the classroom. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is much to be learned about how our children learn.  We may never know what truly inspires a child – what drives them to do more, be more, learn more.  This is why it is important to open a child’s eyes to the many possibilities that are out there.  

 

 

                

I am so excited for Tuesday, November 20, because it is on this day that we will assemble our community art project – something that is a reflection of our individual selves and our community family, as well.  It is hard to imagine a more powerful statement of what it means to be a part of The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes. 

 

 

 

 

Submitted by: Kathy Kolata

Books & Burgers

What: Fundraiser

When: Friday, Oct 26

Where: Five Guys & Barnes & Noble (University Park Mall)

A percentage of all sales that day come back to school! ANYONE can participate!

See special codes below:

FIVE GUYS - Just tell them you are with TMA

BARNES & NOBLES: Either provide B&N coupon

(found on website, in weekly memo or at front desk)

OR

for online sales, use code 10906824.

(online promotion extended to Oct. 31)

Don't forget to pick up your Scrip at the front office before you head over.

It provides the school an additional percentage!

 

Chili Time

IT’S THAT TIME!

WHAT TIME?

CHILI TIME!

 

 

WHEN:  TUES., OCT. 16

WHERE: TMA GYM

TIME: 6 P.M.

Grab the whole family and join the UE staff for a Chili Night in the Gym!

 

The teachers will provide the chili and we’re asking the families to round out the meal.                                          

 

If your name begins A-M, please bring a salad, relish or vegetable, and if your name comes after, please bring something ‘yummy’ to end the meal.

 

 

Following dinner we’ll declare “Open Gym”!

 

For a head count, please RSVP as soon as possible.

Camp Eberhart 2012

Back to school with the upper elementary children is always a great bonding time. What a great way for our 5^th and 6^th year children to welcome and embrace their new family members, the 4^th year and ‘new to the school’ children. We go to Camp Eberhart in Three Rivers, Michigan, at the beginning of every school year. The children spend two days and one night in Leighton Lodge on beautiful Corey Lake. There is much excitement on the bus when we leave from the school. All of the children must carry their own bedding and backpacks onto the bus. This year was an exceptional year! The children had it down to a science. I don’t think any sleeping bags fell apart as the children squeezed onto the bus.

There are always many activities and classes run by counselors who come from all over the world to work at Camp Eberhart. One class, “Birds of a Feather”, allowed the children to be detectives and discover what some birds eat as a regular diet. By dissecting sterilized owl vomit, the children put together skeletons and match them to pictures that explained what the delicious diet had been. After some ‘yuck’ moments, everyone thought this was really cool! They also played a game where they used kitchen tongs as beaks and tried to catch ‘fish’ as they swam or rather rolled by their feet. Standing on one foot, symbolizing a crane, made it very funny and challenging.

 
‘Edible Plants’ landed the children by the lake and into the woods for samplings of vegetation that Native Americans and colonists had eaten. Poisonous ones were also sought out for a history lesson. Did you know that Abraham Lincoln’s mother died from ‘milk sickness’? Her milk cow had eaten one of these deadly plants in the field, and when Mrs. Lincoln drank some milk, she became ill and passed away. The children also made tea from some of the plants.


‘Group Dynamics’ presented a timed, problem solving game that kept being played over and over again for a better finishing time as the children planned together new strategies.

 

Rock climbing was a thrill for all. A large stationary wall was used as well as a moving wall. Needless to say, more children excelled on the stationary wall. A few brave souls did tackle the moving wall with some success.

The waterfront held many activities that the children could travel to in groups at their leisure. Tubing, swimming, jumping off Coop’s Tower, and archery were enjoyed on both days. Archery brought out the best in everyone. Believe me, it’s harder than it looks! Keeping the arrow on the bow and making it to the target can be challenging. Canoeing was also on the water front. Everyone partnered up, and after a training lesson, off the children went with a counselor following in another canoe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A camp fire with stories and songs, smores, and a night walk without flashlights was a perfect ending for our first day at camp. Then, the real fun began! Spending the night in Leighton Lodge is always a thrill! You will have to ask an upper elementary student for the details!

The bus going to camp was a noisy experience with very excited children, eager to have fun. Coming back home at the end of the second day was a much quieter experience. After the fun of camp, sleep came very easily to many. We left for camp to bond with our new friends, as well as to re-establish old friendships, and came home with our upper elementary family ready for the new school year.

 

 

 

Cooking with Montessori

Food and its preparation play an intrinsic part in a Montessori education.  In Early Childhood classes the children learn with practical life materials how to pour, measure, cut, and chop.  They learn grace and courtesy by serving and accepting food items.  Sometimes Lower Elementary children continue the use of these skills by preparing their snacks as a group exercise in the school’s kitchen.  As part of their cultural studies, the children taste, as well as make, foods from many foreign cultures.  It is at this time that many children, both girls and boys, show a keen curiosity about food and cooking.  The incorporation of different foods into the curriculum continues through Upper Elementary and Junior High.  Their culinary skills and tastes expand as knowledge of their surrounding world develops.  This past year the Junior High students took part in TMA’s International Festival by creating a diverse sampling of ethnic dishes.

TMA’s Library contains many books on food and its preparation at different learning levels.  Beginning cooks might start with The Children’s Step-By-Step Cookbook.  The Library has children’s cookbooks by Emeril Lagasse and well known food editors from Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking Light, Williams and Sonoma, and Disney.  More experienced cooks might like to try Kid Favorites Made Healthy, The Magic Kitchen Cookbook or The International Cookbook for Kids.  Perhaps your child would like to have a tea party or a sleepover.  The Library can help with copies of Come to Tea, Let’s Have a Tea Party!, The Sleepover Cookbook, and Super-Duper Cupcakes.  There is even a book on how to have a Japanese tea ceremony.  Maybe young cooks would like to check out the After School Snacks Cookbook, Silly Snacks: Family Fun in the Kitchen or the Cheerios Cookbook.

Your young cook’s interest might be sparked by history.  TMA’s Library can take students on a journey across North America with Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking, Colonial Cooking, and Food for the Settler.  Perhaps you have a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books.  The Library has a copy of The Little House Cookbook based on the frontier foods from her stories.

For the cook who is dreaming of becoming a world traveler, he or she can get a start by creating and tasting ethnic foods.  TMA’s Library can make it possible.  The Library has three excellent series of books that cover many countries and continents of the world.  Sampling books from each of these series (“A Taste of Culture,” “Food and Festivals,” and “Food and Recipes of…”) will get their gastronomical tour started.

Cooking together is a wonderful way to expand Montessori into the home.  Within a prepared environment a child is focused on a purposeful activity.  The child gets to taste and explore the cultural history of each food.  Let’s face it: cooking and eating together is just plain fun.  The Montessori Academy Library is here to help make it happen.

                                                                                                Linda Meyer

                                                                                                Library Assistant

Early Chapter Book Series for Younger Readers

“Summer reading” is a phrase that calls to mind relaxing with a book on a porch, at the beach, in a tent or at some lovely vacation spot.  We tend to spend more time outdoors and our books go with us.  We want the same to be true for our children and grandchildren, hoping that they’ll have fond memories of reading one of their childhood favorites by flashlight under the stars (or under the covers).  With some of our children, we can’t imagine them without books in their backpacks or on their bedside tables.  With other children, helping them make reading a habit definitely requires more coaxing.  Sometimes discovering just the right series for those children can launch them into a reading habit.  For both the natural readers in your life and for the ones who need some inspiration, here are some series for younger readers to consider for those special summer reading times.

Early Chapter Book Series for Younger Readers:

Anna Hibiscus: Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa, "Amazing Africa." A warm-hearted multicultural story. Advanced.

Bed & Biscuit: Grandpa Bender, a veterinarian, boards animals at the Bed & Biscuit. Advanced.

Breyer Stablemates: Young girls who love horses will love these stories and learn facts about horses, too.

Buddy Files: Buddy, a dog, devotes himself to taking care of his boy, Connor, and to solving mysteries.

Cam Jansen: Cam uses her photographic memory to solve mysteries.

Dinosaur Cove: Two boys travel back in time to the days of dinosaurs. Advanced.

Down Girl and Sit: Two busy dogs who think they are named "Down Girl" and "Sit" work hard to train their masters.

Flat Stanley: Flat Stanley has returned.  See both his original adventures and his new "Worldwide Adventures."

Fluffy the Classroom Guinea Pig: Fluffy relates his own hilarious version of day-to-day classroom life. Easy.

Fly Guy: As a pet fly, Fly Guy has adventures with his boy, just like Lassie used to do (sort of). Easy.

Henry and Mudge: Young Henry and his very large dog Mudge have fun together through all the seasons. Easy.

Magic Tree House: Long-time favorites of children who can read longer chapters; a brother and sister travel in time.

Mercy Watson: Mercy Watson is a pet pig who keeps the neighborhood crime-free and eats a lot of buttered toast.

Miami Jackson: Nine-year old Miami Jackson deals with a strict teacher, baseball camp, and other challenges.

Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Nine-year-old Alexandrea takes ballet classes and makes friends in Harlem.

Time Warp Trio: This long-running series is a favorite of boys. Magic, adventure, and history mix easily. Advanced.

Young Cam Jansen: Stories of Cam's earlier years, matched with easier reading levels.

Upper Elementary Spanish Lessons!

Submitted by: Aida Atkinson- Spanish Teacher at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

BOOK FAIR LUAU

There will be some changes coming to TMA’s Library in the next few weeks!  The Book Fair Luau will be making a festive stop at our school from Wednesday, May 9^th, to Tuesday, May 15^th.  Hours during school days will be 8:20am to 5:00pm.  Saturday, May 12^th, will be family day, with the Fair being open from 10:00am to 4:00pm.  Parents will have the chance to choose books with their children for their summer reading enjoyment.

The Library will be turned into a fun beach-themed luau with tikis, surf boards, and hanging palms.  One of the books being offered with this theme will be Pig Kahuna. In this picture book, two little pigs discover some beach fun with a surf board.  Froggy and his family have a warm Aloha when Froggy Goes to Hawaii.

Since this year marks the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, several Titanic books will be available. There will be a special two-book set from Magic Tree House: Tonight on the Titanic and a companion nonfiction “Fact Tracker” book to answer all of your Titanic questions.  Remembering the Titanic follows specific people who worked on the Titanic or were her passengers.  It starts with her building, tells of her crash and sinking, and finishes with the eventual rescue of the survivors.

These and many, many more books of different reading levels and on a wide range of subjects will be available under the swaying palms.  There’s sure to be something for all the readers in the family.  See you at the Book Fair Luau.  Mahalo!

Submitted by: Linda Meyer- Assistant Librarian at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes