Benefiting Others

MISHAWAKA — The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes recently held its seventh annual Wrapping Up for the Holidays.

The school wrapped presents and packed boxes of food for three families (11 children and three adults) that the Montessori adopted through Salvation Army. Each family’s pantry was stocked with enough food for the duration of Christmas break. Each child received hat and gloves, an outfit and socks, and three presents to open.

Courtesy of: The South Bend Tribune December 11, 2011 Edition

Photograph Courtesy of: Ed Bosworth of Bozworthy Images

Living Biographies in the Upper Elementary

November and December are living biography months in Upper Elementary. The students pick out an autobiography or biography of a person that interests them. After the student has read the book, he or she takes notes, prepares an outline and makes notecards for the presentation to the group.

The rules of the speech include, a 3 to 5 minute length, and the child needs to become the person, use of the pronoun I, is imperative. The students not only dress the part, but also bring props.  

Parents are invited to be in the audience. Thus far, we have met, Harry Houdini, Peyton Manning, Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman. Please ask your child which day he or she has signed up to present.

Submitted by: Helen Muffoletto- Upper Elementary Teacher at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Math Magic

If you were one of the lucky parents who attended the Parent Education night on November 1, then you saw how exciting the subject of math is in the Montessori curriculum.  The teachers showed us how the child begins with the beads and works through a variety of materials that not only help her learn math facts, but that teach her brain how math works.

                                   

Ms. Kolata enthused about how, working with the bead bars, the child will gain a sensory understanding of, for example, 9². Many of us memorized the times tables and learned that 9 x 9 = 81.  The Montessori student will have a visual and tactile experience of how when 9 is taken 9 times the bead bars can be made into an actual square. Then he can take the squares of 9 to make a cube…making a reality of 9³.  And the magic doesn’t stop there.  Mrs. Muffoletto demonstrated the decanomial board and the mathematical secrets of squares and square-rooting that a student can uncover for himself while working with this material.

Mrs. Reynolds gave us a peek at the fraction works and how a child can discover the rules for adding fractions—not by memorizing, but by laying out the equations and finding out what happens with the numerator and the denominator in an addition problem.  (Read Mrs. Reynolds blog “Learning about Fractions and Eating Them, Too” http://tmaatedisonlakes.blogspot.com/2011/11/learning-about-fractions-and-eating.html if you want to know more about fraction materials.) Mrs. Dennis took us into Upper Elementary materials, revealing the advanced checkerboard and its uses as a tool in working problems with decimal numbers.

As Mr. Poole told the parents at the end of the evening, learning math with Montessori materials gives the child an understanding of math that is deep.  This understanding forms a foundation for math at higher levels in Jr. High and beyond.  In fact, Mr. Poole said he often reminds the Jr. High students of things in algebra that they have already learned by using materials throughout lower and upper elementary.  He took the opportunity to remind the assembled parents that the Montessori math curriculum provides a foundation for reasoning that will be applied instinctually to many areas of learning.

In the Montessori curriculum, the materials are not just there as extras, they don’t just illustrate facts from a book.  The materials are the curriculum.  The materials teach your child math in a way that allows the child the joy of making mathematical discoveries.

It also turns out that while using Montessori materials the student is using multiple parts of the brain.  If you want to read more about how the Montessori way of learning is good for the brain, you might want to read the book Math Works by Michael Duffy.  Duffy illustrates how modern neuroscience has caught up with just how brilliant Dr. Maria Montessori was in her approach to the learning of math.

Submitted by: Meg Rooney- Librarian at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Visits to Arborwood

Community service is a vital part of the Upper Elementary cosmic education. The purpose of the cosmic curriculum is to prepare students to be life-long, contributing citizens. Learning to live and work together in a peaceful world, as well as helping others, is essential for developing confident, respectful citizens of the world community. In addition to the leadership and help given to others within the school, the upper elementary students have weekly trips to Emeritis at Arborwood, an assisted living and Alzheimer facility. The students interact with the residents, helping them with memory skills and having social interactions.  The residents, in return, share their life stories and add a bit of knowledge to the younger students.

The children take many of our Montessori materials from Early Childhood and Lower Elementary with them to the facility. The children work with the various materials as they help the Alzheimer residents with memory skills. Music is also a great stimulator. When the children begin playing the piano, the reaction of the residents is joyful. One woman, who rarely speaks or responds, sat next to the piano with a rapt expression on her face and actually lifted her hand and began to tap the keys in order to make music. Another resident came dancing in from the hallway. One gentleman sat down and played a beautiful piece for our children. Ask your children about their experiences to hear some heartwarming stories.

Contributed by: Becky Dennis an Upper Elementary Teacher at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Spanish in the Lower Elementary

Spanish students in lower elementary use puppets with dialogue as a dynamic tool to learn the language. Each student has the opportunity to perform as well as observe which helps them grow in a fun environment.

Third graders in studio class present a play about a family who travels to Mexico with their pet Parrot (Perico). The students combined complex vocabulary and comprhension of dialogue to enhance knowledge.

Article and Videos Provided By: Aida Atkinson- Spanish Teacher at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Learning About Fractions and Eating Them, Too

On a recent morning I gathered the first year students in my classroom to give them their first lower elementary presentation about fractions.  Some of my older students seeing me take the metal fraction insets and a bag of apples from the classroom smiled knowingly and offered to become a part of the group for the presentation.

Seated at the table the first year students immediately recognized the fraction skittles and metal fraction insets. They were familiar with these materials from their early childhood classrooms.

We used the fraction skittles first, talking about how first the whole skittle and then the skittle divided into two equal pieces. The students quickly volunteered that these pieces were called halves. We then talked about the skittles divided in thirds and fourths.

After we named these skittle pieces I introduced the terms numerator and denominator. The students learned that the denominator is the bottom number in a fraction and tells how many equal pieces the whole has been divided into while the numerator is the top number in a fraction and tells how many pieces of the whole we are talking about. 

After practicing placing fraction labels next to the proper skittle pieces we went on to doing the same thing using the metal fraction insets. The students enjoyed finding groups of fractions insets to match the labels.

As a final step in identifying fractions the students watched as I cut the apples and several oatmeal cookies into different fractional parts which they identified. Then came what the students said was the best part of the presentation – eating these tasty fractions!

Submitted by: Rhonda Reynolds- Lower Elementary Teacher at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes

Photographs provided by: Rhonda Reynolds

Ludwick Farm- A Wonderful Experience

Recently, the lower elementary students went on their first field trip of the year to Ludwick Farm.  The farm has 9 horses and 8 goats on 42 acres.  This wonderful outdoor experience was full of discovery, observation and inquiry.     

One of the most important aspects of the Montessori cultural curriculum is its attention to all living things.  By paying attention and learning about plants and animals, we help the children learn about the physical world that surrounds them.  The cultural curriculum helps the children explore their surroundings, which helps them gain an appreciation and understanding for all of the world. 

This year, we will make at least four trips to the farm.  On our first visit, each of the children was presented with a bag that contained a steno notebook, mechanical pencil, tweezers, magnifying glass, compass, animal track information sheet and bug finder/viewer.  Each of the children also received a disposable camera that they will use throughout the year to photograph things that they find of interest on the hiking trails.

We were taken on a tour of the barn and outbuildings.  We also learned how to approach a horse (NEVER stand behind their back legs).  After petting the horses (there are 9), we were shown where the food is for the animals and the tack barn.  On one of our next visits, we may learn how to put a saddle on a horse.  The children were very interested. 

After meeting the horses and looking around, it was apparent that the goats were very eager to meet the children (there was a lot of bleating).  The children were equally interested in the goats and spent a number of minutes petting them.  They are very sweet animals and quite precocious.  One of the girls was wearing a sweater with some fringe, and one of the goats REALLY liked it!  We were told that they like to chew on a particular type of texture of clothing.  The children LOVED it!  

When the children were done petting the goats, we set off on the first of two trails at their farm.  Before we began our hike on the Pine Tree Trail, we were reminded the children to stay away from the mud, as it can be quite yucky.  The children really enjoyed walking on the trail, as it is like a tunnel of trees.  Many of the children took time to observe their surroundings and most of them saw tracks made by different animals. 

The children used their tweezers, magnifying glasses and bug finder/viewer to more closely observe things that they found on the trail.  Some things that were collected during the hike were mushrooms, leaves, nuts and turkey feathers.  The children really enjoyed the hike and were very eager.  I never heard any complaints of sore/tired feet or the need for a break.  We walked for the better part of two hours, but it was as if the outdoors energized the children. 

After we finished our hike on the Pine Tree Trail, we went to the trail at the back of the property.  It was explained to the children that they needed to pick a tree.  This tree would be theirs to study for the year.  Once the tree was chosen, each child took a picture of it and tied a ribbon around it so that they can find it on each trip. They will photograph their trees throughout the school year and make notes about what they observed.  The children really enjoyed this activity and spent a great amount of time choosing the perfect tree. 

After the children found their trees we continued on the back trail until we returned to the barn.  Each of the children were provided an apple to eat for snack. When they finished eating, she showed them how to throw the apple out to the horses.  The children really enjoyed watching the horses eat the apples and seemed to get a kick out of the fact that I giggled when one of the horses ate the apple from my hand. 

After feeding the apples, we returned our bags and boarded the RV.  Many of the children stated that one of their favorite parts of the day was riding in the RV.  When we got back to school, the children wrote about their trip.  They liked finding different animal tracks, turkey feathers, caterpillars and a stinky pile of horse manure.  The children were also intrigued by the Michigan cellar (it used to store potatoes and onions) and a few of them even spotted a wild turkey. 

Of course, none of this would have been possible if not for the incredible generosity of Ludwick Family.  We are deeply appreciative for this opportunity and are so looking forward to going back as soon as possible!  Thanks also to the many parents who were able to go with us.  All in all, it was a fabulous day!

Submitted by: Kathy Kolata
Lower Elementary Lead Teacher
The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes