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

Over-the-Moon for Books!

Here’s a link to the list of the 100 "Greatest Books for Kids," ranked by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine, as published in USA Today last month:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/story/2012-02-14/100-greatest-books-for-kids/53095042/1

Now we all might have strong opinions about books included or left off this top 100. Isn’t that the fun of lists? But there are definitely some terrific titles here! As a book lover and also a moon watcher, several moon-inspired titles on the top-100 list caught my eye.

For toddlers, some of whom love to talk to the moon and other inanimate things, there’s that ever-favorite soothing bedtime story, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.  (We even have Buenas Noches, Luna, the Spanish translation!)

Your young children might like to hear you read the beautiful picture book, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. In lyrical style, accompanied by ink and watercolor illustrations, it tells the quiet adventure of a father and child going out into the wintry night to spy on nature. It’s number 74 on the list and it is a Caldecott medal winner.

“And the moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine.”

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Upper Elementary students might enjoy the Newberry Honor Book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.  The author herself calls her book “a fantasy inspired by the Chinese folktales that enchanted me in my youth…” It is the tale of a brave and brilliant girl who seeks to help her family by following her heart all the way to the moon and back to bring them wisdom. The title is number 26 on the linked list and it is a Newbery Honor Book.

And for a blast of science, non-fiction readers will enjoy the number 91 title on the list. It reveals facts from NASA transcripts, reports quotes from the astronauts, and shows marvelous photographs to tell the story Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon.

These four moon explorations are all in The Montessori Academy Library collection. In fact, we have the majority of the listed "Greatest Books for Kids" amongst the thousands of books on the shelves of the Library. Stop in before the next full moon and borrow an old favorite--or discover a new book--for your child.

Submitted by: Meg Rooney, Library Assistant at The Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes