Georgetown Montessori School The Primary Class

April Newsletter 2024

Hello GMS Parents, We hope everyone had a lovely Spring Break and Easter! We look forward to hearing new stories of the children’s adventures at home and abroad over our break.

Happy Spring to Everyone!

April Dates and Information:

16- DC Emancipation Day, since 2005 (school is closed) 22- Earth Day, started in 1970

30- Arbor Day, began in 1872.

Extra information about each holiday is in the attached file with our newsletter.

Dress For The Weather: It’s Spring!

- Sunscreen and Bug spray—It’s getting sunny and hot. Apply sunscreen and bug spray to your child as needed before leaving home.

- Spring weather- Even if it seems warm, send a jacket or sweater with your child. Dressing in layers is helpful. Label all articles of clothing and belongings.

- Sandals- Make sure any sandals your child wears at school cover their toes for safety. Activities and Lessons are presented from March and continue through April.

Practical Life

We sweep, clean mirrors, water plants, clean tables, roll work mats, fold cleaning cloths, choose snacks, open packaging independently (using scissors), and clean up their table after eating snacks.

Grace and Courtesy: We continuously work on greeting, saying goodbye to each other, helping our classmates, holding the door, taking turns/waiting in line, carrying a chair, and pushing in our chairs.

Sharing

Working with the Embroidery Frame

Sensory Bin

Sensorial

- Once children have mastered the Binomial Cube, they will be given a presentation on the Trinomial Cube.

- Measuring with the Brown Stair, Superimposed Geometric Figures (square, circle, triangle), Geometric Solids, Knobbed and Knobless Cylinders extensions. (Extension activities: using the materials differently from those presented initially.) Constructive Triangles, Red Rod extensions.

Language

Materials and activities are: labeling our environment activity (a scavenger hunt- matching the name to the object), Bob Books- first readers, Sandpaper Letters, individual letter books, writing on the chalkboard- letter writing activity, Sound Bags a-z, Moveable Alphabet- building words and introducing building sentences. Non-Living and Living.

Ongoing work with the Metal Insets shapes to develop fine motor skills for handling a pencil for writing and presenting- Parts of a Flower, Parts of a Bird, and extended work on Parts of a Horse.

Matching Objects to Color Tablet Box 2

Bells Lesson

Geometric Tray

- What is “Emancipation Day” information and project for the afternoon children

Matching Objects to their Letter Sound

“Parts of a Flower”

Building words with the Movable Alphabet

Geography

We have been working on learning and naming continents and the differences between landmasses, bodies of water, and the animals that live in these environments. We are using the Land and Water Forms, World Map Puzzles, and language cards and beginning work on mapping our classroom. The children are enjoying the continents’ song.

Map of Europe

Land and Water Forms

World Map

Math

- The children recognize quantities and number order for our afternoon class.

- Identifying numbers 1-30 in order, Spindle Boxes 0-9, sorting objects for amounts,

identifying coins- coming up, and tracing numbers worksheets. Beaded Stair 1-9 and Beaded Stair with Golden Bead Material 10 Bar introduced teen numbers and learned decimal categories.

Teens Board with Number Beads

Tens Board

Fractions

Music

The children enjoy their music class with Ms. Amy. They also have fun learning various new songs during our 2nd Circle. Songs include new words, learning songs in German, following actions, singing, and identifying different instruments and music styles.

- Das Lied über mich- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkWID5Qy3gk

- Das Fliegerlied- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjQhHvw1obU

Art

Includes- bleeding tissue collage, applying it to other shapes, gluing, using scissors, drawing, watercolors, and stamps. We will be working on various flower art projects that are coming up.

Thank you,

Ms. Lee, Ms. Lisa, Ms. Sandrea & Ms. Fiona

” A child’s work is based on doing things for their own sake. There is an end towards which his work is taking him: through his work he is building the man he will become. But the child doesn’t know this; he only knows that he takes delight in doing certain things. This is his work.” ~ Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori Speaks to Parents p. 32-33

Botany Cabinet Paintings

“Painting what you see”

Bleeding tissue art project

Extras for Parents at Home and Beyond:

Things you can create with found objects:

Glue items to a large piece of cardboard and paint to add color. Objects used in the pictures below are egg cartons, paper towel and toilet paper tubes, pens, caps from jars, and bottles.

What is Emancipation Day? Two links for parents for further information. emancipation-proclamation-coloring-book.pdf

History of Emancipation Day

Arbor Day Started “In 1872, a man named J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture that a special day be set aside for the planting of trees. This holiday, called Arbor Day, was first observed with the planting of more than one million trees in Nebraska and is now celebrated all over the world.” https://www.arborday.org/celebrate/history.cfm

Earth Day History of Earth Day

"One test of the correctness of educational procedure is the happiness of the child." — Maria Montessori