Craft corner

I think it's now safe to show you.....

The children have been busy block printing cards in a sunny corner of our room.  I love what the
children are able to create with a simple piece of styrofoam and some ink.

Fulgurite

Can't go wrong with a fulgurite!















Every year, I gift the children with a mineral, rock, or fossil.  The idea is that by the time they leave our community, the children will have the beginnings of a class set...AND they will have acquired the itch to collect more.

This year, a good friend acquired a class set of fulgurites at the Houston Gem & Mineral Society Annual Show.  Fulgurites are formed when lightning hits the ground and melts and fuses sand together, leaving a rock impression of its path.

When they opened the gifts and we talked about what they were, one child exclaimed, "Awesome!  I can add this to my collection!"  Exactly!

Watch me grow

One of our winter traditions is daily observation and measurement of an amaryllis bulb as it grows.













These plants are amazing!  For a period of weeks, the stalk consistently grows at least 1 centimeter per day and sometimes grows as much as 3 centimeters!  We chart its growth on a line graph, and the children are always amazed to see how fast it grows.

Seed stomping?

Yesterday, it was 82˚.  By this afternoon, the temperature was down to 52˚ and still dropping.

We bundled up and headed to the pond habitat to spread our seed balls.  The children had great fun placing each ball and then walking on it to press it into the soil.  Hopefully, the low night temperature tonight doesn't foil our efforts!

Last week, the children worked together to create seed balls.  They combined humus and clay, 

mixed in wildflower seeds, and moistened it with enough water to create marble-sized seed balls.











We are hoping to create a wildflower meadow around our pond habitat.  I can't wait until spring to see what sprouts and blooms!

Universe Story Artwork

Now that we have a blank wall long enough to display all of them, I finally got these beauties framed and onto the wall!  Aren't they lovely?

Each poster is batik on handmade mulberry paper. 

This gorgeous artwork features the Universe Story, the Montessori Great Lesson with which we begin every year.  The story marks the beginnings of our studies of science, geography, and history.  “An integrated curriculum of history, geography, biology, and physical science is the heart and soul of an authentic Montessori elementary classroom” (Children of the Universe).  To place these subjects in context and give children “the big picture,” we begin every year with the story of how scientists believe the universe was created.  Maria Montessori felt that an understanding of the universe was the basis for all knowledge.  She writes, “let us give [the child] a vision of the whole universe” (To Educate the Human Potential).  The “Universe Story” is told in a dramatic way, with demonstrations such as an erupting volcano model (which went a little higher this year than intended!), to strike the child’s imagination and inspire a sense of wonder. 

Thank you to the Hartye/Morgan family for gifting these to our classroom, and thank you to my mother for sponsoring the framing.

Beginning Again

After a series of very long days, the classroom is once again ready to welcome young learners! 
Floors are shiny, flowers are tucked in vases, each shelf has been tended to, pencils are sharpened, notebooks are empty and waiting.
It's going to be an exciting school year!  See you Monday!

Komodo dragons

Today's Google Doodle honors the 37th Anniversary of Komodo National Park.

Komodo Island, Indonesia

This is especially exciting because in Summer 2015, I had the great joy of visiting Indonesia's Komodo National Park to see komodo dragons in person!

Komodo dragons are the largest lizards alive today.  Adults typically weigh around 150 pounds, with lengths of 7.5 to 8.5 feet (though there have been individuals that grew over 10 feet long!).  Scientists believe that komodo dragons are similar to large lizards that were more common millions of years ago.

Komodos have an impressive sense of smell.  They use their forked tongues to sample (and chemically analyze) smells in the air.  Under the right conditions, komodo dragons can detect prey up to 2.5 miles away.  Their eyes are tuned to detect movement.  This is important for hunting.  When the hunt is successful, an individual may eat a single meal of 50 to 80% of its body weight.  To assist with this feasting, the stomach stretches easily and the jaw opens unusually wide.

Don't try this at home!  Komodo dragons are dangerous and will attack humans.
This photo is mis-leading.  I am really a very safe distance away.  

Look at the claws on this guy!