Happy Thanksgiving Division 5 families!
On Friday during our weekly peace circle we talked about what Thanksgiving means to us. There were a variety of answers. The students shared things like:
“Thanksgiving to me means spending time with my friends and family”
“Thanksgiving to me means eating good, healthy food and being happy”
“Thanksgiving to me means being grateful for my health”
“Thanksgiving to me is showing the people I love that I care about them”
“Thanksgiving to me means getting together with my friends and having a play date”
I’d like to encourage all Division 5 families to incorporate the growth mindset at home. At school, during our work choice I encourage the students to make wise decisions about the work that they will accomplish that day. I have noticed that our work choice cycles need extra reminders about the importance of practicing skills and time spent on the process of working with the Montessori materials rather than the product. Of course, this mindset and all learning takes time and it would be wonderful if the students could hear it at school as well as in the home.
This week…
Math
This week we are continuing our study of numeration and addition.
Grade 1 students will continue to work with the cards and counters material, the addition strip board, and the decanomial beads.
Grade 2 and 3 students will be starting a static addition math workbook. The students are responsible for working on this book a little bit each day with any Montessori math material they have been introduced to.
Language
The grade 1 students are continuing to focus on their word study and penmanship. Some students are working with sandpaper letters as well as consistently writing stories in their journals.
The 2s and 3s got off to a great start on their literature circles last week! They are so excited about these novels that I’m sure it won’t take long for us to read!
Culture
Our Space Station within our culture material! Each cubby has its own planet information. The students use this information to do research. The students write keywords on little slips of paper to then form sentences in their space logbooks.
This week we will continue to sequence the solar system in our groups of 2. Last Monday we used materials to illustrate the order of the planets, the size difference of the planets, and the distance between planets in our solar system. Half the class was paired up to work together to recreate an accurate poster of the solar system. These students will continue their work this week.
The other half of the class will be working on their space logbooks or doing other work during this time and will have the opportunity to work in pairs to sequence the solar system later this week and into next week.
Physical Education
This week we will begin our Yoga unit for physical education. Since we are studying outer space in our culture studies I am hoping that students will also be able to study their inner space. I hope to link this yoga unit with our Mindfulness education program to incorporate our breathing practices as well as our self-regulation strategies with the zones of regulation.
Art
On Wednesday morning we will be going on a walk to collect leaves for a leaf rubbing project. We were inspired by two grade 3 students who shared a beautiful leaf rubbing project on Friday morning!
Thanks, Hannah – if you have any parent info on the principles of the growth mindset as applied in Montessori, I’d love to see it.
We will be sure to incorporate some yoga into our nighttime play sessions:)
Hi Dylan — I sent some information on growth mindsets home today with Gabriel. I hope the info helps clarify and shed light on growth mindsets in general, but also within a Montessori context. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like more information.