Busy Bees

Greetings, everyone!  This week at The Children's Academy was filled with excitement and busy butterflies as the school year comes to a close.  In this post, you will take a look into the academic portions of our days as well as some special treats. Admittedly, there are not as many photos this week with all the hustle and bustle, but I hope you enjoy what we were able to capture.   Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and we'll see you all next week for our last week of school!

LITTLE ROOM

Some work from the cultural shelf.  Animals are tied with ribbon color coded according to their continent of origin.  

Practical life at its finest.


TRANSITIONAL ROOM


Intently awaiting the arrival of butterflies.

Knobbed cylinder extension form the sensorial area.

Pink work from the language area.


BIG ROOM

Math work activity 

Lots of states means lots of help with this USA puzzle.

A sensorial challenge.

This week's art area project is right on target for the upcoming Summer season.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Thanks to the efforts of PACA, our students had some wonderful experiences these past couple of days.  The ever popular ice cream truck visited the Academy, giving everyone delightful treats and chilly smiles.  We also filled the air with beautiful music and dancing courtesy of Wilma and the Wingers.  Lastly, children ended the week with the release of butterflies in the Big Room.  Transitional Room caterpillars are still quite comfortable in their cocoons.  

Heating Up

There's more than just the weather heating up around these parts!  The Children's Academy was abuzz this week with rehearsal practices, outdoor fun, school work and even a special end of the week treat for Academy staff.   Please browse the pictures below to see what we've been up to this week.

LITTLE ROOM

 Above and below are photos of color sorting/identification based activities from the sensorial area.

 A combination of two knobbed cylinder sets.

 A practical life threading activity to help fine motor skills.

Counting birthday cake candles is a great math activity, even when it's not your birthday. 

TRANSITIONAL ROOM

 A child eager to not just complete one box of knobless cylinders, but all of them.... simultaneously :)

 Identifying matching sounds in this auditory based sensorial activity is trickier than it may look.

 Tracing sand paper letters in sand with work from the language area.

 Sharpening fine motor skills and increasing awareness of number recognition and quantity.

 This math activity helps children understand how double digit numbers are made while also adding a visual component with beads.

 The possibilities seem endless with this amazing triangle box from the sensorial area.  

Practical life fun

Coloring the world map.  Each continent is represented by a different color.

BIG ROOM

 We foresee butterflies emerging in the Big Room :)

Learning about the elements.

 It's not always smiles and sunshine when working with others.  Sometimes there are disagreements or misunderstandings.  That's when the Peace Rose comes in handy.   

 Working those fine motor skills with this sensorial activity.

 Knobless cylinders never go out of style in a Montessori classroom.

 Working together on a puzzle from the cultural area.  

 Weekly projects in the art area always a big hit.  

It may be hard to see, but there is a nest full of baby birds right outside the Big Room.  How cute!

THANK YOU

A very big THANK YOU to PACA and everyone who worked together to make our Teacher Appreciation Luncheon so special.  The table was set beautifully and the food was absolutely delicious.  We are extremely grateful for your efforts & felt beyond appreciated.  In turn, we appreciate all of you for allowing us the pleasure of working with your children and families!  

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Hands on Fun

Hello, everyone!  We are back on the blog this week with two weeks worth of photos to share.  The end of the school year is approaching, and many of exciting things are occurring at The Children's Academy as a result.  There are insect life cycles being observed first hand, outdoor fun all around, and even a wonderful furry visit courtesy of PACA.  Browse the images below to get a glimpse into the school days of your young ones!

LITTLE ROOM

Practical life work 

Who doesn't love snack?!  It's a great way to practice practical life skills and refine fine motor skills. 

A sunny structured lesson :)

Zippering with work from the practical life shelf.



TRANSITIONAL ROOM

A great selection from the practical life area 

Working with blocks while understanding quantity and number recognition.  

A seasonal lacing activity is a great way to sharpen those fine motor skills

Pattern work from the sensorial area is fun with a friend.

Matching colors with an activity from the sensorial shelf.  

Math sequencing boards help children learn how to recognize and understand the concept of two digit numbers.

An experiment to help understand the functions of the parts of the plant.  How did the food coloring effect the flower?  Be sure to ask your child!  

Learning about Africa and its culture together

This image and the two below are of Transitional Room students planting radishes and peas.  The children charted their plants' growth.  

Peas

Radishes

Insect sizing activity found in the language area.

Add caption

Cutting work is popular and helps strengthen fine motor skills.



BIG ROOM

The images above and below show students assembling balancing boards and carefully balancing themselves along them.  It's definitely a popular selection in the classroom and great for gross motor skills.

Coin tracing and rubbing found in the math area.  

These Kindergarteners are using unifix cubes to practice their sight words in the language area.

This student gave me a lesson on "translucent, transparent, and opaque" in the science area.  

Fresh squeezed orange juice is a very tasty practical life activity.

A game of Duck, Duck, Goose is a fun way to enjoy outdoor play and get those gross motor skills working!


SCHOOL WIDE SCIENCE

Every Children's Academy classroom is getting a hands on look at the metamorphosis of these insects and their life cycles.  Hopefully we'll all get to see some beautiful butterflies emerge!


GREEN MEADOWS FARM

This week Children's Academy students got a wonderful visit from Green Meadows Farm.  Many thanks to all who made this possible.  The children couldn't stop talking about the amazing experience.



























Til next week, Children's Academy family!