3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 01.26.26

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

We are wrapping up the month of January with one major blast of wintery weather!  Thankfully, the children continue to keep the classroom joyful and bright.  This week, we are enjoying exploration in the art center, food preparation activities, creative flower arranging,  music and movement fun, and lessons about South America! A huge thank you to Lennox, Ella, and Rafi for providing us with a fresh supply of oranges, vegetables, and flowers.  The children are always excited to contribute supplies for these popular activities, and we greatly appreciate the support of our families!

Each Tuesday, we incorporate Share Time into our morning circle.  This is a chance for the children select an item from home to bring to school.  They place these items on a rug in the center of our group, as they arrive in the morning.  Once it is their turn to share, the child is encouraged to stand up and talk about their item in a loud and clear voice.  Sharing helps build self confidence, descriptive language, and organization of thoughts.  The children listening also have a very important job.  Aside from being patient, they are learning to be a good audience.  They practice this by giving their attention through eye contact, quietly listening, and asking meaningful questions.  Both the speaker and the audience are practicing and refining essential communication skills, and having fun while doing so!  Planning which item to bring each Tuesday for Share Time can be a meaningful activity and discussion you enjoy with your child each week.  We ask that each child brings one single item to share and discuss, with items being no larger than a backpack.  Some great share items are photographs of special memories, souvenirs from travel, items discovered in nature, or, of course, new favorite toys.  We love seeing what the children come to school excited to share each week!

As we continue to focus on art experiences in the classroom, the children have been enjoying a variety of painting experiences. This week, marble painting has been quite popular!  The children carefully place a circular white paper into a small pot.  Then, a single drop of pink paint and a single drop of yellow paint are applied.  This requires precision and control…we get to observe some wonderful expressions of concentration during this step!  Next, a marble is added to the pot.  The child moves the marble through the paint and around the paper with tilts and shifts of the pot.  Each masterpiece created is completely unique and oh so vibrant!  We love the color these works of art are adding to our classroom!

We hope the week ahead finds you healthy and warm!  

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 01.19.26

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

While the weather outside has taken a turn for the cold and gloomy, we are prepared to fill this short week with color and joy! Our art curriculum is currently in full swing. The children have been loving experimenting with a variety of mediums: delicate tissue paper, glossy paint, and thick crayons to create vibrant masterpieces. Art is a beautiful piece of the Montessori curriculum, as it offers an experience that engages the whole child.  While the senses are immersed in the colors, textures, scents, and sounds of the activities, important cognitive and motor skills are also being developed and refined. Observing a child deeply concentrating on maneuvering their scissors down a line with precision or endeavoring to place tiny balls of tissue paper in just the right places, in order for their own unique creative vision to come alive is nothing short of magical. We are grateful for the color and joy these artistic explorations are lending to our January days!

Also adding to our vibrant classroom environment, we are beginning our unit on South America!  Already the children are eager to learn about the different wildlife, cultures, foods, and geographical areas that this continent has to offer. We will begin our South American study with a look at the different timeline of seasons in the southern hemisphere. Quickly then, our focus will turn to the world’s largest tropical rainforest, the Amazon! Not only will we take a close look at the many animal and plant species that call the Amazon home, but we will also research the crucial impact this rainforest plays in the health of our entire planet!

While it is sure to be a fun and creative week in our cozy classroom, we know these children are wishing and hoping for some snow to frolic in.  We will do our best to allow them time outside, when the weather allows!  

Wishing you a warm, healthy, cozy week!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 01.12.26

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

What a wonderful start to 2026 it has been in the Gimmel classroom!  The children have been busy exploring new works.  Our practical life area has been particularly popular so far this month.  Squeezing fresh orange juice has definitely been an exciting activity for the children.  This food preparation practice offers a wonderful sensorial experience, from the bright fresh scent to sweet tang of the juice.  It also requires a good deal of small motor strength and concentration to twist the orange around the juicer, pressing out as many droplets of juice as possible.  This activity has been so popular that it will continue throughout the month, providing each child with the opportunity for repetition.  

Bubble mixing has been another exciting practical life activity.  This fun experiment begins with preparation.  The child must first use a small grater to create flakes from a bar of soap.  Once enough flakes have been gathered, the child may then pour them into a basin of water, whipping up a foam of bubbles using a hand mixer.  As we’ve observed the children interacting with this activity, an interesting pattern appeared.  The children quickly began to partner up for this activity, with one child grating soap as the other whipped up the bubbles.  This natural inclination to work in collaboration, supporting and helping one another, has been beautiful to observe.  

While we have enjoyed some unusually warm weather to begin the year, the cold does appear to be making a return this week.  The children benefit greatly from time we are able to spend in the outdoor environment, so we will continue to get them outside when possible.  Please be sure to send warm footwear, hats, gloves and coats to keep your child comfortable on the playground.   

We hope you all have a happy, warm and cozy week ahead!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 01.05.26

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

We are so excited to welcome students back to the classroom this week!  The shelves are overflowing with fun new works and lessons for the children to explore, and we have certainly missed their smiling faces.  We hope everyone had a fun and restful winter break!  

This week, not only do we get to welcome the children to the classroom, but the parents too.  Curriculum Night, on Tuesday evening, is a wonderful opportunity for you to come take a closer look at the classroom, materials, and lessons that your child experiences every day.  We will discuss Montessori materials and philosophy, and all that makes this method of learning such a wonderful support for growing young minds.  Along with answering your questions, we will offer a peek at what lies ahead during the second half of the year and how we will support children in different stages of development.  It’s sure to be an engaging and informative night, and we sure hope you can join us!

In the science area of the classroom, our biology studies will focus on the human body.  The children will learn about the different systems that make up their bodies, and what makes each one so important.  We will also explore the various ways we can support our bodies, including exercise, nutrition, and hygiene.  Especially during these colder and darker winter months, it is so important that we are taking care of ourselves.  Even at this young age, children can build habits that will support their health and happiness, building strong minds and bodies!

In Practical Life, we are excited to introduce the ever popular bubble mixing work!  The children will first be invited to grate a bar of soap into soap flakes.  Once they have a created the soapy flakes, they will sprinkle them into a basin of water, using a hand mixer to whip up a cloud of soapy suds.  Not only is this activity a heap of fun, but it supports the development of concentration, fine motor control, mental planning, and coordination!  

As we are now fully immersed in the winter season, we ask that you please be weather aware when planning clothing and outerwear for school each day.  The children love to enjoy the outdoor environment if at all possible.  Warm and waterproof footwear, cozy coats, hats, and mittens allow them to enjoy the outdoors comfortably.  Thank you so much for helping your child prepare for the weather!

We hope you all have a wonderful week ahead!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 12.15.25

Dear Parents,

Warm greetings!

Our mornings start with Morah Chaya's Chanukah stories. The children are so excited to listen to the stories and are conversing about the upcoming Chanukah walk. It is gratifying to see all friends involved in their Chanukah artwork with enthusiasm while also complementing their peers' artwork displayed all around our environment. We notice the students discovering the technique involved in a particular art, experimenting with the materials and bringing to life their individual ideas. 

The children are also working on another favorite project - creating their very own menorahs. Watching their unique ideas and interpretations come alive when creating their own menorah versions is very special, a feeling shared by the children as well, especially when they get to share the menorah each night during candle lighting. The Chanukah lava lamp experiments and personalized latke recipes add more color and flavor to the Chanukah festivities.  

Our kindergarten students are comfortable to read stories to their younger friends and collaboratively work with them and guide them with their lessons. At the halfway mark of the school year, we are witnessing their growing confidence and independence, while at the same time staying humble and helping their friends. 

We will gather together this Wednesday as we celebrate our annual Chanukah walk. After touring the classrooms to admire the Chanukah arts and crafts, we will assemble in the big room for music, dancing, and fun.The children have been practicing with Morah Joanie to prepare a song-filled performance. We are all  eagerly awaiting what promises to be a memorable morning. Please do join us!


Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 12.08.25

Dear Parents,

Warm greetings! We are sure everyone enjoyed the first snow day, with the children getting a preview of the upcoming winter season.

The Chanukah festival is here!! At this time of the year, Gimmel friends are happily engaged in Chanukah art activities. These activities are important, because they will not only enhance their creativity but also teach them about the different aspects of our culture and traditions. In order to understand the worldwide reach of this festival, our afternoon students will identify all the places where Chanukah is celebrated, referring to the Montessori globe.

In our hands-on science experiments, the children will use an olive press to create oil from olives. This is a fun and messy experiment that everyone loves and it also requires a good deal of planning, focus, and fine motor coordination. Our afternoon group will perform the "oil-lamp experiment," which involves making a basic lava lamp in a clear jar to demonstrate the concepts of density and chemical reactions; combining water, oil, food coloring and a fizzing tablet (to produce gas) will create colorful bubbly blobs that rise and fall.

In geography, we will introduce landforms and waterforms. The students will use concrete Montessori landform trays which provide them with tangible representations of abstract geographical concepts. Continued practice with these materials will enable the students to identify, recognize, distinguish and comprehend relationships between different features of the earth. We will start with the lake and island landforms. The children like to imagine what they might see or do if they were to visit one of these special places - for example, ducks on a lake or fish swimming in the waves around an island. Perhaps over the winter break, take a look at a map or stroll down a trail and see if they can help you spot any of the landforms we have studied.

Please ensure your child is appropriately dressed for the weather including winter shoes for outdoor activities; additionally, an indoor light jacket will be helpful to keep your young ones warm during the work cycle. 

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 12.01.25

Dear Parents,

Welcome to December -  a month filled with festivities!

We begin this month with our study of Antarctica, the coldest continent on Earth. The children are always curious about the white landmass at the bottom of the globe and are eager to learn about this ice-covered habitat and the animals which live there. One such special animal is the penguin, a bird with webbed feet, short wings and waterproof feathers. With the presentation of the Montessori penguin puzzle, the students will learn the facts of this unique bird which cannot fly, but can swim very well; we will be studying about their life cycle and adaptations. We will also introduce animal migration, highlighting the blue whales migrating to Antarctica for feeding. To further support the study of this unique continent, we will include penguin counters in math, and a beautiful sensorial tray with Antarctic animals such as seals, emperor penguins and whales. We have also set up a reading corner with a collection of books, such as Salina Yoon's series.about penguins. Reading these books will provide the children ample opportunities to explore this continent.

Children always enjoy science experiments. Our focus for this month is to conduct experiments about the three states of water and to understand the related vocabulary words such as glacier, snow, ice, and icebergs.

The third year kindergarten students practice their readers daily with their Morahs and our special volunteer Morah, Paula. We genuinely appreciate her time in our afternoon sessions. We will be sending take-home books once a week so that they can continue to hone their reading skills outside the classroom. Parents play a key role in making this experience a positive one. Our kindergarten  students are super excited for this opportunity  to read with their family!

Please ensure your child is appropriately dressed for the weather including winter shoes for outdoor activities. Thank you for your support as always.

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 11.24.25

Dear Chai Tots Parents,

Thanksgiving week is here! This short week, we will be finishing up crafts to celebrate the holiday. Gratitude is a central theme in Judaism and one that we regularly encourage as Montessorians. All classrooms will be discussing gratitude. We will model expressing three things for which we are thankful, while helping our friends to find examples in their own lives and express it. 

In the Montessori environment, gratitude is a key component of peace education, and grace and courtesy exercises. Beginning in our infant room, children are encouraged to use sign language for please and thank you, and encouraged to tidy up and put away materials. In the toddler and 3-6 environment, we model saying “excuse me,” as well as how to walk around others’ works. Grace and Courtesy lessons are offered naturally throughout our work periods so that children have the tools to gracefully move about their environments and are equipped with the phrasing to use when life inevitably bumps into them! 

Our 3-6 students will be cooking together in the classroom this week. One item on the menu is corn. The cultivation of corn was an important agricultural contribution made by Native peoples. It is almost universally liked by all kids too! 

As adults, we reflect on the meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday with warmth, remembering that, historically, this day brought peace and cooperation to Wampanoag and the English. We wish all of our Chai Tots families a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday, and want you all to know that we are grateful for you and your precious children!

Warm and cozy Thanksgiving wishes,

Chai Tots Morahs

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 11.17.25

Dear Parents,

Warm greetings! Following last week's first snowfall of this school year, it's wonderful to see the children wearing their cozy seasonal outfits.

We are beginning our study of North America just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. At this time, we will focus on The United States of America.  When we study a particular continent, we will cover a variety of topics such as animals, countries, flags, climate, food, and culture. Some key activities include the North America puzzle map which our children will build, trace or even pin punch to create their own map and the flags of countries in the orange continent. Our study of trees and leaves will also center around the flora in North America. In addition, we will also focus on the mammals of North America  - moose, deer, bison, and brown bear.  This dovetails into our study in Zoology about mammals.

For Thanksgiving, our Gimmel team will exercise their culinary skills to prepare a sumptuous meal and celebrate with a family style lunch with their peers and Morahs. Our older friends are creating a lovely menu and we are sure this event will turn out to be a special experience and it will also sharpen their food prep skills.

At this time of the year, there is an uptick in falling leaves due to the colder weather, which indicates that trees are conserving energy and water to last through the winter. In our Gimmel  room, the children are sharing their fun fall activities such as raking leaves, jumping in the leaf pile and collecting colorful leaves. We took this great opportunity to present the Montessori leaf cabinet, which has 18 wooden leaf shapes.This lesson indirectly prepares children for botany by giving them the language to describe different leaf shapes. This activity stimulates the child’s interest in the study of nature and understanding the different types of trees, for example, evergreen trees who keep their leaves green all year and deciduous trees whose leaves change colors and fall off. During play time our young friends often collect their best leaves and bring them to their  Morahs  and we encourage them to match it to one of the leaf shapes from the cabinet. We included activities around this topic such as parts of a leaf, tracing the leaf and making their own booklets. While our younger friends enjoy matching, counting and coloring leaves, our older friends will learn the names of different leaf shapes such as spatulate, sagitate, elliptical, oblong, obovate, orbiculate, ovate, and cordate with Montessori control cards.

A gentle reminder: please label your child's snacks in a suitable container (instead of Ziploc bags, which children find difficult to reseal independently) and label water bottles with their names. Also, please label their extra set of clothes.

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 11.10.25

Dear Families,

Thank you so much for taking the time to join us for Parent–Teacher Conferences! We truly enjoyed connecting with each of you and sharing your child’s progress and growth. We hope our conversations helped you see where your child is on their learning journey. Home and school partnership plays such an important role in your child’s development — when we work together, we can best support their independence, confidence, and love of learning.

This week, we’re introducing a new activity in our Practical Life and Art areas called “Magic Clay.” The children will use markers to color plain clay, mix colors to create their favorite shades, and then shape the clay into something special. This hands-on work strengthens fine motor skills and hand muscles — an important foundation for developing a good pincer grip, which later supports writing. Once finished, the creations will dry on our drying rack and be ready to take home on Fridays!

In the Culture area, we are practicing visual discrimination skills with our 3-part cards. These cards are a wonderful Montessori material that help children build vocabulary, concentration, and attention to detail. Each set includes a picture card, a label, and a control card (with both picture and label). Children match and name each part — for example, the body parts of a horse — or explore differences among various mammals. This activity not only strengthens observation skills but also deepens their understanding of the world around them.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support and partnership.
Have a wonderful week! 

Warmly,

Morahs Kristy, Uma, Kara, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 11.03.25

Dear Parents,

Thank you to the grandparents/parents who attended our Grandparents Day last week. We hope you had a wonderful time painting bird houses and spending the morning with your loved grandchild/child. We heard everything about your time together after you left!

This week, we’re going to introduce our art easel to the class! In a Montessori classroom, an art easel is not merely a tool for painting but a key component of the "prepared environment" that promotes independence, fosters creativity, and develops a range of physical, cognitive, and emotional skills. It is available for a child to use freely and independently whenever they feel inspired. We emphasize the process of creation, rather than the final product. The easel encourages children to explore and experiment freely without the pressure of producing a perfect-looking result. 

After the free expression of the process, children need to clean up the easel which encompasses the same tasks as the table scrubbing work. We also call the easel work "a long-process work".

In the Practical Life area, we are switching our pin punching work to pumpkin pin punching. Pin punching is an activity where children use a push pin to punch holes along the outline of a shape, allowing them to punch out the shape from the paper. It builds fine motor skills, concentration, and hand strength needed for writing by strengthening the pincer grip as they hold the pin. This activity also teaches attention to detail and can be used to reinforce other lessons, such as recognizing shapes or continents in other areas of the classroom. It is a challenging work for our younger friends.

For our older children, we are going to make a pumpkin life cycle booklet in the afternoons. 

We are looking forward to meeting with each of you during Parent/Teacher Conferences to discuss your child’s progress so far this year.  We have already seen so much growth and learning within this amazing group of kids! Thank you in advance for making the time in your busy schedules to meet with us. Your partnership allows us to best support your little ones.

Have a wonderful week,

Morahs Kristy, Uma, Kara, Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 10.20.25

Dear Parents,

Hope you enjoyed the wonderful holiday! We welcome everyone back to our first full week of school in a while! We can't wait to spend more time with everyone.

This week, we are introducing shaving cream in our Art area. For setting up the work, we have a big tray, shaving cream, a pitcher, a sponge, a basin, a bucket, and a big towel. Students can enjoy the texture of  the shaving cream by creating an art on the big tray. They practice their fine motor skills by spraying the shaving cream and then use their fingers to draw an art. After they finish, the students will clean up the work which is also the important part of this work. It is the same process as table scrubbing. We call this type of work "long-process work". By extending the process, children are able to practice their abilities in independence, coordination, concentration, and sense of order within this one work. They will need to carry the pitcher and bucket to the sink. Pouring water from the basin to the bucket requires good coordination of their body. Using a sponge to clean up the whole tray requires full concentration and longer attention span to finish the task. It's going to be a very fun, purposeful, and popular work!

We are also introducing scrubbing a large round pumpkin in the Practical Life area. This work provides excellent opportunities for appropriate, meaningful and purposeful movement. It gives children a way to repeat and refine movements that are essential to their growth and learning.  This repetition also promotes a deep concentration and sense of order.  Through these important works, children begin to notice the strengthening and sharpening of their fine motor skills.  This begins to build their confidence in an amazing and natural way, as they come to recognize themselves as capable and competent! 

In the Zoology area, we are introducing mammals. We'll begin with horses using real-life animal puzzles to learn about body parts. 

We have been enjoying the beautiful flowers that Eva brought for us. Thank you, Eva! 

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 10.13.25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

We are excited to zoom into another joy filled week of time spent learning and playing together! This month, one focus of our classroom lessons is transportation. Many children seem to have a natural love of all things that go, whether on the land, in the air, or through the water. Our friends are enjoying sorting, labeling, matching, counting, and even painting with different vehicles throughout the classroom! It is wonderful when a favorite, familiar topic reinvigorates the excitement for exploring new lessons and activities!

We are also continuing to enjoy time spent in the Sukkah! The children have worked hard creating beautiful decorations that make the space feel extra special. They even worked to make their own small Sukkah on the playground! The pride they feel at helping to create items of significance for our celebrations is truly heartwarming. We love watching them realize that they are capable of making real and significant contributions!

As we head into a week of more fall-like temperatures, please be mindful of clothing choices each morning. While we may have some wet or chilly periods, we try to allow the children to enjoy the outdoor environment as often as possible.  Proper footwear for running or climbing, and a cozy layer with a hood or a hat can go a long way toward keeping your little one comfy while playing outdoors! Thank you so much for all you do to help them be prepared for each day of fun and learning!  We are so thankful for all of our Gimmel families!

Warm wishes for a healthy and happy week, 

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 10.06.25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

This week marks the beginning of Sukkot, which is one of the children’s most anticipated holidays of the year! We are busy preparing decorations for the Sukkah, practicing shaking the Lulav and Esrog, and looking forward to festive meals enjoyed together in the Sukkah! Although it will be a short week of school, with Tuesday and Wednesday off for the holiday, it will be a week packed full of fun and learning!

Practical Life is a very important area of the classroom, particularly for our youngest learners.  These lessons, which include daily tasks such as pouring, scooping, scrubbing, and buttoning, are designed carefully with the young child’s needs and capabilities in mind. Practical Life activities support the development of fine motor skills, refining the movements and control of the fingers and hands through intricate movements and repetition.  Developing and extending the ability to concentrate is also a highlight of Practical Life activities, preparing the child’s focus for lessons in all areas of the classroom. Through regular work with these materials, children also develop independence and confidence in their own abilities. This helps them not only the classroom, but all areas of their life and learning!

This week our Practical Life area will shift to incorporate signs of the season. The children will be invited to carefully hammer golf tees into the thick shell of a pumpkin.  This activity is always a favorite, as the large orange pumpkin certainly draws the child’s attention.  Quickly, one discovers the challenge this activity holds.  Holding the tee in place, aiming the hammer, and using the proper amount of pressure requires great concentration and a lot of practice! The children will also have the opportunity to use tweezers to pluck seeds from the face of a sunflower. This precise motion is great strengthening work for the small muscles utilized in pencil control!  

We are looking forward to a week of celebration, learning, and togetherness!  

Morah Uma, Kara, Kristy, Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 09.29.25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!  

We hope that you all had an inspirational Rosh Hashanah and a joyous start to the new year! Yom Kippur (day of Atonement) brings a more somber air to this week. With Morah Chaya the children will be reading the Story of Yonah and the big fish and learning about friends feelings - being kind and helpful and sorry if they get hurt.

In math, we will be introducing the balance scale.  We aim always to let our Mitzvot, good deeds, outweigh our misguided choices in life. We will experiment with the comparison and balance of various objects. This activity allows the children to try their hand at making predictions and thinking critically. How many plastic teddy bears will it take to balance out six large glass marbles? How many pebbles will it take to equal one large stone? Through practice and repetition, the children will get a solid sense of the weights of various objects, as well as how things relate to each other.  

We are turning our sights toward fall this week as well. We have a new art and nature activity planned. On an outdoor walk, the children will be encouraged to “pick a paintbrush,” selecting a unique, natural item to use as an art tool! We cannot wait to see their creativity shine through, as they utilize their own special paintbrushes to paint. Whether with brush-like strokes or stamping impressions, the qualities of each natural “paintbrush” will shine through each child’s artistic expression!

In science, our sink or float experiment will continue with the exploration of weight and density. The children will have the opportunity to carefully prepare a tub of water.  In this tub, they will test whether various objects sink or float. Just before placing each new item in the water, the children will predict whether it will sink to the bottom or float to the top.  After observing what the item does in the water, we will encourage the child to use descriptive language and comparison strategies to discuss why they think that happened. There always seem to be a few items that surprise our young scientists, which makes this activity so much fun!

We hope that the week ahead brings joy and good health to you and your family!

Gmar Chasima Tova, May we be sealed for a good sweet year!

Morahs Kara, Uma, Kristy, Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 09.15.25

Hello, wonderful preschool families!

After all of the fun and excitement of our farm trip and beekeeper visit last week, we are so excited to dive into all things Rosh Hashanah!  The bees and apples have found their way into all areas of our classroom.  This week, we will take a closer look at the life cycle of an apple tree.  After visiting the farm, the children have shown increased curiosity about just how an apple goes from a seed planted by a farmer to a fruit we select at the grocery store.  Imagining all of the time and care that goes into producing these sweet fruits certainly helps us appreciate and enjoy them even more!

We will be enjoying apples in multiple ways this week!  The children will be invited to try and compare the taste of different colors of apples.  They will be encouraged to notice and describe the unique properties of each apple, utilizing words like crisp, sour, sweet, juicy, and crunchy!  It will be fun to discuss and compare our preferences, as we take a vote for our favorite apple afterward.  

The children will also have the opportunity to slice and prepare their own apple to snack on during work time.  After choosing a half apple (sliced horizontally), they will carefully line up the apple slicer with the core in the center. With even and steady pressure, they can then press down, creating perfect slices for snacking! This task, seemingly simple for adults, will require great focus, planning, and coordination.  Children take such pride in independently preparing their own snack, making this a great activity to try out at home too!

On Friday, we learned all about how hard our tiny buzzing friends, the bees, work to pollinate flowers and make honey!  This week, we are comparing and studying all different types of bees.  Through work with a beautifully detailed set of three part vocabulary cards, the children are able to compare the slight differences in details like size, color, and body shape of different types of bees.  We are also learning the names of some of the different varieties!

We are so excited for all of the fun and learning this week has in store!  Wishing you all wonderful week!  

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 09.08.25

Dear Parents,

The children have adapted to their environment and have gotten into their daily routines, including choosing works independently during the morning cycle. Our kindergarten and older friends are genuine leaders as they demonstrate the works and guide the younger friends. This makes our community collaborative and peaceful. Almost a month into the school year, the Morahs understand each child, their interests and strengths; we will continue to observe them and fully support them in their growth.

In geography, we will be learning about the continents - their names, shapes, and locations - using the Montessori globe. Each continent on the globe is represented by a distinct color - North America in orange, South America in pink, Europe in red, Africa in green, Asia in yellow, Australia in brown, and Antarctica in white - which helps the children to identify the continents and their locations. Each continent has slightly raised contours in the globe, so that the children can touch and feel the differences between the continents and oceans. Other key activities include using the world map puzzle, and the older friends will pin-punch the shapes of the continents, following the sequence of tracing, pin-punching and gluing the continents in their appropriate location to create their own world map. This activity requires commitment and focus. The younger friends will sort animal figurines and place them in their native continents using a control book as guidance. We will also be learning the popular Continent song, which helps the children learn the names of the continents through an auditory approach. This activity is engaging and brings awareness about the world around them. 

The afternoon friends had a fun science activity, collecting individual samples of land, water, and air in Ziploc bags. While the first two were relatively easy, the scientists had to run around the playyard and fill their bags with air. It was a difficult task because air is invisible.

Morah Chaya has started laying the groundwork to create art projects for Rosh Hashanah. The children are excited when they hear about the upcoming Holiday, the stories around it, and the related traditional foods. 

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 09.02.25

Dear Parents,

Hope you enjoyed the long weekend!

This week, the students will be introduced to the concept that our earth is made of land, air, and water. The young child begins his/her cultural study with an understanding and knowledge of the immediate environment, learning sensorially, which is the basis of Montessori philosophy. The sand-globe and map are examples of concrete materials in the study of geography. For instance, the spinning sand globe gives the students a clear understanding of the concepts of land and water in our planet as well as provides a concrete sense of the Earth's shape and a visualization of the proportions of land and water. Further, the children will sort animal cards based on whether the animal lives on land, in water, or flies in the air. 

In Language, our young friends are drawn to metal insets. This eye-catching material includes ten metal shapes—each a different geometric form—framed in pink with a blue metal inset, each featuring a knob for easy handling. These shapes, including a square, triangle, circle, rectangle, and more complex forms like the quatrefoil and ellipse, allow children to explore various geometrical concepts while strengthening their fine motor skills. Tracing these geometric shapes further help the children prepare for writing, art, designs and color combinations. It also helps with concentration and focus.

The color mixing activity using different media like play dough (solid) and colored water (liquid) remains popular. The reactions of the children experiencing the color changing right before their eyes are magical, where red and blue makes violet, while yellow and red makes orange. Seeing the children’s face light up in joy when they discover a new combination is a treat to watch.

Thank you to Ella for bringing a colorful bunch of flowers! The classroom is looking vibrant with various flower arrangements made possible by our children.

Have a wonderful week!

Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, and Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 08.25.25

Dear Parents,

Hope you are enjoying the break from the hot temperatures! We are happy to see the children getting acclimated to their Gimmel environment.

Science is an important part of our Montessori  curriculum! The fundamental lesson about the differences between living  and non-living has been introduced.  Our students are learning the concepts through sorting objects and pictures into the two categories, based on whether they exhibit attributes such as breathing, growing, moving. and reproducing. Further, our older friends are growing their individual indoor plant and observing the growth to understand that it is living. They are super excited to take it home and care for it. The younger friends are learning to water the plants in the classroom as a practical lesson, under the guidance of Morahs; this activity also underlines the concept of living vs. non-living things.

We have started introducing the Montessori color mixing activity with the primary colors. Part of this activity is science and part of it is sensorial. Color is one of the foundational components of art making. It helps children explore the world around them, recreate it in their unique ways, and talk about their art. Learning color mixing helps children to develop creativity, where they experiment with different colors to create any hue imaginable.

As we start our work-cycle at 9 AM, we would love to have all our students present to start our day promptly. 

Also as a followup, we mentioned last week about our Share Day (Show and Tell program) that is held every Tuesday. Please help your child to bring one item of their choice to show to their classmates, and remember this item should be small enough to fit into a backpack.

Have a wonderful week!

-Morahs Uma, Kara, Kenzie, Chaya

3-6 Gimmel Peek at the Week 08.18.25

Dear Parents,

A warm welcome to all our returning children and families, as well as those who have joined us for the first time!

We have created a peaceful and engaging educational environment based on the Montessori method and curriculum. Our goal is to support each and every student to have a joyful learning experience. We are already noticing children practising independence, learning the classroom routine, and enthusiastically exploring the learning materials.

We will start by introducing Flower Arranging as an activity in Practical Life. This gives the children an opportunity to appreciate the color and fragrance of different flowers, and instills care and love for nature. The activity involves a young child choosing his/her favorite flower, carefully cutting the stem, choosing a vase, pouring water through a funnel into the vase, inserting the flower, and finally carrying and placing the flower vase on a table of his/her choice. A complete sequence of this work (including the subsequent cleanup) gives a sense of accomplishment and immense satisfaction to the child. What a great lesson in Grace & Courtesy to learn at a young age! In order to support this work, all the children will take turns in bringing home the flower basket given out every week. We request parents to send flowers (home grown or store bought) with their child on the following Monday. 

Our students' favorite Show and Tell program will be held every Tuesday. Please help your child to bring one item of their choice to show to their classmates. This is a great opportunity for them to describe their special items in their own words, promoting public speaking and communication skills.

Please use stickers, labels or permanent markers to label the following items. Labeling these items will be helpful for children to organize and keep track of their belongings. Also it helps morahs to spend more quality time with students. 

  • Water bottles

  • Snack containers

  • Extra change of clothes in a zipper bag.

We look forward to getting to know each child and working with them to make a successful year!

Have a wonderful week!

-Morahs Uma, Kara, Kristy, Chaya