LAREN MONTESSORI SCHOOL
February 2014
Mrs. Wolf’s Classes
Time flies when you are having fun! The classrooms are very busy with a working hum and focus on mastering lessons
to continue to new lessons. Science and Geography is booming in the classroom! We have now completed our
studies of North America, Europe, Antarctica, and we are currently studying Africa. We have had a lot of science
experiments as seen below and our biggest study right now is the solar system. We have been studying all the
planets, astronauts, moon rovers, satellites, and constellations. We will be moving into studying our planet Earth and
the landforms and all the wonders Earth offers us.
During our first line, we analyzed all
the layers of the Earth and then cut
Earth in half to see what is inside.
The classroom filled with, “wow!”
THANK YOU!!!
WINTER OLYMPICS
We had so much fun following these four
countries. Everyday we would look at the medal
count changes. This was a great study of graphing
and understanding more, same, or less as well as
learning the various winter sports. It was always
a blast to hear the kids cheering, “U.S.A.!!! U.S.A.!!!”
We have
collected
$334.00 in Box
Tops! Please
keep bringing
your Box Tops
all year!
Super Bowl XLVIII
Prediction Study
We had a lot of fun celebrating our 100th day of
school on February 20th! It is a way to acknowledge
how the class has grown into a cohesive community.
We had a lot of fun learning about
predictions. The children really
focused on understanding that no
one knows the answer so either
choice is great.
REMINDERS:


Please ensure your child has the appropriate clothing (indoor and
outdoor) everyday. The children do go and play out in the snow if
the wind chill is permitting. Your child DOES NOT need gym shoes
and boots. Your child will wear their slippers in class and their boots
outside.
PLEASE LABEL EVERYTHING!!!
We have been studying the rainbow as well as learning
about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. We talked
about what is involved in an experiment and the outcomes.
Developing Good Communication Skills (By Polli Soholt)
information or directions by calling the child’s name and
making sure she is focusing on the conversation at hand.
If necessary, cut out all other distractions. Turn off the
Children need good communication skills to be
television or tape deck or take the child into another
successful academically and socially. These skills can be
room away from the confusion and distraction of other
developed by surrounding the children with
children playing. In a restaurant, the child can
good adult models and by using specific
be taken to the lobby or outside if the parent
It is important for us to thinks the distractions will not allow her to pay
techniques to enhance these abilities.
pay attention the things attention to what is being said. In a park, the
Adults have more on their minds than the
child can be led away from the other playing
that concern the
daily interests of the children around them. It is
children and turned so that her back is to the
important for us to pay attention to the things
children, as these
visual distraction of the other children before
that concern the children, as these concerns
concerns are the major the conversation begins. Once the direction
are the major issues in their lives. If we act
or information has been given, ask the child
issues in their lives.
disinterested, the children will get the
to repeat it to assure that she has processed it
message that their concerns are unimportant
correctly. This may seem laborious, but it is
to us. It is necessary to teach them good
much more effective and less frustrating than nagging.
communication skills so that we can be attentive when
they speak.
It is important to keep in mind that when adults
regularly repeat every direction, observation, or
For example, children need to be taught how to
command it is a sign that either the child is not hearing
begin a conversation with someone else when the other
well or he has become accustomed to hearing
person is occupied. If the adult is reading, talking on the
everything three or four times. He simply tunes out the
phone, or talking with someone else, the child can be
speaker the first few times. This is a problem because it
taught to tap the adult and wait for a response. If the
will make the adult irritable and worse, will not allow the
adult is not focused on something or someone else, the
child to develop a good memory. If everything is
child can be taught to begin a discussion by calling the
repeated often, why bother to put any
listener’s name. The child will then see that
energy into remembering? If you have been
when mom gives her complete attention,
repeating things regularly, changing can be
they can really talk about the problem or
...when adults regularly difficult because of the habit developed by
idea the child has on her mind. Naturally,
both the speaker and the listener. It is fair to
when the adult wants to talk with the child,
repeat every direction,
warn the child of this new pattern by saying, “I
she also needs to use a respectful form of
observation, or
will say this one time...” before giving the
interruption. Not only is it the polite thing to
direction or information. If the child begins
command…{this} will
do, but it guarantees that the child’s attention
asking about things that have been made
not allow the child to
is focused on the subject at hand. By using
clear, the adult can ask the child to
these techniques, we can be sure
develop a good memory. remember the answer given earlier. If the
conversations will not begin in frustration and
child says he cannot remember, he can be
will not end in misunderstanding. As the child
told that the answer will not be repeated and
talks, the adult can let the child know she is
that he will be able to remember if he sits
listening and interested by saying “oh” and “uh huh” at
down and thinks about it for a while. This technique is
appropriate times. Eye contact, smiles, and/or nodding
annoying to children who are used to having things
your head will also tell the child you are listening to what
repeated often, but it works well, and it allows the parent
is being said. Making some comment about the
to see clearly how much the child is retaining from verbal
information the child has just passed on reassures the
input.
child that the conversation was important to the adult
too.
These techniques plus the added bonus of good
adult models will help the children acquire these
If children are having trouble paying attention to
important skills and ensure their success both socially and
what is being said to them, the adult can precede the
academically.
Reprinted from AMI/USA News, May 2003