January 29, 2021, Lower North

We cannot believe that the school year is already half way through! The students are continuing to learn new things every day and remain working hard in the classroom. This week the students were introduced to a couple of new units. For Word Study, students are practicing putting words in alphabetical order and received a lesson this week on ABC order. This unit is often enjoyable for students and allows them to better prepare themselves for when they do dictionary work.

Aside from Word Study, we have also introduced a new math unit. We have transitioned from working with time to now working with money. This is a unit that comes out every year. Students practice naming the coins, knowing the quantities, adding within certain coins, and adding within a group of money. After much practice with money, students eventually learn how to make change.

Additionally, students were given a new biome lesson this week as an extension to what they have previously learned and have been exploring on the Geography shelf. This new lesson introduced the students to the biome puzzle maps. The puzzle maps are a special Montessori material that children often enjoy working with. This year we will be studying the continents North America, South America, Asia, and Antarctica. Therefore, the puzzle maps being explored within this Geography unit solely cover these four continents.

Lastly, as a friendly reminder parents should have received an email earlier this week containing important classroom news. The 100th day of school is approaching rather quickly and will be celebrated on February 4th! Also, although we will not be able to have a Valentine’s Day party this year, we still wanted to give students the opportunity to pass out Valentines to their classmates. Students will be given the chance to distribute their Valentines to their classmates on February 10th. For further details, please make sure to check the email that was previously sent, if not viewed already.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend!

-Lower Elementary Teachers