Hello Hemlock families,

Welcome to the April edition. As spring jolts, we could see the life shoots up around us. Hope you all had a wonderful spring break. Children are settled with their routine and explore new friendships and
keep the old ones too. Envision of Dr. Maria Montessori that older children are taking care of younger children and help them in their work and routines are unfolding in our classroom.

We wrapped up our Birds unit with how they are endangered and ways to protect them. We talked about what birds eat, the natural and man-made food. Children enjoyed making bird feeders of their own. Children showed enthusiasm to learn about the animals belonging to different continents.

We talked about spring, the difference between bulbs and seeds, the animals and their babies, why spring is the right time for animals to have babies, where do animals give birth to their baby parts of a flower by dissecting Daffodil. We also discussed Earth Day and the importance of protecting our planet.

We learnt the parts of bean seed and germination, and children were excited to plant their own seeds. Gardening is a huge success and children enjoyed preparing the soil and planting. Gardening can heighten all senses in children and develop their fine motor skills. It brings responsibility in children’s life and teaches basic science and math. Each of us is a flower growing in life’s garden. Carrot cutting and foam making works are huge hit. Children were excited to work on
Mother’s Day project.

“ The child has a different relation to his environment from ours…. The
child absorbs it. The things he sees are not just remembered; they form
part of his soul. He incarnates in himself all in the world about him that
his eyes see and his ears hear.”

-Maria Montessori

Buckeye Class

In the month of April we continued our unit on Washington State, and talked (and sung!) a lot about mountains. We learned about how mountains are formed, looked at pictures of our state’s mountain ranges and learned the names of a few. The children were able to make a booklet with the names and pictures of 8 different mountains, and learned a little about the distinction between mountains and volcanoes, as well as the parts of a volcano. Did you know Washington is home to 5 active volcanoes – Mounts Adams, Baker, Glacier Peak, Rainier, and St. Helen’s?! The children saw a picture sequence of the last eruption of Mount St. Helen’s on May 18, 1980, and during circle witnessed a Volcano Eruption (a baking soda and vinegar science experiment).

We learned about the biomes in Washington State, its animals and plant life. We discussed what we see on our nature walks and viewed a variety of pictures. We also learned about plants we eat, their parts, and what foods they bring us. For example, asparagus is a stem, carrot a root, broccoli a flower, spinach a leaf, corn a seed, and tomatoes a fruit.

The children had fun during our egg hunt on the Friday before spring break. After coming back from break we started with the Washington coast, marine life, and the tides. It was interesting to learn that the moon’s gravity causes the earth to have high and low tides. For earth day we collected trash during our nature walks and talked about what we can do every day to help and be kind to our environment and the earth. We explained what it means to reuse, reduce, and recycle.  We will end our unit this month with learning about Washington’s first people and Lewis and Clark’s journey west.

Together with the children we have started preparing our outside garden and will soon start planting. We are ready for spring to really take off and are eager for the nicer weather to arrive!