Inspired to Blog

       I have recently been inspired to start my blog again! I am not going to take on another Global project at the moment but   I want to share, inspire and collaborate with other educators out there!! Whether you are a Montessori teacher or not, we can all learn from each other and share our ideas for lessons! I recently presented Types of Clouds to all my children even though all second and third years had previously had a lesson and completed their follow-up. The children have been so excited to create their own follow-up work and each is always unique and different.  I found a great lesson on www.teacherspayteachers.com written by Kristen Smith (http://adayinbcasfirstgrade.blogspot.com/) about weather and was inspired by some of the lessons. I decided to use the Type of Clouds lesson and give a whole class lesson.
      First, we read (as it was World Read Aloud Day #Read4Fun) The Cloud Book by Tomie de Paola. Then we used one of Kristen's lessons and made a cloud in jar with shaving cream and food coloring. The children loved this simple experiment. We then discussed adjectives that we could use to describe each cloud type. We used the adjectives to write a little about each cloud and then we ended with rotating art activities! One table was making Cumulus clouds out of shaving cream, one table had Cirrus clouds with white paint and the last table had Stratus clouds with tissue paper. The children were enthusiastic and eager during every aspect of this lesson. We normally do Writer's Workshop and Reader's Workshop in the afternoon but there are days we do Montessori lessons. I had a child say to me, "This was so much fun!" and that to me is what it is all about; making learning fun. It is our job to spark the child's natural desire to learn. It is our job to give them the tools to be independent learners. I often wonder if I am doing this and yesterday I was encouraged.

Over the course of the year, it has been my pleasure to work with City Country School in Madrid, Spain as well as my classroom students. The children who participated in the blog project loved Skyping with their friends in another country as well as connecting to their world through research based projects. It is my hope that we continue to expand and share our love of learning in a global community. I hope to have more schools want to connect and participate in collaborative learning over the course of the next year. My students are always eager to see what other children their age are learning and how they are incorporating project based learning in their classrooms. If you are interested in joining One Montessori World please contact me at bjmackay@countrydaylargo.com.

Practical Life Celebration: Spanish Treats

Look what these children made!

Backyard Biome Projects

This week the children presented their research on their animal or plant that lives in the biome to our class. We took all of the projects and created our own Caladesi Island biome in a collaborative project. 

Backyard Biome

      One Montessori World

March Project

Backyard Biome: A Lesson in Biology

Dear Parents,

This month, our students will be focusing studies on a cross-curricular, multi-disciplinary study of the Florida Gulf Coast with focus on nature, ecology, and biology.  Scientific studies will connect to the mural Return to Picnic Island by local artist Christopher Still.  Participating students will analyze the painting and identify specific local species of plants and animals.  The project will also reference Caladesi Island and other Gulf Coast mangrove areas. 

·      Research: Following study of the painting, students will select one represented animal or plant to research.  Students should include a description of the habitat and other relevant information. Reports should be a minimum of two paragraphs.  

·      Display: Students will recreate the image of the mural in a 3-D representation in class.  Mrs. Mackay will work together with the students to create the foundation.  Each student should bring in a real or representative item (printed picture, artistic creation of clay, playdoh, or construction paper, etc.) to include in the live mural. 

·      Here are the animals and plants your children have selected:

Avery M.- Sand Dollar #49

Eli- Gopher Tortoise #63 and Horseshoe Crab #33

Grace- Great Blue Heron #34

Sophia B-Pen Shell #20 and Stingray #52

Sophia R- Ghost Crab #28

Anthony- Sand Dunes #61

Ajay-Red Knots #13 and  Giant Atlantic Cockel #48

Isabella- Coquina #24

Stephen- Bald Eagle #65

Students will be working in class and with middle school students over the month of March.  Assignments are due on April 1^st for the class display.   If you have any questions, please contact me! Please remember to visit www.onemontessoriworld.blogspot.com to follow our studies!

Warm Regards,

Betty Jane Mackay

Lead Montessori Teacher

Global "Exchange": A Lesson in Mathematics

For the January project, the children compared and contrasted currencies from the United States and Spain.  Students created displays and completed math enrichment assignments.

Lesson in Math

One Montessori World

January Project

Global “Exchange”: A Lesson in Mathematics

Dear Parents,

This past week, our students enjoyed sharing their Holiday Traditions and Gingerbread friends during a Skype with students from our sister school.  We learned about their traditions of Three Kings Day and the Twelve Grapes tradition. 

This month, our students will be focusing studies on mathematics through lessons of cultural money and exchange.  Students should complete the research detailed below and the attached Euro addition problems.  Please have students complete and return work by Monday, February 3^rd. 

·      Research: Students should research U.S. currency and the European currency of Spain.  Two paragraph minimum.

·      Display: Students should display an image of the currencies of both countries through either printed copies or drawings.

If you have any questions, please contact me!  We look forward to our February project that will focus on our Backyard Biomes.  Please remember to visit www.onemontessoriworld.blogspot.com to follow our studies!

Warm Regards,

Betty Jane Mackay

Lead Montessori Teacher