Hi Camellia families,
It has been a wonderful week (even though it has been quite wet). The children really enjoyed watching the rain come down. And we even went out and did a rain dance! All the children had a great time planting their seeds with Christopher's dad, John.  They planted sunflowers and beans. If you would like to do a project with the children, please contact the Camellia teachers.                    

The Ginkgo children are enjoying the beginning of spring and admiring what is growing around campus.  With our observation skills, we learn to see many details. We notice different fruit trees have different colored blossoms, the difference in the size of a flower's parts, and that different mammals have different lengths of fur. Maria Montessori says, "Children who have been taught how to satisfy their spiritual needs often will sit down near flowers to admire them, but they will soon get up and go in search of something to do since it is their own activity that causes the buds of their charming little personalities to unfold."             

 
We are looking very forward to our Spring Egg hunt next week. Thank you to everybody for the cascarones egg shells. We have received a lot of them! The First Years are being introduced to the work of  "The Bells". This is a Montessori activity in which the children develop and refine a musical ear by learning to identify and match different pitches of whole tones and semitones of the chromatic scale. The first lesson is learning to "strike" a bell with a "striker" and then stop the sound with a "dampner". After they have practiced at this for a while, they then start to match the bells a few at a time. The second years will match all the bells as well as put them in order to create the octave. Later they will start to play music on them.                  

 Children love to learn about money, although the concept is quite abstract. To them, if you want to pay for something, you simply swipe a card through the reader and go on your merry way. Juniper children have been practicing with pennies lately. It has become a strong interest in Juniper. We look forward to the many lessons on money and the sudden increase for the love of money. Watch out!

The children have started their preparations for our upcoming Spring Egg Hunt, which will happen on Friday, April 6. This is an "in house" event, just for the children and teachers, but we're sure you'll hear all about it at pick-up time! To prepare for the morning, the children have started making cascarones. They've dyed the egg shells and will soon be filling them with confetti (which they've cut themselves!). They'll also dye hard boiled eggs and make their own custom baskets from paper. Our discussion with the children around this event centers on the changes in nature when spring arrives: flowers blooming, new leaves on trees, baby chicks, and the general bounty of life!

Magnolia children have continued to learn about mammals and we have taken a closer look at horses.  We have learned the different parts of a horse, including the mane, forelegs, and hind legs.  Some children have made small booklets of these body parts.  We discussed other animals that have these same body parts, such as zebras, lions, and giraffes.  The children have also been reciting short poems in front of each other.  Practicing to be a patient audience and then a dramatic performer has been an enjoyable activity within our classroom.  The children continue to amaze the teachers at how quickly they absorb detailed information!                

The Mulberry children planted their seedlings into small pots. When they are bigger, we will transfer them to the garden in our yard. Our garden now has an irrigation system to help with the watering. We have also begun talking about brushing our teeth. We will be adding toothbrush work to the classroom next week so every child is asked to bring in their own toothbrush. Friday, April 6 will be our spring hunt. The children are asked to bring in a brown paper grocery bag on Monday April 2 to make a basket with.