I have really enjoyed our home projects this month.  I always get so excited to see the fun topics students choose.  We still have a few students who have not presented, remember tomorrow is the last day of the month.  Even if your child’s project is passed the due date, please encourage them to complete this valuable projects.

Friday I presented our project for the month of February.  The topic is “I Wonder…”  The project encourages your child to ponder the world around them and seek to ask questions.  Students seek an answer to a question they have, research more on the topic, and then come to class and present their findings.  For example, a child may wonder, “What is the fastest animal on earth?”  They will do some research to find the answer to that question.  Once they find the answer, the fastest land animal is the cheetah, they will research more information about their finding, in this question it would be the cheetah.  They will then prepare to come to class prepared to tell everyone what their question was and the information they found relating to that question.  This home project is to help students develop curiosity and find a love for learning.

Some quick examples of questions:

“What is the oldest living tree on the earth?”

“What creates an earthquake and where did the biggest one happen?

“How does electricity work?”

As always, If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.

Don’t forget, home projects are due the last day of the month.  Surprisingly, we have lots a students excited about their topics, but no presenters.  Please try and avoid the end of month rush. If you have questions or concerns, please let me know.

Australia home projects are due in less than two weeks on Thursday, December 14th.  Our International Festival is a fun family event and all are invited.  The schedule for presenting:

Jr High Presents: Tuesday, December 19th 1-2:30 p.m.

Upper El Presents: Wednesday, December 20th 9-11 a.m.

Lower El Presents: Thursday, December 21st 1-2:30 p.m.

If your child is choosing to provide samples of food for the festival, please email me prior, just to make certain it is appropriate for the event.  Toothpicks will not be allowed for any food samples.

I hope to see you there!

Thank you for all your support with our October home projects.  The students did a fantastic job presenting!  I am always excited to see their research come alive.  Our big home project for the International Festival in now upon us.  We are presenting on the Continent of Australia.  They may choose anything in relationship to Australia: animals, specific animal, cities, landmarks, artwork, the sky is the limit.

Last week, the students learned about the native Aborigines.  They listened to didgeridoo music and created original dot art.  We created a KWL chart.  (What do we Know about Australia?  What do we Want to learn?  What did we Learn?)  Several students have been focusing their  “love of learning” time researching and learning more about cities in Australia.  KWL outlines are a great way to guide your child with their home project research.  It helps them to recognize growth mindset by reflecting on the new information they learned.

This home project needs to be completed on a tri-fold board.  This work will be viewed  within our entire school community.  I would like to encourage their best work by offering additional time in order to complete their project.  Projects are due in class, Thursday, December 14th. The International Festival It is scheduled to take place on December 19th ,20th, and 21st. This event is opened to everyone, so please mark your calendar.  I like to think of the event much like a science fair, but for country studies.

Please see our home project page for additional information.

Thank you for all your support with our home projects for September.  They were amazing and the students did a fantastic job.  It was fun to reflect on the progress the returning students have made.  They have become confident in their ability to present in front of their peers and share their excitement and love of learning.  If your child has not yet presented for September, we would still love to hear from them.  October our home projects will focus on the study of zoology.  Please continue to refer to our home project page on our blog.  If you have questions, concerns, or celebrations, please feel free to email me.

Hi,

Just a quick reminder that home projects are due at the end of every month.  We are quickly approaching the end of September.  I would also like to remind you to check in with your child to see if they brought home a Roaring Reader folder.  These are reading activities and fluency passages for students who are emergent readers up through beginning of third grade.  If your child is not yet reading or exceeds a third grade reading level, they did not receive a folder.  The instruction for each days activity is found on the back side.  Depending on your child’s current reading level, you may need to do a little additional recording.  The time needed to complete the activity is generally between 5 to 10 minutes for each day.  These are a great resource that really help support your child and their reading growth.   The idea is not to complete them all in one day, but to work over the four evenings and return the folder on Friday morning.  New passages will be sent home each Monday.  Just a reminder that we should ideally be reading with our children each night for 20 minutes, so this counts toward that reading time.  Thank you for your support.  If you have questions, please email me at bherrera@mariamontessoriacademy.org.  Please do not respond to blog posts.  Thank you, Ms. Brittany

Hello Parents!

As part of your child’s Friday studio program, your child attends a science class!  To demonstrate an understanding of content from this year your child has been asked to choose one topic we have covered for their end of the year science project.  Students have learned: simple machine, 3 states of matter, light and heat from the Sun, heat (friction), sound, electricity and static electricity, the relationships between the Sun, Earth, and Moon, how living and non-living things interact in an environment, force- 3 laws of motion, and momentum.  By choosing a topic, students’ objective is to become the teacher in one of these areas from science for others.  Your child will need to be able to explain their topic of choice with a creative visual that helps teach others what they want to be the expert on.  Please do not see this project as a science fair!  Students may choose any means necessary for their visual presentation.  Some ideas include, but are not limited to:

• Poster or tri-fold board
• Brochure
• Hands on experiment
• Experiment demonstration by student (must be able to show over and over)
• Board game
• Video (Example: Make their own Bill Nye)
• Performance or skit
• Diorama
• Create a book
• Create a lesson or work

            Projects are due April 14^th, a Friday.  From 1:00pm-2:30pm, students from other grades and parents will get to tour and learn from our student teachers!  Set up will be in the gym.  If your child’s project takes up some room or is delicate, projects may arrive by noon on the 14^th.

A rubric will be used a tool to help their teacher know if they have sufficient understanding of their content.  The level of understanding your child exhibits will be used to score their science section on the Maria Montessori Academy progress report.

Please email me if you have any further questions- kparsons@mariamontessoriacademy.org

Thank you,

Kaley Parsons

We are entering the last week of March, level 1 and 2 students need to have their Asia projects completed by Friday.  Level 3 students have until the end of April.  Level 3 students should be working on their science fair projects and their Asia projects.  They are due to end of April.