the calm before the storm..

New school, new classroom, new children! After two weeks of unpacking, sorting, repacking, organizing, cleaning and creating, I put the finishing touches on my new classroom today. This summer it got a complete makeover (including two new teachers): a new kitchen, a new layout, a private bathroom and endless little odds and ends. I will most definitely miss the Toddler room but a Primary class brings a whole new kind of excitement. Here are just a few glimpses of the room.

Peace Poem (Said at Closing Group in AM and PM)

Language

Language (Metal Insets)

Secret Word (PIG)

Nose Blowing

Library/Peace Corner

Birthday Walk Materials

Moon Landing (Part of Solar System Unit)

Sweeping Square, Snack Waiting Chair, Line Up Path

Dishwashing - Practical Life

Afternoon Job Chart

Snack Table

Cultural Corner

Sensorial Area

Rock Painting

Teacher Table: Rain Stick, Bell, Monthly Poem

Mystery Number (Math)

Light/Nature Table in The Peace Corner

urban gardening: the montessori way

two of my favorite things: montessori and planting (okay three - the city). i first showed the children how to make newspaper pots with a pot making tool, they loved this so much i later put it on the art shelf as a "vessel maker." we repotted flowers in the newspaper pots and planted them in our little plot of soil in the courtyard of our very urban school. we also planted seeds in peet pots - some children brought them home to replant and some donated them to our little garden! the children LOVED doing this. some of them had experience with gardening because of grandparents in the country or situations like that, but most didn't know much about it. its so important to get your hands dirty!

seed planting

fill up with soil

choose seeds: basil, radish, sunflower, green bean. 

seed planting or flower repotting

make a newspaper pot

stick your flower in the newspaper pot!

roll

press

twist

voila!

notice the roots

courtyard gardening

watering