Fall, '09

First picture is Parker shelling pecans. The pecan cracker is a nice wooden apparatus made of olive wood. Nice to hold and use.

The middle picture is Lochlan doing a very impressive job of coloring a world map. We traced the continents first and then he colored them in. He is a very active child and to sit and do this was, for him, a great accomplishment. He did it very willingly also - no coercion. :)

Alyssa is folding clothes and repacking them into the bag. Notice how nicely she has laid out the items from the bag. She obviously watched the demonstration very well.

Sweet Kadan learning how to set the table

Our Kim

We had a shower for Our Kim who is having a baby boy in August. We are very happy for her and her family. I thought the pictures of Gerry showing Madilyn and Alyssa the presents were very cute. They were so excited, and listened so intently, while she explained what the present was.

Rylan is our second to newest student. He is full of life and spunk. I will have to take more pictures of him doing the things he loves to do- like cutting bread, "reading," pouring, working with the magnets, setting the flashlight together and "hanging" monkeys so his Mom and Dad know how busy he is during the day.

sweet sweetums...

Little Joel - our newest and youngest, loves the bird on a string. He reaches for it and giggles so sweetly when he pulls it, making the bird's wings flap.

He is just learning to crawl and heads toward the little fence and pulls himself up. It is the perfect height for him.

summer, '09

summer, '09

John Andrew, John Sebastian and Tanner of the Musketeer brigade....this was taken on the day they were determined to find a way to go to the other side of the earth by digging through it. When I told them they wouldn't be able to get through the center, they planned on making some kind of capsule that could not only dig but could insulate them from the heat.

Dawson's 4th birthday; Alyssa's 3rd birthday

sweet Alyssa is mixing her birthday cake

The Lineup of bosses.....

A Good Play

We built a ship upon the stairs, all made of the back-bedroom chairs, and filled it full of sofa pillows to go a-sailing on the billows....

This reminded me of the Robt. Louis Stevenson poem. The children made a pirate ship and normally I would have encouraged them to put the chairs away and work from the shelf but they were all having such a good time sailing on the billows. Notice the Commanding Officer, Caleb, and the Executive Officer, Andrew, studying the map they had made. And then there is Connor, just comfortable in their ability to steer the ship wherever and Nevada lying on the chairs waiting for Alyssa to cover her up with the mats. I am not sure what Dawson, in the background, is thinking. He is probably wondering about the make and model of the ship.

Whitlee puts the finishing touches on her map of South America.

1st grader, Whitlee, is writing huge numbers and learning place value.

More Daily Work

They watch everything we do. Scary! Alyssa watches me teach piano and is "teaching" Nevada. Little sweethearts.

Caleb was working with parts of trucks while Tanner was making a large equilateral triangle from four smaller equilateral triangles.

Caleb and Connor's little sister. Such a cutie!!

Dawson is using the fraction skittles to make whole skittles. At first the children just set the skittles together but later it helps with understanding fraction parts. The the little bulb on top of the skittle encourages the use of the three fingers with which we hold a pencil. There are many activities in a Montessori school which are designed to strengthen those muscles used in writing.

Sweet Kadan is cutting bread into cubes and after she cleans the tray and puts it back on the shelf, she will offer cubes of the bread to the other children - if she wants to. She may choose to eat it herself but most of the children always share it. Alyssa waits fairly patiently for her turn.

Chef Tanner is helping make his birthday cake for his fourth birthday!! The children wear the chef's toque proudly but I think, after seeing this picture, that we should put some starch in the top of it.

Little Nevada carries the little glass cup for the water very carefully, gets just a spot of water, carries it to the table and then "paints" with water. Notice how she is holding the top of the brush carefully so that she doesn't press too hard on the bristles and scratch the board. This is some kind of special board which, when painted on with water, makes the design and then in a few seconds fades away. She is very careful with it.

Kadan's Birthday

Sweet kids - they love to make the Birthday cakes. When we put in the baking powder I always tell them that it makes the cake rise. Then I always ask this same question, "What made Jesus rise from the dead?" They vociferously tell me, "The Holy Spirit!" Someone must have not paid attention the other times or was one of the "new" kids, but today when I asked what made Jesus rise from the dead, the answer came, "baking powder!" Sometimes it is tough keeping a straight face but when they are being serious and not trying to be funny, you simply must not laugh at them.