<![CDATA[Cross of Life Christian Montessori School

<![CDATA[Cross of Life Christian Montessori School - COLCM Blog]]>Tue, 15 May 2012 17:33:49 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Garden Day]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:02:47 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/04/garden-day1.html

Marigolds help repel mosquitos

Many thanks to our awesome 'garden moms' - Cathy, Michelle and Erika, who came out on an unusually cold and drizzly morning to weed our garden and get it ready for summer.

Just a few weeds!

We put the weeds in our compost bin to help make soil for the garden.

E is carrying sweet potato vines

Everyone took a turn to plant

Some interesting items were found

This seed was just about to sprout

A little friend

This little nest was in one of our planters out front - we now have 6 baby birds!

A look at the finished bed. Stay tuned to see what we harvest!

]]><![CDATA[Raffle Success! ]]>Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:01:01 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/04/raffle-success.html

Many, many thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success! Over $2,000 was raised for the school and a great time was had by all! Please check out our wonderful sponsors below - many of them are local businesses, and their generosity was overwhelming. Thank you to:

Susan Jarocki (COL member)
Hitchcock Family (COL member)
Susan and Hugh Hofer (COL member)
Lee Garden Chinese Restaurant
Cork and Canvas
Dream Friends Entertainment
Ivy Interiors
Cookies by Lori
Vermont Brownie Company
Bissell Electric Sweeper
Lizerati Jewelry
Farmer Sue at the Art Barn
AGR Photography
American Girl
Silks by Claire
Jeronimo Bounce House
River Pines Golf Course
Out of the Box Art Studio
Cosmetic and Family Dentistry
Juice Plus
Lia Sofia Jewelry
ATA Karate Atlanta
The Best Little Flower Shop in Roswell
Rice Thai Cuisine (Roswell)
Bean Head Toys
Menchies in Crabapple
Borrelli's Salon
Nail Tech in Roswell
Plum Tree Yoga
King O'Sullivan School of Irish Dance
Kudzu Embroidery & Gifts
Posh Tots Events
Kristy Cash - massage therapist in Roswell
Monograms, LTD
ENV Studio Salon

]]><![CDATA[Art Barn!]]>Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:10:16 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/04/art-barn.html

We had a farm-tastic time today at the Art Barn and we made sure to meet the animals, brush them/give them some hay, do an art project in the barn, ride a pony and go for a hayride. Thanks so much Farmer Sue!!

]]><![CDATA[A Walk in the Woods]]>Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:16:57 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/04/a-walk-in-the-woods.htmlRecently, the Primary class decided to take a little walk in the woods to see what we could find. Hand in hand we made our way to the trail.

Before we had even made it to the woods, we discovered a fellow traveler...a caterpillar! And of course we stopped to take a look.

We decided to have a seat on the benches just inside the woods. It's so important to learn to be still and to take a few moments in our busy, noisy lives to be able to just listen.

We spent about ten seconds just listening to the sounds in the woods. We heard a construction site (while it wasn't a typical "woods" sound, the children still wanted to identify it), a woodpecker and some other birds (including a group of crows). Before getting up to explore, some children rested with their eyes closed and others gazed at the passing clouds in the sky.

Some of the children quickly discovered some worms wriggling around just below the pine straw.

And hand in hand we made our way back out of the woods.

“The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.”--Dr. Maria Montessori

]]><![CDATA[What kind of adult do you want your child to become?]]>Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:20:17 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/04/what-kind-of-adult-do-you-want-your-child-to-become.html

happy, joyful

This question was posed by at our last parent education night by our guest speaker, Joen Bettmann (Director of Training at the International Montessori Training Institute). The answers given by our parents were so thoughtful and inspiring we wanted to share them here. As parents, we hope our children will become adults that are...

that have a good work ethic

diligent

perceptive

seeking out challenge

collaborators

creative

generous and thoughtful

self-reliant

positive, engaging

resourceful, risk-takers, persevering

ambitious, motivated

responsible, respectful

adventurous and independent

life-long learners

that have a sense of humor and can be flexible

confident, considerate,

reliable and self-respecting

inquisitive

persevering

that reaches goals

Christian

self-sufficient

good citizen

humble and caring

dreamer

leading with integrity

self-motivating

passionate

honest and loving

"...perhaps the best brain and life enhancing tools in the future may just be the very things our children had in their childhoods - childhood environments rich in love and attention of parents and teachers who care less about the accumulation of information and statistically measured achievement and who care more about the accumulation and expressions of wisdom, ingenuity, empathy, joy, grace and gratitude." - excerpt from Dr.Doug Lyon's address to Montessori school parents, Nov. 2005

]]><![CDATA[A few toddler snapshots]]>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:00:18 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/03/a-few-toddler-snapshots.htmlTake a peek into our busy morning!

Be sure to vote for COLCMS as 'The Best Preschool in Roswell' and leave a comment here.

]]><![CDATA[Oh What a Beautiful Day!]]>Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:25:23 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/03/oh-what-a-beautiful-day.htmlIt's been so wonderful to have such beautiful spring weather! In honor of the beautiful weather, we have had a couple of picnic lunches and of course lots of time working in the garden. There's so much to do!

Picnic lunch day one

Some of our toddler friends enjoyed playing in the house.

The wheelbarrow is a well-loved favorite.

The most exciting discovery was finding a ladybug among the newly blossomed flowers in the garden.

Sharing the discovery...

Everyone wants to make sure to take a look!

Cleaning the birdbath

Watering the daffodils.

Scrubbing the pathway

Picnic day two!

“The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.” -- Dr. Maria Montessori

]]><![CDATA[The Atrium: Parable of the Leaven]]>Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:08:50 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/02/the-atrium-parable-of-the-leaven.htmlThe children have been pondering the mystery of the Kingdom of God through the Kingdom Parables. Recently, they revisited the Parable of the Mustard Seed (which is definitely a favorite). The children quickly remembered how small the mustard seed is and how large it became as a tree. This past week received a presentation on the Parable of the Leaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. --Matthew 13:33

One pan has just flour and water and the other has flour, yeast and water.

While we were waiting for the yeast to rise, the children went back to work both in the classroom and in small groups to the atrium.

Receiving the presentation on the Adoration of the Magi.

Working with the Good Shepherd materials.

Working with the Tracing Packets.

Working with the Last Supper materials.

After reading again from the scripture booklet, the children were SO excited to see what had happened!

The one with the yeast has changed!

I wonder how the Kingdom of God could be like the yeast in the flour. The yeast cannot be taken out of the flour. And yet, the yeast has transformed the flour and water.

We offered the children a few moments of silence and a few of the children asked to share a prayer. "The length of the prayer time is determined by the children and often consists in long periods of silence, which are, themselves, authentic prayer. "* They were so thoughtful. Some prayers were audible, some a whisper and some were silent. "All who work with children, as catechists or as parents, have experienced the joy and the peace of children of all ages after a time of prayer."*

*From "Listening to God with Children" by Gianna Gobbi, one of the co-founders of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

]]><![CDATA[Valentine's Week]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:22:02 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/02/valentines-week.html

For Valentine's day, the toddlers had a party with parents and made a special craft...

picture frames!

Enjoying a good book!

Friends riding in the boat.

A favorite toddler book!

Watering the rubber plant.

It took a while, but AC covered this whole paper in purple paint!

Working on pincer grasp with a knobbed puzzle.

In the Primary Casa, T works on grading colors with Color Box 3.

I love the look of determination on W's face!

I can almost hear her laughing in this picture.

D enjoyed discovering what made the digger work.

Hopscotch was a popular activity on this beautiful day.

Digging in the raised bed...soon we will plant for spring and summer!

E works on her balance

I enjoyed 'playing soccer'

More hopscotch!

Friends

M and some of the other children remembered the French words for numbers on the hopscotch board. Un, deux, trois...

It was a great day to play in the garden!

]]><![CDATA[Primary: What We've Been Up to Lately]]>Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:09:04 -0800http://www.colmontessori.com/1/post/2012/02/primary-what-weve-been-up-to-lately.html

Beautifying the environment through flower arranging.

Experiencing dimension and sequence with the Pink Tower.

Working with the Gold Beads offers the child the opportunity to experience the symbol and quantity for numbers through 9999. The child is also able to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with these materials.

Enjoying a book about various tools used to build a house in the reading area.

Our newest activity is a popular one! Sewing aids in developing the muscles in the hand for writing, develops coordination, concentration, aesthetic appreciation and attention to detail.

Enjoying strawberry slicing!

The Spindle Boxes aid the child in working with "loose" quantities and gives a clear impression for what zero means.

This material allows the child to experience various land and water forms, such as a lake and island.

Flower Arranging is definitely another favorite! The children love to create arrangements for the lunch tables and for our classroom.

Table Washing is a favorite Practical Life activity! It aids the child in developing the muscles in the hand for writing, concentration and coordination of movement. It also prepares the child for later work in the Language and Math areas.

This box of the Constructive Triangles allows the child to experience the different kind of triangles that go together to make equilateral triangles and learns the terms related to triangles-- height, base, median, midpoint and center.

This material gives the child the opportunity to explore with various phonograms and make as many words as she can think of with that phonogram.

The Stamp Game allows the child to write down his equations for the first time--experiencing the equals line and addition sign while adding numbers in the thousands!

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