Primary - What we've been up to lately

We start the day with 'morning jobs.' This gives every child a chance to settle in for the day and make a positive contribution to the group. Here, R. is getting the napkins and napkin rings ready for lunch. The children know every napkin and which ring goes with it. 

Here, 2 friends are working together to sweep up a spill from the paper cutting activity. They were able to sweep up all the little pieces of paper. 

These children are working on Geography using a material called puzzle maps. There is one for the world, one for the United States, and one for each continent showing the different countries. 

This picture shows just one of the benefits of a mixed age class. An older boy is reading to a younger friend. 

Flag making, another Geography activity, allows the child to learn what the flags of different countries look like. Drawing the flag and writing the name of the country provides writing practice. 

Plant care is just one of many Practical Life activities. She is not only caring for the plant by keeping it clean and watered, she is developing fine motor skills, concentration, and self-discipline. 

Here, a 4 year old and 3 year old are working with the Trinomial Cube. This sensorial material is actually a 3 dimensional representation of the trinomial equation. Of course, we don't tell the child that, but when he sees this equation later in his schooling, he will have had the experience of working with it before.  

B, age 4, completed this weaving independently. It took a lot of time, concentration, and fine motor skills. She is very proud! 

The barn looks like a toy but it is actually a language material. There are many different exercises that can be done with the barn. Here, a 5 year old is reading labels and matching them with the corresponding animals. 

E. is working with the addition strip board, a math activity that provides practice with basic facts and number writing. 

These 2 children are working on sewing - it is a wonderful exercise for developing the muscles used in writing. I love the concentration in the first picture as he is threading the needle. The heart in the second picture is her own design. 

The constructive triangles, pictured above, are a sensorial material. This material gives the child experience with different linear shapes and the vocabulary for the shapes (rectangle, square, parallelogram, rhombus, and trapezoid). It also shows that all linear shapes are made of triangles. 

Two friends working together to set up a math activity. 

JC is looking out into our courtyard and drawing and writing about what she sees. 

These are the color tablets, being used to grade the colors from darkest to lightest. 

This is wood polishing, another Practical Life activity. 

BA is experimenting with water color paints. 

Spring is not only a time of growth in nature, but in our children as well. It is amazing how much they have changed since the beginning of the year. We are looking forward to continuing to learn and grow together in April and May!