A kind, gentle North Austin community school
UPDATE: On Thursday morning (9/7) we found that our first butterfly had emerged, and by the afternoon we had three more! Three more arrived by Friday morning and on Friday afternoon we released them on the playground. (Scroll down for latest pictures.) On Aug 24, we received 10 caterpillars for our classroom. They ate very fast, grew […]
First a physician and later a psychologist, social worker and pedagogue before these professions existed, or certainly before women were “allowed” to hold these jobs, Dr Maria Montessori was a brilliant mind working far before her time. Born on this day in 1870, Maria Montessori grew up the daughter of a civil servant and a well-educated mother. […]
This morning we simulated the eclipse in our classroom, then after lunch the older students viewed it with a pinhole camera and a hole-punch camera. Just a little warm-up until we have a total eclipse here in Austin in 2024!
“To teach details is to bring confusion; to establish the relationship between things is to bring knowledge.” –Maria Montessori, From Childhood to Adolescence Children ask questions! As teachers, we seek to enable them to answer their own questions. What kinds of things are magnetic? What floats and what sinks? From pouring water between different containers […]
On weekdays our students come to school to work. On Saturday, their parents came to work–and great things happened: a bigger garden, a new playhouse, an outdoor water filter, cleaned and sealed decks, and new tree stumps. Good times!
Last weekend many of our parents attended a fun-filled workshop led by our wonderful art teacher, Dorte. Parents learned first-hand what it’s like to be in the Art section of our school. But, don’t take our word for it. Hear it in their own words, and pictures! “It’s like art therapy!” “I really enjoyed getting a […]
Kids move!
One of our awesome grandparents returned for an encore performance of last year’s geology lessons. This time he brought all-new rocks, except for one special request by the students. The meteorite made a return visit–we just had to see the “space rock” again!
Our classroom smells wonderful today, after a morning of assembling a home-and-body mister and bath salts. Many thanks to one of our moms for volunteering her time to help the children assemble misters and bath salts to take home! Mister, step 1: Add Water Mister Steps 2 & 3: Add essential oils, then shake […]
It’s true, holidays are exciting times. Valentine’s Day is not until next week, but we have already been seeing it for the past few weeks. The children are choosing to wear red and pink, and we’ve been seeing hearts everywhere. We are sewing hearts, drawing hearts, perforating hearts… even finding them in the shape of octopus […]
A Montessori classroom is ever-changing. Of course, the pink tower, counting beads, red rods and many more materials are always available to students. But in an effort to keep the kids’ interest and connect the classroom to the outside world there is an on-going rotation of works. Since children cannot help but to notice the […]
As we finish up our fall semester, we reflect on where we’ve come since August. This fall, like past years, we have enjoyed a new cohort of two-year-olds. It is lovely to watch them learn how our classroom operates while developing coordination and a sense of order. We have always incorporated two-year olds into our classroom, […]