April started off with a flurry of activity once we came back from spring break. We welcomed two new friends, Madeline and Abigail. It has been such a pleasure to get to know them and listen to their sweet voices while they work. They have also been sharing their stunning smiles with us whenever they have the chance. We also said "see you soon" to Ryan and Reyansh as they moved up to their respective toddler classrooms. While it is never easy to say goodbye to our older friends, we know they will still be a part of our community and are never too far away.
We have watched what seems like every season out the windows with all the rain and wind that has blown past over the last few weeks! On days when the sun graces us with its presence, everyone seems to spend more time near the windows and enjoy taking in the gorgeous view. Our older friends get outdoors as much as they can. Hopefully as we move into May, the weather will be a little more predictable and calm and we can start spending more time outside. Our friends love to read almost any time of the day. There is always at least one book out or one of our friends has pulled several books out to find the one that is just right to read. They also like to share books with their teachers. Some favorites this month have been: Toot toot, Beep beep By Emma Garcia The Rooster Struts By Richard Scarry Duck and Goose Colors! By Tad Hills Busy Farmyard Illustrated by Betina Ogden April is national poetry month. For Earth day, we read the book Haiku Baby By Betsy Snyder. It features five haikus about nature with gorgeous illustrations. It has been a big hit with everyone in the room. We will continue to talk about and read it next month. In May we will put the finishing touches on a special gift for our moms. It involves various painting techniques that our older friends have begun to experiment with. We will spend as much time as we can talking about the new spring colors that are starting to appear outside. We will use several different stacking works and learn new songs. May will be a month of exploration and fun for Ambarino! Sara Davies Lead Teacher, Ambarino
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The saying "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb", couldn't be any truer when it comes to the comings and goings in Ambarino this month. Things started out very busy with some new changes to adjust to and then calmed down as the month went on.
We started off the month saying see you later to Diego and Sylvia as they moved on to their respective toddler classrooms. Although it is sad to see our friends move on, we know we will see them when they happen to find themselves near the infant room window to peek in and see what we are up to. It has been such a pleasure to help Diego and Sylvia grow and thrive during their time in Ambarino. After our friends transitioned to their new room, the older infants in Ambarino have been spending more time outdoors exploring. They have especially enjoyed splashing in puddles and watching cars drive by in the parking lot. All of the infants have enjoyed watching out the window and talking about the cars and babbling about the people they see outside. As the weather gets nicer, we try to get outdoors as much as we can. For now, rain boots and rain gear have been key to enjoying the rain that comes along with spring in the Pacific Northwest. Indoors, the infants have been very engaged in stacking various items. Often, the infants initiate this on their own and will often be observed repeating the process of stacking, knocking down the items and stacking them up again for a long period of time. A favorite book has been Toot Toot, Beep Beep by Emma Garcia. Other works that have been big hits have been the farm animal puzzle and talking about the different sounds each animal makes. In April we will be working on some special art projects that we will be excited to share with you as the time gets closer to their reveals. We will also be talking more about flowers and bunnies with spring coming in full swing after returning from spring break. Enjoy the breaks in the weather when you can and I hope everyone has a wonderful spring break. See you in April! Sara Davies Lead Teacher, Ambarino The month of February has flown by! The infants in Ambarino are constantly on the move and learning new things each day! Many of our friends are very interested in talking about farm animals and making the sounds that each of the animals make. Some of the infants will do this when they see the animals in a book while others will make the sounds of the specific animal while carrying it around the classroom. The cow, pig and horse are the three main animals they like to talk about. The barn work is usually very popular at any point in the day. The infants have been using the tractor more and even having some of the farm animals sit in the drivers seat when the farmer is being used!
It has been fun to watch the infants engage with their friends, especially when they are using the climber. The older infants will try to engage others to chase them, while others are just content having a peer to smile at them and occasionally babble about something. This month we talked a lot about different shapes and objects that were red in the classroom. The infants enjoyed engaging with a heart block puzzle and reading the book Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse! by Laura Numeroff. Many of our friends also enjoyed helping to create a card for their families using paint to make thumb prints and coloring with crayons. In March we will talk a lot about objects that are the color green. Our friends have really been interested in watching out the window so this will be a wonderful opportunity to talk about all of the trees outside and all of the plants that are starting to turn green again. We will also be reading different books about farm animals and continue to talk about the different sounds they make. Sara Davies The new year welcomed us with a chill in the air and non-stop action in Ambarino!
Our friends have been constantly on the move and exploring everything they can! Many of our friends have discovered they are more confident in standing freely on various surfaces, some of which are not always meant to be stood on! We have been reinforcing the “sit” sign and verbally reminding them frequently throughout the day to sit in order to help keep their bodies safe. Watching the connections that our friends make once they have satisfied their curiosity is such a joy. Stacking blocks of all shapes and sizes has been a work many of the infants have been very interested in engaging with. They can often be seen doing this for long periods of time. It is even more rewarding to watch them do this entirely on their own without any prompting from the teachers in the room. How to Build a Snowman and Rooster’s off to see the World by Eric Carle have been two of the more frequently read books this month. The book bin has been a hot spot in the classroom. The infants will spend long periods of time sitting near the books. Sometimes they will look at just one book and other times they will pull the books out one by one before finding the one that holds their interest. We said goodbye to Caroline and Myles this month. Caroline moved next door to Celeste and we are happy to continue to watch her grow into a spunky toddler who is always on the go. Myles will be spending more time with family. We wish them the very best and know their gentle spirits will continue to thrive as they grow. In February we will engage with red and pink works and talk about other items we see inside and out that are these bright hues. We will also see many hearts of different shapes and sizes. We might even spend time making a few with our very own thumbs! Sara Davies Lead Teacher, Ambarino December came and went in a blur of constant activity and painting fun in Ambarino! Our friends enjoyed helping with their peaceful holiday gifts that went home mid-month. Many of the infants also took part in a unique sensory experience where they were able to touch a Ziploc bag filled with paint. The bag was taped to different surfaces such as a table top or the glass door. It was fun to watch how each child chose to interact with it. Some of them even discovered they could peel back the tape and try to move the bag themselves. The smiles that resulted made this experience even more exciting to witness! Another work that was constantly being engaged with was a red and green themed put n take work. This is a work where red and green blocks are dropped into a metal tin. Some of our older friends have been working to take the lid off to try to get the blocks back out and then do it all over again.
The infants loved looking at and reading our Jingle Bells book! They also enjoyed hearing it sung during circle time. This particular edition featured a dog who rode in the sleigh with the children and lots of glitter covering the pages to make it look like freshly fallen snow. With so many of our friends in various stages of mobility, the red wagon has been a very popular work to use. It has been such a joy to watch how each child engages with it. Sometimes they might even give a friend a ride, which always elicits lots of smiles from the friend who happened to find themselves sitting in the wagon at the right time. At the end of the month, we said goodbye to Celia as she moved on to the toddler classroom. It will be nice to see her when she stops by the window to see what is going on in our room. It was such a joy to watch her grow into such a confident, caring and curious toddler. In January, we will focus on snow, snowmen and various circle works. We will also talk about items that are blue that we see in the classroom and outside. We hope you had a relaxing break and have had a healthy start to the new year! This past month we spent a lot of time talking about turkeys. We learned what they said, how they flap their wings and scratch their feet on the ground with the help of a song about turkeys. We also read books about turkeys. This Little Turkey by Aly Fronis and Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon were two very popular stories in our room.
The infants have been very interested in using different put 'n take works. These are works where they can put items into a container, take them out and then repeat the process as many times as they want. Our younger friends occasionally need a bit more help depending on the container, but are usually more than willing to try to get the items out on their own. Favorite items have been clothes pins that go into a large water jug, small apples into a can and colored bracelets into a felt bag. All of these works make different sounds when they are dropped in, which also helps highlight their appeal. At the end of the month, we said goodbye to William and Luna as they moved up to their new toddler classrooms. We also welcomed two new friends to Ambarino, Reyansh and Zoë. It has been wonderful to get to know them and we are excited to have new friends join us. Next month we will be spending a lot of time talking about the colors red and green and using different put 'n take works that use items with those colors. We are also going to work on a festive holiday gift. This month in Ambarino, we spent a lot of time talking about and looking at fire trucks, apples and pumpkins! It was so nice to see some of our friends at the infant-toddler meet and greet at Ferrel McWhirter Park the first weekend of October! It was a great event to kick-off the month and it was the first weekend that really started to feel like fall around here.
The infants have really enjoyed engaging with all of the different pumpkins that are in the room! The mini pumpkins have been a big hit because several of our friends have found it is easy to carry more than one at once! The infants have even experimenting with carrying the larger pumpkins since there is one that is a little bit smaller than the other. It is definitely a maximum effort work to do this, but the older infants can often be found holding this pumpkin and trying to walk a short distance away from where they picked it up. The infants have also discovered that when the pumpkin is dropped on the floor it makes a very loud sound! We have also been talking about the difference between red apples and orange pumpkins. Towards the middle of the month, the local fire house brought a truck to campus for our toddler friends to look at. We have been talking about fire trucks in the classroom and looking at fire truck books leading up to their visit. After their visit, we were given some fire hats to work with. The infants loved wearing these hats! So much so that one day, I think everyone had engaged with the hats at some point! It was so fun to watch what each infant did with them. Some chose to take them on and off several times. They even helped their teachers to put them on multiple times during the day. Other friends learned what they felt like and what different sounds they made. A favorite book included Trusty Fire Truck- the firetruck in this book squeaks when pressed and the older infants were very proud of themselves when they were able to make the firetruck make noise all by themselves! Other books were My Pumpkin by Lily Karr, Five Little Pumpkins Pictures by Dan Yaccarino and Here Comes Halloween by Caroline Jayne Church. The infants have really enjoyed sitting on the small bench to read their books lately! This month we said good bye to Tallie as she moved on to the Fucsia classroom. It is wonderful that we still get to see her when she stops by the window to share one of her outstanding smiles and infectious giggles with us! We also welcomed a new assistant teacher to Ambarino, Ms. Rebekah. It is always a pleasure to have new friends join our room. In November, we will be talking a lot about turkeys through books, pictures and a fun turkey song! We will also experience different shapes and textures of gourds and be introduced to several new books to carry on with fall themes. September brought us a new school year full of many new faces to Ambarino. We welcomed teachers Ms. Katie and Ms. Giselle and two new friends, Florian and Myles. It has been so much fun getting to know them and enjoy all they have to add to our room!
With the majority of the infants in the room constantly on the go, there is always lots of action and activity going on! A popular spot to see infants engaging throughout the day is at the mirror. You can usually see someone dancing, talking to themselves or babbling to a reflection they see there. Peek-a-boo is an ongoing game whether self-directed at the mirror or among friends. As soon as an adult says 'where is...' hands can be seen moving quickly to cover eyes and faces. This happens because many of our older friends are learning to identify people in the room and asking about a specific person usually results in many rounds of peek-a-boo during the day. The farm animals are always popular, especially for those who are learning how to say and mimic the different sounds they make. "Moo" and "Baa" are two sounds often heard during work time. "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" is a song many of the infants like to hear to help make these connections stronger. The infants have really enjoyed looking at the book Farmyard Friends while sitting on the small bench. Other favorite books this month have been Baby! Baby! by Vicky Celen and Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Eric Carle. The infants have also enjoyed working with colorful pop beads. Some are still exploring them, while others are able to successfully connect them and pull them apart. This is a process that can be seen being repeated many times during the day. Next month we will be talking about pumpkins of all sizes and all things red, yellow and orange in celebration of fall! Enjoy the cool and crisp weather as fall begins to take hold and usher our beautiful summer out. The month of May was a busy one in Ambarino! Most of our friends enjoyed helping with a beautiful butterfly painting for Mother’s Day. Several of our younger friends discovered new ways to move about the room and all of the infants were consistent cheerleaders for both themselves, their friends and teachers alike. This meant there was lots of clapping and constant smiles when someone was proud of their accomplishment or when someone did something that made them happy. It has been so joyous to see more of the infants clapping at various times during the day, not just during circle time. Several infants have become more interested in waving to their teachers and peers all throughout the day.
With the weather starting to stay drier for longer stretches of time, some of our older friends have started to go on short walks around campus. Favorite sights on their outings include the bunny outside the elementary classrooms, the goats outside the main office and the many plants that make our campus so beautiful! We will go out for more walks as often as the weather allows, as spring time in the Pacific Northwest can often be unpredictable. It is heartwarming to see our friends actively engaged during circle time! Especially during songs that include hand motions. The infants enjoy doing “Up and Down” and “Ram sam sam”. Almost always, one or more of the infants can been seen with their arms above their heads in anticipation of where their teachers hands will land at the end of the songs. The infants have also enjoyed reading books about pets this last month. Two favorites have been Touch and Feel Pets and Have You Seen My Cat? By Eric Carle. Many of the infants have been interested in stacking items and then knocking them over or moving stacked items to find an object hidden underneath. In June we will continue to work on stacking different items, have several opportunities to use different put and take works and talk about the difference between big and small. The month of April brought all kinds of farm animal sights, sounds and books to Ambarino. The infants love looking at, touching, and hearing all about farm animals! “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” was a hit with everyone during circle time. Some of our older friends are starting to make connections to the sounds that cows, horses and pigs make when we talk about them. The Cow Says Moo and Say Moo were popular books to read and look at. The infants also love exploring the red barn with the animals that are a part of that work. Favorite animals that are always in an infant’s hands during the day are the dog and the pig.
With so many of our friends in different stages in mobility in the classroom, those who are pulling up anywhere they can, have really enjoyed spending time on or near the small child sized rocking chair and the soft bench. Our friends who are able to get onto these pieces of furniture often hear the phrase “sitting” and the hand sign that goes along with it to be reminded to sit on their bottoms. Our younger friends enjoy observing the movement in the classroom as they work on rolling to get around the room in their own ways. In May, the infants will work on a nature inspired Mother’s Day present using their hands and feet. The infants will have the opportunity to engage with works and books that have to do with cats & dogs; works that stack, and dot marker painting. Enjoy the beautiful weather that has been sticking around! |
Ms. SaraEl Salon Ambarino Lead Teacher Archives
June 2018
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Montessori Children's House
5003 218th Ave. NE Redmond, WA 98053 Phone: 425-868-7805 [email protected] For Records Requests, please reach out to [email protected]. |
Founded in 1987
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