Themes

08/01/2024 Montessori – Grace & Courtesy

Whether you are new to Montessori, or you have been familiar with it for a while, you’ve probably heard the phrase grace and courtesy. You may be wondering what that means in a Montessori classroom, and why we go out of our way to identify it as something special. Simply put, grace and courtesy is all about helping children to understand polite social norms. As a Montessori school, we understand that even very young children are capable of much more than is traditionally expected of them. For example, you might picture a preschool classroom in which children are running around or shouting if they are excited. After all, children of three or four years of age can’t be expected to have mastered such behaviours yet, right? If you were to observe children of the same age in a Montessori classroom, this would not be the case. Just as with any other skill, Montessori children are taught how to behave appropriately. This is not to say that they are never allowed to run around and be loud; outdoor playtime is a perfectly suitable environment for those behaviours. They have simply learned that the classroom is an environment dedicated to learning and concentration, and they do their part to make it so.

15/01/2024 Miro

Who was Joan Miro? Joan Miro was a Spanish Catalan artist famous for combining abstract art with surrealism. He worked in a variety of media. Not only did he produce paintings and drawings, but his work also includes collages, murals, tapestries, and sculptures. We will learn a new word ‘surrealism’. His paintings seem almost realistic, but also slightly magical.  We will look at his painting very closely to see that each individual item is painted in detail and seems realistic whist some of the things seem too big or too small. By using his art technique, bend, and curve lines we are going to use our own imagination to create a very own Miro style art.

22/01/2024 – 29/01/2024            Antarctic/Artic

Wrap up warm because we are off on an icy adventure. We will travel to the North and South Pole. Do you know what the difference is between Arctic and Antarctic? Did you know that the Arctic is a frozen ocean, whereas Antarctic is an actual land covered in snow. Arctic territories are connected to continents such as North America, Europe, or Asia, while the Antarctic is a harsh an isolated continent.

According to size, Antarctic is the fifth largest continent of our planet. The continent is almost double the size of Australia! One fascinating species found only in the Arctic is the narwhal, often referred to as the ‘unicorn of the sea’. Why? Well, the male narwhals have a straight tusk that can grow to over 3m in length! Do you know where snowflakes come from? Each snowflake is a six-pointed work of art. But how does nature make snowflakes? There is so much to learn! I cannot wait!

05/02/2024 Feelings

Engaging in mental health activities can help equip children with the social and emotional skills they need, building stronger relationships and understanding their feelings helps children to understand other people’s feelings better, which helps them to make friends, be kind and build strong relationships.
This week children will be learning about mental health, talking about emotions and feelings how to recognise and cope with the different emotions and feelings they experience, looking at the different activities that help us to have good mental health, exercise and the effects this has on our mood, enjoying the environment around us going on a scavenger hunt using our senses to hear, touch and smell and look at what’s around us, meditation, eating healthy and talking about how we feel.

For the next two weeks will embark on an adventure across our two largest Oceans, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. We will be learning about the migration of some sea animals turtles, dolphins, and whales. Have you ever heard about the term echolocation, the whales and the dolphins use it to guide themselves on the tedious journey they take every year to find food.

We will look at the layers of the oceans or the zones of the ocean’s sunlight zone, twilight zone, midnight zone, the abyss, and trenches. We will learn what kind of life we can find in each zone and their environment. We will look at the way we can group marine life such as fish, sharks and mammals, molluscs, corrals, seagrass, and birds. 

04/03/2024 World Book Day and Stories

World Book Day is a celebration! It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books, and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. With this theme we wish to encourage children to read for pleasure.

Books can be fun, and this week we are reading the popular Dr Seuss books! Happy Reading!

Please remember to dress up in your favourite character costume on Friday 8 March (World Book Day). 

11/03/2024 – 25/03/2024 Spring

Spring, for many, is a symbol of new beginnings. When the first green emerges from the ground and the first bud opens.  Flowers bloom for the first time in months, against the ruthlessness of ice and snow. Animals awaken from winter-induced hibernation. The sun shines again, bringing an end to the enduring darkness of the past three months. The earth comes to life once more. And Spring symbolises life in all its glory.