The Montessori Schoolyard

Water in a Solid State

2011-02-28T11:39:00.000-08:00

As luck would have it, just as we were studying the different states of matter, we had a snowy icy day to explore water in a solid state. The kids found an icy wonderland of ice covered plants, logs, and trees. A few days later we brought in some of that snow and ice in a muffin tin and placed it over heated water in a crock pot creating our own water cycle.

2011-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

Fall Fun

2010-10-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

We had some fall fun in the outdoor classroom this past week. We brought in hay bales to climb on, which the kids loved! We also filled our sand table with dried corn and buckeyes to scoop. We sorted buckeyes and acorns as well.

Kindergarten in the Schoolyard

2010-10-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Part of the extended day for the kindergartners is spent outside playing counting games and working on special projects and lessons. The children have been jumping over jump ropes counting to 100 and counting by 5's and 10's playing clapping games. The kids love it! One of our kids laid down three jump ropes and started counting by 3's!
We also learned about the forces of pushing and pulling while cleaning up the yard. The kids were put on two teams, one pulling a wagon and the other pushing the wheel barrow. The children filled them up with leaves and tallied each time they dumped their load of leaves.

Enjoying Some Nice Weather

2010-10-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the nice weather at the end of our week. The kids brought their snacks outside and had a little picnic in the yard. We also got out pumpkin tossing, which is a fall time favorite at our school. My mother in law crocheted these pumpkins a while back. They are really soft and great for tossing. The children also enjoyed our new leaf matching work. I found these beautiful wooden matching cards on etsy.com from thewhimsytree shop.

A Good Week for Digging for Worms

2010-10-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

I am fast learning that you have to be flexible when your classroom is outdoors. The rain kept us in one day and the next was very wet. Our deck was soaked, so we had to make some adjustments on Wednesday. We decided to put lots of hand shovels out, so kids could dig for worms. The kids loved it! I think digging for worms is our favorite work outside, although they love the farm animals too. Our owners brought some back in, and the children had the opportunity to observe and draw them. This week they got to meet Galileo the goose for the first time. He is big and noisy! He thinks he is the protector of his duck friends, so he did a lot of talking on his visit to the school.

Going on a Bird Hunt

2010-10-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

I just love this picture! Some of the kids were checking out the Ohio bird guide. They were picking birds they like and using the binoculars to see if they could spy any. I'm not sure if they were successful in finding any, but they were enjoying themselves!

Indian Corn

2010-10-01T07:23:00.000-07:00

We began our Indian Corn Work this week. The children take the kernels off the cob by hand. Another extension of that would be to use tweezers to remove the kernels. Later we will use the corn for another work. I am thinking of having them paint with the cob. The cob might make some pretty cool prints.

The Farm Animals Come For a Visit

2010-09-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

This week we had a special treat. The owner of our school, Arthur Stewart, brought several of the animals in from his farm. The children were able to feed and pet goats, ducks, a sheep, a rabbit, and a chicken. The kids were overjoyed! It was a very special day.

The Second Week

2010-09-25T07:10:00.000-07:00

The second week of the outdoor classroom ran pretty smoothly aside from the weather not cooperating on Wednesday. My first group was able to have a full work time outside, but then the on and off down pours of rain began. When the sun came out I decided to take another group out just to dig for worms. The kids were loving it, but the rain came out of no where again and we got wet! No one in the group was upset about it. In fact the children were squealing with delight at it. Some of the girls were still talking about it the next day! When you are a kid getting caught in the rain can be one of those simple joys in life.

We did get the big shovels out this week as promised and began our digging work. The kids loved it! We also began sanding our stump. Last week we talked about how the rings on a stump tell the age of the tree. Sanding will make the rings easier to see.

Outdoor Classroom Officially Opened for the School Year

2010-09-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

This week the outdoor classroom was officially open up for the school year. Now that the children have had time to adjust to being at school we have broken them up into their outdoor classroom groups and have started rotating them out into the schoolyard. It is always interesting at first, because the new ones need to learn how to change in and out of their boots, as well as how to line up. I must say they are catching on quite well and have been enjoying working in the yard. We kept it pretty simple this week. Children watered, sanded, dug with hand shovels, and learned to fill the bird feeder. Next week the big shovels come out and everyone is very excited!

Little Maple Trees

2010-09-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

One of our themes for the year in our classroom is trees. The children have been learning about the parts of the tree, so I decided to dig up some of the baby maple trees that have made it into my yard thanks to all the maple seeds that spun their way in last spring. I placed them in water with some aqua gems, which are a soil substitute. This way the children could get a good view of the roots. I also found some battered "spinners" a.k.a. maple seeds to show them, as well as an adult maple leaf. It is interesting to observe how the tiny maple tree leaves don't look exactly like an adult maple leaf, but as they get bigger, their leaves look more and more like an adult maple. I was lucky enough to find a sapling with both shapes of leaves to show the kids. In the spring we will have each child find a maple seed in the yard and plant them as well. The kids love when the "spinners" fall off the trees. It will be a joy to watch the children when they make the connection that the "spinners" are seeds and when they are planted or go into the earth naturally we get tiny trees.

Happy Birthday Maria Montessori! Happy Birthday My Little Zo!

2010-08-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter celebrated her sixth birthday with the Montessori tradition of circling the sun represented by a candle, while the class sang to her. It is a beautiful tradition. Today we celebrate the life of Dr. Montessori as well.

Summer Camp

2010-08-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

This year's summer camp theme was "To be a frog in Monet's garden." The children learned about Monet and other impressionists, as well as about the life cycle of the frog. We painted in both the indoor and outdoor classrooms, and watched three bullfrog tadpoles sprout legs and turn into froglets and then into full fledged frogs, which we released into our little lily pond.

Each Friday we had "messy paint day" and let the kids paint with their hands and feet, as well as with brushes. It wasn't exactly the style of the impressionists, but fun just the same! Afterwards the kids ran through the sprinkler to clean off. It was a really fun camp. The students and teachers had a blast!

Duct Tape Festival

2010-08-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

We participated once again in the Duct Tape Festival. Some of our students, as well as the school's owner, Karen Stewart, and her family's ducks got to ride on our red wagon in the parade. Nugget, the duck sitting in the front, thought she was the honorary queen of the parade!

We also had a booth at the festival where kids could pet the ducks and grind corn to feed to them.

Kindergarten Field Trip to Cleveland Botanical Gardens

2010-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

Right before the school year ended the kindergartners took a field trip to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. In front of the Hershey Children's Garden is a quote imprinted in the cement that pretty much sums up everything we our trying to preserve for the children at our school.

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hay fields, pine cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets. And any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education."

Luther Burbank 1920

The kids had a blast on the field trip. They especially loved the Children's Garden. They have a fountain to play in, a tree house to climb, old fashioned water pumps, and a cool garden with some unusual containers - boots, tubs, tea kettles, bikes to name a few. If you haven't taken you kids here, you should!

They also had fun finding and photographing plants beginning with each letter of the alphabet, which they made into a book for the school. Some of the kids also had butterflies perch on their fingers when they released butterflies in the glasshouse! It was a very fun day!

2010-08-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

How Does Heifer Pass On the Gift?

2010-07-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

We raised enough money to buy a llama for Heifer International!

2010-07-30T15:51:00.001-07:00

Throughout the school year we have been raising money to buy a llama for Heifer International. The children learned about llamas and alpacas and how their fleece is used to make clothing and goods. Thanks to my mother-in-law each child was given a hand knit coin purse made from llama yarn. The students collected money in their coin purses and would bring it to school to add to our fund. It was awesome to see how excited the kids would get to bring in their own quarters and nickels, so they could buy a llama for a family that really needed one.

They also had the chance to learn to weave on our schoolyard fence, which served as our outdoor "loom." The students were taught to finger knit as well. Each child made a bracelet to take home. The Kindergartners finger knit and sold bracelets with an earth bead on each to raise additional money. They earned $75 bringing us to our goal, and we were able to buy a llama for Heifer International!

2010-07-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Bird Watching

2010-05-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

We have been doing a lot of bird watching lately. The kids made bird feeders from our recyclables which we have been filling, so the birds will come see us. We also have been tallying which birds we see.

Yoga in the Yard

2010-05-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

We introduced yoga this week in our outdoor classroom. Here a student demonstrates the dragon pose.

Earth Day Poetry

2010-04-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

For Earth Day our extended day Kindergarteners wrote Haiku poetry about our Earth.

Green and Blue Planet

That's the color of our Earth

I love our Planet

Adam age 5

Take care of my Earth

Recycle old clothes and toys

That helps the planet

Salma age 5

Turn off sinks and lights

Feed the robins in my yard

That helps save the Earth

Zoe age 5

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Back to Nature

2010-04-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

We had some beautiful weather last week. The children were thrilled to get back to nature.

2010-04-18T07:39:00.000-07:00

The favorite activity in our outdoor classroom at the moment is digging for worms. The kids can't get enough of it!

2010-04-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

We had the chickens and ducks at school with us this week. Here the kids are sketching them.

2010-04-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

We also sketched the daffodils in the yard.

2010-04-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

We have been doing some bird watching as well.

Happy Spring!

2010-04-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally here! We have been trying to get the kids out as much as possible and have been preparing the schoolyard for spring planting.

With Earth Day just around the corner it's a good time to think of ways you can repurpose items you already have. After having to remove a tree in the front of our school the owners, Karen and Arthur Stewart, used the wood to make items for our outdoor classroom.

2010-04-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

My favorite is the log tower that is modeled after the pink tower from our indoor classroom.

2010-04-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

They also made tree blocks that the children love! One of the students made the letter "A" with the blocks, so I added text to the photo to make our school name.

2010-04-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

We brought the tree blocks in for the winter and they were a favorite of my daughter's. She liked to make houses for the llama and alpaca.

2010-04-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Karen and Arthur made "counters" as well for counting works.

A Snowy Day

2010-01-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

With the temperatures rising we were able to get back out in our schoolyard to play. The students and teachers had a blast making snowmen, snow angels, snow dinosaurs, and more!

Painting in the Snow

2010-01-23T08:35:00.000-08:00

Here our children are painting on the snow. For the paint we mixed water and food coloring.

Dinosaurs in the Snow

2010-01-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

We have been studying dinosaurs in our classroom this month. The kindergartners have been measuring the length of different dinosaurs. Here some of the kindergartners show the afternoon class how long an Apatosaurus was. It stretched across our entire schoolyard (90 feet)!

2010-01-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

We also made a dinosaur in the snow with a dinosaur sand mold kit. The children painted it green.

Make your 2010 Resolution to be out in Nature with your Kids

2010-01-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

One More Use For Our Acorns...

2009-12-01T15:43:00.000-08:00

After we were done sorting our acorns we used them for a counting work.

Sorting in the Outdoor Classroom

2009-12-01T15:15:00.000-08:00

This Fall we used acorns and buckeyes for sorting in our outdoor classroom. We started by sorting acorns and buckeyes into two different bins. Later we sorted our acorns into groups of big and small.

Classifying Maple and Oak Leaves

2009-11-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

As the leaves fell this autumn, the children gathered leaves and identified maple and oak leaves by matching the shapes of the leaves to templates. Then they sorted the leaves into two baskets. This lesson was extended into the indoor classroom by pin punching maple and oak leaf shapes. The extended day Kindergarten students have been creating an oak leaf, maple leaf pattern on their November calendars as well.

Some Interesting Things To Know About Us...

2009-11-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

Our classroom has the feel of a one room schoolhouse. The owners renovated a ranch house into a beautiful classroom with restrooms and office space in the back. The classroom has windows and french doors everywhere you look. We don't even need to turn on our lights most days, because of all the natural light. The french doors open up to a deck and fenced in schoolyard, which serves as our outdoor classroom.

The best part of our outdoor classroom is that we have a space for our farm animals. The owners, Karen and Arthur Stewart, live on a farm and bring animal friends to visit. Our students get the chance to learn about and coexist with chickens, ducks, and goats.

To learn more about our school visit our website http://avonmontessori.com.

Welcome to Our Blog

2009-11-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

My name is Jen Lukacs, and I help run the outdoor classroom at Avon Montessori School in Avon, Ohio. We are a preschool/kindergarten school in our second year of operation. One of our goals at the school is to bring as much of the learning from inside of our Montessori classroom out to our schoolyard. We want to share some of our ideas with you in this blog, and hopefully readers will comment and share some ideas with us.