Dear Parents,

Welcome to our very own private blog for the Indigo Primary Studio!  If you have used this blog in previous years, feel free to skip ahead to this week’s lessons, unless you need a refresher on how it works.  This will be available for each parent to check in at any time to review lessons, photos, and various activities that we do here in the Primary Studio.  Please feel free to comment or share stories on posts and don’t hesitate to ask questions, if you are having any troubles navigating around this site.  I (Angelique) find that it’s easier for myself to keep organized and to share links and images with you through blogging.  Anytime that you see a highlighted word, the option is there to click on the word, linking you to an image or a description as we tend to use a lot of Montessori vocabulary and material that you may not be familiar with.  I also like to add additional information in the “extra extra” category from time to time, found on the toolbar for anyone who is curious to learn more about Montessori and our approach to teaching.  Parents who know me know that I tend to write a lot, so don’t feel overwhelmed or obligated to keep up with all of the posts.  The most important ones are the weekly newsletters to give you a better idea of your child’s routine. I also hope you can gain information as a tool to communicate and bring up topics in conversation with your kids who “don’t remember” when you ask what they did that day/week.

Side Note on Mobile Options:  If you are using your cell phone when signing in, there should be an option at the bottom of every page that allows you to click the mobile theme”on” or “off.”  Try out both options and see what works for you.  You might prefer the tool bar with menu options when the theme is turned off, but when it’s turned on, I find it easier to view the photos on my cell as they appear larger in that format.  

This Week’s Lessons

The first two to three weeks are packed with lessons on respect, caring for the environment and each other, and small group lessons on various material in the studio.  It all seems like a lot to take in at first, but once the foundation is set, it all pays off as our students begin to recognize their role in creating a positive environment.  This week, the kids have all been very responsive to the lessons and seem to enjoy learning about all of the new material that they can’t wait to get their hands on…

Practical Life Material & Lessons

Practical life lessons demonstrate exercises utilizing materials that help our students to learn real life activities in a purposeful way.  Practicing this material helps the child to gain control in the coordination of fine motor skills as well as to gain independence, focus, and adapt to his/her society.  During these lessons, our students are shown how to properly utilize utensils and to put material back just as it was found.  Carrie and I put these “works” together in the images below.  We get our material from various places, including kitchenware and home decor departments, Montessori catalogs, and sometimes we get lucky and find something unique at a thrift store.  Our goal is to keep the works visually interesting and beautiful to encourage our students to find appreciation and respect for the material.  We rotate this material every two weeks or as we notice if our students are ready for a bigger challenge.

Above, we have hands-on activities involving transferring or sorting objects either by grabbing, spooning, or tonging.  The material on the shelf in the image below involves transferring objects or liquid by pouring, sponging, or using a dropper.

Manners in the Lunch Room

This week, we went over manners for snack and lunch time, such as verbal requests, pushing our chairs in before we leave the table, taking care of our dishes, cleaning up our space, using a napkin and eating politely.  We like to keep it as “family style” as possible, with the tables pushed together, to enjoy company and conversation…

Sensorial Material & Lessons

Some of our older students who already know a lot of the material in the studio helped out with teaching lessons to our new students.  We gave lessons on the pink tower, color box 1, color box 2, and the knobbed cylinders.  Sensorial materials help a child to develop and refine her/his senses.

Math Material & Lessons

Older students helped again in assisting during math lessons, since they have already had lessons on the beginners material.  Lessons were given on the spindle box, the bead triangle, puzzles, and matching number cards with quantities of objects.

Note: For those who aren’t familiar with this blog yet, you won’t always see your child in an image, but don’t panic!  Everyone has had these lessons.  Carrie and I just divide the class into small groups and take turns giving different lessons in the studio. We take pictures at random when we have the opportunity, and don’t always get everyone at once.   But we promise, we will have plenty of images to share with you during conferences.

Language Material & Lessons

This week, our students were shown the sand paper letters, how to trace them with two fingers while sounding the letter out, and drawing the letter in a small sandbox.  The reason that we show our students to trace with two fingers is to help in building coordination to hold a pencil.  We also practiced singing the most common sounds of letters by choosing a vowel and a consonant presented next to each other, e.g., “ha” or “te,” accompanied by scales played on the piano for the kids to sing along to.  These kids love to sing!  3 part cards, a.k.a. Nomenclature cards, were introduced and reviewed as well.

Other

We also had some brief lessons on geography and botany.  We passed around the sandpaper globe, taking note that the “land” was made of sandpaper & the “water” is painted in blue.  The groups were also shown the colorful continents globe, and we reviewed the names of the continents through a song.  As for botany, we discussed the parts of a plant with a set of our nomenclature cards.  The kids are shown to present these cards from left to right on a rug.  Using a rug helps define personal space, and placing cards from left to right help in creating a natural habit when learning to read from left to right.

During transitions this week, we offered library books.  Below are some photos of the kids while waiting for their friends to finish up eating lunch.

Thanks for reading our first newsletter.  I hope that this blog was painless and easy to sign in and get started!  It can be tricky at first, but it worked out pretty well for the past couple of years, so we hope that it will find you well.  If there are any flaws that I haven’t picked up on, please let me know and I’ll try to get on it!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend!