Dear Kapok Families:
First of all, thank you to all the parents that attended our primary education night. It was a great one! And thank you to all the parents who attended the Positive Discipline workshop as well. These workshops are free and open to the everyone in the community.
We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.
Maria Montessori
Kapoks looove pumpkins!!
First, we read about pumpkins, then we took a trip to the pumpkin patch, our unique island way to experience a pumpkin patch.
At the Pumpkin patch we played and chose our own pumpkins. We decorated them and took them home. In the classroom, we dissected a pumpkin and we studied the parts of the pumpkin.
We incorporated many pumpkins into the classroom. Kapoks had pumpkin washing, pumpkin hammering and Pumpkin carving, and for the grand finally we erupted a pumpkin. Do you know how many seeds are inside a pumpkin? Ask your child, they can tell you.
Our human body study started and deepened over the month of October. We learned about germs, bones, muscles, organs, and blood. Our blood study was very involved. We made “blood in a jar” using:
Jar of water dyed yellow: plasma
Cheerios: red blood cells (we mixed them with red food coloring, then when they were added to the plasma, they turned the water red)
Marshmallows: white blood cells
Purple pom poms: platelets.
We found out an adult has approximately 5 liters of blood in their bodies, so we measured and poured 5 liters of water (mixed with red food coloring) into a bucket. Wow! we have a lot of blood in our bodies.
During the month of November, we will learn about sharing and helping our community . Here is November’s curriculum outline:
November Curriculum Outline
Practical life – napkin folding, table setting, table scrubbing
Sensorial – red rods, binomial cube, trinomial cube.
Language – Sharing and building community literature, and calendar work
Mathematics – teen board, ten board, hundred board
Cultural studies – The continents
Science – Volcanoes
Unit Study – The Solar system
It’s more than just singing.
“A Song is a special type of speech… preparing a child’s ear, voice and brain for language,” says Blythe in her book, The Genius of Natural Childhood. She also claims that listening to and singing along with rhymes and songs uses and develops both sides of the brain. “Neuro-Imaging has shown that music involves more than just centralized hotspots in the brain, occupying large swathes on both sides,” she said.
Research shows that music and rhyme increase a child’s ability in spatial reasoning, which can enhance a child’s mathematical and scientific abilities.
In the Kapok classroom, we utilize the soothing and calming effect of singing during transitions. We always use the same songs for the same activities, i.e. coming into the classroom, leaving the classroom for recess, going home, etc. This gives the child a sense of control and comfort.
I encourage you to sing with your child all day long. I especially encourage you to sing in transitional or stressful situations, i.e. while driving, when leaving the supermarket, before bed time, in the morning or when you are about to flip your lid (instead of yelling – sing).
Try it and let me know.
We were so busy these last couple of months that we forgot to request for a room Mom/Dad. A room Mom/Dad serves as a bridge of communication between classroom parents and teachers, in events such as bake-sales, workpay parties, classroom needs, etc. If you are interested, please send me an email and I will give you more information.
We cannot create observers by saying ‘observe,’ but by giving them the power and the means for this observation and these means are procured through education of the senses.”
Maria Montessori
Sincerely, Ms. Karina and Ms. Erin
