Four Corners Montessori

February in the Oak & Ginkgo Rooms

Gingko Room
The ginkgo room started their study of economics and are learning about wants vs. needs and supply and demand. We recently dissected owl pellets in science to learn about the skeletal system and identify bones. We are really looking forward to Exchange City and can't wait to choose our jobs!

Oak Room
February was a full fun month in the Oak Room with celebrations of Black History Month, Groundhog's Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Hundreds Day and Leap Year Day.  We're ready to continue using our time wisely as we enter the full month of March to welcome National Reading Month, Math Madness (extra cards daily/weekly), more writing activities and the new season of spring 2012. 

Visit from Cranbrook

Last week was an exciting week here at FCMA!  The lower elementary had a visit by Cranbrook Institute of Science they brought their traveling star lab.  The children were able to enter the lab and see constellations and were told the stories behind them. It was fascinating!  In the Catalpa room the children then made constellations out of tooth picks and marshmallows. In art class the children started a night time city scene using paint and oil pastels and they will finish the pictures next week. 
 
The kindergarten class in the Magnolia room learned during their Asia studies that in Thailand some families shop at a floating market.  The children in Thailand even take a water taxi to school!  How amazing!

Willow Room Update

The Willow Room is continuing our study on the systems of the body, focusing on the skeletal system. In conjunction with learning about the skeletal system, the students are doing an ongoing experiment to find out what happens when bones are soaked in vinegar. The students are also doing life-size drawings of the skeletal system, where they have to draw and label the bones.

School Store is Open

The FCMA store is open! FCMA Middle School students are managing our school store which is open for business from 7:30am through 8:00am in the gym each morning. We sell healthy snacks and juice and will be selling other goods soon. We are excited by the many customers we serve each morning!

Learning Update

Last week the Bonsai children were introduced to one of the greatest composers of the classical period, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In addition to listening to Mozart during the work day the children had a real treat when Mr. Price came in to perform a piece of Mozart.
 
The Magnolia and Redbud rooms are going to be learning about Japan through the next months. Ms. Maya spent her elementary and middle school years attending a Japanese school, and will be sharing her knowledge of the Japanese culture and language with the children. They are so excited about this experience with Ms. Maya!

The 1-3 grade classrooms are exploring Europe. In addition to Europe studies, the Chestnut room has been creating family trees.  The Catalpa room has been scantron testing and exploring the Time Line of Life.  The Oak children created brochures about Europe  using the writing traits to help with this process. They are eagerly awaiting a visit from a family member of a student who is from Europe. In Art all the 1-3 year students are working on pointillism paintings of the Eiffel tower. The paintings are inspired by the inventor of pointillism and European, George Seurat.
 
The Pine class have been exploring ancient civilizations. Mr. Kyle put together a hands on lesson where the students had to dig and find clues to the past. It was a very exciting lesson.  In art the students took a look into ancient Egypt and created relics of the pyramids or sphinxes out of sculpt it air dry clay. The students are looking forward to painting the art sculptures with gold and copper paint.
 
The Willow and Ginkgo classes have been working on pictures dealing with radial symmetry. The students are using permanent markers, colored pencils and colored markers to create the art work. 

Middle School Mac Training

This week FCMA Middle School students had the unique opportunity to participate in a two day, six hour Apple training that is typically designed as professional development for teachers. The training covered Apple iLife programs including iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand, and more.  Students learned tips and tricks for using their new MacBooks and how multi-media can increase understanding of content as well as presentations. We are looking forward to how much this will engage and advance our students in all areas of learning!

FCMA Update

Last Week...
The Middle school hosted the 3rd grade Palm Room children to watch the morning procedures.   It was a week of fractions in the Catalpa room and finished with a practical life work of tasty yogurt fruit smoothie making.  The Oak Room 3rd graders enjoyed creating Fable Movie Posters. The posters are on display in the hallway, you are invited to come and see them.  

This Week... 
The 3rd session elective classes start this week with international cooking, printmaking, economics, and basketball. The Middle School store will have its grand opening this week selling healthy breakfast options from 7:30 am - 8am. The funds raised from the shop will go towards a 3 day stay at Camp Tamarack in the spring.

Character Trait of the Month...
The character trait for the month of January is Perseverance. All of the classrooms are covering this topic using examples at the children's level of understanding. It was introduced to the preschool Bonsai children first by reading The Little Engine That Could.  After hearing the story the children related perseverance to their lives. One child said "I fell off my bike and hurt my knee so much, but I kept trying and now I can ride my bike without hurting my knees." Another child said "Yeah, I built a really tall  tower out of Lego's  with my mom and it took us 3 days but we did it!"

FCMA Helping Hands

We have a couple families in need of our help over the holiday season.  Below is some information on what you can do to help members of our FCMA family.

FCMA Helping Hands Meals
There is a family within our school community that could use our help.  The family has endured several health emergencies in the past few months.  The family could use a helping hand with preparing a nutritious dinner each night.  The family has seven members with no special food needs.  Please drop off your meal in the teachers’ lounge by 2:30 PM on the day you sign up.  If you would like to sign up during the holiday break you can make arrangements directly with the family ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).  Your help will mean so much to the family while they heal.  If you have any questions please contact Jen McCaffrey at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  To sign up, click here.

FCMA Helping Hands Gift Basket
One of our fourth grade students has been in the hospital for an extended time.  She will be going through long periods of physical therapy.  We thought it would be nice for her to receive a gift basket from her fellow schoolmates.  We would like to fill the basket with items that will help her pass the time.  If you would like to contribute, Mrs. Schoenherr will be at the school during arrival and dismissal on December 12th and 13th to pick up your gifts.  If you have any questions please contact Jennifer McCaffrey at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it To sign up, click here.

 

Volunteer Hours

We know it can be difficult to remember to log your volunteer hours each time you complete some. In an effort to make this easier on you, we've added a form to the website for you to log your hours.  Check it out, and get those hours recorded.

International Day of Peace

Here is a photo of our students celebrating the International Day of Peace last week.

 

Board Member Recognized

At the March board meeting for Four Corners Montessori Academy, Sharon Ritter was recognized for her work as both a Founder and Board member of the school. She began the work with Laura Moore and Steffanie Bowles in 2006. The school opened in 2009. Below is a picture of Laura, Sharon and Steffanie. 

The plaque read:
Presented to
- SHARON RITTER - 
In Recognition and Sincere Appreciation
For Your Many Years of 
Outstanding Service and Dedication
As Both Founder and School Board Member of
Four Corners Montessori Academy
March 9, 2011

Montessori: High Tech and at Home

We at Four Corners Montessori Academy are obviously fans of the Montessori method, and hope you are too since you have chosen to send your child here.  Have you ever wondered what you can do at home to continue teaching your child while utilizing the Montessori method?  If you have, there are some fun applications we’ve recently found that are available in iTunes for use on your iPad and iPhone.  If you search for “Montessori” plenty of applications will appear, but here are just a few that have caught our eye.

1. Montessori Crosswords - Teach and Learn Spelling with Fun Puzzles for Children

Montessori Crosswords is a spin off of the Moveable Alphabet, and uses word-image-audio combinations to teach young child how to spell.

2. Alpha Writer
Alpha Writer teaches children how to read, write and spell phonetically with two sections that are based off of the Moveable Alphabet.  In the first section, your child learns to spell with phonics.  In the second section a storyboard is used, allowing your child to construct his or her own stories using a combination of images and sounds.

3. Approach to Montessori - Numbers HD
This app offers six different Montessori games including dancing numbers, number tracing, number rods, bead stairs, number blocks, and counters. After playing with this app your child should be able to recognize, understand, and write numbers from zero to ten, and have a basic grasp of math foundations.

4. A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board
This app has been featured on the “What’s Hot” iTunes lists in Canada and the Netherlands.  A Montessori Approach to Math - Hundred Board helps children learn to count from 1 to 100. The board in this app is an exact replica of the Hundred Board that is used in your child’s classroom.  It also provides lessons on counting with even or odd numbers only.

Welcome to the New Website!

Welcome to the new and improved Four Corners Montessori Academy website. We have worked hard to ensure any information you may need about our school and Montessori is readily available. We plan to blog often, so check back for news on what the school is doing and what is going on in the amazing world of Montessori.  Don't forget to check us out on Facebook!