Andrew and David working on the cauldron.

Andrew and David working on the cauldron.

Art and music classes have been working together to prepare for the upcoming winter concerts on December 3 and 10.

Upper and Lower Elementary students have been using their art time to create stage props for the concerts.  Huge boxes have been transformed into many interesting things.  A favorite of the boys has been a large cauldron made from chicken wire, newspaper and lots of tape.  We made homemade paper mache' and had a messy good time creating the cauldron.

A collective display of winter.

A collective display of winter.Lower elementary students have been creating winter scenes to add to this large piece of art that will be displayed at the winter concerts.

 

 

 

Lower elementary students have been creating winter scenes to add to this large piece of art that will be displayed at the winter concerts.

Other happenings in the Montessori art room include printmaking with leaves. Lower elementary students used leaves to create beautiful prints.  They also painted the negative space with watercolors. In combination with their study of European culture and music, Lower El students were also introduced to the work of artist and architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. He was from Austria and his artwork  had a childlike, playful style. Take a look at the students' work that was inspired by Hundertwasser.

I look forward to seeing you at the winter concerts where you will see all of this fabulous artwork created by our talented Montessori art and music students.

Be inspired!

Katherine Gwynn

 

Sarah is working on a snowy house.

Sarah is working on a snowy house.

The snowy house is done!

The snowy house is done!

Komei is drawing a cardinal for the winter scene.

Komei is drawing a cardinal for the winter scene.

Albert Smelzer's cardinal.

Albert Smelzer's cardinal.

Lower elementary students working on a large apple.

Lower elementary students working on a large apple

Leaf print with watercolor.

Leaf print with watercolor.

Montessori Art and Music

Griffin displaying his leaf print.

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Inspired by Hundertwasser

Montessori Art and Music

Fun houses and trees inspired by Hundertwasser.

What is Practical Life All About?
Toddler Practical Life 2A toddler is seated at a small table, carefully guiding a toothpick through the tiny hole in the top of an oil & vinegar shaker. Beside him, a classmate carefully pours water into a vase before adding a few small stems of flowers. Nearby, a teacher and children use blunt slicers to prepare cucumbers for the morning snack. Scenes like these are hallmarks of the Montessori toddler classroom, and look quite different from many other early childhood settings. To the unaccustomed eye, the purpose of these activities, cobbled together from seemingly random household items, can be difficult to discern. But upon close inspection, one notices that the first child holds the toothpick with a grasp closely resembling the pencil grip he'll eventually master. His classmate is developing focus and concentration as the flowers engage her senses of sight, smell, touch, and aesthetic awareness. And those involved in the preparation of the healthy snack are now inclined to sample it themselves.
Toddler Practical life 3
Practical Life work extends far beyond a single shelf in the classroom. It comprises the child-sized mops, brooms, and window-washing materials; the boots that beckon a child to practice removing and replacing his shoes; the watering can being carefully hauled between the sink and the classroom plants; the dishwashing table awaiting the morning's plates and cups; and much more. These materials and experiences are deeply enriching to the toddler's developing sense of self.
Practical Life activities:
Best of all, these activities are some of the easiest to duplicate in the home environment. Many parents are surprised to discover how much their toddlers enjoy simply pouring water from one cup to another, matching socks from the day's laundry, or using a whisk broom and dustpan to help with sweeping. The results aren't always perfect, yet every experience brings a child closer to mastery of these helpful household skills. A little time, space, and patience now can create young children who are eager and capable helpers down the road. And nothing quite compares to the pride on a child's face - and in a parent's heart - when they work and succeed together!
These websites offer some great ideas for creating Practical Life experiences at home:
www.LivingMontessoriNow.com
http://www.montessorimom.com/practical-life/
http://www.howwemontessori.com/how-we-montessori/practical-life/

Elementary and Middle School students at Greensboro Montessori School work and play hard in their physical education classes.  Lower Elementary works out 1 day a week for 55 minutes, Upper Elementary works out 2 days a week for 50 minutes and Middle School works out twice a week for 55 minutes. Early in the school year, each class starts off with a fitness evaluation. In this evaluation, we test each student's 1) resting heart rate, 2) muscle strength with push-ups and sit-ups, 3) cardiovascular levels with 1/2 mile or 1 mile walk/jog and 4) flexibility with the sit-n-reach test. The first test is a benchmark for the year; then each student will do a retest before Winter Break and again before summer break.

So far this fall we have completed units on soccer and football.  In soccer, students, practiced all the foot skills associated with that sport. Soccer is still the favorite sport of every class - Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary and Middle School.  We then moved into a unit about American football.  To keep all the students interested,  we changed it up and converted the game of ultimate frisbee to ultimate football. Students got plenty of practice with eye hand coordination skills, team work skills and had a fast moving game to play at the same time. This unit worked in conjunction with the Middle School after school sports program  All of the age groups are getting to develop their skills towards the big goal of playing on the middle school flag football team.

Occasionally we take a break from the schedule and work on our teamwork skills with a good ol'game of floor hockey or kickball.

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Duncan Page graduated from Greensboro Montessori School in 2011 after 11 years as a GMS student. He attended high school at the Early College at Guilford and this fall enrolled in the NC State University program for electrical and computer engineering. Visit the Early College at Guilford homepage.

Duncan Page at NC StateDuncan and two classmates from NC State were top performers in a recent global online programming contest known as IEEEXtreme, ranking 2nd in the U.S. and 24th in the world. IEEEXtreme is a global challenge in which teams of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Student members compete in a 24-hour time span against each other to solve a set of programming problems. IEEE, the world's leading technical professional association for the advancement of technology, conducts the programming competition.

Click here to read more about the competition.

Duncan is the youngest three siblings all of whom are Montessori alumni.  Duncan's older brother, Griffin, is a senior at NC State studying Computer Science, and his older sister, Courtney, completed her master's degree in Historical Archaeology from Eastern Carolina University and now works as the lab manager for Blackbeard's - Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck, which draws together some of the leading scientists around the nation to collaborate and use the latest techniques in the science or preservation. Duncan's parents, Judy and Brian Page, live in Greensboro.