Photos Part 1

Here are some photos from the classroom for the end of January.
Enjoy!

Montessori grammar symbols for article, adjective, noun

making Birdseed Ornaments with birdseed and melted veal tallow

from a local family farm

the Bilibo is a big hit!

Becca thoughtfully refills the bird feeders

the much-loved Tree of Life puzzle

a fish which has completely mastered the art of camouflage

from the Coral Reef Habitat Mat

we had so much fun putting our hands in birdseed making

the Birdseed Ornaments...

so, we made a birdseed sensory bin

building a snowman on a snowy day

Becca stands on top of it!

hmmm, climbing up isn't as easy as it looks

running out of sheer happiness

inspired by the art in our poetry book,

we made snowflake art ourselves

practicing our bird identification for Project Feederwatch

of course now we have to hang up more birdfeeders,

so we can attract more birds!

this fresh local produce is delicious, Mom!

(not much cabbage makes it into the Stone Soup)

ready to collect our birdwatching data, friends gather with clipboards

creating gigantic termite mound artwork for the Zoology MLB

we love Douglas Florian's concrete poem, which is shaped like a mound

thank you to the family who donated Animal Architects

to our homeschool co-op classroom

drawing the details of the termites' elaborate ventilation chimney

using chalk and negative space to draw our ants

inspired by Amy Lowry Poole's book

Leah's ant from her Fables MLB

"The Ant and the Grasshopper"

the phases of the moon in Science Club

of course, we have to use Oreo cookies!

Zac watches intently

time for a new homemade birdfeeder project,

this time with oranges

we juice them first and enjoy the sweet juice

then scoop out the pulp, add a string for hanging,

and fill them with birdseed

the entire class watches intently

as Becca hangs them in the tree

so beautiful!

now the REAL fun begins...

scooping the birdseed from one large bin to another

we turn our attention to the Honeybee in Winter

and the play immediately becomes about bees in a hive

elaborate silken constructions

and team planning

we taste honeycomb with our Snack

and the older students compare its design to the paper wasp nest

we looked at earlier -- they are strikingly similar

tasting the honeycomb and/or dissecting it to see the chambers

we discover that the little beeswax caps to the cells

are themselves perfect hexagons!

we have studied so much but there is so much left

on the Tree of Life... an incredible realization

a final review of the insect life cycle 

(and its close resemblance to other patterns in nature)

I love these wooden Insect Life Cycle Turnover Tops

and they are not made anymore!

on the underside you see the egg and larval form

take the top in your hand and spin quickly...

and they begin to stand on edge...

and then flip over...

and finally settle, revealing the adult form of the insect

we marvel at the intricate skeletal design

on this X-ray of the snake

I also use the color coding from our Plan Books

when I write our afternoon schedule on the chalkboard

the precious little wooden cells and bees are safe in today's hive

some like to be a nurse bee, taking care of little ones

some like to be a worker bee on construction duty

making Stone Soup with Miss Aliya,

a beloved Thursday tradition

the beautiful blocks for the Colorful Ice Fort project

Happy January!!

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