HERMOSA MONTESSORI COMMUNITY TIMES

by Sheila

MAY 2013I invite you to follow your student’s school activities on our Facebook page. Look for photos and text which can give you a window into your student’s day at school.

DATES TO REMEMBER Thur-Fri May 23-24All Grades Conferences NO SCHOOL Mon May 27Memorial DayNO SCHOOL

Thur May 308th Grade Graduation 12 noonParents Invited

Fri May 31Last Day of School

Inside This Issue: Freedom, Responsibility and Self Control.............................. 2 Why I Love My Work.............. 3Preschool/Kindergarten......... 3Art News................................... 4 Upper Elementary................... 4Middle School.......................... 5 Music News.............................. 5

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Spend the Love by Clara

This semester I had the opportunity to work with University of Arizona architecture students and their professors on their Montessori school design projects. Hermosa hosted 40 students and their professors who visited the campus and all the classrooms. After they observed the classrooms, I presented the basic principles of Montessori philosophy, psychology, materials, and methods. The students were quite attentive and asked numerous good questions. They then spent many hours drawing plans, and constructing models of their proposed school. I asked to be a guest critic for their final presentations along with the team of architecture professors. The students presented their plans and models, and answered questions from each member of the critique team. Following their presentations, the professors brought three student models to share with our students. Upper elementary students viewed these models, and students in my class were treated to a presentation by the professors who graciously spoke to the students and answered their questions. The professors left one model in our classroom to serve as “inspiration” for a group of students who have been working on building models with Carol on Friday afternoons.

Collaboration with the University of Arizona by Sheila

I have the honor of working with and forming strong relationships with many students at Hermosa. I never cease to be filled with delight at their insightfulness, selflessness, and overall kindness. Recently, I was talking to a student during the lunch period. When I turned to leave, the student gave me a giant bear hug. Many students followed suit, and before I knew it I was smothered in playful hugs. When the students dislodged themselves and calmed their laughter, I teasingly asked, “What am I going to do with all this love?” One student replied, “You spend it.” “But how do I spend love?” I asked. “You can’t see it, you can’t touch it, so how do you spend it?” Without missing a beat, the student replied, “Well, with all this love we just gave you, now you can give it to someone else! You can’t see love but you can feel it; and now you have more to spend!” Filled with shock and admiration, I thanked the student, and immediately saw life in a new way. I believe that it is important to listen actively to what your children and students tell you. Especially at Hermosa, with its heavy emphasis on strong values and ethical behavior, these children help me to see the world as the beautiful place it is. In the midst of hardship and tragedy, such as the recent bombings in Boston, it gives me hope and joy to hear what this next generation has to say. I am confident to turn over the world to these children that see love as a commodity as valuable as money, and want nothing more but to ‘spend’ it on others.

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Freedom, Responsibility, and Self Control by Sheila

“Self-regulation ... is a major ingredient for success in learning and life. Children who develop good self-regulation skills have extra ammunition for overcoming problems and capitalizing on their particular combination of talents. The development of self-regulation depends on home, school and community. Psychologists find these qualities to be at least twice as influential as IQ for both academic and life success. They will determine in great part whether your child overcomes innate problems or succumbs to them... Failure to attain self-regulation is a core problem that accompanies many learning, attention, and emotional-social problems. Environments strongly influence development of self-regulation.”From Different Learners, by Jane M. Healy

Montessori philosophy, developmental psychology, curriculum, and the teachers who implement Hermosa’s program have a profound combined affect on the development of freedom and discipline, for freedom and self-control are two “sides of the same coin.” Without self-control can one be truly “free”?

Moreover, how does one learn to be truly “free”? Like most other skills, we learn to be free through practice; practice making choices in a safe environment, along with the freedom to make mistakes. Hermosa students practice self-regulation on a daily basis. Self-regulation, or self-control, is the ability to control and direct one’s own feelings, thoughts, and actions. Hermosa children begin this practice at the tender age of three. Students begin to learn this skill as they choose their “work” in pre-school, continue to manage their classroom assignments in the elementary program, and learn and

practice organizational and study skills in middle school. For those who continue throughout Hermosa’s program and graduate at the end of middle school, most have a good degree of mastery in self-regulation. Success in self-regulation results in children who grow to be adults who do not depend on external regulation. They are children who grow into adults prepared for the many choices they will face when they leave the protective family “nest.”

At some point along the way during their Hermosa years, children make mistakes, and their teachers hold them accountable, albeit in a cocoon of care. What happens when a student fails to meet their teacher’s expectations at Hermosa? Do we serve our children when we continue to “forgive” their errors in judgment without consequence, or do we aid their development by enforcing a logical consequence for their behavior?

Let us consider how this works in a pre-school class when a student spills their “work.” Should the adults rush in to clean things for the child? At the simplest level, in our pre-school classes, if a student spills a liquid while doing “practical life work” teachers demonstrate how to clean their area. The teachers do not get angry or upset, as they know that mistakes are how humans learn. They remain calm and peaceful while demonstrating the correct cleaning procedures. If a student does not complete classroom assignments appropriately in the elementary program, these assignments are not “forgiven” or graded as an “F”; we expect our students to complete them. When the adults that surround children consistently demonstrate care, concern, and clear limits, children learn to thrive and grow into independent adults.

News from Sally, Jill and Daniel’s ClassFor the last few weeks we have been studying Africa. Our study included many facets. Students worked with Montessori puzzle maps of Africa, heard stories about Africa and African animals, and learned how to count to ten in Swahili. Students also had access to an African culture shelf where they could handle objects, and try on jewelry. They listened to African stories, drew and painted African animals, learned a Swahili welcome song, and the first section of the South African national anthem “Nikosi Sikelel’ iAfrika,” sung in Xhosa and Zulu. Students participated in a Rhythm and Dance Workshop in which our guests Uzo Nwankpa, a movement specialist and storyteller from Nigeria, and Bubba Fass, a local percussionist who has studied and performed African drumming from the Lucumi/Yoruba tradition, entertained the children with a delightful story and then got them up dancing to African rhythms on the drums. We look forward to an upcoming visit from Obi’s father, Ugo Uche, who is going to tell us a story from his home country of Nigeria!

Thanks to all the families who sent in donations to help pay our guest artists for the lovely workshop, and a special thank you to Jay’s mom, Lilian Heisler, for all the work she did preparing the children’s head wraps for the Fine Arts Showcase.

I am:making world maps. (Katherine)writing in my journal. (Solomon)working very hard writing stories. (Madison)doing my ÷ (division) math book. (John)getting to know that I like science more and more. (Duncan)learning how to trace numbers. (David)learning how the trees make oxygen for the human body. (Oliver)learning responsibility. (Janna)learning more ball games. (Sophie)learning to like writing more and more. (Dakota)learning the Bead Chains. (Santino)learning how to write long stories in my journal. (Ethan)learning how not to spill things. (Megan)

What We Are Learning at School in Mary, Katie and Jacquie’s Class

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Why I Love My Work by Sheila

“Education is not something which the teacher does. It is a natural process which develops spontaneously.” Dr. Maria Montessori

One of the most rewarding experiences I have at Hermosa is the opportunity to watch students reveal their skills, and passions. These reminders usually occur after I provide a resource, teach a lesson, and then keep myself out of the way of the students’ “spontaneous process.” I view these bursts of creativity and excitement quite often, and occasionally students surprise me, even when I know to expect these events. Their honest expressions of accomplishment are delightful to behold. Two recent expressions are compelling. The first involves a simple written expression

assignment. Each week we focus on a particular spelling pattern or rule, and practice this rule by writing sentences using the patterns and words I have directed the students to practice. I ask my students to determine how many words they feel they need to practice to learn the lesson, and they honestly and diligently go about their work. Then they use the grammar symbols they have learned to analyze their own writing into parts of speech, and draw the sym-bols for the words above their writing. It makes for a quite colorful display, and one that takes great effort and concen-tration for a first, second, or third year elementary student. I usually provide many examples of words using the rule on which we are focusing. On a recent morning, one student asked if

he could share his morning’s work be-fore lunch, which he did. He happily reported that he wrote sentences for ALL the words. This required both diligence and creativity, as he had to add pages to his journal, which he carefully taped and folded so all would fit on one page. As he enfolded his creation, he also report-ed his calculations. He wrote 167 words, 26 sentences, 32 nouns, 0 adjectives, 18 articles, 43 verbs, 7 adverbs, 8 prepositions, 1 interjection, 3 conjunctions, and 10 pronouns. He erased 14 times, and needed a new pencil 4 times during this activity! His classmates celebrated his accomplishment by polite and sincere applause. I couldn’t imagine requiring this assignment, nor would it have been as much fun if I had!

Another occasion involved a student who worked very diligently and intently focused for weeks on a self-assigned math “assignment” which involved creating and calculating a multiplication math table from one to one thousand two hundred twenty-five, based on a much earlier and easier lesson I provided, and from inspiration from his math journal. He worked on this using mental calculations day after day, scrupulously entering his data into the tiny squares in his math journal after he competed the pattern and calculation, while also completing his other assignments, and attending lessons. I am glad that I learned to observe and allow this process to enfold. Standing back to allow a process to enfold, providing help and encouragement while “staying out of the way” is one of hardest tasks for a teacher to learn, as there is a fine line between “interfering,” “re-directing,” and “allowing the spontaneous process” to enfold. By the end of this work, the student became quite adept at mental math calculations and quite proud of his accomplishment. Again, a learning experience I could not have provided, but certainly did facilitate.

On May 3, 2013 6th level students went to the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter Observatory. The night was an experience that is something our class will always treasure. We spent most of the night looking through a 20-inch telescope, called the Jamieson scope. We saw many different stars, planets and galaxies, like Saturn, Jupiter and Rigel, Orion’s brightest star. We also saw the Sun through a special solar telescope. During dinner, Dr. Strauss showed us pieces of asteroids and how sunspots are formed. The night was full of fun activities. It was even more enjoyable because we had a great guide, Dr. Strauss. The overall experience was amazing.

The SkyCenter by Rachel and Summer

Fourth years made a Greek frieze out of Model Magic and acrylic paint to accompany their study of ancient Greek history.Art News by Carol

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5

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”-Mahatma Gandhi

We have all heard this quote at some point in our lives, but how many of us actually apply it? Most schools would not insist that their students did, but then again, we’re not most schools. In the middle school, cycle 5’s theme was interdependence. One of the central features of this cycle was that students were able to “be the change” through social action collectives (small groups specifically dedicated to helping a cause). In week 5, they had the opportunity to leave campus and actively make a difference in the community, but the work didn’t stop there. Beforehand, they were busy writing to local politicians and making arrangements so that they could make the biggest difference possible. We hope that our efforts made this quote a little more than just a motto.

The Middle School recently went on a 3 day 2 night Land Lab trip. We all had a great deal of fun at the Land Lab, making things like picnic tables, tent platforms, and the structure of a shed. We also had fun making and eating camping food and creating adobe bricks. The adobe bricks will be used in the future to create buildings. All of the students got the real life experience of being out in nature and not showering for 3 days straight!

Land Lab Trip by Joey

It’s the trip the Middle School has been raising money for since the beginning of the year and now the date is coming closer. They have done several fundraisers like the Carnival, Spaghetti Dinner, and the Valentine’s Day Bake Sale to get enough money to support this trip. It is the end of the year trip to Black Canyon! They will do things like kayaking and hiking on May 13th through May 17th. That’s a whole week of fun!

End of the Year Trip by Hannah

Can you identify this mouth?

A. Joseph Albert Cable’s mouthB. A Lamprey’s mouthC. Your pet rat’s mouthD. A Hagfish’s mouth

The answer is B., a Lamprey. Middle school students began this cycle’s natural world course by learning about phyla. In group work they composed presentations describing the characteristics of each phylum, examining such things as how they breathe, eat, and dispose of waste. During the second week, they zoomed in on the phylum Chordata. Each small group was assigned a class, dividing the separate classes up by the kinds of animals in them. Different groups studied fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals. As part of the curriculum, students were required to engage in a variety of educational activities. I asked some students what their favorite activities were. This was one response that I received:

“In my small group, we performed a virtual dissection of a sea star, during which we took notes. At the end we had to identify each body part and place it in it’s proper category. It was a challenge, but it was a fascinating experience.”

Generous Hermosa Families Make General Music Dream Come True! by MargieA heartfelt thanks to our wonderful Hermosa families who donated so generously at the Fine Arts Showcase and, again, at the Spring “Friends & Family” Choir Concert. A total of $1529 was donated to purchase curriculum for the 2nd, 3rd & 4th levels. We are in the process of purchasing the materials and will have them for use beginning next fall.

Be the Change by Katie

Science News by Sophia