After settling back in over the last week & a half, & getting used to their new class routine, this week the children will be learning about the season of Autumn. We will be asking them what they notice about the weather these days & discussing things such as the shortening days & lenghening nights, as well as making a handprint tree, painting hedgehogs, and making lollipop leaf puppets! We will also be doing leaf rubbings, and looking at the nature table, so we will be encouraging the children to bring in items to add to this, for example leaves or conkers.

As it is the start of the year, we are focussing on the Practical Life area of the classroom, as it is an area which underpins the entire Montessori curriculum. While using the Practical Life exercises, children learn about care of themselves & their environment; they grow to realise the importance of the work cycle – returning an activity to where they got it from, & in the same state as when they got it; they develop their hand-eye coordination, gross & fine motor skills, concentration & independence. It is a wonderful area for new & returning students alike as we can extend the exercises as a child needs to stimulate their interests & learning (e.g. going from opening & closing pegs to hanging up clothes with pegs), and we also support & encourage the ‘vertical learning’ which Maria Montessori was such a huge advocate of – this is where younger children actively learn from older ones, & the older children gain more confidence in themselves as they can see they are competent & capable within their school environment – we always find there are wonderful interactions within the mixed age groups!

Autumn Winds

Autumn winds begin to blow,
Coloured leaves fall fast and slow.
Whirling, twirling all around,
Til at last they touch the ground.