Day of The Dinosaurs!

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University brought their Dinosaur exhibit to Neshaminy Montessori and transformed our barn into a genuine museum experience. We had a dynamic duo of instructors who were very knowledgeable on the subject of dinosaurs. Each child had the unique experience of pretending to be a "paleontologist".

The hands-on presentation came complete with real dinosaur fossils, skeletons, dinosaur eggs, footprints, dinosaur sculptures, including cast replicas of the stegosaurus's bony plates & horns, paleontologist tools, teeth, coprolites which is fossilized " poop" , and a tyrannosaurus fang, plus much more!!!!

A fascinating measurement tool was also presented which showed the length of Gallimimus, the smallest dinosaur in this specific group, the medium-sized Triceratops, and the largest dinosaur - the Tyrannosaurus Rex!

We all participated and had such a wonderful learning experience. The student’s favorite fact from today’s presentation was that all birds are dinosaurs. We truly do have dinosaurs still among us.

Exploring Africa Together

This week during group time, our intrepid explorers imagined themselves boarding a flight to the green continent known as Africa.  Africa is the second largest of the seven continents that we will be learning about. 

With all of this dreary and chilly May weather the class easily imagined themselves submerged into lush greenery and a tropical climate.

The animal that piqued their interest the most was the giraffe. At an average height of around 5 m (16-18 ft.), the giraffe is the tallest land animal in the world. Giraffes live primarily in savanna areas in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. All of the children easily identified the giraffe by its distinctively long neck and long legs, they also eagerly chimed in on how much the giraffe's spotted pattern resembles the pattern also seen on a leopard.

In honor of these majestic creatures, the children created handprint giraffes with a construction paper landscape. Each handprint giraffe is just as unique and beautiful as the giraffe itself.

The materials that were used where tempera paint, construction paper, gluem and scissors.

Mrs. McNally asked the children, "Since the giraffe is the tallest animal, what advantage does this animal have over all of the other animals?"

All of the children's hands were raised. They all shared that a giraffe could easily eat all of the leaves at the top of a tree, where other animals could not reach. 

The class also learned that the giraffe's main diet was the acacia trees. Their long tongues are helpful in eating because they help pull leaves from the trees. We observed another very distinctive feature found on giraffes.  Both sexes have skin covered knobs, called ossicones, on the top of their heads. Female ossicones are smaller and have a small tuft of fur on top, while male ossicones are bald on the top. These knobs are used to protect the head.

Next week the students will explore several other animals that are indigenous to Africa!

Another Great '"Eggs"periment in Buoyancy!

As the students continue to experiment with objects and materials to see what will float and what will sink, this exercise will demonstrate whether an Egg will sink or float in both fresh water and salt water.

Materials:
- Table salt
- Two containers
- A Tablespoon
- Warm tap water
- 2 Eggs (courtesy of the Trevose Day School hens)

To begin, we will fill both containers with warm tap water. Our excited experimenters make a hypothesis on whether the Egg will sink or float.

The majority of the children had guessed right, the egg simply sunk to the bottom of the container filled with tap water. 

We decided to test the egg in the container that had the salt water next. This test had some of our class torn regarding what would actually happen. Many of the children thought that the egg would sink again, while some thought that there was a chance that the egg could float.

The children added two tablespoons of salt to the other container of water and stirred it until the salt had dissolved in the water. 

A child then carefully placed the other egg in the container.  To our surprise, the egg also sunk.

Can you believe it? We could not - the egg should have floated! The important lesson for the children was trial and error. Not all science experiments will go as anticipated. This is why many scientists continually test and retest to rule out and find out different factors that may affect the result. The students agreed that if we added more salt to the water we would have had a more successful experiment.

The children discovered through experimentation that salt water is heavier than plain tap water. The weight of the egg does not have to push away as much water to make space for itself, therefore it floats. This is a fabulous example of buoyancy!

The Orange Dilemma

The students in Mrs. McNally’s class worked together on an experiment about sinking and floating that incorporates values from STEAM curriculum. Sinking and floating are concepts that the Montessori children are already familiar with. To expand upon this lesson, our captivated class learned about the concept of buoyancy. This experiment requires a large glass vase, an orange, and water. 

Before beginning the exercise, Mrs. McNally surveyed the class to gauge their predictions about whether the orange would sink or float. The majority of our group predicted that the orange would sink in the water. We then filled the large glass vase with water to fill it about two-thirds. The curious children carefully placed the orange in the vase.

To their shock and surprise, the orange actually floated! To test the concept of buoyancy further each student participated in peeling the orange. Mrs. McNally asked them to make another prediction based on whether the removal of the peel would affect the orange.

Would it sink or float now?

Several children believed the orange would float again. They felt that the orange would be lighter since the peel had been removed. Surprisingly the orange sank swiftly to the bottom of the vase.  This absolutely mesmerized and shocked the children. They truly believed that the peeled orange would float!

Why wouldn’t it, you ask? A science lesson lies within the peel of the orange. If an orange can displace a volume of water that is greater than or equal to its weight, the orange will float. The peel of the orange helps to displace the water through pockets of air. Removing the peel causes the orange to no longer displace enough water to overcome gravitational force.

This lesson is a beautiful example of buoyancy and an entertaining display of gravitational pull. Gravitational force pulls the orange down while buoyant force pushes it upwards.  Gravity pulls the orange down with a force equal to the weight of the orange.

Children naturally love anything that is water-related, making this simple experiment the perfect opportunity to create an unforgettable interdisciplinary lesson integrating elements of STEAM curriculum and the Montessori environment. 

Would you like to try an experiment like this from home?

http://www.lovemyscience.com/floatingplaydough.html

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/floating-lemons-and-sinking-limes/.

http://www.lovemyscience.com/salt-water-egg.html

Spring-ing into Art and Action!

This week at Neshaminy Montessori we welcomed the return of Spring. The children were introduced to Peter Carl Fabergé who is known for his bejeweled eggs. They were shown images of his famous Fabergé eggs for inspiration. To prepare for our annual Spring Easter Egg hunt, our artsy group decorated an egg freshly picked from our Trevose Day School hens (hard-boiled, of course).

To decorate our eggs we used a technique called crayon resist. This effect occurs when incompatible mediums are used together: the crayon markings resist the ink from the paint. Our excited students decorated eggs using ornate patterns and designs such as flowers, swirls, zigzag's, hearts, stars, numbers, and letters.

The entire class created handcrafted baskets using colored foam and felt. They were adorned with flowers, grass, Easter eggs and an adorable bunny! The children were thrilled to peek into their baskets and see all of the sweet treats that the Easter Bunny had left for them.

Later we went on an Easter egg scavenger hunt and each student collected a plastic egg filled with a Peep! 

Practical Life: Making Irish Soda Bread

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Mrs. McNally and her students created authentic Irish soda bread. This lesson truly represents Practical Life and working together taught our class wonderful life skills.

The children each had the opportunity to measure, pour, and stir as they take turns as with the dry and wet ingredients. Our budding bakers inhaled their bread and "raved" to each other about how delicious it turned out – try the recipe below from home!

Ingredients:

Original recipe makes 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup currants

2 teaspoons caraway seed (optional)

3/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

PREP
15 mins

COOK
30 mins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease two baking sheets. Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly blended. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, or your hands, until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in the raisins, currants, and caraway seeds, then make a well in the center and pour in the milk and vinegar. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface and knead gently 8 to 10 times. Divide the dough into two balls, and place onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and bake until the top of the bread is golden brown, about 15 minutes more.

Mrs. McNally's Montessori Class Adopts A Wolf

This week the students of Mrs. McNally's class learned about the history of the Eurasian wolf. It is also known as the common wolf or Middle Russian forest wolf. This wolf is native to Europe and the forest and steppe zones of the former Soviet Union. Our unit of study has been in Europe. The wolf has been our main animal of study.

We are very excited about studying the Eurasian wolf as our class will be adopting a wolf from Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania. The children will receive a photo of their adopted wolf, an Adopt a Wolf Adoption Certificate, and a fact sheet about their adopted wolf. Lastly they will receive a Wolf Information sheet packed with information on wolf communication and wolf facts. While practicing our sounds all of the children know wolf makes a "w" sound.

The students have created beautiful wolves out of colored construction paper. They all carefully traced, cut, pasted and assembled their wolf.

We are all very excited about a special visitor coming to visit us next week! 

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, The Trevose Day School Leprechaun will grace us with his presence. All of the children will witness his mischievous deeds, for our room will be jumbled up and their will be glitter galore. All of the children will be left a pouch of chocolate coins!

Our Salute to Dr. Suess

This week we are honoring and showcasing the great literary talent of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as the legendary Dr. Seuss!

Geisel's birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day! Several fun and educational activities were planned that focus on the art of language. The children were exposed to rhyming, poetry, reading, word searches, Seuss counting/math and replicating or drawing their favorite Seuss character!

Practical Life is an integral part of our Montessori environment. Practical Life is an area of the Montessori philosophy that promotes care of oneself, cleaning and caring of the environment, handling and preparation of food. It also promotes independence while strengthening and developing fine motor skills.

To tie in Practical Life and honor the famous Dr. Seuss and his infamous, mischievous character “The Cat in the Hat”, the children made an edible version of the cat's hat. The children helped prepare the fruit by carefully cutting up pieces of strawberry and banana.

All of the children meticulously assembled pieces of strawberry and banana in a stacking pattern to replicate "The Cat in the Hat" hat.

Our students thoroughly enjoyed being read "The Cat in the Hat". The rhythmic flow of Seuss's rhymes had the children anticipating each word, aware and observant of the rhyming words and the patterns that they create.