Field Trips

Field trips provide the opportunity to enjoy hands-on learning experiences that coordinate with the Montessori curriculum and materials used at school. Preparing for the trip requires research by the students and inspire in-depth development of topics after the trips.

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Integration with Technology

Use of the iPad2 by teachers and students has proven to greatly inspire and support learning in all areas of the curriculum.

Teachers easily access photos, maps, and charts to demonstrate areas of study. For example, Elementary Two students are able to use the Montessori charts and resource books for learning Vertebrate and Invertebrate Classification. With the use of iPads, teachers provide excellent examples and film clips to demonstrate adaptations.

Students are creating their own keynote presentations to share including Ancient Civilizations, Periodic Table, US History timeline, Anatomy and Plant Classification.

Geometry shapes, skip-counting, learning antonyms and size discrimination are fun for Elementary One. They made a presentation of the Kumeyaay after a trip to the Museum of Man. Reading about animals of North America provides interesting facts at the appropriate phonetic level.

Recently, as we prepared for our trip on Simple Robotics and Dr. Heartbeat at Legoland, Elementary Two created a presentation of the famous landmarks we would see on the Coast Cruise and in MiniLand USA.

We can film student presentations and performances. By recording music, children can practice a poem or song.

Construction Community of Science Principles

Science Fridays have become a highlight of the week as teachers provide experiences that explore deeper and with group investigation areas of physics that go beyond our daily demonstrations and research.

Elementary One has had the opportunity to work with gears, springs, levers and electricity. The effects of magnetism and the work of water and wind on Earth allowed discovery and inspired all!

The mechanics of the heart, sound waves displayed with plasma and using the speakers to show transference of energy was of great interest to Elementary Two this January.

Young Art 2009: San Diego Museum of Art: Expressing Literature

Four students from Montessori Arts and Sciences School will be honored and have their work displayed in Young Art 2009 which will be on view from Saturday, April 18th through Sunday, May 31st, 2009 in Balboa Park and the Rancho Penasquitos Library. Young Art 2009 info

Elementary One expressed their art from “Jellicle Cats” by T.S. Elliot and from mythology they have read.  The art submitted was in the style of Keith Haring. 

Elementary Two read poetry of nature and created landscapes based on the poetry of William Blake and Mary Oliver.  They studied art terms of foreground, mid-ground, background, and horizon.  The work of the Hudson River School and artists Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keefe, Karl Bodmer, Paul Cezanne and Andre Derain was used for inspiration.

We are excited to see the work of our students with other students’ work of San Diego County when we visit in May.

You will want to view some examples of “Expressing Literature” in our Gallery. The Gallery Writings

Weekly Readers Keep Us Current and Cycle through the Curriculum

Students look forward to receiving their own copy of “Weekly Reader”, a publication that has a modern writing style to attract attention, often using puns that cause one to muse. 

Articles of trends or changes in policy are addressed with student opinions of both sides of view, leading to passionate debates in our classes. 

Subjects are about animals, politics, health, science and are following by multiple choice questions and fill in the blank activities to reinforce comprehension, map skills, chart evaluation, graph reading as well as vocabulary and grammar. 

Timeline of Humans and Art History: the Montessori and MASS way

Students are very interested in knowing about people and civilizations of the past.  Then, as Maria Montessori has suggested, we have tried our hand at art that was important at different periods of time. 

In the 2008-09 art collection, you will see some work in the style of the cave painters of Lascaux made modern as did Franz Marc.  Elementary Two students used oil pastel to create their rich depictions of animals that were important for spiritual needs as well as the hunt. 

Queen Pun-Abi was laid to rest in a spectacular headrest in the Royal Cemetery of Ur about 4,500 years ago.  In watercolor our students painted her portrait wearing the headrest. 

Later we discovered in the San Diego Natural History Museum magazine that much research has been worked lately to find the species of leaves in the headrest.  Archaeologist Margareta Tengberg  has the theory that they are from the sissoo tree, also know as shisham or Indian rosewood.  This tree grew in the Indus Valley about 800 miles from Ur.  Yet the tree was traded for the hard, dark wood and also its oil used for medicinal properties. 

The research team had another proposed theory.  The sissoo grows “only near water and may have signified life eternal to people inhabiting a dry land.”  Antiquity

It is exciting to learn of finds that are ongoing and coordinate with the curriculum set out by Maria Montessori. 

Academics at its best

Elementary One: Mrs. Leeds and her students have been working on a wonderful journey back in time with a Family Research Project. This year's project includes a country research paper, a family quilt project, and a family tree project. Students are also working on Portraits of the Presidents. Check out the gallery for to view some of these amazing projects. The Gallery

Year Two students are studying Greek culture.

Elementary Two: Level 3 students are doing great studying the classification of anura, urodela, squamat, chelonia, sauria and crocodilia for Zoology and stems in Botany. Level 4 doing the classification of protocormophytes, filicales, gymnosperms, angiosperms for plants and they are starting on the reproduction system in comparing systems in Zoology. Level 5 & 6 students continue independent work with Anatomy and the Five kingdoms of Life: Monerans, Protista, Fungi, Plants and Animals. All of our students are enjoying the hisotyr and geography progess for Neanderthal, Sumer, Egypt and US History. Art and Poetry continue to fasinate the students as they develop their skills in both. Check out their latest efforts: The Gallery

Catalina Island Marine Institute – Cherry Cove

Botany - Wonder, Appreciation and Nurturing

Children love to be with plants.  Throughout the seasons there is always something to bring a sense of awe- a seed pod, change of leaves, flowers, berries and the homes made by creatures camouflaged. 

First level students explore the parts of plants through observation of the parts and their functions.  The initial knowledge comes from experience and leads to the desire to know more of the story. 

Second and Third Level learn about parts of the basic parts.  For example, parts of a stem include: axial, lenticle, bud, scar, cambium, heart, sapwood, xylem, phloem. 

Our school is blessed with quality resource books – illustrations, diagrams, photographs, ideas for activities.   A dance from nature to research and then to how the child can nurture and help nature create results.  The joy is often then expressed through poetry, painting or sculpture. 

Fourth Level students then learn the variety of plants and how they are classified.  I hope that this article inspires the reader to do the same, as often the scientific naming and illustrating in our society is allocated to the few who pursue a specific career in horticulture or some unique scientific specialty. 

The Montessori approach helps our students to look deeper into the landscaping plants of most neighborhoods and requires a need to develop vocabulary and writing skills to clarify and explain qualities of the world’s creations.  We are thankful for a framework that focuses our attention and inspires us to help diversity grow in a healthy balance.

"Cultural Crossroads" and Music

Movement, song, instrument playing is integral in the lives of children!   In our present society it is often a solo activity and is through heard only through headphones or broadcast by professionals on radio.  People often are hearing while jogging or involved with some other purpose. 

Music has traditionally been a way to express celebrations of life and has been a group activity as folk music.  Our goal is for all to participate joyfully in music with skills that will allow connecting and respect. 

All young children feel compelled to be involved with rhythm, rhyme and tunes.  We hope to extend these and encourage practice so that each child’s ability can be recognized and integrated in choruses, orchestras and personal satisfaction.  Of course, this is for joy, but also research proves that music develops effective adults with greater mental capacity and is a stress reliever. 

Montessori Arts and Sciences School always participates in Classics for Kids.  We will attend “Cultural Crossroad” on March 24 which presents music from the Middle East. 

Students are now practicing for the Spring Concert on the music below.  See you there!

AROUND THE WORLD: Hello Song, A Ram Sam Sam (Morocco), Ambos A Dos (Latin America), Canoe Song (Canada), La Cucaracha (Mexico), Sakura (Japan), Cuckoo (Austria), Birch Tree (Russia) Pollerita (Bolivia) Shiri Yakanaka (Zimbabwe), Golden Bells (China), Kookaburra (Austrialia), Zum Gali-Gali (Hebrew) and It's a Small World.