RiverRun Community Montessori

Friday (Thursday!) Letter - 02.16.2012

2012-02-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

2/16/12

Dear RiverRun families,

This has been a great week. Yesterday, during our Open House, the children responded to the spectators by working so quietly and diligently that Debbie and I felt like we did not even need to be in the classroom. This Open House was a success! A lot of effort from our community was put into it. Thank you.

Your children made significant academic gains since our last break. I think you will all enjoy hearing about your children tomorrow at parent/teacher conferences.

During P.E. we were playing games using the parachute. It was a lot of fun and reinforces the need to follow directions and work as a group. It helps with strength training too. We also learned a game called “Couch Potato”. It is a running-tag game which includes lessons on eating healthy and staying active.

This break comes at a prefect time. This children can use some time away from school to pursue other interests or make a mess?!

************************
Messy Room by Shel Silverstein

Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
His underwear is hanging on the lamp.
His raincoat is there in the overstuffed chair,
And the chair is becoming quite mucky and damp.
His workbook is wedged in the window,
His sweater's been thrown on the floor.
His scarf and one ski are beneath the TV,
And his pants have been carelessly hung on the door.
His books are all jammed in the closet,
His vest has been left in the hall.
A lizard named Ed is asleep in his bed,
And his smelly old sock has been stuck to the wall.
Whosever room this is should be ashamed!
Donald or Robert or Willie or--
Huh? You say it's mine? Oh, dear,
I knew it looked familiar!
******************

Enjoy,
Amy and Debbie

Friday Letter - 02.10.2012

2012-02-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

2/10/12

Dear RiverRun Families,

This week I have continued to give lessons on the composition of the Earth and the atmosphere. We learned about the troposphere (all life is supported here), stratosphere (ozone to protect us from the sun's rays), mesosphere (most meteors burn up in this layer), thermosphere (thick to reduce the warming power of the sun) and exosphere (it is very very cold).

We finished the book Because of Winn Dixie, which was a really emotional book. It was enjoyed by all. It was full of some good life lessons about loss, the importance of friendship, and finding the good around you. I had to hold back the tears.

On the topic of loss, Raspberry, our fish, died. The children wrote some lovely notes to her which they read as we buried her outside. I am planning on buying another beta fish for the class to enjoy.

The lunch swap requests have been sent home today. Have fun putting together the lunch. The children are very creative and love art as you will all see from the wonderful things they created for the Hearts To Help campaign. Check out the Gazette's education section; they have written an article on our efforts.

Carrie, our music teacher, has been teaching the children the Solfege Syllables. DO-SOL-ME have been practiced thus far! She is happy with the progress the children are making! We are singing an African song she taught us when we line up for recess and dismissal. You may hear your child singing Sansa kro -ma.........

We are looking forward to seeing families at the Schenectady Greenmarket this Sunday. The market hours are 10:00-2:00. We realize families are busy and have commitments. If your family cannot make it, don't worry. There will be other opportunities to participate.

On Wednesday we will be holding an Open House during school hours. We hope to have a good turn out as we try to add to our already wonderful program and extend to Upper Elementary.

Have a lovely weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Dates to remember:
2/12/12 Greenmarket 10:00-2:00
2/14/12 lunch swap
2/15/12 Open House 9:30-11:00
2/17/12-Parent/Teacher confrence
2/20/12-2/24/12 Winter Break

REMINDERS - Schenectady Greenmarket and Enrollment Contracts

2012-02-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

Don't forget -

This Sunday (February 12th), the students will be continuing their "Hearts to Help" community service project to help those still affected by Tropical Storm Irene. They will be selling their heart-themed items at Schenectady Greenmarket between 10 AM - 2 PM. We hope that all the children will be able to participate, even if it's just for a short while! Please let Debbie know what time you anticipate being able to help out at the table.

To lock in the discounted 2011-12 tuition rate, remember to turn in your signed enrollment contract and deposit by February 15th. Any questions should go to Jennifer Hanson.

Thank you!

Price Chopper Tools for Schools

2012-02-03T15:55:00.000-05:00

ARE YOU SIGNED UP?!

If you’re not familiar with this program, it’s one in which the school earns “school supply shopping points” for Price Chopper purchases made with a scanned and registered AdvantEdge card.

RiverRun’s school code is 41855, and you can register your Price Chopper AdvantEdge card at https://www2.pricechopper.com/toolsforschools/single.shtml. You can also have grandparents, other relatives, and/or friends register their cards with us as well - or better yet, offer to do it for them!

With a small school like ours, we don’t end up earning a huge number of points. But with a small school like ours, any amount of free school supplies is helpful!

And even if you’re not a regular Price Chopper shopper but still have a card, please do register it because you never know – you might stop in sometime and those points will help out too!

Friday Letter - 02.03.2012

2012-02-03T15:48:00.001-05:00

2/3/12

Dear RiverRun Families,

In honor of Black History month some of the children in the class will be reading books about slavery and sharing what they have read about with the rest of the class. Today we talked about Camilla Williams. She recently died at age 92. She was the first black women to have a contract with a major opera company. She played Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. We listened to an excerpt of an interview she gave about herself; she sounded like a very interesting and talented women.

This week we continued our studies of the earth. I built on the story of earth's creation and talked about the earth itself. We learned about the inner and outer core of the earth, the mantle, crust, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The barysphere is made up of the mantle, inner and outer core. The barysphere keeps us stuck to the earth. Barys comes from Greek language meaning heavy. We will continue looking at our earth and its atmosphere (Greek: atmos, vapor) next week.

The Open Door Bookstore is having a writing contest. The theme is A Nighttime Bookstore. The children who wish to, have been writing a piece to submit. The rest of the children have been working on their own stories.

“The lack of recognition for my accomplishments used to bother me, but you cannot cry over those things. There is no place for bitterness in singing. It works on the cords and ruins the voice. In his own good time, God brings everything right.” Camilla Williams, interview 1995. Taken from an article in yesterdays NYTimes.

Reminders:
Please fill out the Valentine's lunch swap
2/12/12 Schenectdy Greenmarket 10:00-2:00
2/15/12 RiverRun Open House 9:30-11:00
2/17/12-parent/teacher conferences - call Jacqui Foster to schedule a time

Small Hands Fundraiser News

2012-02-01T09:03:00.001-05:00

We just received notice that our Fall 2011 Small Hands fundraiser, a.k.a. opportunity to purchase cool kids stuff, raised $159.15 for RiverRun!

These funds are a credit for the teachers to buy additional Montessori materials for the whole class to enjoy.

Thank you to everyone who participated this year, and a whopping big THANK YOU to Heidi Kelly for taking the initiative in extending this fund-raiser to the RiverRun community.

Friday Letter - 01.27.2012

2012-01-27T15:38:00.000-05:00

1/27/12

Dear RiverRun Families,

During Writer's Workshop we have been working on how to write a paragraph. We are using graphic organizers as visual aides. I am sure you will all enjoy the many stories being written in your child's/ren's Writers Notebooks. They enjoy sharing their work with the community, and we all love to be read to.

I brought out a work on the shifting of the land masses on our planet. The children get to see how the continents looked 200 million years ago, 135 million years ago, 65 million years ago, today, and what it may look like 50 million years into the future as earth's plates shift.

I also added works to use with the Time Line of Life. As we learn about early animals and our younger earth, we are all amazed at how life survived and changed from one environmental crisis through another. Both of these works are fun and allow for a lot of physical manipulation and exploring.

Next week we will begin novel studies with the Middles and Elders. We will be reading books about slavery. The stories they read will help stimulate discussion about black history in honor of black history month coming up in February.

Our trip to CMOST was great. Being able to touch and look closely at animals is a treat. We learned about Complete and Incomplete life Cycles. Frogs, for example, have Complete Life Cycles, and we have Incomplete Life Cycles. This was new information for many of the adults on the trip. I would like to learn more about how this term, Incomplete Life Cycle, came about.

“We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.” Maria Montessori

Have a wonderful weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Hearts to Help

2012-01-24T21:01:00.001-05:00

Dear RiverRun Families:

As part of our Hearts to Help community service project to help people affected by Tropical Storm Irene, we will be selling heart-themed items at the Schenectady Greenmarket on Sunday, February 12 from 10 AM until 2 PM. The market is held at Proctor's during the winter months. Please check your calendars to see if your child(ren) will be able to spend an hour or two at the market to collect the donations!

Thank you,

Amy & Debbie

New Classroom E-mail

2012-01-21T07:55:00.002-05:00

A new email address has been set up for the classroom. Should you like to contact the teachers via email, please use classroom@RiverRunMontessori.org.

Friday Letter - 01.20.2012

2012-01-21T07:54:00.000-05:00

Dear RiverRun Families,

We continue to study the Time Line of Life. We looked at how life made its way from water to land. One of the first lobed fin fish, the Eusthenopyeron, may have stimulated one of the first amphibians into existance, the Ichthyosteg. The lobed fins on the fish became strong and able to support its weight on land, becoming the first land legs. We also started to talk about the plant kingdom, unlike animals they make their own food and how a plant explosion took place during the carboniferous period, which provided the food for the soon to come dinosaurs.

Next week I will bring out a work that looks at the earth during the Paleozoic Era (500 MYA), when earth was one big land mass (Pangea). This work shows the shift of the earths land masses, starting in the Mezesoic Era, over time and how earth came to look as it does today.

We have begun a new novel this week. Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo. The children love to be read to, and I am sure they would not mind talking to you about this book. The Middles and Elders had lessons on fractions. The elders have also been working on persuasive essay's, so be warned they may try to persuade you into something they really, really want. The first years worked on subraction with the Golden Beads and were introduced to the simple division board.

Debbie has been out all week due to the passing of her father. She was missed. Nancy was able to substitute for 3 out of the four days and Fatima, Hamza and Hasan's mother, came in on Thursday. I thank them very much for their help.

Dates to remember:
1/25/12-CMOST field trip, lunch will be provided
2/12/12- Deadline for scholarship application
2/15/12- Re-enrollment contracts due for discounted tuition
2/1512- Open House from 9:30-11:00 (spread the word)

Friday Letter - 01.12.2012

2012-01-17T11:12:00.003-05:00

1.13.12

Dear RiverRun Families,

We had a very exciting music class on Monday. Carrie Styles will now join us on Monday afternoons to teach music. She will graduate from college with a music degree this spring. She teaches piano lessons privately too. It was a wonderful class; the children learned so much and enjoyed themselves. They learned the word polyphony by putting many sounds found in nature together to make music. We look forward to the 23rd when she will come next.

As a class we continue to study the Time Line of Life. The children really like this work. They get to study all forms of life from blue-green algae to the very first mammals who roam the earth and survived the great extinction of the dinosaurs.

A second very exciting event was THE SNOW! We are all so happy to see it. You may want to consider sending in extra socks. Their socks get wet from the snow, and it seems uncomfortable for many. If your child does not have snow pants, please remember to send them in.

“A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.” Martin Luther King Jr.

Have a peaceful long weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Dates to remember:
No school on Monday
January 25 -field trip to CMOST

Authors' Tea

2012-01-11T15:29:00.003-05:00

Before the holiday break, the students hosted their families for a delightful "Authors' Tea". Each student had a turn at going up in front, reading the story he or she had written, and sharing his or her illustrations. After all of the authors were finished sharing their books, the entire RiverRun community enjoyed delicious scones and jam along with hot tea. The children loved making their tea and using the dainty little tea cups!

In our mixed-age and collaborative environment, the students are used to helping one another. During Authors' Tea, when a student needed help reading a word, other students were eager to help out their friends!

Ben and Sean's mom enjoys having scones and tea with the boys.

Friday Letter - 01.06.2012

2012-01-06T15:35:00.001-05:00

1/6/12

Dear RiverRun Families,

Although we had a long week off, I am still thinking about the Authors' Tea and how great your children did. I hope you all enjoyed reading the books again at home. Some of my favorite possessions are the books or poems that my children have written over the years.

This week the children had a fun lesson on the animal kingdom. They are all proud members of the vertebrate group, as this kingdom also has an invertebrate group as well. We noticed that our fish Raspberry and our lizard Elizabeth are members of the vertebrate group too. This lesson will tie in with the Time Line of Life, which will be the third Great Lesson given. We will be simultaneously learning about the Five Kingdoms of Life; Animal, Plant, Prokaryte, Fungi, and Protoctista and the Time Line of Life.

The first years are now using the Stamp Game for both static and dynamic addition. The Middles have been introduced to a new comprehension reader, and the Elders are working on multiplication with two digit multipliers.

We hope that your New Year is off to a good start. Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year to all.

Amy and Debbie

Important dates:
Wednesday, January 25 CMOST field trip

*We will not have pizza on Friday, January 27 because we will be having pizza on Wednesday of that week at CMOST.

December Outing - Public Bus Trip to Peter Pan

2011-12-19T20:46:00.004-05:00

The kids had a great time taking the public bus from Schenectady into Troy to see Russell Sage's production of Peter Pan. The bus drivers are always so welcoming, and the bus trips are very exciting for the children. After the performance, the students got to meet the actors!

November Cooking Days - More Pics

2011-12-19T20:09:00.003-05:00

Here's a second batch of pictures from November's Cooking Program!
Many thanks to Madeleine and Gwen's mom Heidi for volunteering her time to work with the children and help the cooking go smoothly!

Preparation, preparation, lots of preparation

The students shared poems

And then they enjoyed the feast!

Friday Letter - 12.16.2011

2011-12-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

12/16/11

Dear RiverRun Families,

This has been a very busy week in the classroom. We have been working very hard to complete the books for the Author's Tea. We did not give as much notice as I would have liked, but we were unsure if we could complete all the work.

Please come to listen to the stories as the children have worked very hard. We will meet in the multipurpose room in order to sit comfortably. After the readings, we will have Tea in our classroom.

Peter Pan was a wonderful experience. The production was very well done,the children were able to meet the actors afterward, and the CDTA public bus is a great way to travel! The bus drivers are so helpful and kind, and the passengers love to see the children.

Look for narratives to be coming home next week.
Have a great weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Upcoming dates:
December 21, 2011 - Author's Tea
December 28 - For those interested -“Tales from Aunt Helen's Closet” Stories and items from worldwide travels presented by author and educator, Ellen Mnich - 2:30 at the Schenectady library
December 26th – January 2nd - Winter Break

Friday Letter - 12.09.2011

2011-12-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

12/9/11

Dear RiverRun Families,

This week the children have been working hard in all areas of the curriculum.

Some of the lessons given are as follows:

Elders
-dynamic adding and subtracting abstractly
-Novel studies
-The difference between there, their and they're

Middles
-novel studies
-homonyms
-dynamic addition and subtraction using the stamp game

First years
-symbolizing sentences which have spelling words in them
-novel studies
-dynamic addition with the Golden Beads

The children have also started using a typing program to teach keyboarding.

*Dynamic means there is a change in place value.

The class has been working hard on a project for Writer's Workshop. They will be sharing this work with you soon; you will really enjoy what they have done.

We look forward to our outing to see Peter Pan. Remember to pack a portable lunch which does not include items that need to be microwaved.

“For you see, Peter will always be found where there are children who seek adventure and fun in the land of Make-believe...

And so it will always go as long as children are young and bright...

...and believe. “ (quote from Peter Pan)

Have a magical weekend,
Amy & Debbie

Dates to Remember:
Tuesday, December 13 Peter Pan Performance
Monday, December 19 Narrative Assessments sent home

November Cooking Days - Pics

2011-12-02T20:21:00.001-05:00

The kids enjoying the pumpkin soup, vegetarian chili, and cornbread they made. Many thanks to RiverRun parent Heidi Kelly for volunteering her time to help with recipes, ingredients, and food preparation!

Friday Letter - 12.02.2011

2011-12-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

December 2, 2011

Dear RiverRun Families,

I hope you all enjoyed your extended weekend. It is hard to believe it is December already. Before break we had our first community cooking project. The food was delicious; the pumpkin soup was a big hit. Thank you to Heidi, Gwen and Maddy's mom, for helping with recipes, ingredients and food prep. Look for pictures on the blog.

Our next cooking program will include dishes from the countries of Europe, as we have begun our study of this continent. We have started with England. We will let you know the date of the next cooking project soon.

We are reading a new book during read aloud, Apricots and Midnight by Adele Geras. This story takes place in England and has complimented our study of the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, it is out of print. If you are interested in reading it let me know.

We have had a reading explosion in the class, most likely sparked by the beginning of our novel studies coupled with Writer's Workshop. Everyone's reading has improved noticeably. Novel studies will continue given the high interest.

On December 13th we are planning a trip to see Peter Pan at the Schacht Fine Arts Theatre in Troy. We will use public transportation; this is a great opportunity for the children to learn an important life skill and take active measures to conserve energy. Look for the permission slips in your child/ren's folders.

Best Wishes,
Amy and Debbie

Important Dates:
Sunday, December 4 The Muppet Movie!
Tuesday, December 13 Peter Pan at the Schacht Fine Arts Theatre
Monday, December 19 Student Assessment Reports Go Home

Story of the Cosmos

2011-11-19T15:45:00.001-05:00

On Monday, November 14th, the children came into school to the presentation of the Story of the Cosmos. This is one of the Great Lessons, like the History of Math, which is presented every year. This lesson tells the story of the birth of our solar system. The story is filled with demonstrations meant to spark the children's imagination.

As a follow up to this lesson different demonstrations/experiments have been set up on the shelves for the children to use.

Friday Letter - 11.18.11

2011-11-18T17:09:00.001-05:00

11.18.11

Dear RiverRun Families,

These have been a busy past two weeks. Due to all the preparation Debbie put forth the children were well prepared for A Mid-Summer Night's Dream. This experience was fantastic. After the play the children had lessons on how to critique a play and they set out to give their own critique of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Attached you will find a copy of the critique, which we sent to the executive producer of the play.

On the day of the field trip we also held a very successful fundraiser for the flood victims of Schoharie County. Agudat Achim is a polling place for election day so we set up a table and the children made place cards and decorations for Thanksgiving tables, donations were asked for, and the voters and all of the RiverRun community were very generous. We raised $261.00. The elders wrote a synopsis of the purpose of the fundraiser, which was then sent along with the money to the Schoharie Recovery Fund.

On Monday the children came into school to the presentation of the Story of the Cosmos. This is one of the Great Lessons, like the History of Math, which is presented every year. This lesson tells the story of the birth of our solar system. The story is filled with demonstrations meant to spark the children's imagination. As a follow up to this lesson different demonstrations/experiments have been set up on the shelves for the children to use. Look for pictures on the blog to see the children at work. All the children have been given notebooks to record their observations. They have been very good observers, you will enjoy reading their notebooks. During art time the children have been working in groups creating poster, using a variety of material, to interpret the story.

On Wednesday, the 23rd of November, we will start our class cooking program. We will be using crock pots to prepare the meal. In the past we asked for $5/person to cover the cost of the food. If you can send $5 in on Monday it would be much appreciated. If we could have a parent volunteer to help with the preparation of the meal, we have found the process to go smoother. If you want to volunteer let us know, but please first look at the blog which gives the guidelines for volunteering for this job. You will not need to send in lunch on Wednesday unless you feel your child will not like what is being served. Our ideas presently include a meatless chili, cornbread and squash. We do encourage the children to try the food and have found in the past that most will eat it since they made it themselves.

Just a reminder that it is getting colder, please have the children bring in mittens/gloves, hats and snow pants if there is accumulation.

Have a great weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Social Action for Schoharie Flood Relief

2011-11-10T10:27:00.002-05:00

Students display some of the Thanksgiving centerpieces they made (in addition to Thanksgiving place cards) to offer in exchange for donations to the Schoharie Flood Relief Fund. A table was set up at a polling location on Election Day, and after they got back to school from the Shakespeare play, they manned the table - $261 was raised!

Field trip to see Shakespeare at HMT - Nov 8

2011-11-10T10:14:00.003-05:00

The students had a wonderful time interacting with the
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" actors after the performance.

Friday Letter - 10.28.11

2011-11-01T15:57:00.001-04:00

10/28/11

Dear RiverRun Families,

Finally a full week of school and I feel like it flew by. This week I gave a lot of lessons. Some of the lessons given were on:

The communicative property of addition-elders and middles
Adjectives-first years
Adverbs-middles
Checkerboard-elders

Our elders have been researching ancient peoples of their choice and how they met some of their basic needs. This research will be presented next week to the whole class.

More work was presented and put out on the shelves related to the History of Lighting as well.

I have been reading a book to the children titled In The Beginning: Creation Stories From Around the World, brought in by Fatima, our library parent. This book has some very interesting stories about how we and the world came to be. I am reading this in preparation for the Cosmic Lesson, another Great Lesson given each year in most Montessori classrooms around the world.

Debbie gave a lesson on Hex signs, a type of folk art that became common in Pennsylvania Dutch country. They have been viewed as good luck signs with each image representing something positive.

Enjoy you weekend,

Amy and Debbie

Upcoming events:
November 8 HMT Shakespeare Field trip

The newest classmate - Lizzie!!

2011-10-25T09:21:00.001-04:00

Students have been getting to know the new class pet, Lizzie, as well as getting some practice using the classroom cameras.

Hyde Collection Field Trip - Oct 20

2011-10-25T09:16:00.003-04:00

On October 20th, the RiverRun students visited the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls where they toured the historic home, viewed items in the Hyde family art collection, and learned about the special exhibit "Draw Me a Story: A Century of Children's Book Illustrations."

Afterwards they moved to the art studio to draw pictures of animals which depicted their personal characteristics.

History of Light

2011-10-25T09:04:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures from our History of Light lesson. The lesson started with primitive man and their dependence on the sun and moon and how fire changed how they lived. With a lot of effort, we were able to start a fire using flint stone, jute, and char cloth. It took a lot of sparks to get the fire going, but it worked! We looked at the invention of the candle, oil lamp, kerosene lamp, light bulb, florescent light, LED light and talked about inventions on the horizon using solar energy. This lesson allows the children to see how these inventions changed the way we live.

Farmers Museum Field Trip - Oct 13

2011-10-25T08:54:00.001-04:00

On Thursday, October 13, the class enjoyed a wonderful day at the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown! In preparation, the children learned some colonial music and a dance to accompany. This trip tied in nicely with our discussion of the basic needs of humans. They got to see how much work went into everyday activities without our modern conveniences.

Friday (Wednesday!) Letter - 10.19.11

2011-10-25T08:46:00.000-04:00

10/19/11

Dear RiverRun Families,

Your children have been working hard these past two weeks. The Farmers Museum was a great trip. In preparation the children learned some colonial music and a dance to accompany. This trip tied in nicely with our discussion of the basic needs of humans. They got to see how much work went into everyday activities without our modern conveniences.

Today the children had a lesson on the History of Light. The lesson started with primitive man and their dependence on the sun and moon and how fire changed how they lived. I was able, with a lot of effort, to start a fire using flint stone, jute, and char cloth. It took a lot of sparks to get the fire going, but it worked! We looked at the invention of the candle, oil lamp, kerosene lamp, light bulb, florescent light, LED light and talked about inventions on the horizon using solar energy. This lesson allows the children to see how these inventions changed the way we live.

Since we are going to they Hyde collection Debbie has been working with the children during art on line, color, texture, shape, and space. Some of the illustrators we will see at the museum are being used as example of these.

In physical education we are working on dribbling a basketball and the chest pass, stopping and moving a soccer ball and the underhand throw using bean bags.

The elders were just introduced to the checkerboard, which is used for learning multi-digit multiplication. At our parent education night, taking place on November 10th, I will demonstrate how to use this material. The first years continue to work on nouns and articles and the middles are concentrating on dynamic addition and subtraction.

Dates to remember:
October 21st -No school Staff training
November 8th -field trip to HMT/Shakespeare
November 10th- Parent Education Evening starting at 7 pm
November 11th -No School/Veteran's Day
November 13th - Potluck 4:00 P.M. Location TBA

swiftly slices and
slashes through the darkness
seeking and
searching for a place

suitable to light

May light shine upon you,
Amy and Debbie

Friday Letter - 10.07.11

2011-10-10T15:50:00.000-04:00

10/7/11

Dear RiverRun Families,

I am sure all of you have heard that we have a new class pet. She is a Mali Uromastyx, a type of lizard, which we will all learn more about once the children have finished their research on this type of reptile. The children have named her Elizabeth, or Lizzie for short, after three days of deliberation. Check out pictures of her on the blog, coming soon.

In preparation for our field trip to the Farmer's Museum we are reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Liam's mother, Juliana, has also come in to teach some signs related to farming. The trip to the Farmer's Museum will tie in nicely with our study of the Fundamental Needs of Humans. We had a class discussion about our needs for survival. The middles and elders will be diving further into this area of study. Look around and see all the conveniences we have gotten used to. Do we need these to survive? What are our basic needs? Your child/ren should be able to talk about this with you.

We have been discussing the need for spacing between words because authors want to be sure their readers can easily read their work. Now that the children are writers, they will want to be sure others are able to read their work. We are also looking at opening/ topic sentences that other writers use, noticing what type of information is given and whether their words compel us to read on. When reading to your children this can be something you can point out to them or they can point out to you.

It looks like we may have a few days of sun. Yah!

Enjoy your extended weekend,
Amy and Debbie

Dates to Remember:
Oct. 10 No School Columbus Day
Oct. 13 Field Trip to the Farmer's Museum in Cooperstown, New York
We will be meeting at the Hannaford on 3333 Consaul Road in Schenectady at 8:50 unless you have indicated you will meet us in Cooperstown.
Oct. 14 No School Parent Conferences
Oct. 20 Field Trip to see the Hyde Collection
Oct. 21 No School Staff Training

Friday Letter - 09.23.11

2011-09-23T13:16:00.000-04:00

September 23, 2011

Dear River Run Families,

Despite the rain we have been able to get outside for much of the week. On Wednesday we celebrated World Peace Day established by the United Nations in 1981. We started our celebration by talking about peace. We read Peace Begins With You, by Katherine Scholes and exerts from the book Paths to Peace: People Who Changed The World, by Jane Zalben, a book on loan to us from the Kelly-Menyuk family. We practiced and then sang the song “Light a Candle for Peace” at 11 a.m. on Wednesday with other traditional and Montessori schools around the world. We hope to have the video of the children singing on the blog. I would like to thank Maddy Kelly for learning the song on her viola and bringing it in to accompany us while singing.

Also on Wednesday Nancy joined us as a substitute for Debbie who was out for the day. Nancy did an art project with the children. They made peace bracelets and she was our videographer. It was nice for our students from the previous year to be able to spend time with Nancy as she was a co-teacher last year, and they miss her presence. Thank you also to Juliana, Liam's mom, who is coming in once a week to work with the children on sign language. She taught us some signs to accompany “Light a Candle for Peace”.

This week I presented The History of Math, one of the Montessori Great Lessons. The children noticed that the abacus, invented by the people of China, looks similar to the small and large bead frames they use in their classroom.

The three hour work period is normalizing for both our new and returning students. I have already found that I can take time to sit down and observe. Observation allows me to make sure the environment is set up in a way that every child's needs and interests are being met and that the flow of the classroom is working. Just 5-10 minutes are needed daily to focus either on the class as a whole or an individual.

The Writer's Workshop is a treasured time for us; you will all enjoy reading the Author's Notebooks when you come in for conferences.

Best Wishes for a joyful weekend.

Namaste,
Amy and Debbie

Important Dates:
Sept. 29 No School- Rosh Hoshana
Sept. 30 No School- Staff Day
Oct. 6 Dinner/ Silent Auction
Oct. 10 No School-Columbus Day
Oct. 13 Field Trip to Farmer's Museum

Please put this date on your calendar! Our Parent Education Evening is Thursday, November 10, 2011 at 7:00 PM.

Field trip to the Schenectady Post Office

2011-09-21T12:20:00.001-04:00

The first field trip of the school year - taking the public bus to the main post office in downtown Schenectady! All of the kids had a wonderful time both on the bus trip and behind the scenes at the post office. Each one got to write and mail their own letter too!

Friday Letter - 09.16.11

2011-09-21T10:41:00.001-04:00

9/16/11

Dear River Run Families,

It was great to see everyone at Back to School night. It was wonderful to see the community of parents together. Thank you to all who volunteered. We are still looking for someone to organize our Silver Graphics fundraiser, much of the leg work has already been done by Teresa, so it should not be too difficult. I hope you all liked the jean pockets they made during art time with Debbie. They are used to hold ideas for writing, it has helped the children during Writers Workshop.

This week we went to the Schenectady Post Office via public bus. It was a very successful trip. We learned a lot about the mail system and everyone sent mail to their home. Don't be surprised if more mail shows up as this is now a work on the shelf. Please encourage your child to write and address an envelope to someone who would appreciate some mail. I did notice that the post office would surely like some mail, due to the age of computers it was obvious how little this service is needed these days. How many more generations of children will even know what a post office is?

The three hour work cycle is going great. Enough work is on the shelves that everyone, even our newest members, have plenty to choose from.

Lessons were given on nouns, the addition strip board, using metal insets to improve handwriting, bead chains, multiplication using the hierarchical beads, symbolizing using Montessori grammar symbols, and Writers Workshop mini-lessons are given daily.

Please remember to check the blog for photos and information on upcoming events.

I hope that you enjoy your weekend, Fall seems to have made an appearance. It might be time for apple picking?

Best Wishes,
Amy & Debbie

Dates to remember:
Sept.21: donations for auction due for Dinner/Silent Auction Fund Raiser
Sept.23: Pizza Friday
Sept.29: No School-Rosh Hoshana
Sept.30: No School-Staff Day
Oct. 6 : Dinner/Silent Auction Fund Raiser - Heeding the Call of Our Inner Wild

Dinner / Silent Auction Fund Raiser

2011-09-11T20:21:00.003-04:00

Heeding the Call of Our Inner Wild

Thursday, October 6

6 - 9 PM
Schenectady County Community College
Van Curler Room

Presentations, 4-course meal, and silent auction!

Registration is due by September 20. Tickets start at just $35!
Visit http://riverrunmontessori.org/dinner%20fundraiser.htm for more information and/or to download a brochure (with registration form).

Landforms

2011-09-11T20:11:00.000-04:00

The first week of school, the students jumped right into their works, getting started with hands-on learning about landforms.

Friday Letter - 09.09.11

2011-09-11T19:56:00.000-04:00

Dear RiverRun Families,

This has been a wonderful first three days of school. I am sure you have noticed some of your children tired when they arrive home. All the children have started to get to know each other and everyone is working well as a peaceful community of learners.

This week we have spent time getting to know our environment and how we will be working together. The first two days we had whole group lessons to familiarize everyone with some works that can later be used independently. Some of the lessons we had were:

-Parts of a flag
-The children made their own flags about themselves
-Morning meditation/deep breathing started on the second day
-Classroom jobs where shown and and assigned for Monday
-Land and water forms (cape and bay, peninsula and gulf, isthmus and strait, group of lakes and archipelago)
-ordinal number

I began Writers Workshop on Thursday. A mini-lesson on writing will be given daily on techniques authors use to write and all the children will spend about a half hour writing after these mini lessons. On Friday I introduced the children to their daily work plans and we talked about the independent work period. They saw how I will do small group lessons as their classmates work on their own to learn and master all the subjects they have address on their own work plans.

First years had lessons on even and odd numbers, reading, some on the trinomial cube and bead chains. The elders in the class did comprehension cards and those students returning jumped right into their normal work period.

Monday will bring another great week of learning.

A few reminders:
Please have the permission slips signed by Monday and the $3 sent for our outing to the Schenectady Post Office scheduled for Tuesday.

Wednesday September 14th at 6:00 is our back to school night meeting. It is important to come to this meeting, a good deal of information will be given at this time.

Potluck - September 1

2011-08-11T07:58:00.001-04:00

As the new classroom takes shape and gets settled into, we look forward to everyone's coming together for a potluck dinner on Thursday, September 1 at 6 PM. Please remember to bring meat-free dishes.

We're moving!!

2011-07-29T18:03:00.008-04:00

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of moving to a new location, just in time for the start of the 2011-12 school year!
We are now at 2117 Union Street in the town of Niskayuna.
While remaining independent and non-denominational, we are very excited to be leasing space in Congregation Agudat Achim's beautiful school building (located just east of the Route 7 / Union Street split).

Watch for announcements about upcoming open houses!

(photo from www.agudatachim.org)

Out and about in the community - Union College

2011-06-21T14:21:00.000-04:00

On June 10th, the RiverRun class took a neighborhood walk to Union College.

There we enjoyed lunch on the grounds

and freeze tag afterward.

(pic 693 coming soon!)

We also toured the grounds and learned about the beautiful gardens at Union.
(pics 967,977,980 coming soon!)

Class Play - "A Promise Is A Promise"

2011-06-21T14:05:00.007-04:00

On June 3rd, the RiverRun students performed their class play for family and friends. A Promise Is A Promise, written by author Robert Munsch and Inuit storyteller Michael Kusugak, tells the story of the mythical characters, the Qallupilluit, that live in the sea ice of the Canadian Arctic.

Make up and costume preparations

The performance

The cast party afterwards

Then outside to release the butterflies the students had hatched in the classroom as part of their hands-on science studies

South of the Border Fiesta

2011-06-21T11:52:00.001-04:00

Our South of the Border Party celebrated our studies
of many countries south of the United States -

we prepared our own tacos

decorated using Mexican paperfolding techniques

enjoyed our fiesta with tacos

and a donkey pinata

Country Reports

2011-06-21T11:41:00.004-04:00

Students wrapped up their interest reports on countries in South and Central American, Mexico, and the Caribbean by sharing their work with fellow students.

Noah reports on Panama.

Maddy tells us about the Dominican Republic.

Special Visitor - Gardening

2011-06-21T11:35:00.006-04:00

On June 3, RiverRun parent Greg Lindenfelser worked with the class on gardening. They planted flowers and tomato plants in the play space.

RiverRun's 3rd Annual Fund Raiser

2011-06-17T16:51:00.004-04:00

Save the Date

for

RiverRun’s
3^rd Annual Dinner / Silent Auction Fund Raiser

Thursday evening, October 6, 2011

Schenectady County Community College :: Casola Dining Room

:: :: :: :: :: ::

“Heeding the Call of Our Inner Wild”

inspirational speakers
a delicious sit-down dinner
good conversation
exciting auction items

Friday Letter - 06.17.11

2011-06-17T16:42:00.000-04:00

June 17, 2011

Dear River Run Families,

It was nice to see many of you today for Portfolio Day and the End-of-Year Ice Cream Social. I’m sure that you are as proud as we are of the students’ growth. They enjoyed sharing their portfolios, which included a variety of collected work and also their self-assessments. This process of thinking about one’s strengths and weaknesses and setting future goals is so valuable for students and often, in other settings, it is the missing element in the assessment process. Another element of RiverRun’s assessment process is the student narratives (written by the directresses) and these will come home on the last day of school.

The class has continued to work on activities related to the Time Line of Life lessons and each student continues to conduct their individual research and will share this with classmates next week. We’ve also started a unit on famous composers and enjoyed reading about their lives as well as listening to their music throughout the week. During an outing at Steinmetz Park this week, the class released the turtle we’d been caring for and we hope it will find a good home in the pond there.

Next week we’ll have our last four days of school. We’ll be working with spelling lists that were created from misspelled words in each student’s writing journals, learning about more composers, spending time on art, music, and writing, and finishing up work in all areas of the curriculum. We’ll have special lunch options Monday through Wednesday and have several fun events lined up for the student on the last day, Thursday. Information on the special meals for next week (and payments) is included in the separate attachment. Please be sure to send in your pizza money on Monday morning, if your child chooses to have pizza that day.

Have a nice weekend,
Nancy, Amy, and Debbie

Upcoming Dates:
June 20 – Pizza Lunch
June 21 – Field trip to La Gioia Italian Deli and Sub Sandwich Lunch
June 22 – Chinese Food for Lunch
June 23 – Last Day of School for RiverRun Students and Packed Lunch Day

Enjoy your Summer!!

Friday Letter - 06.10.11

2011-06-12T08:41:00.002-04:00

June 10, 2011

Dear River Run Families,

This past week I have been meeting with each of your children to review their portfolios. It is amazing how much they have learned. Lessons continue daily. I have touched on telling time throughout the year, but recently have put new work out on the shelves and given group lessons on the hour and minute hands.

This week we learned about many animals that appeared during the Paleozoic Era (540,000,000-252,500,000 years ago). The nautiloid, one of the early animals to appear on the Time Line of Life, moved through the Cambrian oceans by jet propulsion. It would shoot water through its tube. It could also fill its various chambers with water in order to sink itself or empty its chambers of water to rise. The first man-made submarine was named after this sea creature. The children have been able to look at and touch fossils from this era. Most of them are familiar with the trilobite, which lived in the muddy bottom of our seas. I was able to bring in two fossils of trilobites. This is a fun work and we will continue to work on the Time Line of Life next week.

Have a nice weekend,
Amy

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This week we finished up our country reports and celebrated learning about Mexico, Central American, the Caribbean Islands, and South America with our South of the Border Fiesta Luncheon on Thursday. The students enjoyed participating in this last food preparation project of the school year as they shredded, chopped, and peeled ingredients for our tacos. Then on Thursday they had a delicious lunch of Build Your Own tacos, guacamole and chips, Mexican lasagna, rice, and Sopapillas for dessert. They also fried plantains and sampled them as a dessert with brown sugar and honey. Mexican decorations (which they made), Spanish music, and a piñata were all part of the festivities!

Today the class took another neighborhood walk for PE and we were thankful the weather cooperated so well. We had a lovely walk to and from Union College where we lunched under the shade trees and in a pavilion with live music playing nearby. After lunch, Greg Lindenfelser joined us for a tour of the beautiful grounds and taught us about the difference between annuals and perennials, the Latin names for trees, and the names of many plants and trees. We were also joined by Connie from the Union College Grounds Staff. She discussed the history of the gardens and the reasons for choices of plants. She showed us the Time Garden, the Evergreen Garden, the Japanese Garden, and more!

Looking ahead, we hope you can join us in the classroom on Friday, 6/17, at 1:00 p.m. for portfolio sharing, followed by a year-end celebration with ice cream from Stewarts. Parents will be taking textbooks home on that day as well. If you plan to take your child home with you, please be sure to call the bus department to cancel transportation for that day, if necessary.

In the final week of school, we’ll be having Special Lunches on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for those who choose to participate. The students have requested another Chinese food meal and another pizza meal. We’ll also try out a sub sandwich day as there is a deli two or three blocks from us that Amy and Debbie say has tasty subs! More details will be available next Friday about costs and menu options.

Best wishes,
Nancy

Upcoming Dates:
June 17th – 1:00 p.m. – Portfolio Day and Ice Cream Social (for students and families)
June 20, 21, 22 – Special Lunches for Interested Students (Chinese food, pizza, subs)
June 23rd – Last Day of School for RiverRun Students

RiverRun Camping Weekend

2011-06-04T12:51:00.003-04:00

After the field trip to the Berkshire Museum, many members of the RiverRun community (17 students and siblings along with 10 adults!) enjoyed a weekend of camping at Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont, Mass. Families enjoyed the spectacular older growth forest and the original Native American trails. Here are some pictures of the adventures.

There was lots of time spent by the picnic tables and fire rings

Emily displays her tree-climbing skills

Close-up nature exploring

Some of the "easy walkers"

It's simply in her blood. Even outside of school, Nancy can't help but teach. Here she is in the middle of the woods reading a book to Courtney and Sean!

By the end of trailing, a couple of the younger ones needed a lift!

Picnicking down by the river at one of the tent sites

Hours and hours of fun playing in and by the Cold River

Heading back to the cabin after a day of fun by the river

Baseball, anyone?

The mountain climbing crew, led by Amy and her husband Stu

Taking in the views. . .

Berkshire Museum Field Trip

2011-06-04T12:15:00.001-04:00

On Friday, May 27th, RiverRun families took a field trip to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass. There they continued their year-long studies of the Americas with two educator-led programs - Native Mammals and Native Peoples.

Museum-educator Craig talks about Native Mammals with the younger children

while museum-educator Sarah talks about Native Peoples with the older children.

Everyone enjoyed a community lunch together

and then the groups switched.

Sarah worked with the younger children

while Craig worked with the older ones.

Then the children had free time to explore the museum on their own.

Here are Kya and Sean Gabriel enjoying the horseshoe crabs.

Friday Letter - 06.03.11

2011-06-04T08:52:00.000-04:00

June 3, 2011

Dear River Run Families,

We’ve done so many things over the last two weeks, that it’s difficult to remember them all! Last Friday the students enjoyed our outing to the Berkshire Museum where they learned about Native peoples and mammals at two educator-led programs. We also enjoyed independent exploration of the exhibits afterwards. Then over Memorial Day weekend five RiverRun families participated in our annual family camping weekend and enjoyed hiking, having bonfires, and the cold, rocky river exploration.

The students have also been working hard on preparing for the play – practicing lines and acting, making scenery and costumes, and preparing our classroom for visitors tonight. We look forward to seeing you there. After the play, we’ll be releasing the five butterflies we hatched outside so they can continue their life in a bigger space then our netting. They hatched while we were away over Memorial Day weekend, but prior to that we enjoyed watching the caterpillars make their chrysalises and now we’ve been figuring out what best to feed them! We also have another mouth to feed in the classroom. This week we acquired a painted turtle and have been setting it up in an aquarium and figuring out what best to feed him. The turtle was found on the road and brought to us, so we’ll give it a nice home while we decide on the best timing for releasing it back into the wild.

With the nicer weather, the class has taken two neighborhood walks for PE time – once to Steinmetz Park and yesterday we went to the bike bath off of Senecca Street. We also spent time outdoors today, planting flowers in the RiverRun play area under the guidance of Greg Lindenfelser. Next week he’ll be helping us explore the beautiful flowers and grounds of Union College when we walk there on Friday.

Work on the Timeline of Life and Country Reports continue as do all other areas of the curriculum. As we start to wrap up the year, students are also beginning to work on their self-assessments related to this year and goal-setting for next year. They’ll share that with you at Portfolio Day on Friday, 6/17. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us in the classroom at 1:00 p.m. for portfolio sharing, followed by a year-end celebration with ice cream from Stewarts.

Best wishes,
Nancy, Amy, and Debbie

Upcoming Dates:
June 6th – 12:00 – 3:00 RiverRun Goals & Objectives Session, substitute in the classroom
June 9th – South of the Border Fiesta Luncheon for RiverRun students
June 10th – Lunch and Viewing the Gardens at Union College with Greg Lindenfelser
June 17th – 1:00 p.m. – Portfolio Day and Ice Cream Social (for students and families)
June 23rd – Last Day of School for RiverRun Students