Over the course of the year, it has been my pleasure to work with City Country School in Madrid, Spain as well as my classroom students. The children who participated in the blog project loved Skyping with their friends in another country as well as connecting to their world through research based projects. It is my hope that we continue to expand and share our love of learning in a global community. I hope to have more schools want to connect and participate in collaborative learning over the course of the next year. My students are always eager to see what other children their age are learning and how they are incorporating project based learning in their classrooms. If you are interested in joining One Montessori World please contact me at bjmackay@countrydaylargo.com.

Practical Life Celebration: Spanish Treats

Look what these children made!

Backyard Biome Projects

This week the children presented their research on their animal or plant that lives in the biome to our class. We took all of the projects and created our own Caladesi Island biome in a collaborative project. 

Backyard Biome

      One Montessori World

March Project

Backyard Biome: A Lesson in Biology

Dear Parents,

This month, our students will be focusing studies on a cross-curricular, multi-disciplinary study of the Florida Gulf Coast with focus on nature, ecology, and biology.  Scientific studies will connect to the mural Return to Picnic Island by local artist Christopher Still.  Participating students will analyze the painting and identify specific local species of plants and animals.  The project will also reference Caladesi Island and other Gulf Coast mangrove areas. 

·      Research: Following study of the painting, students will select one represented animal or plant to research.  Students should include a description of the habitat and other relevant information. Reports should be a minimum of two paragraphs.  

·      Display: Students will recreate the image of the mural in a 3-D representation in class.  Mrs. Mackay will work together with the students to create the foundation.  Each student should bring in a real or representative item (printed picture, artistic creation of clay, playdoh, or construction paper, etc.) to include in the live mural. 

·      Here are the animals and plants your children have selected:

Avery M.- Sand Dollar #49

Eli- Gopher Tortoise #63 and Horseshoe Crab #33

Grace- Great Blue Heron #34

Sophia B-Pen Shell #20 and Stingray #52

Sophia R- Ghost Crab #28

Anthony- Sand Dunes #61

Ajay-Red Knots #13 and  Giant Atlantic Cockel #48

Isabella- Coquina #24

Stephen- Bald Eagle #65

Students will be working in class and with middle school students over the month of March.  Assignments are due on April 1^st for the class display.   If you have any questions, please contact me! Please remember to visit www.onemontessoriworld.blogspot.com to follow our studies!

Warm Regards,

Betty Jane Mackay

Lead Montessori Teacher

Global "Exchange": A Lesson in Mathematics

For the January project, the children compared and contrasted currencies from the United States and Spain.  Students created displays and completed math enrichment assignments.

Lesson in Math

One Montessori World

January Project

Global “Exchange”: A Lesson in Mathematics

Dear Parents,

This past week, our students enjoyed sharing their Holiday Traditions and Gingerbread friends during a Skype with students from our sister school.  We learned about their traditions of Three Kings Day and the Twelve Grapes tradition. 

This month, our students will be focusing studies on mathematics through lessons of cultural money and exchange.  Students should complete the research detailed below and the attached Euro addition problems.  Please have students complete and return work by Monday, February 3^rd. 

·      Research: Students should research U.S. currency and the European currency of Spain.  Two paragraph minimum.

·      Display: Students should display an image of the currencies of both countries through either printed copies or drawings.

If you have any questions, please contact me!  We look forward to our February project that will focus on our Backyard Biomes.  Please remember to visit www.onemontessoriworld.blogspot.com to follow our studies!

Warm Regards,

Betty Jane Mackay

Lead Montessori Teacher

On January 15, 2014 we Skyped with our friends in Spain to discuss our different ways of celebrating the holidays during December. We noticed differences and similarities in the way we all celebrate the holidays. We learned about their tradition of Three Kings Day which is celebrated on January 6 instead of Christmas which is celebrated in the United States on December 25. We also learned that on New Year's Eve they have a twelve grape tradition in which they eat a grape every hour until midnight. We have a student in our group that celebrates Three King's Day and we learned that some of our children have participated in the twelve grape tradition during Spanish class! We look forward to our next Skype with our friends in February.