Primary

Dear Primary Parents,

On this page you will find this week’s Distance Learning Plan. It is a balance of activities that encompass the main areas of the Montessori Primary curriculum and expands on many of the previous suggestions. We have listened to and taken to heart your feedback and are committed to enhancing the program to meet the learning needs of your child within the context of your family’s new at-home work and school challenges.

Notice that the previous weeks’ DLPs are archived below for your reference. Repeat an activity – remember we LOVE repetition – or add to or embellish something you started but maybe didn’t finish or offer again to your child who may not have been interested at the time.

Feel free to send me any questions you may have via email.

Sincerely,

Denise Merkel, Head of Lower School

Suggested Daily Schedule for Primary Children

Suggested Daily Schedule for Primary Children

Early Morning

Mid Morning

Lunch

Afternoon

Primary Distance Learning Plan Expectations

Primary Distance Learning Plan Expectations

Children

Parents

Teachers

Program

Primary Weekly Plan: June 1-5, 2020

Dear Primary Parents,

You’ve heard us talk about the importance of repetition over and over again. That’s because we truly believe it to be vital for the steady development of skills for the Primary-aged child. Many times a child will repeat an activity until their needs are satisfied and they’ve reached their own “Ahh!” moment. It is our responsibility to provide enough time and space for that to happen.

You will find in this week’s recommendations some new activities (making and flying paper airplanes), another food preparation venture (juicing), and a replay of some of our favorites (art therapy, obstacle courses and thumb subtraction).

During these ten weeks, we have been grateful for your collaboration, which this adventure truly was. We encourage you to return to the earlier weeks, find a category that has interested your child and go forward with it. Or find one that didn’t quite catch on the first try.

Take time to refresh. Each day is a new one. Wishing you more of that newness in the days to come.

The Primary Team,

Ms. Hernandez, Ms. Rey, Ms. Eckel, Ms. Sue, Ms. Caihuara, Ms. Lanka, Ms. Aker, Ms. Khraishah

Practical Life

Practical Life

June 1-5, 2020

Mmmm, how juicy! You’ll need an orange, a manual juicer, and a cup.
- Wash the orange.
- Slice the orange in half.
- Use 1 orange half and center it on the tip of the manual juicer.
- Twist the orange around until there is no more juice coming out of the fruit.
- With 2 hands, pick up the juicer and pour into the cup.
- Make juice for the rest of the family. Drink and enjoy!
Explore the wonders of buoyancy. You will need to gather: a large bowl half filled with water, a small towel for drying, and a tray/large towel to put underneath. (See below.) Explore your home to find 5 - 10 small objects that will fit inside your large bowl. Pose this question: “I wonder which objects will float or which will sink? What do you think?”
- Place one object at a time in the water and discover what it does.
- Separate to one side of the bowl those that floated, to the other side, those that sank.
- Use your small towel to dry your objects when you are ready to clean up.
- Leave the same objects for another turn and see if your child can remember what happened.
- Extend the experiment by figuring out why each object did what it did.

Set up a special place like the one below for your child to groom themselves. Put a mirror at reachable height and place a hairbrush or comb on the shelf or in a basket nearby. You could include supplies like hair clips, headbands, or hair ties. Remember if you introduce something new to your child, show them how to use it properly and - keep it simple!

Teach your child how to care for things in their environment while developing their focus, concentration, coordination of movement and independence by washing a table, chair or other things in your home or yard.

Math

Math

June 1-5, 2020

What a fun way to make your own math beads! In Math, the unit beads are represented by a color that is consistent from Primary all the way through Upper Elementary. 1-red, 2-green, 3-pink, 4-yellow, 5-light blue, 6-purple, 7-white, 8-brown, 9-dark blue, 10-gold.
- Make the 1 by rolling a small red piece of Sculpey Clay into a ball.
- Make 2 by using green and attach with a toothpick.
- Do the same for the other numerals using the representative colors, stated above.
- Use these to count, add, sequence, work with teens, etc.

Use salt or sand to create this activity for number writing and counting. For this quick set up, you will need: table salt, a tray, paper squares, a marker, and a paintbrush (optional).
- Fill a dish/tray with a thin layer of salt or sand.
- On one side of each card, write a number and on the other side, draw the corresponding number of dots.
- The child counts the dots on the card, writes the number in the salt, either with the smooth end of the paintbrush or finger.
- Next, they flip the card to see if they got it right.
- If not, shake the salt tray a little and then copy the number correctly.
- You can leave this activity out on your home Montessori shelf for future practice.

Dominoes can be used for a number of great math activities. Count. Sort by odd and even. Do math operations and fraction problems. Check out this video to learn how!
Subtraction Squish is a hands-on, math activity that incorporates sensory play. Use a long piece of masking tape on a flat surface to create a number line through 18 (or lower/higher). Grab some play dough and make that many balls. Here’s our example: 14 - 8 = 6.
- Begin by placing 14 balls under a corresponding number on your line (you started with; the minuend).
- Squish 8 balls with your finger (take away; the subtrahand).
- Look at the remaining un-flattened spheres to find 6 not squished (left over; the difference).
- You can either ask subtraction problems aloud, or write them down on some index cards for independent work.
- Reconfigure the balls and repeat.

Cultural

Cultural

June 1-5, 2020

Discover inspiring soundscapes and wildlife sounds from around the world with this incredible Nature Soundmap. Using an interactive format, this project combines high quality field recordings with satellite imagery to provide a global database of nature sounds. Then go outside and listen to your neighborhood sounds.
Let’s learn about where Ms. Hernandez and Ms. Rey are from! The key is to isolate the information we are providing and start from the broad to the more specific. You will need a map of the world, an atlas or globe, the continent of Asia and a flag book (optional).
- Ms. Hernandez and Ms. Rey are both from the continent of Asia. Invite your child to help you find Asia.
- They are both from a country called the Philippines. Find it on your globe or map or in your atlas.
- Ms. Hernandez is from a city called Metro Manila. Ms. Rey is from an island called Mindoro. See if you and your child can find the city and island on the map.
- Optional: If you have a flag book, find the flag of the Philippines.
- Extension: Find a family who is from a different country and find out what continent they belong to, the city, and their flag.

Flag of the Philippines.svg

Use the family album to talk about all the places you have visited. Offer the name of the country, city or town, discuss what continent it belongs to and locate it on a map. For further fun think back to the food, smells, buildings, or activities you did while there. Dream about the next time and what you want to see, do and eat.
Learn about the flags of various countries with this free printable. The cards can be used for a flag matching memory game (just print two sets). This activity also contains cards for the continents, so the flags can also be thus sorted. If your child is a reader (and geography expert), country name cards are also included to match with the appropriate flag. Extend that interest by watching Logan show your child how to paint a flag for each letter of the alphabet.

Self Expression

Self Expression

June 1-5, 2020

If flying is out of the question now, let’s simulate the joy of soaring by launching our own paper airplanes. Trace around the different-sized plates and cut them out to create holes in a large board. Assign each one a point value. Make your planes and fly them into space. Keep score.

Grab some animal toys and take them out for a tan! In an open space allow the sun to reflect them on white paper, while your child outlines the shadow with a pencil. For cloudy days, shine a flashlight on the object and create your own shadow!

To do string painting you’ll need a foot long piece of string, yarn or thin ribbon, paper, and washable tempera paint. Watch this video from Ms. Skor and follow the steps below.
- Dip the string into paint.
- Make a shape with string onto half of the paper.
- Fold the paper in half and crease all around.
- Place a book or heavy flat object over paper.
- Apply pressure on the book as you slowly pull the string out.
- Open the piece of paper and admire your design.
- Clean up.
Learn how to tap into your feelings and express them through art. Check out this art therapy activity here.

Sensorial

Sensorial

June 1-5, 2020

Here’s another way to practice visual discrimination. Create patterns of different colored squares with at least 4-5 of each. (Or you can use objects if you have several of each item.) You begin making one horizontally and invite your child to continue the pattern or to make their own. Put this work on your at home Montessori shelf for further exploration.

Make your own moldable, squishable, kinetic sand for sensory play. You can make it in advance OR better yet, have your child help. You will need: 1 cup of play or craft sand; 2 teaspoons dish soap; two tablespoons cornstarch; and ½ cup school glue (white or clear).
- Combine play sand, dish soap, and cornstarch in your chosen container and stir until all ingredients are mixed well.
- Add the glue a little at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Once all the ingredients are mixed, put the spoon aside and knead with your hands to finish the process.
- Add hands, scoops, spoons, cups, or cookie cutters and let your child’s imagination lead the way.
- Store in a covered container; this should keep well for several weeks.

Triangles make up the basics of construction. Let’s learn their names. You will need construction paper, a ruler, pencil, and scissors.
- Equilateral triangle: use a ruler to measure 3 equal lines making a triangle. Cut along the lines.
- Isosceles triangle: measure 2 diagonal lines that are the same length and add a shorter line to form a triangle. Cut this one out, too.
- Scalene triangle: draw 3 lines of different lengths into a triangle. Cut it.
- Give the names for each one while pointing to the shape. Have your child repeat the names after you.
- To help them remember, have your child move them in particular places around the table. “Move the equilateral triangle to the top of the table. Put the isosceles triangle to the bottom of the table. Place the scalene triangle beside the isosceles triangle.” Ask them to point to the equilateral triangle, to the isosceles triangle, and to the scalene.
- Do the above repeatedly. Make it fun.
- Ask while pointing to one of the triangles, ”What is this?”
- The child identifies the triangle you were pointing at - wow! If they don’t remember, give the correct name. Repeat this step until they are able to identify each one correctly.
- Optional: find these different types of triangles around your house.
Help your child refine their senses by doing any and all of the following activities:
- Make a Mystery Box with your child so they can identify 3-D objects using their sense of touch.
- Blindfold your child and place a variety of cut fruit under their nose to discover if they can identify it.
- Attach a shoelace or string to a variety of plastic cups and bump them down the stairs to notice the different sounds they make.
- Help your child develop their sense of sight by passing a pencil through a larger circular object while closing one eye at a time and then with both eyes open and discuss why this happens.
- Watch this video to learn how: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBZllALAZ5I

Language

Language

June 1-5, 2020

Pick a new word every day. Use the new word in a sentence and then have your child use it in a sentence. Write the word and definition down or have your child do so. Teach them how to spell it. Create a box or folder for new vocabulary words and revisit old words often.
Fly Leaf Publishing has opened up their quality ebook resources for free. They offer everything from a simple phonetic series for emerging readers to books containing word blends and sight words - all with follow-up work to do, if you wish.
Listen to and follow these commands: Run. Hop, Sit, Cry, Jump. For your reader: write those words on slips of paper, put them in a box and have your child pick one out, read it and do what it says. You can challenge your child - reader or non - by adding adverbs like quietly or quickly or other specifics like sit on the step or jump over the line.
Write a letter to grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles or any other favorite people who are far away. Younger children may dictate what they want to say. Older children may write their own. Send them the art of a Big Hug (see Self Expression section of Week 5 DLP).

Movement

Movement

June 1-5, 2020

Teach your child a few dance moves. At the end of the week put on a show.
- Don’t have the moves? Check out this video instead.
Fit some yoga into your morning schedule. Here’s a chart of different poses.
Use what you have at home to create “obstacle courses.” Map out a space in your home (it does not need to be big). Create a starting line. Use a pose (like a yoga animal) to start. End with some dance moves. Here are some examples:
- Balance: walk over couch cushions on the floor.
- Crawling: put sheets over chairs to create tunnels.
- Walking: place paper circles on the floor to follow.
- Jumping: lay a broom handle on the floor to jump over.
Make sewing cards out of card stock by using a hole punch. Use a shoestring to weave in and out, over and under. Keep those fingers limber over the summer.

Primary Videos

Primary Videos

Downloadable Weekly Plan Overview

Week One: March 30-April 3, 2020

Week Two: April 6-10, 2020

Week Three: April 13-17, 2020

Week Four: April 20-24, 2020

Week Five: April 27-May 1, 2020

Week Six: May 4-8, 2020

Week Seven: May 11-15, 2020

Week Eight: May 18-22, 2020

Week Nine: May 25-29, 2020

Week Ten: June 1-5, 2020

Additional Resources

Class Portal Links

Parent Resources

Supporting Independence & Routine

Allow your child to be inspired by other children. This child shows your child how to brush their teeth independently. Show this video to your child.
Restocking your prepared environment on the weekend or early Monday morning is important for allowing for independence. Make sure that shelves remain uncluttered, simple and inviting. Allow your child to pick the plates, bowls, cups, towels, etc. they want to use. If you are introducing a new tool, show your child how to properly care for it and where it goes.

Thank you also to Marin Montessori School, The Montessori School of Tokyo, and to the many Montessori collaborators worldwide who have helped share ideas, schedules, webpages, and activities. This Aidan Montessori Distance Learning Plan honors the spirit of collaboration, cooperation, and work in service together during these difficult times.