Summer Camp at HBMH: Gardening

“Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.” – Thomas Berry

We kicked off summer camp with an exciting and hands-on gardening theme, which of course, went successfully!

Over the past few weeks, we have been studying gardening. Our Apple classroom conducted a lima bean experiment to see how the bean sprouts and grows. Try it at home to see how big your bean will sprout!

We also pin-pricked various flower patterns, placing them on our wall-garden.

 We’ve also been participating in plenty of garden care through watering the soil and harvesting the fresh vegetables and herbs.

Our students officially have green thumbs!

Next week’s summer camp theme “United States of America”, is sure to be just as exciting!

Happy Gardening!

Happy 145th Birthday, Dr. Maria Montessori

Happy 145th Birthday, Dr. Maria Montessori!

Today, we celebrated our dear Maria Montessori’s birthday by having a special Celebration of Life in her honor. We heard stories about the things she had done in her life, and saw pictures of her childhood. This is a very special day for our community, as we honor the woman who brought light to the Montessori pedagogy, and established the principals that our very school is based upon.

“Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870.” – Ms. Patti shows us a special book with pictures and descriptions of Maria Montessori’s life.

We walked the earth around the sun symbolizing the years of her life that had gone by, just as the earth goes around the sun in a year-long rotation. We talked about the many important things Maria had done in her life, including her family history, her schooling and education, and the educational programs that she developed due to years of observation and scientific study.

Happiest of birthdays, to the woman who made all of this possible!

Scientific observation has established that education is not what the teacher gives; education is a natural process spontaneously carried out by the human individual, and is acquired not by listening to words but by experiences upon the environment. The task of the teacher becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. Human teachers can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. Doing so, they will be witnesses to the unfolding of the human soul and to the rising of a New Man who will not be a victim of events, but will have the clarity of vision to direct and shape the future of human society.

– Maria Montessori, Education for a New World

Click HERE to read about the life and work of Dr. Maria Montessori
(article credit, michaelolaf.net)

Photo of the Day: Summer Gardening

Baby peppers, cantaloupe, tomatoes, fresh basil and beautiful flowers continue to grow in this tremendous summer heat! Thank you to our young friends for making sure our plants get plenty of water to drink each day!

HBMH Summer Camp 6: Natural, Environmentlly-Friendly Art

Our primary friends are thoroughly enjoying this week’s new Summer Camp 6 theme “Discovering and Creating Natural Art Projects: Good Earth Art“. Several friends are using their creativity to make natural art by incorporating items such as rocks, leaves, sticks, and other environmental resources. Our hope is that they will learn to recycle and use natural materials for art, while developing an awareness of the environment and a caring attitude towards the earth.

Our camp themes were designed to feature creative hands-on activities that build skills, bodies, and excitement. We offer an environment that fits the needs and interests of all our children, incorporating Montessori principles that foster independence and freedom with responsibility. I’m hoping to update our blog all summer long to show the children as they progress through the different themes.
Nature collages made with items found in our outdoor environmentHand-made stained glass mobiles created from twigs, leaves, grass, flowers and other items gathered from outside. Of course, these were gathered after they had fallen to the ground and were no longer a part of the plant/tree. Remember, nature stays in nature!
Natural “ice paint” art! We added a few drops of paint to an ice cube tray, placed popsicle sticks into each ice cube and put in the freezer overnight. The results were pretty cool! (pun intended) 
Leaf tracing was a great way to draw and compare leaves to the ones found outside.
Sand was also incorporated into many of our art projects. The children absolutely love working with sand as it stimulates their senses in several different ways; touching the soft grains and manipulating different shapes, they’re able to challenge their visual senses as they dig for shells in the sensorial discovery box, or even just enjoying the sound of the soft grains sifting through their fingers. Using glue and sand, we created nature scenes, including flowers, trees, sunshine, and so forth. 
Next week we will be exploring “art appreciation” and discovering new, great artists…stay tuned for updates!