The New School Montessori

Opposable thumbs are great, but zygodactyl toes are even better!!

The Ohio School of Falconry just “schooled” our New School Montessori 4th-6th graders on interesting facts about falcons, hawks and owls. This presentation coincided with students’ study of Jean Craighead George’s book, “My Side of the Mountain” about a boy surviving in the wilderness with the help of his peregrine falcon.

The bird handlers shared interesting information about each of the 5 types of birds they brought with them and presented the material with many questions for students to resolve through logic.

For instance:

Students watched as the birds flew among the crowd from gloved hand to gloved hand.
Question:
If these birds’ claws have the crushing power equal to a crocodile’s jaw, why don’t they destroy their handler’s hands?
Answer: The birds trust their handlers and aren’t afraid.

Question:
When barn owls’ siblings nudge them from the nest and they float down to the ground but can’t yet fly, how do they get back in the nest?
Answer: Their zygodactyl toes help them climb the tree. When older, those toes strongly grip the 1,000 mice they catch and eat per year.

Question:
Peregrine falcons can see a tennis ball from over a mile away, but on their own, they can’t fly as fast as a pigeon. How can they catch pigeons and eat them?
Answer: They reduce air drag with perfectly “coiffed” feathers and they fly high and use the power of gravity to increase their speed as they fall with precision to stun and paralyze their prey.

What better way to learn about animals, physics, logic and the power of trusting relationships than through this amazing conversation between students, presenters and the animals themselves. We are so grateful for this lesson.

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New School Montessori Kindergartners Are Spiraling in a Good Way!

TNSM art teacher, Ryonen Ignatius, introduced the fun, the history, and the cultural symbolism of spirals with her kindergarten students. They circled up to listen as Ryonen read the beautifully worded and illustrated book, “Little Town of Spirals,” that was written by Ryonen’s beloved neighbor and friend, Cynthia Matyi. With word and art, this book drew students’ attention into a journey where each page spun with the townsfolk’s curly hair, water circling and flowing, animal tails and snails that led, on the last page, to dreams spiraling into sleep.

While students created their own spiral drawings from oil pastel crayons, they learned that some cultures have traditions using a spiral pattern as a way to enter into meditation, directing their mind through a circular labyrinth. In the Celtic culture, the spiral knot symbolizes a journey of growth as one travels life’s path.

Splashes of watercolor on students’ spirals added a finishing touch of warmth and vibrancy as they completed their journey into a glorious day of spirals!

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“Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers.”

Let’s Be Independent Together
Fostering a child’s natural desire for independence is a core tenet of a Montessori education. That desire is fed by showing children (at every age) ways they can take care of themselves and giving them the opportunity to plan their work.

This process begins with our (3-6) students pouring their own milk, spreading butter on bread and learning to cut fruit and make toast safely. They learn the concepts of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using hands-on materials. Building muscle strength by hand sewing with yarn and burlap gets them ready for writing. Some kindergartners build confidence and get some initial comfort with a sewing machine by resting a hand on the back of the teacher’s while fabric is steered through or by being guided to manage the foot pedal for the teacher. These simple introductions create an excitement for learning new and important skills.

As students progress through the 9-year experience at The New School Montessori (from age 3 to 12), their skills advance tremendously in complexity.

Simple math concepts initiated in preprimary lead to algebra, geometry and even basic calculus.

Making an announcement during lunch, or giving clues to your “Who Am I” character on Halloween progresses to sharing a 5-minute presentation of a yearlong research project to a crowded room of family and friends.

Improving dexterity continues from painting with shaving cream to woodworking, keyboarding and learning to use an axe.

Life skills that begin with squeezing orange juice in preprimary later include more advanced skills like learning to read a map, do laundry, pay for a meal at a restaurant and to understand public transportation as 6th graders take turns leading their chaperoned groups through various tourist sites in Washington, D.C. cincinnatimontessori

TNSM closed due to predicted weather conditions.

TNSM is OPEN Tuesday, Jan. 27

TNSM is closed Monday, Jan. 26

Factorization Is Fun!
In a world where things are breaking down all the time into smaller component parts (chemical compounds, organic matter, atoms) it’s not surprising that mathematics would follow suit.

New School Montessori students are using factorization to break up complex numbers into their smallest factors. It’s nice to know that even in math you can have fun breaking things apart! cincinnatimontessori

TNSM IS CLOSED TODAY, DEC. 2 DUE TO ROAD CONDITIONS AND PREDICTED SNOW FALL. SEE YOU WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3