Some pictures from today

Our new friend

R is looking dapper as always!

She found this really funny!

Stacking these blocks is harder than it looks, because they are open on one side.

C. takes a break from cleaning the window to observe the birds - we saw a cardinal and a blue bird today

Fixing the clogged fountain pump gave us a fun opportunity to scrub the fountain

Everyone took a turn

The bubbles were a lot of fun

Now our fountain is all clean and clear!

A few weeks ago we got to see baby birds in this nest! This egg was left unhatched.

J wasn't too sure about it....

but enjoyed showing the egg to his little sister!

Vermiculture

Earlier this week, we had a special guest come to visit to share with us about "vermiculture", or worm composting.

 The worms live in a large, plastic bin with shredded paper and fresh fruit/vegetable compost. For the most part, the worms live in the bin with the lid on, in a cool dark place.

We had to dig to the bottom of the bin to find the worms.

And once we got a good look at the worms, we were able to feed them carrot peels and fruit/vegetable scraps from our morning food preparation work.

After we all had a chance to feed the worms, we had to add the same amount of shredded paper to the fruit and veggie scraps.

Once the shredded paper was added, we lightly sprayed the top layer in the bin with water.

 Even though the worms in the garden are not exactly the same variety as the ones in the bin, it made it that much more exciting to find them in our garden! In our class, we decided to read the book, "Wiggling Worms at Work" by Wendy Pfeffer, to learn more about worms and how they help our plants to grow.

Fostering Spirituality in Children

Taken from a talk given by Karen Maxwell, Director of Formation for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Psalm 100 1-2
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
Come before him with joyful songs.

Cross of Life Montessori is one of the few schools in the Atlanta area to incorporate the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd curriculum. Many of the materials for this work are kept in a place we call 'The Atrium,' which is where children are invited into a relationship with God.

Here, children experience God as love. Between the ages of 3-6 years, the capacity for prayer is that of praise and thanksgiving. Children learn there are many ways to pray, including silence and singing. In the silence is where we can learn to hear God. This silence is nourished, not enforced during the child's time in the atrium.

Children are invited into the Atrium two or three at a time.

Similar to a way a new presentation is given with the Montessori teaching materials, the Catechist (teacher) introduces a scripture passage and a corresponding material. For example, she will read the parable of the Good Shepherd and pause in her reading to act out the story with the sheep and shepherd.

After a scripture reading and introducing the children to the material the catechist (teacher) asks the children questions like 'What does a good shepherd do?' 'Why won't the sheep follow a stranger's voice?' or 'What does it mean that he knows all their names?' It is ok if the child doesn't know or doesn't want to talk about the answers. This is a time to wonder and reflect on the mystery of God. In asking the reflection questions about the materials we become aware  of  the child's capacity to understand and respect their responses.

In another similarity to the work in a Montessori casa, the children are given a simple, limited amount of material. This way they are not overwhelmed and they can begin to generalize the lessons learned to other areas of their lives. Sophia Cavalettti, one of the co-founders of CGS said 'the youngest children are capable of the greatest love.'

God and children are already in a relationship - their work with the CGS materials simply affirms what they already know.   As one of our parents said 'Children show you the simple things God wants you to see.' It is our hope at COLCM that nurturing the children's faith through joyful and loving experiences will stay with them for a lifetime, leading them to many years of happiness, service, fulfillment and peace.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24

Planting

 A few week ago the toddlers planted some peas in the old sandbox we converted to a raised bed.

 The seeds were so tiny, and it was interesting to see that they looked like actual peas!

 One of the reasons I wanted to plant peas is because I heard they were easy to grow. To be honest, I wasn't sure if these seeds were going to sprout. Eight toddlers digging and walking all over the rows didn't seem to hurt them though......

 When we came back from spring break - we were astonished to see how big the peas had gotten in 2 short weeks!

 Soon we'll be staking them up - stay tuned to see how they continue to grow!

 The peas were doing so well we decided to go ahead and plant these cherry tomato and banana plants generously started for us by one of our board members.

 Digging in the dirt was really fun, and we were surprised to find some big roots in the bed.

 We're looking forward to a yummy harvest this summer!

Attempting a group shot...Didn't get the shot but we all had fun!