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You are here: Home / Primary Newsletter / Children need and want to connect to nature

April 17, 2019

Children need and want to connect to nature

A child in Ms. Kathy’s Primary class decorates a butterfly shape by cutting strips of paper and then gluing them onto the shape.

The young child has a great need to connect with nature. This is especially apparent by the obvious joy she expresses and the calm demeanor she displays whenever she is involved in outdoor activities that allow her to engage all her senses.

A simple walk in the park, listening to the birds sing, admiring a passing cloud in the sky, collecting treasures under rocks or along the seashore, spying a tiny creature crawling among the leaves, or picking a colorful posy for someone dear — all of these seem to call forth a spontaneous sense of peacefulness in the child, which appears to be unique only to this experience in nature.

During the month of April, the children will have various opportunities to have contact with the natural world. Aside from their everyday work and play outdoors, they also have been busy creating a butterfly garden adjacent to their playground.

Activities such as digging, planting, watering, and observing have all been part and parcel of their daily efforts to provide an environment where the butterflies, not only begin to grow, but also continue to flourish throughout the upcoming months.

Many thanks to all of our classroom’s parents for their generous donations of flowers, herbs and other plants to help support our beautiful butterfly garden, and, of course, your child’s love of nature!

A Primary student in Ms. Kathy’s class works on gluing tissue paper onto a butterfly shape.

Additional Activities that Reinforce our Unit Study of Butterflies

  • Tissue gluing of butterflies
  • Marble painting of butterfly shapes
  • Matching pictures of beautiful butterflies
  • Puzzles of butterflies, including life cycle puzzles
  • Reading books like “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Upcoming Events

April 18: Spring Festival/Early Dismissal
April 19: Spring Holiday/No School
April 22: Teacher Institute Day/No School

By Kathy Graham / Filed Under: Primary Newsletter, Primary Program Leave a Comment

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About Kathy Graham

It was in Chicago, Illinois, where Kathy Graham first experienced a Montessori Classroom. After only a short period of time, through her internship at a local Montessori School, she became increasingly aware of her profound calling as a Montessori Teacher. She knew this was a special place and fell in love with the Montessori Method of Education. Since then, Graham has established herself as a strong advocate of creating beautiful environments inside the school and in her world of life. For over thirty six years now, she continues to conduct herself as an extraordinary model in these ways: a Montessori parent; Montessori Teacher; founder/director of the very first Montessori School in Jacksonville, Florida; mentor; friend; and her newest blessing, grandparent. Graham say’s “Montessori gives a feeling of hope for a better world because of what we give our children, the future leaders of tomorrow.”

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