Montessori in Redlands


8:45 a.m.
Sam arrives at school. Mommy unbuckles his seatbelt and with a little help Sam climbs out of the car. Carrying his lunchbox, Sam walks to his class. He makes sure to push the gate closed, listening to the loud "click." Mommy holds the door open and Sam walks in. He puts his lunchbox away, says good-bye to Mommy and joins his friends.
8:55 a.m.
It's time to feed and clean the animals. Amy, his teacher, invites Sam to check the birds. Carefully Sam carries the water dish to the sink and empties it. He fills it up with clean water and carries it back to the cage. Amy gets the seed jar and Sam slowly puts one scoop into the other dish. Next, two pieces of paper for the bottom of the cage and clean water for the birdbath. Sam likes to watch the birds splashing in the water.
9:00 a.m.
Sam joins his friends for circle time. Anna, a new friend, is still a little sad. She is crying, so Sam gets a tissue and pats her eyes. Maybe she will feel better soon. Maria says "good morning" to everybody. She sings about something each of Sam's friends is wearing. Sam sticks out his new brown shoes so she can see them. "What kind of weather do we have today?" Sam looks out the window; the sky is blue. "No clouds today," says Maria. "No rain. We can go outside to play." Sam is happy and laughs. Maria picks up a book and shows it to everybody. "What is this book about?" asks Maria. Sam looks at the big spider on the cover. He likes this story. He listens carefully and takes his turn at the end to touch the bumpy spider web.
9:20 a.m.
Maria calls Sam's name. It is his turn to get snack. He walks to the shelf, picks up a plate and takes it to the table. Amy says he can have two crackers, one slice of cheese and some sliced grapes. Sam puts the crackers and cheese on his plate and carefully scoops up the green grapes with a big spoon. With two hands he carries the plate to the table where he would like to sit. He returns to the snack table for juice, carefully pouring some into a glass. Slowly and carefully he carries the glass to the table and sits down. When he is all done, Sam puts his dishes away, one at a time, into the basin.
9:40 a.m.
	Time to go potty and wash hands. Sam pulls down his pants and underwear by himself and sits on the toilet. When he is done, he pulls up his underwear. It's hard to do his pants and he asks Maria for help. "You can do it," she says. "Pull up here, at the back." Sam does it. "I'm getting big," he says with a smile. He turns on the water and washes his hands. Sam remembers to use one piece of paper towel. Maria asks him to turn on the water for Joshua. She says, "Thank you for helping your friend, Sam." It's time to go to the playground.
9:45 a.m.
	Sam loves to play with his friends outside. He joins Matthew in the sandbox and starts to dig. A ball bounces by and Sam picks it up. Emily runs up and pulls it but Sam holds on tight. Amy comes over and reminds Sam that Emily was using the ball and has not finished her turn. She suggests that he look in the basket for another ball. Sam decides to ride the big, green tricycle. He can pedal now and can go very fast. But he goes too fast and bumps into Laura. She falls down and starts to cry. Maria comes over. She asks Sam to help Laura up and to check if she is OK. "Can you give her a hug to help her feel better?" Sam does. Maria asks him to pedal a little slower and to watch out for his friends.
10:30 a.m.
Time to clean up and go inside. Sam finds a good place to park his bike and sits down to take his shoes off. It takes a little while but he can do it, putting his shoes by the wall when he's done. He lines up with his friends and walks inside to the bathroom. It's time to go potty again and wash hands.
10:35 a.m.
	Sam is ready to get his work out. Yesterday he matched all the wild animals and he wants to do it again. It's big work so Sam gets a big mat and unrolls it on the floor. First he gets the basket of animals, then the picture packet. He lays out the pictures on the mat and then one at a time matches the animals, but the giraffe keeps falling over. Maria sits down by him and fixes the giraffe's legs. Now he stands up. She asks him to name all the animals and he can do it! Sam puts the animals in the basket and carefully slides the pictures into the packet. He puts them back on the shelf and rolls up the big mat.
	Sam sees Laura doing the magnet work and wants to do it but he will have to wait until she is done. He decides to color a picture to take home. He puts a mat on the table, and then gets the basket of markers. He takes one piece of paper from the basket. He makes long green lines on his paper and then goes very fast, round and round with the red one. He makes big dots with the blue, like raindrops. Amy stops by and asks him to use the marker gently. "These long, green lines look like tall trees," she says. Sam makes more trees. When he's all done he puts his paper in his drawer, to take home later. Laura has put the magnets away and Sam can have a turn. He unrolls a little mat on the floor. He pulls the magnets apart and lays them down. One by one he makes them jump back onto the wand. It makes Sam laugh to see them jump.
	Sam does a lot of work today. He matches the shells, sorts the rocks and puts together the shape puzzle. He unzips the blue purses to find the bugs inside including his favorite, the bumble bee. He zips them all closed again. He does the spooning and pouring work. Some of the beans fell on the floor and Sam needs to sweep them up. Sam's last job is to clean the door glass. When he is done, it is so shiny. He did a good job!
11:30 a.m.
It's almost time for lunch. After going to the potty, Sam joins the circle. Maria lifts down the basket of instruments. "Let's play some music," she says. Halloween is coming soon and Sam's class will go to the Pumpkin Patch on Friday. Maria sings the Pumpkin song while Sam and his friends shake their bells. When they put the instruments away, Maria reads a book about how pumpkins grow. Maria says she will choose a big pumpkin and they will make a Jack O' Lantern. Sam is excited.
11:45 a.m.
Sam sits down for lunch. Today he has pasta and chicken and he uses a fork to eat it all up. He checks his lunchbox and decides to eat his yogurt next. He needs to go get a spoon. Amy asks him to get two spoons, one for himself and one for Joshua. When Sam is finished eating, he cleans away his dishes and puts his lunchbox on the shelf. He needs to go to the potty and get ready to take a nap.
11:45 a.m.
Sam sits down for lunch. Today he has pasta and chicken and he uses a fork to eat it all up. He checks his lunchbox and decides to eat his yogurt next. He needs to go get a spoon. Amy asks him to get two spoons, one for himself and one for Joshua. When Sam is finished eating, he cleans away his dishes and puts his lunchbox on the shelf. He needs to go to the potty and get ready to take a nap.
12:30 a.m.
Sam finds his mat and his car blanket. He lies down and Maria helps to cover him up. She turns off the light and turns on the CD player. Sam closes his eyes and listens to the piano music.
2:30 a.m.
Sam opens his eyes and sees Amy. She smiles at him and asks if he would like to get up and go potty. When he's done, Sam comes back and lies down for a few more minutes. Joshua wakes up and cries. Amy pats his back and talks softly to him. Soon it's time for everyone to get up. Sam pulls off his sheet and puts it in the bag with his blanket. With a little help he folds his mat and carries it to the cupboard to put away. He holds the door open for Emily to put hers away and then quietly closes it. Sam goes to the library to read a book while the rest of his friends wake up, put their beds away and go potty. The door opens and Sam's Mommy comes in. He is happy to see her and gives her a big hug. "Time to go home, Sam," says Maria. Sam gets his lunchbox and opens his drawer to get the picture. He's ready! "See you tomorrow, Sam," says Maria. "Tomorrow," says Sam. "Bye friends!"